It's Up To You: Make Paul Brodeur Our Next Mayor

The next four years will be transformative years for Melrose. In this small window of time, many plans and projects will need action and public involvement. Paul Brodeur is acutely aware of the challenges we face and the need to attack these issues head on. We know that our Public Safety Buildings need to be addressed, we know we have aging infrastructure, we have rising school enrollments, a litany of development projects and a need to focus on pedestrian safety on our streets. There is so much that lies ahead in these next four years that we need the knowledge and ability to execute that Paul will bring to the Mayor’s office.

I first met Paul in 2009 and we quickly became friends. I remember him telling me that it is important to always have good people around you and to build on it, because in a sense, that is what your community becomes: the people you surround yourself with. Paul’s first instinct is to help and to lend his expertise whenever called upon. If you have ever sat with him in a meeting, you quickly learn that, while he is witty and charismatic, he is incredibly well prepared and not faint at pushing back. He is a commanding presence that that asks as much from those that surround him than he does in himself. Paul leads, not as a dominant figure, but as someone who understands a contemplative process and the need for pragmatic solutions to get us over the finish line.

For the better part of the past two years, me and thousands of other Melrosians worked their tails off to improve this community and fight for the needed and necessary funding to our City and Schools. We were victorious and it took A LOT of time, advocacy and energy. Paul was entrenched in this effort. Paul could have used his status as a State Representative to stay on the sidelines or been a ceremonial supporter of the effort. Instead, he donated time, money and a whole lot of shoe leather to work - just like many of us did - and pass the override. We all deserve to have a Mayor that aligns with those values. The values that invest in our community. The values that fight to help for better instruction for our children with special needs. The values of providing enhanced services for our populations that are often marginalized or forgotten about. The values of a sustainably minded community. The values of inclusion.

I said earlier that Paul needs to be our next Mayor. And, quite frankly, he should be. But there is only one way to become Mayor: You have to get the most votes on November 5, 2019. We cannot sit here and say “It’s a sure bet.” No, no no. That is exactly what Paul’s opponent is counting on. We cannot be complacent and just assume Paul wins. Once again, we need to work! If you are tired, or if your candidate didn’t win on September 17th, or if you are just taking a break, I am begging you to get fired up and ready to go! We have three weeks to go to work to make Paul our Mayor so we have a Mayor that has been in this fight with us every step of the way. None of us want to wake up on November 6th and see everything we have worked for, all of our efforts, all of our time, fall to his opponent.

We have three weeks folks. Three weeks. That means speak up and step outside and Get. Out. The. Vote. I know what I am doing this weekend and every opportunity I have for the next 21 days and that is doing all I can to get Paul elected as our next Mayor. Every conversation and interaction helps. We need to make this victory a resounding one. Paul’s victory needs to be a large mandate that mirrors our values. We have worked so hard for this. We cannot let it slip away. Paul is the one who will best represent us and he will make Melrose better than we find it today, I promise you that.

Go out and reward yourself for all of your hard work and do so by voting for Paul Broduer for Mayor on November 5th! I know I will be.