total time: 22.68 minutes
total words: 1883
[Danielle Balocca]: The following interview is with John Falco, Medford City Councilor and candidate for Mayor. Information for this intro was taken from John's campaign website and a Patch.com article which will be linked in the show notes for further reading. John Falco has served on the Medford School Committee from 2010 to 2015, followed by the Medford City Council from 2016 to the present. John holds a bachelor's degree in management and a graduate certificate in human resources management. He has worked as a vice president and manager of finance and administration, and currently works as a revenue analyst. He has more than 25 years of experience with managerial, accounting, and financial leadership. John Falco is running in this year's mayoral election against incumbent Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn. John has stated that he will work tirelessly to improve the quality of life for all residents of Medford through collaboration, dialogue, honesty, and professionalism. He states that he is committed to being a catalyst for change in Medford schools, seeking to craft and implement a plan to improve Medford's infrastructure, affirm diversity and inclusion, expand efforts to provide affordable housing, expand the Go Green Medford initiative, and better current networking among businesses, the arts community, and City Hall. Hi John, thanks so much for joining me tonight. Thank you. So to start off, I've been asking everybody about their favorite spots to eat in Medford and what they like to order at those spots.
[John Falco]: So I'm an ice cream fanatic. I love ice cream. And CB Scoops, Colleen's, those are two places I usually go to and I like shakes, sundaes, you name it. I absolutely love ice cream. I just love eating ice cream, so it doesn't matter what time of the season. It can be in the middle of the winter, but I love ice cream, so I really enjoy it.
[Danielle Balocca]: I've heard Massachusetts is a popular place for winter ice cream, too, which is kind of funny. I believe that is correct.
[John Falco]: Yeah, I want to say I heard some sort of statistic a while back that we eat, I think, the most ice cream during the winter than, like, any other state or something like that. That fits.
[Danielle Balocca]: Cool. So I know you've had a busy couple of weeks. We're kind of down to the wire with the campaign before the election. Early voting's already started. So I'm just kind of curious to hear, I'm asking kind of folks just about their path to local politics. I know you've been involved since school committee many years ago and to the city council and now running for mayor. So like what's kind of driving you to do that? What's, you know, what's bringing you to the table here?
[John Falco]: So my path to politics started when my wife and I began our family. And I always say that my path to politics started at the purple door. And the purple door is the Medford Family Network. And that's really where my wife and I We had our first child, and we went there, and they have a lot of great programming and activities. And we met so many people through the network. And I got involved with being a parent leader within the Method Family Network, and I served at the state level representing the Method Family Network, and also headed up the legislative action committee. And I really enjoyed all the programs that they had to offer. Jackie, myself, and at the time my son John, we would go to all the activities. And then before you know it, we had another son, Joey, and another son, Jack, and then we just, we spent a lot of time at the Medford Filming Network. And I have friends that I met there 20 years ago that are still friends today. And that's, I think, one of the great things about the Medford Filming Network. But it got me involved in what was going on in our community. And, you know, as the kids got older, they started going to school. I noticed, you know, as they started becoming more involved in school issues, that when I looked at the school committee at the time, there's only one person on the school committee that had kids in the school system. To me that was a disconnect and that's really what spurred me to run for local office. So I ran for school committee and I served on the school committee for six years and we made a lot of great changes both inside and outside of the classroom. And then from there, so I served there from 2010 to 2015. And then I ran for city council in 2000, actually serving on city council from 2016 to present day. And now I'm running for mayor.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah. And what was the switch for you from school committee to city council? What was that about?
[John Falco]: Yeah, great. So what happened was there was more that I wanted to do. So as I got more involved, and we had a lot of different projects in the school system that we were starting to kind of launch with regard to new technology spending and new science labs, we became more involved. with kind of the city council, because we had to go before them to get approval on those projects. And of course, you know, being someone that lived in Medford and had kids in the school system and just got involved in a lot of different things throughout the community, I got really involved in a lot of just city-wide issues outside of the schools, and that really interested me a lot. And I wanted to get more involved in that area, and so at that point I decided, you know what, I want to run for city council. City Council that went really well and I've been enjoying that. Led a lot of efforts with regard to zoning, traffic engineer. So we've done a lot of work in those areas and bring community public safety meetings out to the public and into the neighborhoods. So there are a lot of good things that I've done in those six years. And then at this point here, I've decided to run for mayor and moving forward. And like you said, it's only less than a week away. It's pretty exciting. We've been working hard and we're out and about and looking to be elected to mayor.
