By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Politics can be polarizing, especially when a Presidential election draws closer, but at Brooksby Village concerned citizens of all parties converge to discuss the issues.

Brooksby’s Concerned Citizens group began more than three years ago as a small gathering of Democrats and Independents looking to act upon their distress over the war in Iraq.

Today the group puts on presentations and hosts discussions that bring out an average of 150 participants, many with differing views.

“A lot of the people who come are not necessarily Democrats or Independents,” says Carolyn Payne, one of the group’s original members and its current secretary. “Lots of Republicans come and listen to our programs.”

Charged speakers
This month’s program features a visit from Alan Solomont, chairman and CEO of Solomont Bailis Ventures, a group dedicated to investing in eldercare projects. Solomont served as National Finance Chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1997 and remains active in the Democratic Party.

While politics is often at the forefront for Concerned Citizens, the group also discusses social and economic issues. For example, it hosted the program “What happened to Wall Street? Where did the money go?” featuring a panel of Brooksby residents who worked in the finance sector.

Fiery beginnings
Concerned Citizens began when a neighbor of Rosalyn Brooks, who lives at Brooksby, expressed her upset over the Iraq War. Brooks, Payne, and others began meeting in August 2005 in Brooks and Payne’s apartment homes to discuss what they could do.

The group’s jumping-off point came during the Massachusetts gubernatorial election in 2006. Brooks found then-candidate Deval Patrick’s e-mail address and wrote him a letter. He responded, prompting the newly organized Concerned Citizens to bring in all three major candidates. Patrick’s visit to Brooksby drew a crowd of 250 people.

“People love to come and talk to this group because they have a very attentive audience,” Payne says.