A
Message From Tommy
Precinct 1 is made up of an incredibly diverse group. We have many tenants, sections with condominium and townhouse owners, and neighborhoods of single family homes. People use automobiles, streetcars, bicycles and their own two feet to get around; we have many more people than cars. We have scores of retirees, many families and a very large number of residents under 35.
Involvement by everyone leads to a better community for
everyone. Often times, a person's role is limited to staying informed,
talking with neighbors about important local issues, and voting. Sometimes more
active leadership is needed—leadership to identify how the community
could improve, leadership to identify the path toward that improvement, and
leadership to encourage others to contribute to those solutions. I visualize
a Precinct that accommodates all of its residents, and I hope you will join me
in working toward that goal.
Thank You,
About Tommy Vitolo
Born in 1978, Tommy grew up in a loving, working class home in Brookfield, Connecticut. When his parents moved to Virginia in 1993, he stayed in Connecticut to finish high school, then earned a Park Scholarship, a full, merit-based award, to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
His four years at State were wonderful and formative. While working on three Bachelor of Science degrees, Tommy was instrumental in creating Service Raleigh, a community service project that has inspired over a decade of community involvement in the Raleigh area. The success of this initiative has only helped affirm his lifelong interest in service and community engagement.
Tommy graduated from NC State with honors, and was awarded the Mitchell Scholarship, which funded his Masters of Science degree at Dublin City University in Dublin, Ireland. While there, he met politicians and community leaders in both the Republic and Northern Ireland, learning about the history and current impact of religious discrimination and violence in Ireland.
Upon completion of his Master's overseas, and perhaps still nostalgic for the Irish culture, Tommy moved to South Boston. For the last ten years he has resided in Brookline, first as a renter on Saint Mary's Street, and now as a homeowner at Longwood Towers. In June 2004, Tommy married his college sweetheart, Jennifer Taranto, at Boston University's Marsh Chapel. He recently completed a Ph.D in Systems Engineering from Boston University, and now works as an analyst for Synapse Energy Economics.
Tommy has been active involved in a number of community projects, ranging from working on The Busycle, a 15-person pedal powered van, to bulb planting in Monmouth Park and garlic mustard removal at Hall's Pond, to participation in Brookline 2010 and the Brookline Community Foundation building energy retrofit. Tommy strongly feels that it is through service he has made his mark and, conversely, that community involvement has had a tremendous impact on shaping his own values. He currently sits on the board of the Friends of Hall's Pond
Legislative Update
In May 2007, Tommy was first elected to Town Meeting with the overwhelming support of 64% of the voters. In May 2010 he was re-elected, this time with 71% of the vote. Tommy was a member of the Amory Park Design Review Committee, which designed upgraded paths, stairways, and other accessibility measures. As a Town Meeting Member, he's advocated for state-wide clean car legislation he co-wrote while serving on the Clean Car Committee. Tommy sat on the Pay as you Throw Committee, helping to craft a proposal which projected to reduce our Town's contribution to the landfill by 25% while reducing a solid waste budget deficit of $1.5 million over five years. He recently completed his work on Brookline's Reprecinting Committee, applying his mathematical optimization skills toward rebalancing the precincts following the 2010 U.S. Census results. He is currently a member of the Bicycle Advisory Committee, working to secure grants for bicycle racks, assemble and implement a comprehensive bicycle network plan, and on the success of the annual Brookline Bicycle Parade. Additionally, he sits on the Emerald Necklace Bicycle & Pedestrian Crossing Planning & Design Committee, charged with improving the safety and aesthetic in five places where a road cuts through the Emerald Necklace parks in Brookline, including the very dangerous Route 9 Crossing.
Tommy was instrumental in developing and organizing the Sustainable Brookline forum, which brought together groups, organizations, committees, town employees, elected officials, and neighbors from all over Brookline who are interested in helping Brookline become a more sustainable community environmentally, economically, and socially. Tommy continues working to get more votes in Town Meeting recorded, in an effort to bring more accountability and transparency to the Town Meeting, even introducing a Warrant Article to require the Advisory Committee to record it's votes (that failed 79-116). In addition to his committee work, he has also attended noise ordinance committee meetings to propose technical modifications to the ordinance by-laws, as well as a number of snow removal committee meetings to suggest procedures that would result in safer sidewalks without increasing the financial burden to taxpayers. Similarly, he worked with volunteers from the soon-to-be created Public Transportation Advisory Committee on a lengthy list of ways to improve the performance of the Route 66 bus along Harvard Street. The November 2008 Town Meeting voted unanimously to support Tommy's warrant article resolving that the Town use green certified cleaning products in all municipal and school buildings, and now Somerville is following Brookline's lead. Tommy worked hard to whip votes in support of the Carlton Street Footbridge restoration Warrant Article in the November 2009 Town Meeting, which passed 194-24. The November 2011 Town Meeting unanimously approved Tommy's proposed by-law which prohibits medical institutions and stores on college campuses from selling tobacco products.