[Danielle Balocca]: you know, those shifts from like parent to school committee member to city councilor, there was sort of like a shift in maybe priorities for what you want, the impact you wanted to have, the changes you wanted to make. And so when you think about running for mayor, what are your sort of priorities for change there?
[John Falco]: Sure, absolutely. There are a number of priorities. I take a look at education to me is always a priority. That's where I started. as a proud father of three kids that are currently attending or attended the Medford Public Schools, as a proud graduate of Medford High School myself, I graduated in 1988, and as a former member of the school committee. I truly realize the importance of a strong public school system. I firmly believe that our city is only as strong as its school system. And we need to make sure that we're constantly working to improve our school system. When I take a look at my time on the school committee, and I mentioned previously about changes that we made both inside and outside of the classroom, we put in brand new science labs, technology district-wide. We actually refurbished the swimming pool. We put in new athletic fields. We upgraded our vocational school to offer STEM subjects like engineering, biotechnology. And we actually improved some of the machinery within those programs as well. And one of the big things that we also did was we started before and after school programming, before and after school care. And that's important for our working families. And I want to come back as mayor and bring those all full circle. So when I look at the before and after school programming, the lottery for that closed on March 1st. To me, that's unacceptable. We need to make sure we're providing before and after school programming to all our working families, all our families that want it. To me, there's a real need out there. We need to provide that. So that's a main priority. I want to look at our vocational school and make sure that we have, you know, the latest and greatest with regard to technology, not just in the vocational school, but throughout the district. We need to make sure that we are providing our students all of the equipment and technology they need to succeed. So basically giving them the tools that they need to succeed. That is a major priority. We also need to, you know, take a look at the programs that we're offering to make sure that they're current with the jobs that currently are in the, the jobs that are available once they graduate from high school. So we need to take a look at that. Got to the vocational school. And we just need to, I want to make sure I come back and I want to be the mayor that brings all these things full circle. So those are some of the main education priorities. When I take a look at infrastructure, as I've gone from neighborhood to neighborhood, street to street, door to door, and I talk to residents, no matter what neighborhood you're in, one of the big topics that comes up is infrastructure. It's a major priority. Our streets are in bad shape. Some of our sidewalks are crumbling. And these things need to be addressed. And there needs to be a plan. And currently, I feel that there really is no plan. So that's a major issue. When I take a look at the energy and the environment, we can always do work there. Climate change is the biggest issue of our lifetime. It's a global issue, but there's a lot we can do at the local level. And we need to make sure that we have more electric charging stations throughout the city. We need to make sure that we have, I think, over 200 vehicles, city-owned vehicles, in the city of Medford with regard to police, fire vehicles, DPW vehicles, the school vehicles as well. We need to gradually transition those over to electric vehicles. We also need to make sure we're expanding our tree canopy. That's a huge priority. We need to be growing more trees. And we need to make sure that we are taking a look at We have a river that runs right through the middle of our downtown. It's a beautiful river. We should be embracing that river. But we also need to make sure that, you know, we talk about climate change and rising tides, and we need to make sure that our sewer system, our sewer infrastructure is prepared to handle rising tides. I get calls from residents all over the city, especially recently, you know, we're getting these, you know, microbursts of rainstorms that happen. you know, there's increased flooding throughout the city no matter where you live. I got a call a couple weeks ago from someone up in North Medford, down in West Medford, down by Placedead Road, you know, and down by the river as well. You know, so there are increased, you know, there are occurrences of, you know, flooding that happen on a regular basis now. But I know that there are many residents that live down by the river that are concerned about this. And we need to make sure that our sewer infrastructure can handle water, especially in short periods of time. And so that's a major concern. So we need to take a look at that. And we also need to take a look at the Amelia Earhart Dam. That's a concern. As tides rise, we need to make sure that that dam is suitable for the future, sustainable for the future. So we need to work with the state to make sure that that is going to be We need to make sure that it's structurally sound