Malden Candidates On City's Biggest Issue

MALDEN, MA — There is less than a week until Malden's municipal election, which will have contested races for mayor, councilor-at-large and city council and school committee in some wards. Malden Patch has been asking incumbents and challengers in contested races about the issues Malden faces.

We asked each candidate what they believe to be the single most pressing issue and published their unedited responses below. Of course, city council candidates and school committee candidates will likely have different priorities.

Incumbents are marked with an asterisk (*). Clicking on a candidate's name will take you to their previously published candidate profile on Malden Patch, where you can read more about their candidacy.

Candidates not listed have not yet submitted responses to our Patch questionnaire.

City Councilor-at-Large

Stephen Winslow: The issue I hear most frequently from voters is about the future of trash and recycling pick-up in Malden. The program the City has had for the last 10 years must be updated now that China has substantially decreased the amount of recycling that it takes. I hear from many residents who would like to see barrels to help reduce litter from bags that ripped open by animals or blown out of recycling bins. I also hear from others who would have great difficultly moving barrels up and down flights of stairs. I plan to work with my fellow Councillors and the Mayor's Office towards a solution that favors barrels while allowing residents who have no place to store a barrel to request to be provide stickers instead.

City Council

Ward 3

Amanda Linehan: The affordability of our community is by far the most pressing issue our next Councillor will face. Malden is growing and changing, and we need to act now if we want to make sure nobody gets left out in the cold. I've personally knocked over 2,500 doors since March, and many of the people I've met fear they'll be forced out of Malden by the rising housing costs. They want a City Councillor who will listen and take action. Whether they are renters facing eviction, seniors looking to downsize, or recent college grads and first-time buyers locked out of the market, they want a real change. Having spent my career creating and preserving homes for working people, I have topical policy knowledge and over a decade of experience working across every level of government to effect real change. My first step as City Councillor will be to propose a package of housing tools that a) requires developers to build units working people can afford, not more luxury housing; b) creates an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which will allow the city to acquire vacant, abandoned or neglected properties and turn them into home ownership opportunities; c) helps seniors stay in their homes via property tax abatement and water bill discounts; and d) rewards small, local landlords for offering rents that middle-income households can afford via tax incentives. I also propose that we audit our residential tax exemption program to make sure it's only benefiting Malden residents living in their primary residence, and that we create a sensible and practical Airbnb ordinance. Malden is a desirable community where businesses and residents alike want to invest. We need to work together to make sure all future development brings community benefits and helps us build a strong city for future generations.

Julianne Orsino: The most common concern discussed by residents is moving forward with a solution for the Malden Hospital site. For the past 5 years, I have organized resident meetings with decision-makers to make sure a large apartment complex was not developed at the site. As the Ward 3 City Councillor, I will continue to represent the will of the people and work with decision-makers to implement the long standing community vision of open space accessible to all with a component of affordable housing for senior/veterans. The community has clearly indicated there is no appetite for a large, at-market rate apartment complex at this location. With the recent communication from Hallmark Health, there appears to be an opportunity for Hallmark, leaders and the community to work toward a viable solution.

School Committee

Ward 6

Joseph Gray: "Budget constraints," Fight to preserve critical services/programs/staff for the children.

Ward 7

Keith Bernard: The biggest issue I see is that Malden is the fifth most diverse community in Massachusetts and yet we don't honor that diversity in our teaching staff. Studies show that students with teachers from diverse backgrounds have better outcomes, insuring that they continue into higher education. I want to make sure we encourage our students by working with the administration to hire and retain teachers and staff who are diverse and representative of the community they serve. I also want to make sure our curriculum honors those communities as well. Additionally, I want to make sure we are communicating with all of our families, and extending our translations of communications so no one feels left out.

Michelle Luong: The single most pressing issue aside from Teacher & Staff Diversity is Educational Equality. We have 5 K-8 schools that do not offer the same programs for all students; gifted programs, special needs, English Language Learning, smaller classrooms, free after school programs, natures classroom etc. are not offered in all our schools. I will work hard to advocate that 5 schools have the same offering, this is not a nice to have but, a necessity. My goal is making sure any plans that are put in place have timelines, goals and deadlines for implementation across all 5 schools. These plans must make sense, my expectation is to see written plans that can be executed with the most favorable results, in a timely manner. When we work together with Communication, Accountability and Transparency our students are the ones that benefit the most.

Ward 8

Rachael Running: Lack of teacher diversity. There is no quick path to a more diverse teaching staff that better reflects our diverse student body; but I'm committed to working on this problem in new and meaningful ways. We need to address systemic problems in our hiring, training and retention models to reach our community goal of a diverse teaching staff - this is a goal that is incredibly important to our students and families and must be addressed.