Sullivan opens his ears to Somerville

By Liesl Swogger

    Dennis M. Sullivan wants to hear from everybody in Somerville — even if it is through an interpreter. Sullivan, an alderman at large, spoke at The Somerville News’ October 21 Contributors Meeting.
    "My hallmark is accessibility," said Sullivan referring to the 30 mobile office hours he has hosted since he took office two years ago. "I have interpreters in Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian-Creole."

         Sullivan will be holding office hours in Wards 5 and 6 on October 29 from 10:00am-11:00am in Ball Square and from 11:15am-12:15pm in Statue Park in Davis Square.

        Sullivan began his political career on Somerville’s school committee.
        "We built a new school, we got grant money because of our high test scores. That was before the budget crunch. Class sizes were very small. I didn’t see myself running for alderman. But I enjoy public service and I felt at the school committee I’d done everything I could do. I don’t think people should stay too long. You become stagnant. I felt I could give something to the city as alderman," he said.
         Sullivan said he is currently focused on questions of zoning, economic development and accessibility, in addition to the upcoming election.
         "The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requires every city to have a transition plan to make the city more accessible to the disabled. The ADA coordinator has always been a shared position. I want to see that job as a full time position. There’s money in this year’s budget. We shouldn’t be reactive but proactive. We shouldn’t wait until there’s a constituent complaint," he said.
         Sullivan said he was in favor of the Assembly Square development adding, "I don’t think it’s the perfect development, but it’s going to be a good development."  Sullivan commended the Mystic Valley Task Force for their input in the project’s development. 
         "In addition to the commerce and retail there will be a residential area and an office park. If we can make that plan better as we proceed we should be open minded. There’s always room. Plans do change," he said.
          Sullivan said that one of the biggest challenges facing the city is applying its resources in the most effective manner available. "Our reading department went from 16 teachers to three. What’s going to happen when you have a high population of people for whom English is a second language and you decimate the reading department?" Sullivan asked.
           Property taxes are another concern.
          "We have to keep the city affordable. We have a high senior citizen population. We can’t price people out of their homes" he said.
         To raise revenue the city has raised the price of parking meters and other parking related fees, including fining people who put chairs and other objects in parking spaces during the winter.
         "The mayor did start to enforce that last year. The bottom line is it’s against the law," Sullivan said.