and sustainable for the future as far as with rising tides. So those are things that we need to work with the state with on an issue like that. There's also diversity and inclusion, and that's something that to me is a huge priority. The mayor, I think, for pretty much the past year and a half was trying to merge human resources with diversity and inclusion. To me, that's going backwards. I take a look at our city, 59,000 residents, 4,000 kids in a public school system, over 1,000 municipal employees. We deserve a standalone diversity, inclusion, and equity office. And that person should be working hand-in-hand with the school staff to make sure that they're working hand-in-hand on a daily basis. City side, school side, we're developing programs. We're really tackling issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity. Method is more diverse than it's ever been. We need to embrace that. We need to have programming around that. And we can do more, and we should be doing more.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, I've heard cities like Cambridge and their systems have liaisons to families that might speak a different language or something like that set up within the school system to sort of help outreach to those families. Is that something that Medford has?
[John Falco]: I know we have translation services, but I don't think we have anybody that's doing that outreach. But that's something that we need to, you know, so these are things that I think we need to work on more as a community. We're talking about diversity, inclusion, equity. We need to have meetings on a regular basis. They should be monthly meetings. And we have a lot that we need to do, a lot of work that we need to do here. as diverse as it's ever been. We need to embrace that. And we need to make sure that we're offering programming that supports that. And we need to make sure we're offering funding. We have to make sure that we have a line item and a budget for diversity inclusion. We need to make a commitment to this. And that's important.
[Danielle Balocca]: And that was sort of my next question was around equity. So it sounds, I know I've been attending a lot of these, or I was attending a lot of the Zoom city council meetings and hearing that brought up a lot. And I guess my thoughts are, in addition to what you've mentioned so far, what you think would help Medford be more equitable?
[John Falco]: Absolutely. So I think as far as being more equitable, I think this position here, I think that having This position, I think, would work with the school, in my eyes, would work with the school system and make sure that the, you know, we are doing more to make sure that the employees that work for the city of Manhattan reflect the diversity of our community. And, you know, we have a long way to go there. So that position would help with that. I also think, you know, as far as equity goes, we need to look at, you know, affordable housing, making sure that we have, you know, more affordable housing. Take a look at, you know, My wife and I, sometimes we'll sit down and we'll talk about, where are our kids going to live someday? Of course we want them to live close by, we'd love for them to live in Medford, and hopefully they want to live in Medford. But homes now are selling for $800,000, $900,000, a million dollars. That's a lot of money. So after school, when you're working or going to college, to buy a home in Medford, it's really hard. So we need to make sure that we're offering more affordable housing opportunities in our city. Since I've been on the city council, I led an effort to establish an inclusionary housing ordinance. And that ordinance basically guarantees affordable housing units for different developments, depending on how many units they're building. So that's one improvement that we've had with regard to inclusionary housing. We can also do work to an affordable housing trust as well. I've offered a resolution with regard establishing an affordable housing trust, and it's currently in the committee. We're working on it, but that, to me, that'll be a priority if elected mayor, is to actually establish an affordable housing trust in the community. We have so many affordable housing issues, and there are a lot of people that want to live here. Bedford's a very desirable place to live, and we need to make sure that there are affordable housing opportunities for everyone.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, and when I've been doing research for this podcast and all the different people in Medford and all the different skill sets and what people bring to the city, I imagine there is a real range of salaries there. And so being able to afford to move here or even rent here right now is prohibitive, I think. I would agree.
[John Falco]: A lot of people want to live here, but like you said, even renting a home now is renting an apartment. It costs a lot of money. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, we're in a very desirable location. We're five miles north of Austin. And that's, you know, a lot of people like being close to the city. And, you know, it's, bottom line, it's really expensive to live in the city of Medford.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so this is a good lead-in, again, to my next question. What would you say you appreciate most about the community of Medford?
