More people would run for office, if there were term limits. If many people ran for each office, they would divide/split the vote and we could get rid of the incumbent/ass kissing/political hacks.

If BOA incumbents run opposed, they do not have to answer any questions, justify their votes or answer for rolling over on command. Democracy needs to be revitalized again in Melrose. Run Baby Run !

Don C, Maureen Driscoll and Kristen Thorpe's seats are all up for re-election this year. Stuck with the Mayor for a while I'm afraid. It will take some real doing to undo the damage that rewriting the Charter has done. School committee is supposed to be independent of the rest of town government for a reason: To prevent undo political influence on educational decisions. That went out the door pretty quick. The results? The current super selection, a full blown Federal Civil Rights investigation of the school administration, floundering student results, OML violations almost every month, late summer night bonuses (40K) doled out to administration favorites with no strings attached and no deliberation(Carrie K was the only one questioned what the hell was going on) and yet another mid-summer vote on a "pool of money" for the admin team's 2015 bonuses coming in July while the MEF crowd cries over losing the kindergarten paras. Perhaps they should come off the beach in numbers to question why already handsomely paid admin staff are getting large summer bonuses every year which could easily fund the paras they are worried about losing?[:-|][:-?]

Same bunch of jacka$$es who approved the teacher's contract 3 times without ever having anything in front of them to review. The BOA should never approve any budget that the jacka$$es submit.

If new candidates run for BOA seats declaring their opposition to the Override, they will probably do well enough to unseat some of the " incumbents " who never question anything or dare to put themselves on the line. Term Limits are long overdue. We need new blood, new leadership and people who actually would be willing to question the status quo and work for compromise, accountability and transparency. Mouthpieces who sell their souls are no longer needed.

Priceless. Cowards with no b@lls are plentiful on Melrose Messages. What's lacking is actual candidates, or even a few individuals that would actually make a public statement at a school committee meeting or an alderman's meeting. Term Limits? You clowns can't get anyone to show up at a meeting, never mind run for office or publicly advocate for a charter change.

New names have been mentioned in wards where incumbents have gone unchallenged. Time will tell if anyone will actually step up and run. The chatter seems more serious now than in a very long time.The Aldermen at Large winners will be the same three who were the top vote getters the last time....Mederios, Conn and Bird. The 4th seat will be up for grabs. Zwirko, Margolis or some of the other rumored candidates who are thinking of running will win. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. We need new leadership and skill sets. Melrose is ready for people who will actually debate, question, compromise and get something done. We need political leaders who will not just follow their marching orders and "follow the party line".