By ELAINE ALLEGRINI
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Oct 29, 2009 @ 06:40 AM
Last update Oct 30, 2009 @ 07:26 AM
BROCKTON —
As the Brockton Ward 4 councilor,
Linda Balzotti built a coalition of
residents from the city and East Bridgewater
to keep a controversial landfill from
reopening on the border of the two
communities.
Now, if elected mayor, Balzotti said she
will use those same skills to lead the city,
engaging people in the process and working
with local and state agencies to
reinvigorate the city, its neighborhoods,
economy and schools.
“No matter how long it takes, no matter
how many hoops I have to jump through, when
I commit to something, I will follow
through,” said Balzotti, a city councilor
for 12 years who is trying to unseat Mayor
James E. Harrington in his bid for a third
term.
Those who know Balzotti cite what they
call her passion for people and for
Brockton.
“Linda has two passions: youth and
senior citizens — education for youth and
services for elders,” said Gayle Kelley, who
ran for mayor two years ago but was knocked
out in the preliminary race.
“She’s been a real advocate for people,
extremely responsive and doesn’t let things
fall through the cracks,” said Kelley.
“She’s dogged in getting things done. She’s
clearly a team player on the council and a
leader for all of Brockton.”
Balzotti cites her attention to
constituent needs and using teamwork to get
things done.
“I have been the voice of reason,” she
said. “I want people to know who I am, who
they’re voting for and what I want for the
city. I want this to be a race about what’s
best for Brockton.”
Balzotti, as a councilor, voted against
the budget that paid for the mayor’s
reorganization that moved city development
and planning functions to Building a Better
Brockton Inc. and its sister agency, 21st
Century Corp. If elected mayor, she said,
one of the first challenges will be to “get
her hands” around that agency, now under
fire for its handling of federal grants.
Other issues the new mayor will face
include state budget woes and its impact on
money coming into the city, she said.
“I’m a competent individual and have
surrounded myself with competent people,”
she said. “For me, it’s about accountability
and inclusion.”
Ron Bethoney, president of the Campello
Business Association, said Balzotti
practices what she preaches.
“Linda, she’s a people person,” said
Bethoney. “She means what she says, people
first.”
He said he wants a change at City Hall.
“Since Jim’s (Harrington) been in, I
haven’t seen anything new,” Bethoney said.
Two years ago, Balzotti was the top
vote-getter in the city election and looked
to a possible run for mayor in 2009.
She took a six-month leave as public
information officer at Bridgewater State
College to walk the city’s neighborhoods and
meet the people.
Research has shown that’s one of the
most effective ways to get votes, said
Shannon Jenkins, assistant professor of
political science at UMass-Dartmouth.
“Pressing the flesh is important,” said
Jenkins.
The recession could help Balzotti, too,
Jenkins said.
“If the economy’s not going well, they
tend not to reward incumbents,” she said.
But Balzotti tells supporters not to
take anything for granted.
Balzotti’s mother Betty, 81, her older
sister, Mary Valente, and younger sister and
brother, Gina Sheridan and James Balzotti,
have been behind her all the way.
Balzotti went to Brockton schools and
Syracuse University, where she earned a
degree in communications, and returned to
her hometown, where, she said, she intends
to stay.
“How many people in their lifetime have
an opportunity to run for the top office in
their hometown?” said Balzotti, who would be
the city’s first female mayor if elected on
Tuesday.