By John M. O’Hara Jr.

A candidate in the special election for alderman-at large discussed youth services, affordable housing, and open government at the Somerville News weekly contributor’s meeting March 1 at Davis Square’s Mr. Crepe.

     ‚ÄúAs some of you may know, this is the third time I have run for alderman in the city,‚Äù said Marty Martinez.  ‚ÄúAnd if there‚Äôs anything I‚Äôve learned from those experiences, it‚Äôs that you just keep trying and working harder until you make a difference in your community.‚Äù
     Martinez ran for alderman in Ward 7 against current Alderman Robert C. Trane in 2003, losing by about 100 votes.  He ran for alderman-at-large in 2005 and came in forth behind incumbent Alderman-at-Large Bruce Desmond, losing by about 300 votes, he said. 
     The youngest of five children, Martinez was raised by a single mother in the Midwest and first moved to Somerville to attend Tufts University, earning a master‚Äôs degree in urban and social planning.  A Somerville resident for ten years, he recently purchased his first home on Bartlett Street in Winter Hill.  Martinez had been working in public health management for a non-profit organization, but said he left his job to focus all his energies on the at-large race. 
     ‚ÄúEnhancing resources for youth in the city is my number one priority,‚Äù Martinez said.
     The city youth services director under former Mayor Dorothy A. Kelly Gay, Martinez was asked to speculate as to why others accuse him of having ‚Äúcoddled‚Äù gang members during his tenure. 
     ‚ÄúI don‚Äôt speculate,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúI am really proud of the work I did as city youth director.‚Äù  Citing that he inherited an under-funded and under-staffed department, Martinez said he brought a measure of professionalism to youth services and worked hard to revive the teen center. 
     Affordability emerged as another key issue for Martinez during the discussion.
     ‚ÄúAs I‚Äôve been going out and talking to people, I have met many who want to be able to maintain the houses that they have inherited from their parents, but who are just unable to keep up with local property taxes,‚Äù he said.  ‚ÄúI don‚Äôt want to see anyone priced out.‚Äù
     Martinez said as an alderman he would work with developers to insure that there was more affordability in the city by working to increase the minimum percentage of new development that is designated as affordable housing.
     ‚ÄúI will always advocate for affordable housing development ‚Äì and not development that will take twelve years to complete either,‚Äù he said.  ‚ÄúIt‚Äôs not like developers aren‚Äôt still going to be able to come into the city and make a lot of money, they still can,‚Äù he said. 
     Martinez also stressed that he wanted to work to make local government more accessible and open to all the city‚Äôs residents.
     ‚ÄúI think too often that city services are doled out based on whom you know or who you are connected to,‚Äù he said.  ‚ÄúI am running for alderman because I want to bring access and accountability to local government.‚Äù
     Martinez said he used to live on Pine Ave in Davis Square and his neighbors used to complain about not being able to get the street plowed and were unaware of any form of recourse available to them.
     ‚ÄúThese weren‚Äôt new people either, they were life-long city residents who just didn‚Äôt know how to go about talking to someone about getting services from local government,‚Äù he said.
     ‚ÄúCity services should be easily available to all city residents,‚Äù he said.