2019 Override Campaign: Letter

The 2019 Override Campaign was a tale of two different organizations. The Yes Campaign was well funded (it had $21,544.00 as early as December 31, 2018 according to the Melrose Campaign Finance Reports website and in my opinion most likely spent at least another $10,000.00 over the past 3 months), had the support of 9 out of 11 alderman, the state representative, the state senator, the mayor and many past elected officials, together with the entire educational infrastructure pitted against the No Campaign which relied upon a band of citizens with a fraction of the financial contributions the Yes Campaign received, one alderman publicly supported the campaign and with no other support from any of the major social or political institutions in the city.

The final vote was 55% in favor of the override and 45% against the override. If you were to step back and be a neutral observer, it’s remarkable that the No Campaign was able to garner a little less than half of the voters who turned out for the election to its position. Every major public event run by the city or the school system was a roving pep rally for the Yes Campaign with no chance for an opposing point of view to be expressed let alone even heard by the voters.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the individuals who worked so hard on the No Campaign, donating their time, skills and enthusiasm. You should know that your efforts were not truly in vain. Taking a stand for something you believe in, even if you don’t ultimately prevail is never a waste of time. This is what we teach our children.

To the Melrose One Group and Yes Campaign, I reluctantly tip my hat to a well run and thorough campaign from start to finish. You started early and never let up. In the final analysis the Yes Campaign has to be respected for their success. I also sincerely hope the political leaders of our city will, as a result of this election, have heard the concerns of the No voters and make a determined effort to be more inclusive to the No voters and their point of view going forward on how the city is run.

To the 45% of Melrose voters who voted against the override, please know that as a group who opposed the override, including the Melrose Taxpayers Association, we will remain vigilant on fiscal issues and continue to advocate for all of Melrose.

Christopher J. Sullivan