(This is the second profile in an occasional series about candidates for municipal office. We continue today with the Lynn mayoral race.)
LYNN — Mayoral candidate, and School Committee member, Michael Satterwhite is sticking by his slogan, “A Voice for You,” as he continues to campaign with a focus on listening to residents in order to learn the pressing needs of the community.
Satterwhite said a lot of people he has encountered during his campaign have mentioned their attraction to his lived experiences in the city.
For example, Satterwhite, a special education attorney with a practice in Lynn, attended the Lynn Public Schools and now serves on the Lynn School Committee. On a personal note, he has faced challenges regarding mental health in his family.
For the past seven years, Satterwhite said he’s been fighting for special education students to get the accommodations they need in schools to be successful, saying that would continue to be a focus if he is elected the city’s next mayor.
“I want to fight for each and every single person that’s here,” Satterwhite said. “Every ward, every resident, every business. We can’t be picking and choosing who’s going to win or lose in our city … The position of City Hall should be open to all, and that’s what’s important — making sure residents have what they need and the ability to get it.”
While door knocking in the Pine Hill neighborhood, Satterwhite said the goal of this effort is to talk to residents and show them how he would lead.
From door knocking to providing his cell phone number to anyone who wants it, Satterwhite said he is able to have meaningful, relevant conversations with voters, while offering them the opportunity to ask him questions and express their concerns.
“It’s great because I’m able to say ‘hey, let’s talk,’ and give them the time that they earned,'” Satterwhite said. “They live here in the community, so they should be able to speak to people that can make a difference or get them the help to get to where they need to go.”
Some of the concerns he has heard from voters include a lack of support in certain wards and businesses.
“When I say every resident, every ward, every business, I have to actually lead with example,” Satterwhite said. “So, when I come out into the neighborhoods, I actually listen.”
A couple Satterwhite encountered while door knocking lived in their Pine Hill home for 40 years, and spent 20 minutes discussing the candidate’s views and plans for the city. This couple brought up two concerns: one regarding city schools and another involving policing.
During his time on the School Committee over the past four years, Satterwhite said he has spent time pushing for updated policies — since the current one has not been updated in more than 30 years — and ensuring that the students’ best interest is always kept in mind.
Satterwhite said the city has a lot of outdated policies, including some which were drafted as far back as the 1970s. If elected mayor, he said he wants to make policies a living document that evolves in conjunction with how the city changes.
For example, he said equity, dress code and punishment in schools have changed so much since the policies were implemented that it has become an issue. To address this, Satterwhite said the School Committee has been working to update district policies for the past four years, something he plans to continue if elected mayor. He would also work on updating the city charter, which faces similar issues with outdated policies, he said.
“If it fit for a community that was here 100 years ago, Lynn is a very different place now,” Satterwhite said. “One of the policies in the handbook said that female teachers couldn’t exhibit sarcasm.”
While the history of the city should not be forgotten, Satterwhite said we should not continue living like we are still in the 1900s.
His plans for the city include continuing equity improvements, citing the recent hiring of four minority principals in the public school district.
Choosing the right candidates and businesses with the right experience for the job, regardless of skin color, is how Satterwhite said the city should operate.
“Lynn is one of the most multicultural cities. We have a huge bilingual community,” Satterwhite said. “But we don’t emphasize that or sell that as a selling point. We could recruit many companies here if we could just do that. If they saw someone like me running the city, that’s a big deal and shows that this city is ready.”
In regards to policing, Satterwhite said he is happy to see the Police Department is working with the community to build trust and encourage communication. He expressed his support for the department’s recently-implemented body cameras as well as the formation of the All Lynn Emergency Response Team (ALERT), an unarmed crisis response team.
Satterwhite also reflected on numerous community events, including parades, swimming in Flax Pond, block parties and more, that he remembers from growing up. He hopes to bring these back to the city, along with opportunities for youth, such as the Digitas summer program he participated in during his time at Lynn Classical High School.
With the short commute to Boston in mind, Satterwhite said he wants to increase connections between Lynn and Boston for youth internships, field trips and educational opportunities.
“We need someone as a leader of the city that can bring excitement to the city, that can show that we’re serious about change, that we’re not going to repeat the ways of the past that got us into trouble,” Satterwhite said. “We’ve gotten into too many short-term crises as a city that I think that’s what we’re all sick of.”
For the future of the city, Satterwhite said city leaders need to discuss housing affordability. With the increase in property taxes, he said it is nearly impossible for people in Lynn to afford to live in the houses they’ve lived in for years. Furthermore, he said there isn’t the disposable income needed for the city’s businesses to succeed.
Satterwhite said the city needs to offer more affordable housing options because the quality of life in Lynn is not high, which he attributed to the expenses needed to live here, something he classified as an issue.
“Every day as mayor, I’m going to address accessibility to education, to transportation, to employment, to a plethora of things,” Satterwhite said. “Accessibility is so important, and so is affordability. Every day I’m going to make sure this city is an affordable city for the people that live here.”
Since COVID-19, he said he saw the community come together by donating food, supplies and all types of support to families in need.
This kind of community is one of the great parts of Lynn that Satterwhite said needs to be supported and encouraged. Bettering the future of the community by making it affordable, encouraging small businesses and improving education are some issues that plans to focus on.
“We need a mayor that can look for the long term, a mayor that can get people on board with what we’re actually trying to do,” Satterwhite said. “Not one that divides, but one that brings together — and I feel like I have those qualities to bring to the city.”
