The members-elect of the new City Council met in a caucus on December 4 and elected Ward 1 Councilor John Oliver as its next president in a 13–11 vote over Ward 8 Councilor At-Large David Kalis. Before the vote a debate included calls for unity amid revived tensions from the fall elections. Oliver will lead a newly seated 24-member Council with seven first-time members. Kalis was later elected unanimously as vice president, and Ward 7 Councilor Lisle Baker was reelected President Emeritus.
In their speeches, both Kalis and Oliver emphasized unity and the importance of bringing people together. Moments later, newly elected Ward 6 Councilor-elect Sean Roche rose to oppose Oliver’s nomination, citing Oliver’s past support for a former City Council candidate whose comments in 2024 about transgender youth had been brought up for criticism during his fall campaign. Roche claimed that the voters defeated that candidate because of those comments.
“It would be a mistake to elevate to the presidency one of that candidate’s earliest and strongest defenders,” Roche said.
During Roche’s comment, Ward 4 Councilor Randy Block got up and left the room, saying, “I’ve had enough. …I’ll be back for the vote. I’m just not going to listen to this drivel.”
Several Councilors then stood in turn to respond, offering their own perspectives on the issue. Ward 8 Councilor Stephen Farrell expressed dismay at Roche’s comments.
“I am stunningly disappointed with the statement that I just heard,” Farrell said.
After the event, Farrell told Fig City News he believes Oliver will help unify the Council and keep its attention centered on community concerns.
“We’ve got to really listen to people, and I think John will help us focus on that,” he said.
Others also responded to Roche’s comments, with most emphasizing unity rather than deepening divisions.
Ward 3 Councilor Julia Malakie addressed the criticism of the former candidate and of Oliver’s support for him, noting that she had also backed the candidate during the campaign.
“I don’t regret it,” Malakie said. “I think what happened to him was bullying, and I’ve been told that’s going to haunt him for the rest of his life. …It was the kind of behavior that I thought we left behind a couple of years ago. …It’s the kind of thing that makes good people not want to run for office.”
Ward 7 Councilor Becky Grossman urged colleagues to keep the caucus focused on selecting new leadership. She supported Kalis for president.
“We’re dangerously close to making this caucus about something other than what it’s supposed to be about, which is who is best positioned to lead our Council forward,” Grossman said.
Grossman added that the Newton City Council is “not Washington, D.C.” and should avoid the kind of polarization seen at the national level.
Ward 4 Councilor-elect Cyrus Dahmubed, who will be the Council’s only openly LGBTQ+ member, also addressed the issue and voiced his support for Kalis.
“There is pain in the [LGBTQ+] community from the last few months, but also pain that is seeping into our community,” he said. “I heard both of the candidates tonight speak about bringing community together and including community, and that is so admirable.”
The vote
Councilors-elect voting for Oliver for president were: Baker, Block, Farrell, Getz, Golden, Gordon, Irish, Lukas, Malakie, Micley, Oliver, Silber, and Wright.
Councilors-elect voting for Kalis for president were: Albright, Bixby, Charm, Dahubed, Greenberg, Grossman, Kalis, Kelley, Krintzman, Leary, and Roche.
Both Oliver and Kalis had votes from every ward for the presidency, and the seven new Councilors-elect were almost evenly split between the two candidates.
Kalis was elected vice president unanimously by acclamation, as was Baker for president emeritus.
See NewTV’s video of the meeting.
Aftermath
Councilor Tarik Lucas had prefaced his nomination of John Oliver by saying he had considered seeking the presidency himself but stepped aside once it became clear he did not have the votes to win. He told Fig City News that Oliver has been one of his closest colleagues on the Council for years and that he’s pleased to see him take on the role.
“I’m very happy for him,” Lucas said.
Lucas added that he did not appreciate Roche’s remarks against Oliver.
“I am disappointed and disgusted with [Roche’s] comments,” Lucas said. “Comments like that only further divide the City Council and the Newton community.”
Lucas went on to describe the role of City Council in civic life.
“We as Councilors need to be better, we need to set the tone, and we need to respect everyone,” Lucas said.
Dahmubed told Fig City News that Councilors are not voting along a rigid ideological line, despite how the caucus debate may have appeared. Instead, he said, they generally vote in thoughtful, independent ways that reflect what they hear from constituents.
“I wish that these issues that came up in this conversation about Councilor-elect Oliver were not issues,” Dahmubed said in the meeting. “I wish that in my race there had been broad unity not just about how we support trans people, but also that we have to step away from voices that, through their statements, represent at best ignorance and at worst intolerance.”
Dahmubed said the caucus underscored that many people in the community are still hurting.
“I wish that we were more aligned about those things from the get-go,” Dahmubed said.
Dahmubed said that as a first-time Councilor-elect, he felt it odd to see the issue resurface during the caucus, but he added that raising it is important to looking out for vulnerable people in the community.
Roche told Fig City News he felt he had “made his peace” and raised an issue that he believed needed to be brought into the open.
“I was consistent throughout the campaign that supporting [the defeated candidate] was supporting his intolerance,” Roche said. “I felt it was important that we recognize that John Oliver had been a supporter of this person who made comments that trans folks and the rest of the queer community found to be intolerant, and that we were elevating somebody who vigorously defended that intolerance.”
Roche said he expects to pay a price for the comments he made as he enters the City Council. He argued that many people prioritize getting along as a way to preserve power and, at times, suppress marginalized voices.
“I am sure there are going to be things that I need to be educated on, and I will endeavor to be educated on,” Roche said. “But decorum is not my highest value.”
After the event, Farrell told Fig City News that he believes Oliver will help unify the Council and keep its attention centered on community concerns.
“We’ve got to really listen to people, and I think John will help us focus on that,” he said.
