Daniel Minton

Email

mintonward5@gmail.com

Why do you believe you are the best candidate to represent Quincy residents at this time? 

As a lifelong resident of Ward Five and long career as a Quincy Police Officer, I have always had my thumb on the pulse of the city. My wife and I raised four children here and all attended Quincy Public Schools.

As a Quincy Police Officer, I worked the streets for many years, then promoted to Lieutenant in charge of Crime Prevention and the Anti-Crime Unit. I ran many programs including self-defense and student academies.

With a degree in Social Work along with my experience as a Police Officer, I was trained in active listening before acting. These skills have connected me with the residents of the City.

During my first term, I have held numerous community meetings for many of the building projects in the Ward and currently keeping residents abreast of the Eastern Nazarene College development.

When a resident has an issue, I try to meet face to face at their home or area of concern. My informal place to meet is at Panera on Hancock Street. My goal is to respond to all calls and emails in a timely manner, much like I did as Police Officer,

In summary, when I retired I wanted to continue to serve the City that I love and help others. This is a great opportunity.

What three issues are you most concerned about, and if elected, how will you address them?

-Parking has become an issue in many parts of the City and is prevalent in areas where new buildings are being constructed. In many cases, the number of parking spots allocated for each unit is underestimated. For example, a two-bedroom apartment being constructed may only need 1.5 parking spots. With two bedrooms there could be up to four cars. This may result in an excess of vehicles being parked all over the surrounding neighborhood. The solution is to get developers to alter their calculations, as was done recently in a Wollaston Center project, thereby reducing the number of units. The goal is to keep neighborhood streets uncongested and safe.

-Elected officials taking donations from builders, developers and unions. It is the choice of each official as to whether he/she takes these donations. I do not take these donations.

Since being elected, I have returned over $6,500.00 to these organizations. This concern really can only be addressed by each elected official. An elected officials’ decisions should not be clouded by how they get their campaign funds. If you don’t take the money, then it’s not an issue. Simply stated, my votes or decisions, either way, will not be influenced by outside sources, other than the needs of my constituents.

-Residents not voting: With an 11% turnout last election, voter turnout is a huge concern. Currently the City does early voting and vote by mail, so it is not like opportunity is not there for voters. There are options. (Solution -- See question on voting.)

If elected, what steps will you take to ensure responsiveness and clear communication between you and the Quincy community?

Keep doing what I do, contact constituents immediately, via email, call or face to face upon request.

What do you plan to do about Quincy’s $1.6 billion debt? 

The budget for the city is vast and there are many factors that go into maintaining a budget for a City like ours.  After a conversion with Eric Mason, Finance Director, the City borrowed at a low interest rate, from a purely financial option, the City can maintain the payment as agreed upon with the sale of bonds.  The economy has a trickle-down effect from the national situation.  Locally, the city has many new developments that will provide additional taxes to the budget.

What do you think is the most important role of being a City Councillor? 

The role of being an active listener and work with the City’s various departments to address the concerns and questions of the citizens.  The job is about maintaining or improving the quality-of-life issues in the evolving City.

What will you do to increase civic participation and voter turnout in Quincy? 

Aside from going door to door and increasing advertising about civic duty to vote, I would suggest increasing the number of early voting sites that offer better parking.  Although City Hall is a central location and has been a viable site for early voting, more sites would make it easier.  Possible locations would be the libraries, or the Police station, which not only offer ample parking, but provide a secure environment.

Will you advocate for the City Council to allow the opportunity for public comment at every City Council meeting?

The candidate did not answer this question.