Come meet old friends and new and try some delicious food at one of JP’s best new restaurants.

We’re a week out from Election Day and are working to ensure a strong showing at the polls.  I’d greatly value it if you are available to stand with me at your local polling place.  Please email me or call me at 617-942-2651 if you’re free and interested.

Thank you, as always, for your support and friendship.

Best,
Matt

Countdown to Election Day Reception
Canary Square, 435 South Huntington Avenue, JP
Thursday, November 3rd, 5:30 — 7:30

Suggested donation: $25, $50, $100

West Roxbury resident Alana Keane is working in the office of City Councilor Matt O’Malley as part of the City’s Youth Fund summer jobs program. Keane will begin her senior year at Newton Country Day School in September. The following is written by Alana Keane.

A few weeks ago I began my first real summer job working as an intern in Councilor O’Malley’s office. Before July 5th my only form of employment was the occasional babysitting job. Being the novice that I am, I asked a veteran of summer jobs, Councilor Matt O’Malley, to discuss why summer jobs are needed.

What summer jobs have you had?

O’Malley: I had a Globe paper route, was a paper hawker for the Cape Cod Times, held various positions at Roche Bros, was a City Hall intern, was a Ward Fellow and mowed lawns, among other jobs.

What was your favorite summer job? Why?

O’Malley: I loved almost every summer job that I had because each job had certain benefits. Roche Bros gave me the opportunity to hang out with my friends and learn from fellow employees. I am still friends with some of my co-workers from Roche Bros. and we continue to get together every year around the holidays. Roche Bros also taught me valuable people skills and the importance of being productive. Working in City Hall as an intern and as a Ward Fellow helped shape my interest in local government.

Tell me more about your time working at Roche Bros.

O’Malley: I started working at Roche Bros in 1994 and worked on and off for six years in the courtesy both, in the bakery, as a bagger, and as a cashier. I once got in trouble for trying to be the Roche Brothers greeter. I stood by the entrance of the store and welcomed customers into the supermarket. I figured if Wal-Mart had one why couldn’t Roche Bros? I remember everyone used credit cards on Y2K day because they thought the systems would go down and they would be able to receive free food.

What was your least favorite summer job? Why?

O’Malley: My least favorite job was collecting cans from beach trash cans at the Cape. I was 8 or 9-years-old at the time and instead of having a fancy beach metal detector, I made a contraption. I attached a magnet to a rod that would theoretically remove the cans from the trash can, but in reality it did not work. My older sisters joined in on this business as ‘the management’ while I was the ‘labor.’

What did you do with the money you earned?

O’Malley: I would buy tapes, CDs, clothes, haircuts, super Nintendo games, and once a pair of Reebok Pumps. I would also occasionally take out the girl that I liked from work to Friendly’s. We’d share a Fribble under the watchful eye of the world’s best waitress, Dibby.

Have any of your summer jobs influenced you to pursue a career in local government? How?

O’Malley: I would definitely say that many of my summer jobs influenced my career in local government. Working as an intern in Boston City Council I learned the importance that local government has on daily life. As an intern I remember a call from a constituent who had a question about Boston Public Schools and where her child was going to attend. Simply by getting her in touch with the right people, she felt so much more relieved. This internship helped me feel more connected to the community that I grew up in and continue to live in. I also learned the importance of research and gathering information on both sides of an issue. Roche Bros taught me the importance of customer service. I like to think that when a constituent calls they are a customer and whether it is the food business or it is local government it is important to respond efficiently and thoroughly. My job of collecting cans taught me that hard work pays off (sometimes up to $10 worth of can returns).

Why do you think it is important for teens to have a summer job?

O’Malley: It is important for teens to have summer jobs because they help build character and they teach teens the value of money (teens become more aware of what things cost and the value of things because it is money from their pay check). Summer jobs also expose young people to different career paths and teach them how work is a collaborative effort. Overall, summer jobs are great learning experiences.

What is valuable about City Hall summer jobs?

O’Malley: City Hall summer jobs are great because they allow young people to see their government at work. It also teaches young people that government is not a spectator sport. All people can get involved and work toward building stronger and safer neighborhoods.

Reposted from:
http://westroxbury.patch.com/articles/qa-west-roxburys-councilor-matt-omalley-interviewed-by-his-offices-summer-intern

School and snow related issues dominated the discussion portion of District 6 City Councilor Matt O’Malley’s first West Roxbury Town Hall Meeting on Monday night.

O’Malley, just over three months into his first term representing most of the Parkway, also discussed a number of the legislative issues he has been working on in front of a packed room at the West Roxbury library branch.

