Re: Who are you voting for on September 17th? My one vote is going to ???????
Monica Medeiros is the only mature, fair-minded voice among the mayoral candidates. The rest all play politics, constantly. Though Alderman Medeiros has an R next to her name, she has never approached local governance as a partisan matter and in fact has always represented what she believes to be in the best interests of all Melrose residents. Though my family would never vote for a Republican under normal circumstances, things in Melrose are topsy-turvy and inside-out, where the Dem politicians in fact behave like the Trumpians and vice versa. (We were sad to see the departure of Don Conn and already regret the loss of Scott Forbes for similar reasons; they were and are fair-minded, common-sense representatives with integrity and genuine caring for their community, unlike the "raise the finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing" game-playing, fact-averse pols that are the norm for the local Dem party.)
Sure, taking one issue from the recent "forum," it is trendy to say that Melrose needs more liquor options (but don't suggest package stores because those are "so Malden"). Medeiros gave a thoughtful answer when asked about this--that she would need to open up the matter for the community, not just an imperious mayor, to decide; this is an excellent answer and completely in opposition to all the rest eager to capture the "let's have brew pubs in Melrose" crowd. (Note: I'm not opposed to brew pubs or craft beer in Melrose!) We should all appreciate Ms. Medeiros' well-considered respect for the general good of the community, and her wisely restrained view of executive power.
The Melrose Dems, on the other side, were gung-ho about their former and present chief executive, and have conveniently overlooked, and in fact cheered many years of chronic abuse and consolidation of power, even when it was obvious that the executive branch was clearly in error, and in fact out of control. Dolan's sycophantic approval of and yielding to Taymore re OCR (and so many other serious matters) and Infurna's heinous conduct regarding the Brazil Street disaster are two of the most striking examples where the Dem Machine (now metastasized into OneMelrose) should be deeply mortified. Instead, the OneMachine displays only the crassest arrogance (except for the occasional flares of pretend conscience by MZ or the simpering "unfortunate" characterizations of MB, and the total lack of any conscience for failed conduct by JLB and her former beloved boss, GI).
Monica Medeiros has proven herself to be trustworthy over many years of service to Melrose. The rest are all lightweight, fickle politicians who have proven that they absolutely cannot be trusted. She's not afraid to tackle the hard issues or speak unpopular truths. She's tough but a kind and honest public servant who has earned our trust and respect.