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One Melrose Trouble

Uncertainty and anxiety is increasing as the Government Shutdown continues with no end in sight. The Stock Market fluctuations, political shenanigans and the manipulation of facts and data by local and national politicians is very worrying for One Melrose. One of their leaders admitted that there is trouble ahead and little hope that the Override will pass. Taxes (which have already skyrocketed) are due in a few weeks and writing that check will cement the NO Vote.

Re: One Melrose Trouble


One Melrose is in deeper trouble than just $ anxiety. Co-Chair of SPEd Advisory group and someone who declared that she is “working hard for the Override” just spoke during Public Comment at the Affordable Housing Meeting happening now....the lady does not want to “invite more people in”..lucky she can afford to live here but wants to close others out.....she is an example of the narcissist 30 somethings that only care about the schools and their own needs....not very “One Melrose” of you sweetheart...you just secured another NO VOTE!

Re: One Melrose Trouble

" Taxes (which have already skyrocketed) are due in a few weeks and writing that check will cement the NO Vote."

That may well be so. I drew a sharp breath when I opened my bill; it was up almost 13% over last year (which was up over 11% the prior year), as compared to the "average" increase of 2.8% each year. My home is a modest ~1000 sf apt that is over 100 yrs old, never gutted and redone. That says to me that it's the more modest homes in the city that are experiencing accelerated valuations* - but you can't eat unrealized appreciation (or at least you should not; this is precisely the wrong time in the cycle to seek a second equity loan, as it were), and those increases are against flat salary. My property taxes have increased over 120% in 14 years in absolute terms, over 75% in inflation adjusted terms.

And mind you the 2 yr lag means people will continue to experience this as a lag into an eventually busting real estate market - which as someone in the assessor's office explained to me over a decade ago, tends to fall harder on the cheaper half of the real estate market.

So I can imagine the less wealthy half of Melrose homeowners may be less likely to approve an override with the new tax bills they've received.

For me, it's not about that but the cancer of insiderism of Melrose's city government culture, the only cure for which is to deny it the cheap (to them) carbs of overrides.

Re: One Melrose Trouble

S. Cedar Park Lady

One Melrose is in deeper trouble than just $ anxiety. Co-Chair of SPEd Advisory group and someone who declared that she is “working hard for the Override” just spoke during Public Comment at the Affordable Housing Meeting happening now....the lady does not want to “invite more people in”..lucky she can afford to live here but wants to close others out.....she is an example of the narcissist 30 somethings that only care about the schools and their own needs....not very “One Melrose” of you sweetheart...you just secured another NO VOTE!


So, an advocate for ONE MELROSE wants to close the borders to people seeking affordable housing. She doesn’t want any more “emotionally and socially challenged” children migrating to our schools. If you aren’t rich then you should stay out of Melrose, you aren’t welcome here. Don’t invite anyone else to live in Melrose who may need help (costs could either be Special Education Services or a housing break opportunity offered in an Affordable Housing Lottery). Her assumption is that people with children who need Affordable Housing have kids with emotional and social problems. People of color and transients need not apply! One Melrose? One Community Open to All? Sounds good in theory but not practiced by most.

Re: One Melrose Trouble

"How does rejecting another override cure that cancer?"

Rejecting the last override certainly encouraged Dolan to consider moving on. Though I would hardly call him out yet. I will wait out his minions before approving an override, not throw more money at them.

I am open to project-specific debt exclusions for construction for police/fire buildings, timed to roll in with the winding down of the last debt exclusion.

Re: One Melrose Trouble


Let’s see how Illegitimate and Inarticulate GI spells things out during the “State of The City” speech tonight! UGH!

Re: One Melrose Trouble

Dolan was openly petulant after the failure of his misbegotten override proposal. And not just for a night or a week. He behaved like a man who had seen the handwriting on the wall, that he was not going to get to preside over what he wanted, and would seek an exit when an opportunity could be found.

It may be there were other disagreeable personal issues, which others on this board have alluded to but I have no basis to confirm or reinforce, at play here, but in my experiences Dolan behaved like someone who got too big for his breeches and didn't like being told No.

The likely insincerity of your response can be flagged by your attempt to make that a 3-year interval. As you should know, it was effectively a less than 2 year process from override failure to seeking the Lynnfield position.

Re: One Melrose Trouble

Dolan left because he got a $75,000 raise and a $60,000 a year pension bump for the rest of his life...assuming he doesn't take the next step up the town manager ladder and wind up in a larger town making twice what he is now.

