Dear Friends and Supporters,

Veterans Day is a time for us to show support for veterans of the armed services who have served our country overseas and at home. I hope that you’ll join me today to reflect on and honor our veterans, and take the time to say thank you to a veteran who is a friend, family member, neighbor, or coworker for their commitment to our country.

As of 2008, there were over 425,000 Massachusetts veterans, many of whom live or work in Boston. The service and sacrifice of these men and women have made it possible for our city and nation to enjoy great freedom and stability. Together we can show them our city’s gratitude for their honorable and selfless service to Boston and to our nation.

With best wishes,

John R. Connolly
Boston City Councilor At-Large

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Today, I am writing both to update you on the hearing I called for regarding our Boston Public Schools and to ask for your help.

Last month, I formally called for a public hearing seeking input from parents, students, and our broader Boston community regarding priorities for the upcoming contract between the Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union. The response has been overwhelming. Countless people have contacted me to express their individual hopes for improving our schools. Additionally, two coalitions have formed with the express purpose of advocating for a contract that will empower our parents, principals, teachers, students, and entire Boston community to work together to meet the challenges that our schools and young people face.

I am happy to inform you that the hearing will take place Tuesday, September 28 beginning at 1:30 pm at the Boston City Council. The hearing will run into the evening with a format that will give parents, students, and any concerned Bostonian the opportunity to testify in the early evening if family or work obligations prevent testimony earlier in the day.

This hearing is an opportunity for voices across Boston, especially those of our parents and students who will be most impacted by the contract, to be heard on a matter critical to Boston’s future. I need your help to make sure this happens. If you wish to testify, please e-mail me at John.R.Connolly@cityofboston.gov or call me at (617) 635-3115. Please also spread the word to your friends, neighbors, civic groups, parent/school site councils, and community organizations. If you are unable to attend the hearing, but wish to comment, please e-mail or mail your comments to me and I will make sure that they become part of the hearing record.

To learn more about the contract and what is at stake you can read last month’s update by clicking here or watch the introduction of the order for this hearing at our most recent City Council meeting by clicking here.

Once again, please contact me regarding this hearing or on any City issue at John.R.Connolly@cityofboston.gov or by calling me at (617) 635-3115.

I wish you all the best as fall begins, and as always, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve in a job that I love.

With best wishes,

John R. Connolly
Boston City Councilor At-Large

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I hope this e-mail finds you well. I am writing to update you on my work for One Boston, a livable City with great schools, safe streets, and healthy neighborhoods.

Specifically, I am writing today about a piece of legislation I am introducing at this afternoon’s City Council meeting that focuses on one of the most important issues impacting the City of Boston — the contract between Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union. This agreement governs many key pieces of what happens in our schools on a daily basis, including the ability to hire and place teachers; create expanded learning time at our schools; provide instruction, feedback, and professional development for our teachers; and directly involve parents in school site decision making.

In less than two weeks, approximately 56,000 students will begin the new school year in a Boston Public School. The current contract expires next Tuesday, August 31, 2010. Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union have recently begun talks for a new contract that will govern for the next four school years, but an agreement is not expected for at least a few months.

Ultimately, Boston’s parents and students will be the parties most impacted by the contract, yet they will not be at the bargaining table. As Chair of the City Council’s Committee on Education, a former teacher, and a parent, it is important to me that parents and the community have a chance to help frame these important discussions.

At this afternoon’s City Council Meeting, I am formally filing for a public hearing to be held by the City Council to solicit public feedback from parents, students, and the broader Boston community regarding priorities for the next contract. I am also inviting both parties to the contract to attend the hearing to listen and to comment if they wish. I want to be very clear — this is not about criticizing or blaming teachers, the teachers union, or the City in any way. This is about giving Boston’s parents, students, residents, the business community, community based organizations, and non-profits a chance to have their voices heard as these critically important negotiations take place.

Giving Boston’s young people a world class education is critical to each student’s future and the future of the City as a whole. The terms of the next contract between Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union will be of the utmost importance in empowering parents, principals, teachers, students, and the community to meet the challenges that our schools and young people face. The bottom line is that we cannot achieve academic success for all students without a collaborative alliance where those most affected have a chance to frame the negotiations.

Please know that I will continue to work on improving our schools as the cornerstone of my work for One Boston, a livable City with great schools, safe streets, and healthy neighborhoods.

As always, please feel free to contact me at (617) 635-3115 or e-mail me at John.R.Connolly@cityofboston.gov with questions, concerns, and ideas related to this or any other issues we face in Boston.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve in a job I love.

