Running for the Marblehead Housing Authority seat being vacated by longtime commissioner Pam Foye after 15 years, political newcomer Kristin duBay Horton introduced herself to voters Tuesday at the Marblehead League of Women Voters candidates’ forum.
Only two out of 12 races — for Select Board and Recreation and Parks Commission — are being contested. Laura Gallant returned nomination papers to run for Marblehead Housing Authority and attempted to withdraw her name but missed the deadline to do so. But she is ceding the race to the other contender, duBay Horton.
“I don’t plan to campaign and I am confident that Ms. duBay Horton will be an excellent MHA Commissioner and advocate for MHA’s current and future tenants,” Gallant said in her statement to the forum.
DuBay Horton and her family moved to Marblehead for the schools.
“I could open with a joke that starts something like why does a Black family living just outside Austin, Texas, move to Marblehead, but I don’t have a good punch line,” she opened to chuckles. “So I’m not gonna continue, but I will say that my husband got a new job.”
Horton added that she appreciated Marblehead’s approach to supporting students with dyslexia, like one of her daughters.
As a longtime public health advocate, Horton said amplifying underrepresented voices in the community is a driving motivation for seeking the Housing Authority position.
“I want to think about what folks are saying that they need,” Horton told the forum about Housing Authority tenants. “I did meet with the tenant association, and they really don’t have hard concerns — but they want a voice at the table.”
She worked for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in the 1980s and 1990s, making community planning around HIV/AIDS prevention more collaborative and empowering. At the height of the AIDS epidemic, Horton assisted the Centers for Disease Control in designing meeting structures that ensured all voices were represented.
Horton emphasized her goal of making meetings more accessible by adjusting strict adherence to rules like Robert’s Rules of Order when needed.
“I know we’re all Robert’s Rules folks, but Robert’s Rules can be stretched to make meetings accessible for everyone in the room,” she said. “I hope to be able to help teach the board and to have everyone value the empowering voices of the community.”
In Massachusetts, housing authority commissioners play a crucial role in the governance and oversight of local housing authorities. Their responsibilities include establishing policies and procedures, overseeing the management and operation of public housing developments and ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations.
Commissioners review and approve budgets and expenditures, engage in long-term strategic planning for housing needs, and work to address resident concerns, promoting involvement in decision-making processes. Additionally, commissioners are involved in hiring and evaluating key staff members and building community partnerships to support affordable housing initiatives, ensuring public housing programs are effectively managed and serve the community’s needs.
Sharing her background, Horton spoke about being raised by white parents committed to activism and inclusion after being adopted as an infant biracial child on her 1st birthday. Her father, she recalled, believed “being a good world citizen was the most important job that he had.”
If elected to replace Foye on the five-member commission, she will serve five years. Horton said she intends to continue engaging Housing Authority tenants before and after meetings to understand their perspectives as major housing developments move forward in Marblehead.
Horton said moving to Marblehead has made her family feel at home thanks to gestures of support like a neighborhood displaying “Black Lives Matter” and another empowering slogan on their lawn.
Polls across Marblehead open at 7 a.m. on June 11.
