Reality Bites by James Norton

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

Charles Chisholm is a candidate for Ward 6 alderman this year, and he sat with us at our last contributors meeting, where some of us have known him almost our entire lives and to others he was a new face in a real race.  He is no stranger to local politics.  His professional and political careers started around the same time in the mid to late 1960s, and there seems no slowing down for him 40 years later.

A life-long resident of the city, Chisholm grew up in East Somerville where he lived until 1982, when he moved to College Avenue and still lives today.  That was the year he started working at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) as a math professor. When he retired from there in 2003, he was the head of the math department for the college.

“I started teaching in 1967 at the Northeastern Junior High School, and I truly enjoyed the last 40 years in the profession,” he said.

He may be retired, but still teaches a course here and there at BHCC – something he said he will probably keep doing for years.

Chisholm got his taste in the local political scene when he was only 18 years old, supporting a candidate who ended up losing. 

“My introduction to Somerville politics was like being punched in the face,” he said.

That didn‚Äôt stop him for becoming a candidate ‚Äì he ran unsuccessfully for state representative in 1968 and for Ward 1 School Committee in 1969, again unsuccessfully.  In his second attempt at School Committee in 1971, he fared better, winning on a platform to remove the then superintendent of schools.

He went on to run unsuccessfully for mayor in 1973, and then he unseated then Ward 1 Alderman Jim McCarthy in 1975 and sat on the board for one term before losing the seat to Tim Creedon in 1977.  He spent most of the rest of this time splitting his time between teaching and being a political consultant behind the scenes for many candidates not just in Somerville but all over Massachusetts.  His last three attempts at public office were in 1989, 1991 and 1993 against then Ward 6 Alderman Jack Connolly, which, while unsuccessful, produced some of the most memorable political literature in local political history.

“I know the issues. I have the time to devote to this important role in the community, and I have the experience to work with the right people to be effective,” he said.

He went on to explain that his priorities, if elected, would be to push Green Technology, paying more attention to public safety issues and creating a stronger relationship with Tufts University.

“I’m running because I think this ward could use a full-time alderman I have the time to devote to the important issues of not just the ward, but the city as a whole while on the board,” he said.

Chisholm expects to campaign as hard as he ever has for the Ward 6 alderman seat this year and plans on working hard to make his campaign all about the issues.

One thing is for sure, issues or not, the highlight of this next local political cycle will be waiting to see what new political literature Charles produces every week.