When it came time for discussion, schools – particularly in light of Boston Public Schools’ “Redesign and Reinvest” plan – and snow were the most talked about topics.

O’Malley expressed concern about what will come of the eight schools that are set to close across the city, including the Aggasiz School in Jamaica Plain, where he hosted a similar meeting earlier this month. O’Malley said that at a hearing held earlier this month, officials were unable to answer questions about who would shovel around the closed school, or who would turn on the lights at the school for youth sports leagues. O’Malley also said he was concerned about student funding, especially for English Language Learning (ELL) and disabled students.

“There’s clearly a lot more work we need to do,” he said of the plans to implement Redesign and Reinvest.

He also expressed agreement with West Roxbury Neighborhood Council Vice President Stephen Smith’s concern that the schools closing across the city not be sold off to companies who use the buildings in a way that “won’t derive any long-term benefit” to Boston citizens. O’Malley said that any sale of the school will have to come before the City Council’s Education Committee, upon which he sits. O’Malley speculated that some sites could possibly be leased for the 10 charter schools set to open across the city.

O’Malley also classified the number of nearly-empty buses bringing students to school as “inefficient.” The renewal of BPS’s transportation contract is due to be discussed later this year, he said, and “ways to minimize the fleet” and get more vans and smaller buses on the ground will be an important part of that discussion. At-Large City Councilor and West Roxbury resident John Connolly, who chairs the Education Committee, called the bus system “way out of whack.”

Connolly also took the opportunity to speak, telling parents that his committee will, later this month, release a report detailing the entire BPS lottery process, detailing everything from the lottery itself to transportation of students.

Connolly also alerted parents to two public hearings to be held this week on the serving of expired food at four BPS schools. The first hearing is today at City Hall second, and the second will be on Thursday at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury at 6 p.m., and will be open to testimony from parents and students.

Snow-related issues also received quite a bit of attention during the meeting. While most were quick to praise the plow job across the city during the course of the trying winter, several residents were concerned about the shoveling and upkeep of sidewalks throughout the winter’s several snowstorms, particularly at sidewalk corners. O’Malley agreed that the system needed to be improved upon, and said the Snow Committee that he chaired in its pilot season will advance its mission in the seasons going forward.

O’Malley also said that while he thought the city did a good job clearing up snow, the MBTA “deserved a C at best” for its snow clearing efforts this winter.

Prior to open discussion, O’Malley spoke briefly about some of his legislative initiatives thus far, and going forward. They included:

• His efforts to increase the frequency, hours, and locations for hazardous waste material drop-offs across the city…
• His intentions to secure a dog park for West Roxbury, and interest in locating the potential sites and the funding for such a project…
• His support for the Gateway Project, and hope to include it in the budget as the season strolls along…
• His work to eventually establish a means by which to drop off expired medications. As chair of the Environment and Public Health Committee, he said he considers this important, as people shouldn’t be taking expired medicine, and most people don’t know how to properly dispose of it…
• And his groundwork, alongside West Roxbury doctor Jerry Carlson, in exploring the best practices and programs in health centers to combat childhood obesity, in hope of eventually incorporating them into schools.

A few other issues were also discussed during the meeting:

• O’Malley’s father, Roger, talked about Habitat for Humanity’s soon-to-open store next to Work Out World on the VFW Parkway. The store will take in people’s excess building materials to eventually help in the construction of homes for the needy…
• State Rep. Ed Coppinger said that his and a number of legislative offices had convinced Gov. Deval Patrick to “put on hold” proposed budgets to daytime care for senior citizens, to applause from his audience…
• Several attendees expressed their excitement in the removal of the billboards over Kalembar Dune, and said they hoped to see more go down in the future.

O’Malley said he was happy to see so many packed into the library room for the meeting.

“It’s great to see how strong civil engagement is in West Roxbury,” he said.

Reposted from:
http://westroxbury.patch.com/articles/omalley-town-hall-meeting-focuses-on-schools-snow

Age 31, recently elected Boston City Councilor Matt O’Malley is a member of a new generation of local politicos who are more at home in coffee bars than in smoke-filled rooms. Gay voters, minority voters, and blue-collar voters are not to this generation discrete interest groups. Rather, they have one thing in common: they are all constituents. A newcomer to town might say, “What’s the big deal?” But long-time residents recognize this as a welcome sea change in attitudes.

Your district ranges from socially conservative West Roxbury to vegan-friendly Jamaica Plain, and it has substantial Spanish-speaking and African-American constituents. How elastic does an elected official have to be to represent such diversity?

