Sharing coffee and words with Councilor Ross

By Sandra Miller
Beacon Hill Times
Five area residents sat down at the Paramount Deli’s corner table that Councilor Michael Ross laid out with cheese danish, coffee, juice, and his full attention last Wednesday morning.
Those attending the coffee hour weren't there for the muffins, they were there to solve a few frustrating issues.

Two of the attendees, it turned out, weren’t even in his voting district, and still he got on the phone and made a few calls on their behalf about a permit parking issue. A former Beacon Hill resident named Will complained about the Silver Line’s plans to dig up Boston Common to build a tunnel, which Ross also opposes.

“The Sierra Club says it’s a disaster. Abutters don’t want it,” he said. Ross replied, “Legal commitments were made… Just because the mayor says X doesn’t mean you have to go along with it. It’s not NIMBY (not in my back yard). It’s a complete waste of existing tunnels.”

Ross invited Will to join his Boston Common Special Committee, hoping to turn his complaints into action. Karin Mathiesen, Ross’ director of community relations, took down notes and sat down three more constituents, who had a problem with parking along a private way.

The coffee hour was the first in a new series of scheduled meetings each Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., rotating around Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway and Mission Hill. Ross had held a few coffee socials a few times, including a well-attended one a few weeks ago at L’Aroma Café on Newbury Street, but this is the first time he’s committed to a schedule of them.

At L’Aroma, residents discussed topics ranging from problems with area businesses and development to rodents and trash pickup. The Paramount coffee hour wasn’t as well attended, perhaps because it was scheduled for 10 a.m. But with the frequency of the meetings, now residents can put it onto their calendars.

“My job is to market myself,” Ross says. He wants to make himself available outside the office, in the mornings when people can stop by on their way to work, to get solutions to their neighborhood problems. “I like to joke, ‘If they didn’t have a problem, I wouldn’t have a job.’”
Added Mathiesen, “It’s a chance for face-to-face contact. The chances of seeing him, when he’s not in a meeting or at City Council, are slim.” Added Ross, “We can always schedule an appointment to meet in my office, or for me to attend a meeting or condo board. I can bring other officials to the meeting. Public servants realize they are accountable.”

However, the coffee hours are quick, and perhaps so are the resolutions to problems that come up. Ross says he and Mathiesen either try to solve the issues then and there, or goes back to the office to quickly get back to residents. “It’s rare they don’t get a response,” says Ross, who couldn’t praise Mathiesen enough for the help she provides him.

He is also willing to argue with his constituents, like he did with one Coffee Hour attendee last week who complained about high taxes and politicians going soft on drug dealers around Boston Common. It would have been easy to nod his head, but Ross displayed his progressive Democrat roots and argued back that the drug problem is better solved through education and programs, not arrests.

“The real issue is to get people help – they’re not going to get help in a jail cell,” Ross said later. “It’s like if you have a leak, you plug the hole, and don’t fix the leaky faucet. He needed to hear it straight. It’s taken me a while to be able to do that. You can’t just tell the people what they want to hear.”

Councilor Michael Ross’ next area Coffee Hours will be Sept. 3 at L’Aroma Café, and Sept. 17 at the Paramount. To schedule time with Ross during one of these Coffee Hours, call (617) 635-4225.