Re: One Melrose Trouble

It doesn't matter a whit why he left. The important thing is that he's gone - until he surfaced again to shill for this override. Hopefully no one will listen to him, just as no one listened the last time, finally. The man is the chief architect of the mess we find ourselves in now. Also hopefully the rest of the carpetbagging elitists like Hammar and McAndrew will get the hint this time and disappear as well.

To those who continue to try to reason with the poster called Come On, Man - don't bother. Respond to him/her with a no vote. I'm sick of his "no collusion" type rhetoric. Just ignore him/her.

Re: One Melrose Trouble

In Conclusion
It doesn't matter a whit why he left. The important thing is that he's gone - until he surfaced again to shill for this override. Hopefully no one will listen to him, just as no one listened the last time, finally. The man is the chief architect of the mess we find ourselves in now. Also hopefully the rest of the carpetbagging elitists like Hammar and McAndrew will get the hint this time and disappear as well.

To those who continue to try to reason with the poster called Come On, Man - don't bother. Respond to him/her with a no vote. I'm sick of his "no collusion" type rhetoric. Just ignore him/her.
The Yes people are so Trumpian in their methods and psychology. It's really quite ironic. RD indeed sought another post once the last override boondoggle failed. The extra bucks were not the primary motivation, and the current position he now holds has no where near the power he once had and still longs to abuse. Wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him put his hat back in the mayoral toilet ring (safely beyond the override election). He misses the power, hence his continued involvement.

Speaking of carpetbaggers, don't leave out Dugan (former SC, now leading the charge just as offensively now (she was for the last one, too) for the One Melrose Klan).

It's not at all surprising that the fanatics leading One M are showing true colors when it comes to wanting no additional Affordable Housing "types" moving in, displaying the thinly veiled bigotry that many of the hypocrites in that group embody (while they carry banners for the Walk and smile unctuously in the International dinners).

Re: One Melrose Trouble

In Conclusion
It doesn't matter a whit why he left. The important thing is that he's gone - until he surfaced again to shill for this override. Hopefully no one will listen to him, just as no one listened the last time, finally. The man is the chief architect of the mess we find ourselves in now. Also hopefully the rest of the carpetbagging elitists like Hammar and McAndrew will get the hint this time and disappear as well.

To those who continue to try to reason with the poster called Come On, Man - don't bother. Respond to him/her with a no vote. I'm sick of his "no collusion" type rhetoric. Just ignore him/her.
I honestly don't know. Did Dolan move to Lynnfield, or does he still live in Melrose?

If he lives in Lynnfield and came here supporting the override, then that's inappropriate. If he still lives in Melrose, however, then he has every right to to be out there supporting the override in the town he lives in. Same as any other citizen.

Re: One Melrose Trouble

Pretty sure he still lists his address as in Melrose, but that may be change if allegations about his personal behavior prove to be true. He may already be out for all I know. If my spouse did what he's alleged to have done, she'd be out the door immediately. There are lines I will not accept being crossed.

In any case, do you think he'd have been shilling for this override if his kid or kids had not been rejected for admission to Mystic Valley? Dolan does for Dolan. Always has. Always will. He really is disgusting, both publicly and, if the allegations are proven true, personally.

Re: One Melrose Trouble

In Conclusion
Pretty sure he still lists his address as in Melrose, but that may be change if allegations about his personal behavior prove to be true. He may already be out for all I know. If my spouse did what he's alleged to have done, she'd be out the door immediately. There are lines I will not accept being crossed.

In any case, do you think he'd have been shilling for this override if his kid or kids had not been rejected for admission to Mystic Valley? Dolan does for Dolan. Always has. Always will. He really is disgusting, both publicly and, if the allegations are proven true, personally.
So he still lives here, and therefore has the same right to support the override as any other citizen. Throw all the unproven accusations and conspiracy theories around you want, as come on man said.

Yes, I think if his children hadn't been rejected from mystic Valley that he would still be publicly supporting the override. You know, given his support for past overrides...

Re: One Melrose Trouble

Curious about the personal conduct allegations? Did he have an affair? Very ugly but some people do.

I understand what the poster might be getting at about insiders and the override. These insiders feel entitled to tell the rest of the city what to do. In terms of city jobs they obviously benefit the most while asking the taxpayers to further subsidize their windfalls.

The hypocrisy of the SPEd woman is not surprising. That is how those phonies are. They just don't usually say it publicly. Those wealthy types are down at the school making sure their children are getting the full range of services.