I remember as a kid going to Christmas Eve Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church in Hyde Square. It was a bilingual Mass, and it lasted three hours. I just remember loving the richness of all the different cultures. My mother was a kindergarten teacher at the Blessed Sacrament church school. I have roots in every part of the district: grew up in Roslindale, worked and volunteered and coached Little League in West Roxbury, and have now lived in Jamaica Plain for four years. I have worked to bring people together. I did it in the sheriff’s campaign where, as a white Irish guy, I helped elect a woman of color, Andrea Cabral. I certainly did it at Mass Equality as the straight guy who worked to bring marriage equality to Massachusetts and bring it to other New England states.

Less than two days after being sworn in as a city councilor, you had to cast a vote on whether to expel or retain Councilor Chuck Turner, who had been convicted in Federal Court on what in essence were political-corruption charges. What was that like?

It was certainly difficult. The hearing itself was very tough. There was a huge crowd of Councilor Turner’s supporters and family and friends. He gave a stemwinder of a speech in his own defense. But I had been pretty consistent, saying all along that while it was a sad day for Chuck and his family and friends, Councilor Turner did commit a very serious breach of the public trust. He was found guilty on four counts. And since by his own decision he was not going to appeal the verdict, I felt that it was the best thing for my district and the city to remove him.

In between your being elected and your taking office, there occurred that grisly incident of three murders at the Same Old Place pizza parlor on Centre Street in JP. How did that feel when you found out?

It was a shock. So many of us JP residents and beyond have stories. When I was coming home from Latin School, I used to take the 39 bus route, get off at Monument, and run over to Same Old Place for a slice before I’d hop on the 38 bus to get to my parents’ house. It was, obviously, a travesty. The fact that it was so brazen – 7:30 on a Sunday night when the Patriots were playing. It was an unseasonably warm night, and a lot of people were out, some jogging by. One of those passing joggers was hit with a stray bullet. It didn’t, I believe, even puncture the skin, thank God. It was horrifying. It also shows the prevalence of gang violence in our district and in our city. It shows why we need more community policing, emulating some of the tried-and-true successful measures that worked particularly in the mid-to-late ’90s: more cops walking and biking their beats. But it also illustrates the need to strengthen re-entry and reintegration programs so that felons don’t return to lives of crime.

I’m guessing that there’s a greater proportion of artists living in your district – Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, and Mission Hill – than maybe any other district. Does this pose – if you’ll pardon the pun – any creative challenges for you?

I don’t know if this is a special challenge. I think it’s part of our strength, particularly in Jamaica Plain. I own a condo in a building of 10 units. Three of my neighbors are artists. My predecessor, John Tobin, to his credit, really made his mark in this area in his role as the chair of the Arts & Humanities Committee. And there’s such great culture throughout Boston. When I was younger and interned for then-councilor Peggy Davis-Mullen, she began working with Steve Maler and some other folks and started Shakespeare in the Common, which has now been in its 15th or 16th year. We’ve got a great pool of talent in this city and particularly in this district, and we need to celebrate that richness. We need to foster the open studios. We need to be working on better partnerships with the schools. We need to bring some of these talented individuals into our schools to mentor a fresh crop of budding artists.

Reposted from:
http://thephoenix.com/boston/news/112418-interview-boston-city-councilor-matt-omalley/

We did it!

I am so grateful for your help during my campaign for the District 6 seat on the Boston City Council. I could not have done it without you.

This victory belongs to us. I would be honored if you would join me at my inauguration at Boston City Hall on Tuesday, November 30 at 9:30 a.m. The swearing-in ceremony will take place in the City Council Chambers on the 5^th floor with refreshments to follow in the Curley Room. I hope that you will share this special day with me. Please RSVP to Lauren@votemattomalley.com by Monday, November 29 or call 617-323-0700.

As most of you know, we won this election with nearly 60 percent of the vote. I could not be more proud of the grassroots, positive campaign we ran. I had a great team behind me and the support of many friends and neighbors. I am sincerely grateful for the voters confidence in my abilities.

I can’t wait to get started. I am excited about developing new ways to address the issues that are so important to all of us: education, public safety, economic development, and neighborhood and city services. I will be accessible and accountable and I will do my best everyday to represent the residents of West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and parts of Roslindale and Mission Hill.

I truly appreciate all of your help during the campaign. Thank you again for your friendship and support.

I will not let you down.

