In an effort to keep you informed, Caught in Southie will be bringing you candidate profiles for the upcoming preliminary election on Tuesday, September 26th. This is the fourth one in the series.
Erica Tritta does is all! Daily she juggles a thriving law practice, her son Lincoln (10 months) and campaigning for District 2 City Council. Erica grew up in Norfolk, MA, attended college at Emory in Atlanta and then lived in San Diego. She then moved to Washington D.C. to attended law school and social work school at Catholic University. After graduation she moved back to Massachusetts to practice law and has been for the past 10 years. She has lived in South Boston for the last eight years. One of the reasons why Erica is running is to make Boston a place where working families can afford to live. She believes the city should be a place for the young to the old.
Why are you running?
I am running to be the next City Councilor for District 2 to be the voice for everyone in the district. I love living and working in Boston. I want Boston to be where my husband and I raise our son but families like ours are forced out. My husband is a Boston Public School teacher. Boston is becoming a city where only the wealthy can afford to live. I believe that with the right leadership, we can change that. I want Boston to be a place where the working class can afford to live. I want families to stay in Boston for the schools, instead of leaving because of them. I want seniors to be afforded the opportunity to remain in the city. Boston should be a city for the young to the old.
We’ve got an embarrassment of riches with a field of really excellent candidates vying for this post – what sets you apart?
My skill set. I am an attorney by trade but wear so many other hats. I run my own practice so I am also a small business owner. I maintain my social work license (LCSW) and find those skills helpful in every avenue of my work. I also work as a mediator so I often need to help find common ground when parties cannot agree on anything. I have been working in child welfare for nearly 20 years. In this work, I tackle the same problems the city has – access to quality education, affordable housing, addiction resources, transportation, public safety, youth violence, and food instability. I want to use my experience with my clients in Boston to improve life for all residents of the city.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
My family. My husband Dave and I have been married just over two years but have had a great start! Our son Lincoln (no tie to the restaurant, but we do love their pizza) is ten months and him being happy and healthy makes us joyful every day.
Southie’s bus situation is OUT OF CONTROL. How will you work with the MBTA to mitigate the overcrowding?
I would work with the MBTA to get a system that actually works for our residents. I take some form of the MBTA nearly every day. I have the luxury that I can often avoid the buses in Southie by walking but I still rely on the T and an occasional bus. Southie has experienced exponential growth in development but not the transportation infrastructure to support it. I believe we can make immediate changes with express buses in Southie. I would also work with the MBTA to recognize that the ridership in Southie supports increased service.
Speaking of driving and cars… Do you think households should be able to get unlimited resident parking stickers? How do we fix our parking crisis?
Our parking crisis needs to be addressed on so many levels. We do need to assess whether there should be household limit and/or limits when a unit includes off street parking. I also believe a small annual fee for a resident sticker ($20) is reasonable and can be a good source of income for the city. The parking crisis can also be improved when we improve the OUT OF CONTROL busing, or lack thereof.
Thoughts on the Boston Edison Development?
So many thoughts! My first concern is the environmental impact. I haven’t yet seen the research and analysis needed to say it is safe for construction of any type. Following the environmental impact, I am most concerned with how Southie could handle that size of a development. The traffic and surrounding restrictions that the construction would bring is only the start of my concern. The actual development would require a significant transit plan.
First Job?
I started babysitting at 11 but my first job by IRS standards was at a gift shop on the Cape when I was 14. I spent a lot of time folding t-shirts in the shop and making fudge in the candy store. It’s where I first put into practice what my dad always taught me, the customer is always right!
Go to order at Sully’s?
I am still a sucker for chicken fingers and a soft serve swirl for dessert. Favorite as a kid and an adult!
You are an attorney and your husband is a Boston Public teacher, pretty sure you’ll be able to continue being able to afford living in Boston hun
Do your homework. She is a social worker and child services attorney. She barely makes ends meet living in Southie. Your comment is just ugly and hateful. We should be more constructive nowadays with what is going on locally and nationally.