 |
Michael P. Ross District 8, elected in 1999
|
Contact Councilor Ross |
|
|
Councilor Ross was elected Council President in 2009. | |
| Committee Chair | |
|---|---|
|
Rules & Administration Whole |
|
| Committee Member | |
|
Rules & Administration Whole |
|
| Biography | |
|
Mike Ross is proud to represent District 8 on the Boston City Council since his election in 1999. A diverse collection of neighborhoods, the district includes Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway, and Mission Hill. In addition to the finest constituents a Councilor could ever want, District 8 is home to some of Boston's greatest institutions and landmarks: Fenway Park, the Longwood Medical Area and Massachusetts General Hospital, the Museum of Fine Arts and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and a number of our city's finest academic institutions. World-renowned public spaces like the Boston Common, the Public Garden, the Esplanade, and Frederick Law Olmstead's historic Emerald Necklace are also in the district. Currently, Mike is working on a number of important issues, including spearheading the effort to turn the Boston Common-America's oldest park-into America's greatest park. This past year, as Chair of the Special Committee on Boston Common, Mike led the effort to revitalize the park and make it a more vibrant space within the community. Mike worked with the Committee to write an extensive report looking at issues facing the Common, and working on a series of recommendations. Among the proposals in the Committee's plan are ideas around bringing more activity to the Boston Common, through improved programming efforts, as well as creating a restaurant and other eateries like the ones in a number of New York City's parks to draw tourists and residents alike to the Common. Mike is dedicated to making Boston a world-class city that everyone can afford to call home. In 2008, the Boston Zoning Commission unanimously approved Mike's proposal to limit the number of students living in off-campus apartments to four. This measure will prevent landlords from turning small apartments into high-rent student-only housing. This will make so-called student neighborhoods, many of which are in Mike's district, to be more affordable and desirable for families and recent college graduates, while protecting students from price-gouging landlords. Mike has a long history of utilizing technology to make city government more accessible for residents. Prior to his election to the Council, Mike was part of a team that developed Boston's first Website. The site received the "Best of the Web" award for municipalities by Government Technology Magazine. As Councilor, Mike has written for Boston magazine's blog, Boston Daily, as well as contributing to Blue Mass Group. He believes that there is a strong role that technology and the internet can play in making government better, more open, and more accessible. Mike also welcomes constituents to reach out to him via Facebook. Mike continues to help the young people in his district. He works with area youth to prevent growing issues of violence, playing an active role with youth groups like Sociedad Latina. Mike also is working to bring physical education back to Boston's public schools, a program that has been cut in nearly every public school in Boston. He believes that adding physical education can have an impact on issues around youth violence, student behavior, and test scores, giving kids additional outlets for the stress of their daily lives. He and his staff are proud of the constituent services they provide, helping keep neighborhoods strong and active. |
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
Privacy & Security
©2009 The City of Boston
|
|||||