Best,

Boston City Councilor-Elect Matt OMalley

We talk with the newest member of the Boston City Council about his victory in the special election, his decision to vote Chuck Turner off the council, and his goals on the city council.

Listen to full audio interview here

O’Malley garnered 60 percent of the vote to top Hennigan’s 40 percent, according to the unofficial City of Boston election results posted online last night.

‘I’m just absolutely elated,” O’Malley said in an interview last night. ‘We ran a strong, positive grass-roots campaign, and I’m so humbled and so honored. I cannot wait to get to work.”

O’Malley gathered with hundreds of supporters last night at the Milky Way Lounge in Jamaica Plain to celebrate his victory.

O’Malley and Hennigan emerged as the favorites in what was originally a five-person race. They advanced to the finals after placing first and second respectively in the Oct. 19 preliminary election.

The 31-year-old O’Malley never looked back. Tobin endorsed him quickly after news broke in July that he would leave the council to take a senior-level post at Northeastern University. O’Malley captured more than 52 percent of the preliminary vote and rode that head of steam into the council chamber.

‘There’s no sadness here whatsoever,” Hennigan said last night. ‘I worked hard on the campaign, talked to people about what I truly believed in, but now that it’s over, I’m very happy, because I have a wonderful family, four children, and I look forward to spending some time with them again.”

‘It’s disappointing, but we’re proud of everything that we did and everything that we tried to overcome in the last week,” said Patrick Sheridan Rossi, campaign manager for Hennigan. ‘We put on a really strong effort with the resources that we had and hoped it would push us over the top, but unfortunately that was not the case. The gap was just too large to overcome.”

O’Malley, who is a Roslindale native and Boston Latin School alumnus, is also a seasoned political veteran, despite his age. He interned for the City Council at age 16 and made two unsuccessful bids for a citywide seat, including his first race at age 23, headquartered in his parents’ basement. He has also helped run winning campaigns for other politicians.

‘I’m very happy for Matt; I think it’s great news,” Council President Michael P. Ross, who supported O’Malley’s candidacy, said in a phone interview last night. ‘We have a lot of work to do, and I welcome his energy, his enthusiasm, and his hunger to serve our city.”

Hennigan came out of the preliminary race motivated, but in the end, he could not match O’Malley’s dollars or ability to get out the vote in the expansive district, which consists of Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, and parts of Roslindale and Mission Hill.

Hennigan, of West Roxbury, had been endorsed by Councilors at Large Felix Arroyo and Stephen J. Murphy, as well as the influential International Association of Firefighters Local 718 and several other labor unions. He is also part of a political legacy.

A 56-year-old insurance salesman, Hennigan is the brother of Maura Hennigan, who represented the district before Tobin and who ran unsuccessfully against Mayor Thomas M. Menino in 2005. His father, James W. Hennigan Jr.,

was a state representative for Jamaica Plain.

Yesterday’s election came two weeks after the national midterm election and state gubernatorial race, but it bore little resemblance. Where the congressional and governor’s races were marked with negative advertising, scandal, and controversy, the City Council contest was genteel, with both sides commending the other on a well-run race.

‘We ran a positive campaign,” O’Malley said. ‘Jim is a good man, and it was a good race. It will make me a better councilor.”

Hennigan echoed the sentiment.

‘I wish Matt the best,” he said. ‘I always told people there were two good people running for City Council, and I truly believed that. We had a few differences, but that’s always going to happen in a political campaign.”

Hennigan said he will take the day off and rest today before he starts to make calls tomorrow to gather volunteers to raise money for The Salvation Army, something he does every year.

Turnout was surprisingly high yesterday. Unofficially, 8,811, or about 18.5 percent, of the district’s 47,525 registered voters cast ballots.

‘I was thrilled with the turnout,” O’Malley said. ‘It shows how engaged the people of West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain are. I wanted to put together a campaign that reflected the vibrancy and diversity of the district, and the fact that we were able to carry both neighborhoods is huge.”

Voters trickled in yesterday afternoon at the Spring Street Community Room in West Roxbury.

‘Matt O’Malley,” declared Susan Deugenio after casting her ballot. ‘I’ve known him for years. I know the family, and he’s a really good person.”

Deugenio said her daughter knows O’Malley from Boston Latin. She also likes the fact that he works ‘for the betterment of animals.”

O’Malley joins a busy City Council that has to decide the fate of Chuck Turner, the councilor who was convicted on federal corruption charges. The council also has to decide on a new president as term limits end Ross’s turn in the chair.

O’Malley said yesterday that Turner should resign and that, barring ‘something convincing,” he would vote to expel Turner.

