Waltham's First Hispanic Councilor: Meet Carlos Vidal

Originally from Peru, Carlos Vidal moved with his mom and brother to the Boston area in the late ‘80s to escape the violence and terrorist the country was experiencing at the time.

They lived in Braintree, and he attended Braintree Public Schools.

Now a real estate agent living in Waltham, with 4,832 votes, Vidal won one of six Councilor-at-Large seats in the city’s election last week. He also earned the distinction of being the first Hispanic voted to Waltham’s council.

Vidal decided to run for Waltham City Council more than two years ago, saying,”I believe that Waltham has great potential and I want to do my part in helping it become a better city for all residents. I ran and lost in 2013, but learned a great deal about the city, the needs and hopes of my neighbors and about myself as a candidate and community leader.”

As a real estate agent, Vidal says while constantly visiting surrounding communities, he sees some of the great things other cities and towns are doing.

“I think it’s okay to look beyond our city’s borders for great ideas that can help our residents - ideas, such as a 3-1-1 constituent services system and improving communications with more signage for city-run programs and elections,” he said.

Were you surprised you won? I wouldn’t say I was surprised, no. Rather thrilled, honored and extremely thankful. I wouldn’t have run if I didn’t believe in my message and ideas and how those would connect with residents. Our campaign team put in a lot of hard work, and spent a lot of time reaching out to the people across the entire city. To be frank, this campaign was an uphill battle from the start. I did not grow up in Waltham, so unlike many of the other candidates, I did not have a large network through family and friends who still live in the city. We worked for months on end to connect with people (both in person and online) by talking about my ideas to make Waltham a better city. It was great to see that that hard work paid off and I’m very excited to continue those efforts on the council.

You’ve made history, being the first Hispanic councilor in Waltham. How significant and special is that to you? It is very significant and it involves a lot of responsibility. Being a first of anything in a leadership position makes you a person that people look up to and I will work each day to earn this honor and engage Waltham’s large Hispanic community in the city’s decision-making process.

What do you think are the most important issues facing Waltham?
I ran on a platform of improving communications, creating a greater mix of downtown businesses and enhancing our local traffic infrastructure. I feel there are immediate steps we can take in each of these areas and I look forward to tackling them as soon as I begin my work on the council.

The mayor’s race, in particular, was rather heated. Particularly police and fire departments are upset with the current mayor and are demanding a response. What’s your take on this, and how do you think city government can or will help the first responders of Waltham? I believe the very spirited mayor’s race was a good thing for our city and I hope that passion continues into future elections. We need to discuss issues such as budgeting for police/fire contracts, facilities and equipment in a more public manner and have more citizens involved and voicing their opinions. I think we have clearly seen during this last election cycle that we need to better support our first responders and I will work to continue that effort while on the council.

What’s your favorite place to go out to eat in Waltham?  I currently have four favorite places: Taqueria Mexico, Charcoal Guido’s, Domenic’s and Gustazo.