This just boggles my mind. Are you kidding me?
Weekly News -
"O’Connell, Incumbent Driscoll Jump Into SC Election Fray
With the September 11 deadline approaching to obtain nomination papers for seats up for election November 3, recent political action revolved around Melrose’s educational system.
There are three four-year positions up for reelection on the School Committee. Margaret ER Driscoll of Boston Rock Road is the first incumbent to take out nomination papers for reelection, doing so August 12. She joins Tappan Street’s Jaime McAllister-Grande, Lizbeth DeSelm of South High Street and Edward J. O’Connell of Cleveland Street at this point in the school board race. O’Connell took out nomination papers August 24, McAllister-Grande pulled papers May 26 and DeSelm took out papers July 2."
From the frying pan to the fire. What a great idea - let's give a convicted thief a say in the control of a multi-million dollar budget. Every passing day brings us closer and closer to being Everett or Chelsea.
Eddie looks pretty good next to the lineup of those suck-up women, one of whom has already proven to be disastrous and the other three look to be right up her alley. Starting with MERD, she should be asked to resign prior to the end of this term, not pulling papers for reelection, based on her complicity in bad deeds and many years of truly outrageously bad conduct that has cost the district untold tens of thousands in legal bills to defend. She was the chair of the committee when it/she received condemnation for having violated the OML among other things, then chair of the superintendent search committee--more OML violations--(quite obvious how that one has turned out), was the chair of policy & planning and gutted the many years of thoughtful work that had gone into the district policies, and took over chair of finance this past year to craft that mess of a budget and boondoggle of an override. She's so up the butt of the super that she really actually should hold the title. Her drippy gushy treacle about the wonderfulness of everything MelroseSchools is laced with the nastiness and contempt that really define the woman.
Can't even get into the probable awfulness of the other new candidates based on their alliances and behavior to date.
By comparison the convict doesn't look so bad. He is bad, but at least he's intelligent.
Melrose is SO messed up!
If Ed runs, let's see if I can get a couple sex offenders to run, that will round out the ballot nicely!
MERD(e) indeed!
"POLITICS IS THE LAST REFUGE FOR SCOUNDRELS" George Berbard Shaw
Just what we need, another disgraceful attorney giving bad legal advice to the school committee.
I'd vote for Ed, no problem. At least he will stand up for what's right and not be a puppet for the Mayor and the Supt. like all the others other than CKK.
If you think Ed isn't a puppet, you are sorely mistaken. He is chomping at the bit for public validation and thinks he can get his law license back eventually. He is bought and sold by the local dems. RD has even talked about having him as a city solicitor (because obviously RD has such expert judgment in his choice of city solicitors!).
This candidate pretends at bucking the system, and in fact he is quite content to violate protocol and even rules/policies/laws (obviously, as his felony convictions indicate most perfectly!). He got the mhs pto in trouble more than once by independently setting things in motion without getting proper permissions or even caring to make sure he had the pto backing. He "committed" to things and then repeatedly didn't follow through, leaving the heavy or involved work for others. He will happily schmooze and talk the talk, but is totally unreliable for the things that matter, the heavy lifting.
Sure, he's intelligent, as all effective con-artists are. He's even likable in a creepy sort of way if you can get around the fact that he's looking in a mirror when he talks to you, trying to see how you fit into his scheme and how he can charm you into doing his bidding and getting him what he wants. He's probably perfect for this Melrose School Committee. The marionnettes dance will be lots more interesting with this one on the board (not with those other two boring sycophant puppets also running), but don't think for a minute that the best interests of the students will even enter into the picture. It'll be just that much sicker and stranger, and the downwards spiral will bore deeper and deeper into the awfulness that now characterizes the school system. Get ready to pay lots more for this mess!
Is this really the best that Melrose can do?????
A convicted felon and disbarred lawyer standing up for what is "RIGHT"?
Ask the elderly folks whose $ he stole and never paid back.....He is also close to RD.....
"Is this really the best that Melrose can do?????"
With only a few more days before nomination papers have to be signed and turned in, and only these pathetic SC candidates, apparently this is the extent of Melrose's commitment to improving the schools. Bad enough that no one has the courage or care to run against RD. But with all the busybody pretend-caring parents in Melrose, it is a ridiculously lousy reflection on this community that no one good will step up to be on the school board now. It's understandable that no one good would want to sit in a room with the awful bunch currently serving, but there's only one way to change that. Other communities have lots of candidates. Melrose is pathetic.
Parents who will not stand up for the schools and sort out the mess....(including running for SC) should not expect the rest of us to pay extra taxes by supporting the Override.....the stock market will affect the RE values soon....401K accounts are already way down....the newbies who have moved to Melrose and overpaid for their properties may soon be underwater on their mortgages....vote NO!