Thanks Again,

John R. Connolly
Boston City Councillor At-Large

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I hope this e-mail finds you well. I want to take one last time to thank you for your overwhelming support in last November’s election. In January, I was thrilled to begin my second term on the Boston City Council and to continue working for you on our shared vision for a more livable Boston.

These tough economic times continue to impact all of us, and Boston is faced with another challenging City budget. The City Council began its informal budget process in January. We will commence our formal budget review when we receive the proposed budget a week from tomorrow. I believe that we must remain realistic as we face the fiscal challenges ahead, while always maintaining a steadfast commitment to supporting our core neighborhood institutions—schools, libraries, community centers, and health centers.

As Acting Chair of the City Council’s Committee on Education, my priority during the budget process is to account for every dollar spent in our Boston Public Schools so that we can offer every parent and resident of Boston a transparent accounting of our investment in our young Bostonians’ futures. I’m committed to making sure that every parent has every question answered as we work through this budget process together.

By looking at our Boston Public Schools’ budget on a school-by-school, program-by-program basis, I am hopeful that we can all work together to advance two goals. First, we must push our school system to invest every dollar possible in teaching, learning, and programming that meets all of our children’s needs, challenges our children academically, and puts every child on a pathway to college. Second, we must expand cost-effective community based learning models that promote strong links between our schools, libraries, community centers, and health centers. Especially in tough economic times, we must ensure that our neighborhoods present opportunities and provide support so that each child and its family have the ability to access enriching afterschool programs in our libraries and community centers, as well as health center programming that promotes healthy living and healthy communities.

If you would like detailed updates during the budget process, please e-mail me at John.R.Connolly@cityofboston.gov.

As always, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve in a job I love.

Thanks Again,

John R. Connolly
Boston City Councillor At-Large

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Thank you for re-electing me to the City Council today, and thanks to all of you who helped with our campaign for One Boston. As I wrote to you on the night of the Preliminary Election, I am humbled and grateful for tonight’s victory, and I am proud of our shared work for One Boston that led to a first place finish with strong support in every neighborhood across the City.

I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Councilor Stephen Murphy on his re-election, and to Boston’s two new Councilors At-Large, Felix Arroyo and Ayanna Pressley. I look forward to working with all three on the City Council in the coming year. I also want to congratulate Mayor Menino on his re-election, and thank the Mayor and Councilors Michael Flaherty and Sam Yoon for running substantive campaigns that challenged every resident of Boston to discuss, debate, and get involved in the life of our City.

Thank you as well to everyone else whose name appeared on the ballot today. Boston is a better place because Tito Jackson, Tomas Gonzalez, Doug Bennett, and Andrew Kenneally ran for City Council and offered their own compelling visions for Boston’s future.

I want to share a few of the many moments that I will treasure from this campaign. In a Roslindale living room, I had the opportunity to meet and hear from teachers at the McKinley School who work every day with our most underserved and at-risk young people. These teachers shared with me their passion and dedication to making a difference for the children who are often quickly forgotten in our society. In Roxbury, I regularly visited the 60+ Veterans, a group of African American veterans who meet weekly at Twelfth Baptist Church. In our conversations, I was struck by this group of seniors who have given so much to our country and to Boston, and yet, their chief concern is improving schools for the future of Boston’s young people. Finally, at the close of the campaign, Meg, Clare, Teddy and I spent this past Saturday evening having fun at Charlestown’s Halloween Parade. Every Halloween in Charlestown, you can see an entire community come together for the benefit of the children growing up in the neighborhood. Meg and I will always count ourselves lucky to have taken Clare and Teddy trick or treating together for the first time alongside the children of lifelong Charlestown residents, new young professionals making their home in the neighborhood, and new Bostonians many of whom live in the Charlestown Apartments on Bunker Hill Street. Charlestown deserves great credit for its countless residents who work for a great neighborhood for every child living there.

When we all work together in big ways and small on our streets, in our neighborhoods, and in City Hall, we are moving towards One Boston, a City where every child has a great school, every street is safe, and every neighborhood is healthy and sustainable.

Thank you for giving me the chance to keep working for One Boston for another term on the City Council, and thank you for giving me the chance to keep doing this job that I love.

I look forward to seeing you and working with you all in the coming weeks and months.

All the Best,

John R. Connolly
Boston City Councilor At-Large

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As Fall begins, I am writing to update you on my work toward our shared vision for making Boston the greenest City in the world.

Reducing pollution, developing renewable energy sources, and promoting environmental awareness are all important parts of creating a green and sustainable community. Over the last two years, I have been working toward each of these goals in Boston and I’m pleased to report a number of recent developments.

