More than just a Breezer in a Bow Tie
When we first moved to Waltham about nine years ago, my wife, Anna and I were excited to find a vibrant and diverse community where it feels like everyone is welcome. We rented an apartment on Alder Street on the south side for years. By 2014, we had saved up enough money to buy our first home at 45 Bright Street where we live today. We quickly saw that so many people and organizations work incredibly hard to make Waltham a great place to live and it inspired us to do the same.
I became involved with the Waltham Historical Commission, the Community Day Center, and Waltham Partnership for Youth, while Anna joined the board of the Waltham Land Trust where we are both active members. Serving as Chair of the Historical Commission provided me with an incredible perspective on both the history of our community and the way our City government operates. While it was a tough decision to step down from the Commission to run for office, I know I can achieve even more for Waltham as a City Councilor and I hope to earn your vote for City Councilor At-Large on November 7, 2017!
My Story
Before I ask for your vote, I think it is important to share a little bit about who I am and the experiences I have had that will influence my judgment, values, and decision-making, as a Waltham City Councilor. I was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan and I come from a working class family. My mom delivered mail for the University of Michigan, and my dad worked there caring for the research lab animals. When I was a teenager, they helped me get my first job at a local A & W restaurant. Many of the opportunities I've had in my life are because of their hard work and am proud to have inherited their work ethic.
When I was fourteen, my father, Clarence Darrow Richardson, Sr., had a severe stroke. He was left disabled and unable to speak until he died in May 2015. It was incredibly hard for our family. My mother, who has her own health problems and had a kidney transplant when I was a child, became my father's primary caregiver overnight. But my family was lucky. We had access to good healthcare and services because my parents had worked for the University of Michigan and we had support from our community. From an early age, I learned firsthand how important it is for seniors and people with disabilities to have access to the right local resources and services, so they can maintain their independence as long as possible and their caregivers have the support they need.
Public education is the reason that today I am a lawyer, while neither of my parents received a four-year college degree. I attended public schools, and I strongly believe having access to a high quality public education has had a major impact on my life. I worked hard as an undergraduate at Central Michigan University where my academic and community involvement helped me earn a full scholarship to law school at New England Law Boston.
I met my wife, Anna, when I was in law school and began volunteering at Veterans Legal Services, a non-profit that she runs helping homeless and at-risk veterans. My wife is an incredible woman. Every day she goes to work and helps to make one more veteran's life better than it was the day before. When I graduat
ed from law school, I decided to become an elder law and estate planning attorney so that I could help families like mine plan for the future and access the healthcare and other benefits that can help keep them in their homes. Today, as an attorney at the Law Offices of Timothy R. Loff, I enjoy helping families be prepared no matter what happens. I also serve on the board of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and advocate for seniors, people with disabilities, and their families, in and out of the courtroom.
Seeing what happened to my parents also gave me a new perspective on the importance of health and fitness. I struggled with childhood obesity, and as a teenager I weighed almost three hundred pounds. When I was growing up in the Midwest, there was not much awareness about the importance of nutrition and exercise. Since then, with hard work and discipline I have lost almost a hundred pounds and kept it off for years. I believe the health and wellness of people in our community, especially our young people, is one of our most precious resources. Anna and I enjoy running the Moody Street 5K, and the other Race Around Waltham Series races and hope to see more community events that encourage all residents of Waltham to be healthy. We also started a fundraiser this year called Food for Thought Waltham which raised $6,000 to make sure kids have access to a healt
hy lunch at school.
I am named after my father who, as an African American man born in 1936, was named after Clarence Darrow, a famous lawyer at the time, in the hopes that it would help my dad succeed in the pre-civil rights era. Because of my multi-cultural and multi-racial heritage, I especially value and appreciate that Waltham is a community of people from many backgrounds and cultures with different talents and traditions to contribute to the City. I think it is important that our City government reflect the diversity of our community because when people from a wide range of perspectives come together they can solve complicated problems more effectively and achieve better results for everyone.
All of these experiences have informed my judgment and the values which I would bring to the City Council. As a citizen, I have invested my time in listening and learning about the operations of City government and the needs of the community. As a Councilor I will continue to do the same. I understand the dedication and commitment it takes to ensure Waltham continues to thrive. I have deep respect for the hard work the leaders of Waltham have done to make this a wonderful and welcoming community, and I hope to have the opportunity to work with them.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me. I hope I can count on your vote in November.