(This is the first of an occasional series about candidates for municipal office. We begin today with the Lynn mayoral race.)
LYNN — Mayoral candidate, and current School Committee member, Jared Nicholson has a vision of inclusive growth for the city.
His grassroots campaign will focus not only on that aspect, but also on the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, education and giving a voice to community members.
Originally from Sudbury, Nicholson said his old family ties — his grandfather having been a Lynn Classical graduate — and his work in legal aid brought him to his adoptive home.
Having lived here for seven years now, Nicholson originally came to Lynn to work at a legal aid practice with low-income entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Growing up surrounded by family members who served in the military and dedicated time to their communities, Nicholson said public service has always been an interest of his.
“Thinking about that and the way they served their countries and got involved in their communities certainly inspired me to hope to be able to make that same kind of contribution in my community,” Nicholson said.
After graduating from Princeton University, Nicholson moved to Mexico for a year, where he learned to speak Spanish.
He worked in business consulting in Mexico City, then went on to work on business and financial projects in the Dominican Republic and Peru.
This experience exposed him to working abroad, learning about different cultures and becoming fluent in Spanish, all of which he said has allowed him to work and communicate better with the diverse community in the city.
Through his work, Nicholson said he has witnessed the pathways for equal opportunity in Lynn, which is a large part of what drew him to this community and what made him want to run for mayor.
With a resume that includes legal aid, running a clinic for small businesses, experience at a law firm working with startups, teaching at Northeastern University and experience on the School Committee, Nicholson said he is able to bring a unique blend of experience in education and city issues.
“I do feel like all of that (work) sort of prepared me to step up in this moment,” Nicholson said.
When he was working on community and economic development, Nicholson said he saw the importance of the connection between education and economic development for the city’s future. As he was preparing to start a life here and thinking about sending his kids to Lynn schools, he decided to run for School Committee to ensure that the public schools available are living up to their best potential.
He is carrying that thought with him in his mayoral campaign, saying that he wants to help Lynn grow and be a place that his son wants to grow up in.
One of the major issues he plans to address is the need for new schools and more hands-on educational experiences.
His first focus, he said, will be the city’s recovery from COVID-19. Lingering public health issues, learning loss, social-emotional adjustment due to children being out of school and the pandemic’s impact on small businesses are some areas Nicholson wants to focus on if elected mayor.
Implementing a social-emotional curriculum, hiring professionals to provide support and offering extra class time are some solutions that are already being implemented, which he plans to continue in pursuing.
“Part of the work we need to do is to talk about it (social-emotional health) together so we can reduce the stigma,” Nicholson said.
In regards to small businesses, he said some immediate next steps include financial assistance and including small businesses in planning conversations to benefit from the growth in the city.
Nicholson said one of the top issues in the city is housing, which is an area he has been working in as a legal aid lawyer and law professor.
The plan for his administration as mayor is to adopt the Housing Lynn proposal — which he served on the steering committee for — that involves inclusionary zoning.
When this is done well, he said, Lynn will welcome development and housing of all types, but added that he will make sure some of these housing opportunities will go to people in Lynn that are struggling to afford them.
“We want growth in the city, but the key is to make that growth inclusive and to benefit the people that are here now,” Nicholson said. “With the right policy tools, you can try to set it up to be a win for the developers, win for the city and a win for the people that are going to be living in the community. Those are the kind of tools that we need in the city that the Housing Lynn plan puts forward.”
Attracting this kind of growth is positive for the community, Nicholson said, because it allows for investments to be made in the schools, parks, streets and education.
As mayor, Nicholson said he will work to set up systems that benefit the people that are here now with jobs, housing and other opportunities.
He said he will open up dialogue with community members to make sure everyone feels safe and heard and will ensure that he brings City Hall out into the community.
“In local government, it’s one thing to say you have an open-door policy, but it’s another to bring yourself out in the community and meet people where they’re at,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson said Lynn is his home now, and he has loved being on the School Committee and is proud of all of the work they have done together.
Overall, he said he thinks the city is heading in the right direction and he wants to continue that momentum as mayor.
“We’re running a real grassroots campaign,” Nicholson said. “We have a great team in place and the support that we had makes us really excited as we shift gears into the fall.”