Two weeks ago, I chaired a hearing held by the City Council’s Committee on Environment and Health to explore the use of more than $300,000 in state grants to fund solar panels on the roofs of the Boston Latin Academy, the Boston Latin School and the Roosevelt School. Following the hearing, I recommended the project and last week the Council approved the plan. The solar panels are expected to be installed and fully operational by late November and will help to power the schools. I have also encouraged Boston Public Schools (BPS) to make use of the opportunity to incorporate this solarization project into their curriculum. And, recognizing that we should seize every opportunity to teach and prepare our kids, earlier this year I proposed an Environmental Science Academy in the BPS system that would be focused on teaching students to be environmentally responsible and preparing them for the green economy.

I also wanted to let you know about a resolution I filed in support of updating the State’s “Bottle Law.” For almost thirty years Massachusetts has had a container deposit program that adds a small refundable charge to every sale of carbonated beverages. New legislation would update the law to include bottled water, sports drinks, and teas. The current program motivates people to recycle 80% of bottles and cans with a deposit, but only 20% of non-deposit containers. If history is a guide, this new legislation would dramatically increase recycling of the newly added containers, thereby decreasing landfill use and litter. I will be holding a hearing on this Resolution in the Environment and Health Committee on Friday, October 9th at 1:00 pm in the City Council Chambers at City Hall and I encourage you to attend. And, on Wednesday, October 7th the State Legislature will also be holding a hearing on the legislation. I invite you all to come and join me at a rally on Wednesday in front of the State House (Bowdoin St. entrance) at 9:15 a.m. in support of updating the bottle bill.

Together we can make Boston a truly green and livable City, with safe, affordable, and sustainable neighborhoods. As always, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve in a job that I love, and please e-mail me with any questions, concerns, or feedback.

With best wishes,

John R. Connolly
Boston City Councilor At-Large

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I hope that you and your loved ones had a restful, enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. Celebrating Labor Day, and all of the achievements of working women and men in the United States, has a special poignancy this year as so many of our friends and family are struggling in this economy. I hope that we will find the collective resolve to work together to help our neighbors and our neighborhoods through these difficult times.

As my first term on the Boston City Council enters its last four months, I am writing to update you on my efforts to strengthen each neighborhood by working for One Boston – a livable city with great schools, safe streets, a strong local economy, and healthy, sustainable neighborhoods.

During the summer, I convened four hearings in Jamaica Plain, Grove Hall, Back Bay, and Charlestown as Chair of the City Council’s Special Committee on a Livable Boston. These hearings have been focused on listening to you and every resident of Boston about how we can work together to improve quality of life across our City. By bringing the City Council to the neighborhoods, these hearings have enabled the City Council to hear directly from hundreds of residents about their ideas on how to make Boston more livable. If you would like to learn more about the continuing work of the Livable Boston Committee or serve as a Steering Committee member, please e-mail me at john@connollyforboston.com.

Throughout the summer, I have also been focused on my work as Chair of the City Council’s Education Committee. As thousands of children return to our Boston Public Schools this week, I will reconvene a hearing to receive an update from Boston Public Schools and Boston Public Health Commission on the City’s preparedness and plans for dealing with the possible increase in H1N1 flu cases. With the new school year, I am also very excited to continue my favorite part of serving on the City Council, visiting our schools. Throughout my first term, I have made every effort to visit Boston’s schools so that I can see and hear firsthand from parents, students, teachers, and principals about the successes and challenges in working to give our children a world class education. Last week, I had the pleasure to meet with the principal and teachers at the Haynes Early Education Center where the faculty had the highest attendance rate in the City last year.

Finally, in a further effort to keep you informed of my work for One Boston, I am pleased to let you know that the Public Safety and Accountable Government sections of my One Boston platform are now available at www.ConnollyforBoston.com.

As always, thanks for giving me the opportunity to serve in this job that I love.

With best wishes,

John R. Connolly
Boston City Councillor At-Large

Dear Friends and Supporters,

One of the great joys of my job is meeting so many people like you who do so much for Boston and for our neighborhoods. I love working with you for One Boston – a livable Boston with great schools, safe streets, and a healthy, sustainable future. As a former middle school teacher, I have always been deeply committed to improving our schools and making our streets safe for our kids. As a new father, I am even more dedicated to these issues now, and to making Boston’s health and environment sustainable for future generations. In short, I love working with you for One Boston. That is why I am sending the attached video message today to officially announce my campaign for re-election and to ask for your vote this fall for Boston City Council At-Large.

I am proud of all that we have worked on together during my first term on the City Council. To keep working with you for One Boston, I need your help. Please spread the word to your friends and neighbors this summer and fall by taking any or all of the following 3 steps:

1. Visit www.ConnollyForBoston.com and sign up to volunteer or contribute to my campaign;
2. Email Pam Pease at pam@connollyforboston.com to schedule a coffee hour, house party, or meet and greet so that I can have a conversation with your neighbors and friends and we can discuss the future of Boston together; and
3. Take a few moments to view my video announcement and then forward it to all of your friends and neighbors.

