Candidate Profile: Paul Levy, Ward 6 Newton School Committee

NEWTON, MA — Paul Levy is running against Shawn Fitzgibbons for Ward 6 School Committee. There are 10 people vying for the eight seats on the Newton School Committee in the Nov. 2 municipal election, as well as contested races for City Council and mayor.

Newton Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles this week.

Levy is a negotiation advisor and consultant and holds a Masters in City Planning from MIT. He also has 40 years of public sector executive and board experience.

Are you running for office in Newton? Contact Annie Sandoli at annie.sandoli@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Newton Patch.

Campaign Website

https://www.paullevy.org/

Age (as of Election Day)

71

Position Sought

School Committee

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Spouse: Farzana Mohamed. Son: Naim (5)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

MIT, Masters in City Planning

Occupation

Negotiation advisor and consultant

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

None

Why are you seeking elective office?

To give back to the community and to be present with the schools for the sake of all of our students, including my son who just started kindergarten at Bowen.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Achieve educational excellence for all our students by holding the school administration accountable.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

40 years of public sector executive and board experience.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

n.a. Open seat

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

The school system systematically pushed aside offers of advice and assistance from the community, including from dozens of doctors who were offering their service in decisions about reopening. I would have welcomed that advice and the offers from others.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Rebuilding trust and confidence in our school administration; increase transparency of decision making; improve communication with families.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Many years running complex organizations, like the MWRA during the Boston Harbor cleanup and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center during the economic crisis of 2008-9.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

You have two ears and one mouth: Use them in that proportion!

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

3 children have attended the Newton schools, one now in Kindergarten.