I will be voting for Monica if she runs for Mayor.
I will be writing her name in even if she decides not to run.
Thank you, Monica!
Yes, Monica Medeiros deserves our thanks!
Melrose Dems truly do behave like Trumpites, sadly. It's ironic that the only public official calling for opening the books and telling the truth is Monica, who of course is being treated in the most vile manner by all the "fair" dems in town. (Granted, MM would help herself by repudiating a vile party of Trump, but to give her credit, none of her conduct as a city official has been in the least bit partisan, and all of her focus is for what's best for the community regardless of party.)
Totally grateful for Alderman Medeiros' consistent dedicated service with integrity!
There's no more perfect irony than MikeF's opinion piece today (Free Press), speaking of fake dems:
"It’s never a politically popular idea to raise taxes, yet our local officials are nearly unanimous in their support of this override, because I believe that they understand the reality and severity of the city’s fiscal woes through firsthand knowledge acquired by attending innumerable meetings and making difficult decisions.
There is no doubt that for homeowners with limited or fixed income, this override is an extraordinary burden to bear, and for most of us, it will be a significant additional expense. The alternative, however, is potentially much worse: a noticeable decline in city services over time and an inevitable negative impact on property values.
Proposition 2 1/2 was intended to give voters control of their fiscal destiny, and ultimately control of their quality of community life. The time has come to make that choice. Please vote in favor of the override as if our future depends on it, because it really does."
MF states that officials "understand the reality and severity of the city’s fiscal woes through firsthand knowledge acquired by attending innumerable meetings," which would be laughable if it weren't so pathetic. Just because they attend and/or organize the insufferable, pre-scripted, bagjob meetings does NOT mean they make well-considered, responsible decisions.
Consultants are hired (at great expense to the taxpayer) to "prove" the points the officials want the public to buy (like the water and sewer rate structure)--oh and that consultant was hired by a Republican (Don Conn), so this criticism cuts both ways. The information handed out (electronically) predictably is of low quality, typically in unsearchable (illegal) .pdfs taken from low-quality accounting and even lower quality (incompetent) "management" practices.
When even elected officials (MM or CKK) have to resort to going to the state Public Records Office and Attorney General's Office to get the local officials to abide by the most basic laws, there is no reason to trust the validity of any "data" being pushed by these same officials. When Della Russo snottily retorts to a dignified and fully valid request for information regarding long-term budget forecasting from Alderman Medeiros that “We don’t make predictions. This is not a magic show....” that should make it patently clear that facts don't matter. However, smearing the opposition does (especially when, as the city CFO, you know you don't have the data and never even did your job to create it, and if it existed, it would prove you dead wrong, so your only hope is to deflect and smear when asked for it!). When PDR similarly resorted to calling Ms. Medeiros "ignorant" (again in request for actual facts, which of course he would not produce--with the wholehearted bystander bullying of the rest of the BOA), again, the City made its case AGAINST facts and FOR vile smears instead.
And oh, by the way, why would any thinking person give a shred of credibility to MF given his well-known past (Perkins School, Sal DiMasi...on and on)? Having witnessed first-hand his "hands-on" approach, he is truly despicable! Where are the MeToo protesters in Melrose?
I was captivated by the stark contrast between two opinion letters that showed up in the Melrose news media this week from two of our Alderman at Large: Monica Medeiros and Kate Lipper Garabedian.
Medeiros has served as a Melrose Alderman since 2007, has run in several statewide elections for State Representative and State Senate, been on the Board of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, chaired the Melrose Republican Committee and is currently the President of the Massachusetts Municipal Councilors Association. A seasoned politician no doubt.
Lipper-Garabedian, on the other hand, moved to Melrose recently and was first elected to the Board of Alderman in 2018, the only political position she has ever held.
Medeiros claims that her view of the City of Melrose finances has been obstructed and our finances mismanaged…even though she has voted in favor of every budget put forward by the Mayor's office since she has been in office (2007). As a member of the Appropriations Committee she is part of the decision-making process. How can she possibly claim poor fiscal management and an obstructed view of City and School finances when she has sat in the front row for 12+ years and voted yes on every budget?
Interestingly, all the data Medeiros claims she doesn't have access to is written plain as day in Lipper-Garabedian' s opinion piece supporting of the override. There are direct links to the data right in her statement, which cites compelling facts and figures arrived at by "pouring through annual budget documents, the Visual Budget website, the State's school and municipal finance materials and a real effort to communicate with various employees involved in the fiscal accounting for both the schools and the municipality at large." At a critical moment for the City of Melrose Lipper - Garabedian did the work she was elected to do.
Facts and figures versus rhetoric and vagaries. Same position, same seat at the table. If Medeiros has an obstructed view she either doesn't understand fiscal finance (shocking given her political experience), has been too distracted running for other offices, or maybe she just isn't paying attention Monday nights before her annual "yes" vote on the budget gets registered.
Alderman Medeiros' letter struck me as a "Kick Off" letter for her next political campaign. An appeal to a very cynical base…not an analytical look at Melrose's fiscal picture and its future needs…which is what her current position requires of her.
The data is crystal clear for any individual interested or capable of understanding it. Our community needs the override. Vote YES!
It's possible McLaughlin actually believes the crap he wrote, but he's always acted as a shill for the city regardless of the truth. He quotes Lipper-Garabedian's rhetoric of "pouring through" documents as if it means something. There are no facts in her article. Only rhetoric, and he tries to support it.
Medeiros has always called out at budget meetings that the most important information isn't on the table. It's always fun when she asks Dello Russo questions about information he misrepresented because you get to watch him on TV squirm while giving his slippery responses. When he's really in trouble he goes into his self-righteous indignation.
Although I wish Medeiros would vote against the budgets, I don't fault her for voting for them, while holding her nose. She tries to make the City more responsible, but can't do it alone. By voting for it, she agrees to keep the city going another year. Perhaps she hopes things can change. It seems they never will.
McGl is totally full of it. This string was about Medeiros, though, and included Festa's thing, too. Where is MCGl's piece (full of excrement though it is)? Perhaps it should be listed, along with your correct response, in another new string.