John Oliver is Newton City Council’s next president.

Members of the City Council who will serve in the next term, along with newly elected members-to-be, gathered in a room at City Hall Thursday night to pick a new president and vice president, as is done every two years. And after some debate and an election-related confrontation, they picked Oliver.

“I’m happy to be the best shepherd I can,” Oliver said in the hallway after the vote, motioning toward the sea of city councilors-elect pouring from Room 204. “Is it going to be tough? I think there are parts that are simple, parts that are complex, and I hope I get a lot of help from that group because I’m going to need it.”

Current Council Vice President David Kalis also ran for the presidential spot, and although he lost, he was elected vice president again.

Oliver, who works in business marketing consulting, grew up in Michigan and moved to Newton in 2002.

He was first elected to the City Council in 2021 and ran unopposed in both 2023 and 2025.

In making his case for the presidential seat, Oliver said he would build stronger relationships with the city clerk’s office, the School Committee and the mayor’s office.

“The complex part of the job, I think, is in this room,” Oliver said. “There are 24 of us. We all have somewhat strong opinions. I’m going to guess there are seven new opinions I’m looking forward to working with and understanding. We also have roughly 88,000 residents who expect a lot from us, and I think that it’s incumbent upon us to figure out how to work together in a way that gets that done efficiently.”

Oliver received 13 votes, and Kalis got 11.

And Ward 7 Councilor Lisle Baker was once again elected president emeritus.

City Councilor David Kalis delivers a speech asking his colleagues to elect him president on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

But first, some fireworks

As with much in Newton politics these days, Thursday’s proceeding had theater, surprises, laughter, anger, accusations of treachery and light snacks. It was all giving “Parks and Recreation” meets “Game of Thrones.”

Near the start of the nominating process, Ward 2 At-large Councilor Tarik Lucas rose to speak and, implying he had made a go for the brass rings himself, said it was “apparent over the last few hours that I do not have the necessary votes to become the next council president.”

With that, Lucas nominated Oliver for president. But he also gave a to-do list, things he would have focused on if he did have enough votes to become president, including a new winter overnight parking policy, a City Charter update to give the council more budgetary authority and regular meetings with the city’s state legislators.

It’s unclear how many votes he thought he had compared with Oliver and Kalis.

“I do hope the next council president can lead this esteemed body of 24 members be a role model and a pillar in the community and effectively run our meetings in a more efficient way,” Lucas said.

After the nominations were complete and the candidates gave their speeches asking for their colleagues’ votes, Ward 6 At-large Councilor-elect Sean Roche rose to speak, and he brought up Ward 4 At-large City Council candidate John Chaimanis’s 2024 comments on Facebook about transgender student athletes and locker rooms, comments Chaimanis addressed during the election season this fall before losing the election.

Chaimanis was not in the room Thursday night, but Oliver had endorsed him in the campaign.

“The voters were very clear that that was the factor in the race, and I think that we need to listen to what the voters have said, and I think it would be a mistake to elevate to the presidency one of that candidate’s earliest and strongest defenders,” Roche said.

While Roche was speaking, Ward 4 City Councilor Randy Block stood up, visibly perturbed, and headed for the door. After someone reminded him they still had to vote, he said he would be back for the vote.

“I’m just not going to listen to this drivel,” Block said as he left.

Others stuck around to make their displeasure known.

“I am stunningly disappointed with the statement that I just heard,” Ward 8 Councilor Stephen Farrell said, adding that Chaimanis’s comments were not understood clearly.

Ward 3 Councilor Julia Malakie came to Chaimanis’s defense, too, and said the onslaught of outrage over the Facebook comments was a form of “bullying.”

“I also supported the candidate you’re referring to, and I don’t regret it,” she said. “I think he would have been a great city councilor, and I think what happened to him was absolutely—that was bullying.”

But Councilor-elect Cyrus Dahmubed, Chaimainis’s election opponent and soon to be the only openly LGBTQ member of the Council, pushed back on that and said the issue of transgender rights mattered during the campaign and matters even more now because the Trump administration is inflicting pain on the LGBTQ community.

“There are families that are scared, that are hurting, there are families are considering leaving their homes, moving across the world, leaving this country,” Dahmubed said before urging his new colleagues to vote for Kalis.

To be clear: John Oliver has not publicly expressed any transphobic, homophobic or otherwise bigoted views. And he has said he did not agree with Chaimanis’s comments regarding transgender student athletes.

If Thursday’s raucous caucus was a glimpse into the next term, Oliver may be right about needing some help.