It is only through your help that I will be able to reach Boston voters this summer and fall.

Thank you for your support and friendship, and as always, thanks for giving me the chance to serve in this job that I love.

With best wishes,

John R. Connolly

Boston City Councillor At-Large

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As summer approaches, we see some of the best that Boston has to offer with parades, festivals, and a variety of outdoor activities.  Unfortunately, our expectations of higher temperatures also increase our expectations of more senseless youth violence.  As a former teacher, I know that truancy is a key indicator that a young person may be giving up or losing his or her way.  This is why I have filed legislation calling for a new truancy prevention program in Boston with strong parental accountability measures. You can learn more about this proposal here.

I will be holding a public hearing on this proposal this coming Monday, June 1 at 2:30pm in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.  The hearing will feature testimony from the architects of a similar program in Waterbury, Connecticut that has been remarkably successful in reducing truancy as well as education and community leaders in the City.  I would welcome your attendance and participation at the hearing.

Chronic truancy is the gateway to dropping out of school.  After dropping out, a teenager is far more likely than students who stay in school to battle drug use and addiction, face incarceration, and fail to find a steady, well paying job.  A recent federal study found truant students more than three times as likely to be arrested and convicted of a crime than non-truant students.

The model that I am proposing seeks to address the underlying issues behind truancy by requiring the involvement of the parent, parents, or guardian – treating a child’s truancy as a family issue, and not just one child’s issue or one school’s issue.  There is no single cause for chronic absence, and reasons are numerous and can range from asthma or a parent’s work schedule to safety issues at or on the way to school.  The program seeks to identify the reason for the chronic absence and then connect the family to resources in their community that might include counseling, an afterschool program, or simply connecting neighbors to form a carpooling network for their children.  As a last resort, the program requires parents of chronically truant children to appear in court to explain their children’s absences to a judge.

To stem youth violence, all of Boston must be committed to a long term public safety strategy aimed at identifying at-risk or likely at-risk youth from the earliest ages, and doing all that we can to keep all of Boston’s children on paths of opportunity and away from paths that lead to youth violence.  The first and most important step in that process is to keep Boston’s young people in school and on track to graduate.  A vital piece to this vision is addressing truancy.  I will keep you updated on my progress as I move forward with this proposal.

As always, thanks for giving the opportunity to serve in a job that I love, and please e-mail me with any questions, concerns, or feedback.

With best wishes,

John R. Connolly
Boston City Councillor At-Large

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I am pleased to announce that March brings the launch of our newly remodeled website at www.ConnollyForBoston.com.  Please check regularly for community news and a host of other information.

I’m writing this monthly update to you with one overwhelming concern – making sure our schools have the teachers and courses to enable our students to thrive. I have seen many of you at civic meetings and school budget hearings over the past month, and I know that you share this same concern.

I have been meeting with parents since the preliminary school budget release in February.  In an effort to keep you informed, I have been sending out budget updates regularly. Please click here to read the summaries.  I want you to know that I believe there is nothing more important than our schools.  Whether you have children in Boston Public Schools or not, we all have a stake in our schools because great schools equal great neighborhoods. We must ensure that our school budget protects the classroom above all else by preserving teachers and offering a full range of courses from reading, math, science, and humanities to arts, music, computer and foreign language classes.  If you would like to receive school budget updates, please e-mail me at john@connollyforboston.com and type “school budget” as the subject.

Our schools are so important that, even in these tough economic times, we must look to the future and work toward improving our schools every day.  With that in mind, I am pleased to post the second piece of my OneBoston platform addressing “Our Schools.”  Please click here to read my platform about our schools.

Finally, I continue to work on the Green Agenda.  Let’s remember that making Boston the greenest City in the world is not only responsible environmentally, but also a key to our economic future and to emerging from the recession. On March 3, the Council passed my Resolution urging the City of Boston to participate in Earth Hour 2009.  Please click here to learn more about Earth Hour and how to participate.   The Council’s Environment & Health Committee will also hold a public hearing on the City’s shared bike program, Monday, March 30, at 6:00 PM at Landry’s Bicycles, 890 Commonwealth Avenue in the Boston. Please join us.  The hearing is open to the public, and we want to hear from you.  If you would like to receive Green Agenda updates, please e-mail me at john@connollyforboston.com and type “Green Agenda” in the subject.

As always, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve in a job I love.

With best wishes,

John R. Connolly
Boston City Councillor At-Large