[John Falco]: What I appreciate most about the City of Medford is there's so many different organizations throughout our city. I always tell people, there's so much that you can do. You really can't be bored, especially if you want to get involved. There's different organizations that do a lot of great things. And I'll go back to one of my favorites, and that's the Medford Family Network. It's a great place to really get involved, and they have great programming for kids and parents. But it's also a great way to just give back your time, and to learn, and to take on parent leadership roles, and really helping to guide the network forward. And there's also fundraising opportunities and stuff like that if you want to do that. But to me, the network's always been there. And the thing that I like most about not only just the Medford Family Network, but a lot of our organizations throughout our community is the way people help out, the way people give back. There are a lot of great people in our community that are always giving back. I mean, I always take a look at the Medford Family Network. They put a call out every fall when the kids go back to school. And, you know, they have a school supply drive. And, you know, people give, you know, notebooks, crayons, markers, you name it. And there's a ton of supplies that come in. And, you know, and they give those supplies to students, you know, that need the supplies. Not everybody has access to that. And, you know, so we have a lot of very charitable people in our community. They get involved in a lot of different organizations. But the Filming Network is one of my favorites. And, you know, I, you know, When I represented the MFN at the state level, we used to go to those meetings once a month. And I always tell everyone about the great things happening at the MFN Family Network. And one of the things that people would always say to me is, how do we get a family network in our community? And it's great that we have something like that. I know a lot of other communities would love to have. a family network in the community. But I'm so grateful that we have it.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, no, it's like a real treat about living here. And I think it's, especially as being someone with young kids, being able to build a community of parents that have kids the same age, like you're saying, that will hopefully be lifelong friends. I feel like that's a great place to connect with those folks.
[John Falco]: I think I mentioned this previously, but I mean, We met parents there 20 years ago that we're still friends with today. And it's just a great place to meet people. And there's just a lot of community events around that, too. So it's been a great experience.
[Danielle Balocca]: All right. So I'm going to move on to sort of the more fun questions, or more youth-centered questions. I mean, the rest have been fun, too. But could you tell me something about yourself that you think would be surprising?
[John Falco]: Something will be surprising. I learned, so I think people get surprised sometimes when they hear this, but so when we bought a home, my wife and I bought a home back, let's see, 17 years ago. I will admit, I never really thought it was that handy, but when you buy a home, of course, you're cash-strapped up to that. And I think, you know, I realized I'm a lot handier than I thought. So I definitely will try to tackle any project I can, from painting to trying to putting in a floor and stuff like that. So I think people get surprised at that, because they probably don't look at me as someone who's like that. You know, I've learned to do a lot of things over the years. And it's helped out, it's helped save money, which is good. And actually, I mean, I actually enjoy it, too. So that's, you know, I think that's kind of surprising.
[Danielle Balocca]: It sounds like that surprised you, too.
[John Falco]: It did, because to be honest with you, you know, As things say, sometimes we bought a house that was built in 1929, and things go, and things always need to be repaired. And I figured, you know what, I'll try to tackle these as I can on my own. And I've managed pretty good so far.
[Danielle Balocca]: So fun. Awesome. Thank you. And what about any advice that you've been given that you'd want to pass on?
