Meet The Candidate: Clarence Richardson Is Running For Waltham City Councilor At Large

WALTHAM, MA — This year's municipal elections will be contentious. Every two years all 15 seats in the Waltham City Council up for election on Nov. 7. Patch is taking a look at as many candidates as we can before the election. Clarence Richardson, though active in the city since he moved to town some nine years ago, says he's ready to do more. The former chair of the Historical Commission, known to sport a bow tie, is running for Councilor at Large.

Richardson comes to the Watch City by way of Michigan, where he grew up the son of a postal worker and a University of Michigan research lab worker. He was the first person in his family to get a four-year college degree, and went on to become an attorney, where he advocates for seniors. Nine years ago he and his wife moved to Waltham.

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Richardson, 31, said watching his mother take care of her disabled husband and the fact that he weighed just under 300 pounds in his youth influenced the way he views the world and has fueled his passion for health and fitness, not to mention his desire to advocate for those with disabilities.

Since moving to town he's become involved with the Waltham Historical Commission, the Community Day Center and the Waltham Partnership for Youth. Richardson served as chair of the Historical Commission but stepped down to run for office in an effort, he said, to achieve more for the city in the capacity.

He told the Patch recently he's running for Waltham City Councilor at Large for a few different reasons. His main reason? Communication.

"One of the biggest issues that Waltham is facing is that the city government doesn't do a great job of communicating with residents," he said, pointing to the city website, which he said should be updated to be more user friendly.

DPW requests could be improved with a 311 system similar to how many other cities, including Boston operate, he said.

He has experienced, first hand, what he describes as a confusing city request report and communication system. When the public fence in front of his home started to deteriorate, he and his wife submitted several requests through the website email system and communication system throughout the past three years. He never got so much as a response acknowledging his requests he said.

"It's really hard to track the work requests.... We're still waiting."

The city has been getting better when it comes to overall communication, he said, with the recent push to send out city announcements through social media, he said. "That's a step in the right direction. But I don't think we're there yet," he said.

He said he thought the city could do better when it came to communicating about things like Waltham Day, River Fest, and the Moody Street 5K - citywide events that could draw not just residents but folks outside the city and bring folks who might then spend money at the local shops and restaurants.

When it comes to transparency, Richardson said he applauded the city for their willingness to give information if you knew where and how to ask. But said it should be more readily available and proactively offered.

How's the city doing when it comes to affordable housing?

"We need more affordable housing, to prevent 40B developments," he said. He's watching what's happening in Weston along the border with Waltham.

Weston town officials submitted a letter to MassHousing in July to use Jones Road as the access road to a proposed Chapter 40B housing development and office complex at 133 Boston Post Road.

As for the Fernald property, Richardson has a five point plan that involves having multiple city groups working together to survey and secure the property, protect it from falling into further disrepair, rehabilitate some of the buildings for temporary use where possible and restore the wetlands under the cottages.

"The energy, experience and thoughtfulness that I bring to everything I do is what I'd bring to the city council" said Richardson.

Photo Courtesy Clarence Richardson