Retiring Newton Mayor Evelyn George has been involved in creating a significant shift in the City’s local government during her thirteen years on the City Council and as mayor. George was elected to the City Council in December 2012, five years after Whirlpool closed all Maytag facilities in Newton. She says the community and city government were stagnant.

“Thirteen years ago, there was not a lot going on here. We had three newly elected council members who said we have to stop putting our heads in the sand and worrying about what’s not going to happen, and make things happen.”

That’s when George says the City Council started investing in infrastructure, police and fire department vehicles, and city parks. And in 2014, Newton launched the “Get to Know Newton” campaign.

“So we could talk about all the wonderful things that Newton has and why people stayed here, because our population didn’t go down. People stayed here because they love the community and what it is.”

That initiative was followed by the start of Newton’s Dangerous and Dilapidated Buildings Program, where the City purchases run-down homes and commercial properties. The City then pays to have the structures torn down, and then sells the vacant lots for new homes or commercial construction. Evelyn George talks more about her time on the Newton City Council and as Mayor on today’s Let’s Talk Newton.