[John Falco]: Oh, absolutely. Some of the best advice I received was from my parents. And my parents always said, you know, leave no stone unturned. You know, make sure you, you know, inquire, ask questions. Always, always you know, encourage me to be involved, be engaged in what's going on, be part of the community, you know, really, you know, try to give back, you know, and that's something that I've always done. I've, you know, I try to instill those same values in my kids as well, you know, be part of the, you know, be part of the community, get involved. And so that's always, that's something I always encourage. And the other piece of advice was, You know, uh, it's, uh, um... We're born with two ears and one mouth, so we do twice as much listening. And I think you'll see even on the council, I mean, I'm not someone who's yelling and screaming, and I do a lot of listening. And I love to listen when people come up to that rail and they want to tell us what's on their mind. I think that's always valuable, because we have a lot of issues that come before us, but it's always good to listen to the people that come before us. they're telling us what their issues are, or they may be just giving an opinion on something. But I find it always interesting to... find out how did they get to that decision. You know, and they usually walk us through that. We'll ask questions back. But, so to me, you know, I always, you know, listen first and get all the details and, you know, ask good questions or try to ask good questions and go from there. So that's I think some of the best advice I've ever received.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, that's good. It's good advice. I feel like I've been saying this to like everybody that I've been interviewing, but like that feeling of being listened to is, like, it's really important. It's also something that personally I've experienced from everyone that I've reached out to, and that ability, like, that you're, everyone's ability and, like, interest in responding to constituents has been, it's been, like, pleasantly surprising.
[John Falco]: Well, if there's anything I've learned in my 12 years of city government is that I think one of the most important things you can do is listen to people. If people are coming down to the city council meeting, they have concerns. They have issues that need to be addressed. So I think that one of the most important things we can do is listen to them and try to figure out, well, how can we resolve these issues, solve these problems? And even outside of that, if there's, I don't know, something going on in a particular neighborhood, We want to make sure that we give people the opportunity to speak up on an issue, and that's why the city council and the school committee, they're important roles. We want to make sure that people can come down, give their opinion, and we might not always agree with them. I might not always agree with them, but I hear them out, and I'll be honest here, a lot of people that I might not agree with, I actually like to listen to You know, how did they get to that point? And, you know, I always find that interesting. And, you know, I've learned a lot of things along the way just by listening to people. And I think that's probably one of the most important pieces of the job is listening to people, find out what's on people's mind, and see how we can help them out.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, that's great. Yeah, those were all my questions. But is there anything that you want to kind of talk about or anything that I didn't ask you about that you think is important for voters to know?
[John Falco]: To me, I absolutely love living in Medford. I've lived here for many years, and I want to make Medford a better place. I think there's a lot of work that we can do. It's a great place to work, play, raise a family, and I really feel that we can do better than we're doing now. $48 million that's going to be coming in from the American Rescue Plan. That can have a significant impact on our community and really give us the opportunity to emerge from this pandemic bigger and better than ever before. And we need to make sure that there's a plan to spend that money. Currently, there's no plan and there needs to be community input because at the end of the day, That $48 million belongs to the taxpayers of our city. And they need to be involved in that process. There needs to be dialogue. If you take a look at our neighbors in Malden and in Arlington, they've already had community input. They've already had dialogue. And they're moving forward with the plan. We have no chief financial officer right now. We haven't had a chief financial officer for four months. That is a key role. In order to establish that plan and move things forward, we need to have a chief financial officer. So to me, that's a high-priority item. But coming up with a plan for the $48 million, is key. It's really going to help us emerge from this pandemic and we need to come up with a plan to do that. If elected, that's going to be one of the first things I work on is coming up with a plan with regard to ARPA and how we're going to spend that money and there'll be plenty of community input.
[Danielle Balocca]: Great. Well, thank you for sharing all that. You're very welcome. This has been great. Yeah. Thank you, and good luck next week.
[John Falco]: Thank you so much. Thank you. It's been exciting. I thank you for the opportunity. This has been a lot of fun. This is my first podcast. I've never done this before. Mine too. This has been great, and I just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity. Thanks for coming. Thank you.
[Danielle Balocca]: Thank you for listening to this interview. A link to the campaign website is listed in the show notes. For any feedback or questions about the podcast, please email medfordpod at gmail.com. You can also subscribe and rate the podcast on Spotify and follow the podcast on Instagram at medfordbitespodcast. That's M-E-D F-O-R-D B-Y-T-E-S P-O-D C-A-S-T for updates about upcoming episodes and other announcements. Thank you to all who have supported this podcast, but especially to my wife, Brittany. Guys, what's the name of the podcast? Never Bites.
[Unidentified]: Never Bites. Good job.
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