Political veterans square off in Waltham mayoral race

Waltham voters will decide this fall whether to give the city’s first female mayor a fourth term, or install a longtime state representative in her place.

Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy will face Thomas M. Stanley, who represents Waltham in the state House of Representatives and is also a city councilor at large.

Both are longtime politicians: McCarthy served on the Waltham School Committee from 1986 to 1991, and as an at-large city councilor from 2002 to 2004. Stanley was first elected city councilor in 1997 and has been a state representative since 2001.

McCarthy, 61, has proven popular with voters, something Stanley, 51, knows firsthand: McCarthy defeated Stanley with 70 percent of the vote in 2003, the first year she was elected mayor.

Her margins of victory only increased from there. She won with 82 percent and 89 percent of the vote in her next two elections. This race could be the first as mayor in which she faces a tough opponent.

The nonpartisan election will be held Nov. 3. If more than two candidates emerge, a preliminary election will be held Sept. 22.

Waltham is dealing with aging infrastructure, commercial growth, and an elementary school redistricting process that is turning into a political minefield. The city of 62,000 is 10 miles west of Boston and home to Brandeis and Bentley universities and several companies, including Raytheon.

Stanley, son of former mayor Bill Stanley, has a well-funded campaign organization and believes he has a vision to move the city forward, and the experience to do it.

“Waltham is a great city, but I believe Waltham can do better, and we don’t have to settle for average,” he said in an interview.

The city’s infrastructure has been neglected, and deferred maintenance ends up costing more in the long run, he said. He pointed to Beaver Street, a main road in eastern Waltham where a culvert is compromised, closing the road to two-way traffic. McCarthy posts daily updates on ongoing repairs, but she also said it has taken longer than she would have liked.

Stanley is proposing three new positions: a liaison to the Hispanic community, an economic development director to help new businesses, and someone to promote arts and culture. “I think we need to do a better job of promoting what the city has to offer and making our arts more accessible to people,” he said.

McCarthy wants another four years to continue the work she has been doing. She had said she wouldn’t run but changed her mind.

Her goals include protecting neighborhoods while keeping commercial areas vital, maintaining open space, and seeing through city recreation and public works projects, as well as the development of a million square feet of land at the former Polaroid site.

One of the hottest topics in Waltham is redistricting city elementary schools. McCarthy made several recent proposals to try to relieve crowding, something Stanley said the School Committee has taken too long to address.

McCarthy said she is focused on making sure each student receives a quality education and that she has urged the School Committee to act. But the process has upset some parents.

“This is political suicide, but it’s the right thing for kids,” she said.

She also wants to see through several city projects, including the sale of the Banks School, which the city has spent just shy of $5 million to renovate into housing, and the 200-acre Fernald School site, which the city recently took over from the state.

Stanley appears to have a hefty financial advantage. He had $87,473 in his campaign account as of the end of 2014, while McCarthy had just $1,030 on hand and $8,845 in liabilities from loans she had made to her campaign, according to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

Councilor Robert J. Waddick said any politician has trouble maintaining popularity over time. McCarthy has proven to be a formidable opponent, and her other challengers haven’t drawn much interest from voters, he said.

This year, however, both candidates are strong. “It’s going to be a very interesting race,” he said.

Jill Terreri Ramos can be reached at jillterreri@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @jillterreri.

Link to story on BostonGlobe.com