Ross said he hopes to have O’Malley sworn in after Thanksgiving, with a target date for his first council session of Dec. 1.

John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com. Globe correspondent Aram Boghosian contributed to this report.

‘Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.

Read the full article at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/11/17/omalley_is_victor_in_race_for_boston_city_council/

While the rest of the state gets a respite from electioneering, voters in West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and parts of Roslindale will be back in action on Nov. 16 to fill the vacant City Council seat in District 6. A crowded preliminary in October yielded two candidates for Tuesday’s run-off: political consultant Matt O’Malley and businessman Jim Hennigan.

O’Malley, 31, is the best choice to represent the district based on his many years honing legislative and constituent service skills in offices ranging from former city councilor Peggy Davis-Mullen to Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral.

A native of Roslindale, he understands the passions of the district, be they neighborhood schools in West Roxbury or marriage equality in Jamaica Plain. And his legislative work on prisoner reentry issues at the county jail gives him insight into the poorer parts of the district, including Egleston Square.

O’Malley won 53 percent of the vote in October’s preliminary election. In some states, that would have been sufficient to seat him then and there. Boston election officials should investigate a system that eliminates the need for runoffs whenever a candidate garners more than half the vote in the preliminary election. Such a system would save time and money without interfering with the franchise.

West Roxbury – The next District 6 City Councilor is not going to replace John Tobin. And he’ll barely have time to learn where the bathrooms are in City Hall before beginning his campaign for re-election next year. When West Roxbury and Roslindale residents vote in the special election to fill Tobin’s seat on Nov. 16, they’ll be voting for a candidate’s potential to serve the Parkway.

We believe the candidate with the most potential is Matt O’Malley.

O’Malley has been involved in city politics for years ‘ something his opponent, Jim Hennigan, has criticized throughout the campaign. It’s true that O’Malley has bounced from campaign to political organization to campaign for the past decade. That may make him different from the large number of residents who aren’t political operatives, but it gives him the experience and knowledge to advocate for those people in the aggressive world of Boston politics.

Some of O’Malley’s ideas, such as increasing the amount of PILOT money from city colleges and universities, are optimistic in the extreme. Others, such as putting the council at the negotiating table with city unions, are misguided. But he’s right to pursue measures such as reducing school bus service in order to favor neighborhood schools. And despite Hennigan’s accusations, we believe O’Malley will listen to neighbors in all parts of the district, from renters in Jamaica Plain to senior citizens in West Roxbury.

Through his work for the West Roxbury YMCA and the Salvation Army’s kettle campaign, Hennigan has proven to be a strong community leader. His talents are best suited to organizing and overseeing that kind of activism.

O’Malley has run for City Council twice before and lost both times. He’s learned from those campaigns and we believe that ability to learn and adapt is the best quality Parkway voters can look for in their next representative. Matt O’Malley is our choice for District 6 city councilor.

This year’s electoral excitement is not yet over for residents of Boston’s politically muscular District 6, which encompasses West Roxbury and parts of Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, and Mission Hill.

On Tuesday, November 16, there will be a special election to fill the City Council seat vacated when John Tobin resigned to take a government-relations job at Northeastern University.

Tobin was a top-notch councilor who set a high bar for service.

The Phoenix believes that 31-year-old Matt O’Malley is the best candidate to fill Tobin’s shoes.

The son of two schoolteachers, O’Malley grew up in the district. He combines local knowledge with wide-ranging political and policy savvy, understanding how state and national policy impacts urban reality, and how to prioritize his neighborhood’s grassroots needs.

If elected, O’Malley’s constituents can expect a tireless advocate. Anyone who has had a chance to discuss the council with O’Malley would recognize that he lives and breathes public service.

O’Malley’s opponent, Jim Hennigan, scion of a well-known political family, is an amiable and honorable guy. Hennigan, however, does not offer the potential that O’Malley exhibits.

O’Malley is, in our view, a bit too close to the teachers’ union. That may be understandable given his family roots. But he recognizes that an unarguable priority in the upcoming year is to give the public-school system the tools it needs to remove inadequate teachers from its ranks.

Given that O’Malley stood tall and was opposed to paying firefighters for submitting to alcohol and drug tests, we believe he has the common sense and backbone to press for the sort of contract revisions Boston needs to improve its public schools.

The Phoenix endorses O’Malley and urges residents of District 6 to give him their vote.

Read more: http://thephoenix.com/boston/news/111263-laffaire-olbermann/#ixzz14vrYCQnl