About The Issues

1. Traffic and Safety – With large developments occurring across the city, including Ward 8, where the population is estimated to grow 20% in the next few years, he wants to make sure that we have safe and effective roads. Better management of traffic, improved routes for students to get to school, and speeding / dangerous driving mitigation.

2. Sensible development – While Newton has made strides to mitigate the effects of climate change, building with climate adaptation in mind will ensure that we don’t face future disasters in our housing stock. Newton city government should improve its zoning review process to better take flood risks into account.

3. A Strategy for Growth – Newton is a great place to live, but heavily dependent on residential taxes. Given our great location, we should work as a city to encourage diversification of the tax base, as well as a focus on ownership opportunities for new residents.

4. Everyone Belongs – Our students deserve a school system where everyone is welcome, and nobody feels left out or divided due to political agendas. The intersection of rising costs and capped revenues is our reality.  This means we have to work harder to meet the needs of our students while also making sure staff is supported and facilities are maintained.

About Jacob

Jacob has been a Newton resident for almost ten years, where he was fortunate to move with his family.

Jacob was born in Boston, but his family moved full-time to a small, organic farm in Maine when he was four. Hedgehog Hill Farm, his parents’ venture, became his first classroom. He learned everything from haying to construction, but most importantly, how to work and collaborate alongside a wide range of people.  His parents wrote books and led workshops and his father served as a Selectman for the town of Sumner for over twenty-five years.  After high school, Jacob attended Harvard College and later MIT, where he entered the Leaders for Global Manufacturing program, earning an MBA and a Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering in two years.

His entrepreneurial career has revolved around technology and renewable energy. He has held a wide range of roles, from head of finance for a pre-fab green housing company, to developing an online rental marketplace, to managing technology at a space satellite facility. He is currently the head of a digital marketing agency. Along with his wife, Jessica, and two kids (incoming eighth graders at Oak Hill Middle School), he’s thrilled to be part of the Newton community.

His involvement in community organizing started with Newton MA Impact, where he became concerned about a plan to develop large-scale housing on the largest residential floodplain in Newton.