Lavender Bird Uniquely Qualified for Mayor: Letter

With the final slate of candidates for the mayor’s race confirmed, I am writing to express my full support for Jackie Lavender Bird. When I found out Jackie was running for Mayor, I was thrilled. Not because I consider her a friend, but because I know she is the best person for the job. We could not ask for a more qualified, committed, and capable person to lead our city forward.

Jackie and I have hovered in each other’s orbits in Melrose for ages, but only officially met recently. In my role with Grad Night, I work closely with the Mayor’s office. When Jackie joined the leadership team at City Hall, she invited me to come in to help her understand the city’s role in Grad Night and how she could help our effort going forward. Jackie was a thoughtful listener, asked insightful questions, and wanted to gather as much information as she could. She made me feel like I was heard and that she was there for us. Running an event as big and important for students as Grad Night, it was reassuring knowing Jackie was our partner in City Hall. She made sure things went smoothly and that we had the support and organization we needed from all city departments involved.

I enjoyed working with Jackie so much, and as luck would have it, we worked together quite a bit over this last year as our community was making a decision about the override. When anyone I know had questions about the proposed override, we found Jackie at City Hall, day in and day out, listening, explaining, and empowering this community to make an informed decision. Her knowledge of this city’s budget and financial situation is amazing. She had every answer and then some, and can explain it in a way I can understand. Because of Jackie’s clarity and purpose, I believe our city found the way to a hard but critical vote to solve our financial problem. I am so grateful for Jackie’s leadership through the override and I am counting on her going forward to make sure our budget remains responsible and that questions about spending are answered and explained. This is so important. I know Jackie will make budget oversight and transparency a priority.

I share these examples of my experience with Jackie to highlight her knowledge, her commitment to bringing stakeholders together, her ability to connect with people, and her relatability. But beyond that is the intangible: Jackie Lavender Bird is the best choice for mayor because she “gets it”. Jackie gets what it’s like to grow up in Melrose, to celebrate our history, and to embrace change. She gets what it takes to be a mom here, to support our teachers, and to see room for improvement in our schools. She gets how to serve a community, as an elected alderman/city councilor, as a nonprofit director, and as part of the leadership team in City Hall. For these reasons and more, Jackie is uniquely qualified to be Mayor.

I hope you will join me and vote for Jackie Lavender Bird for Mayor in the preliminary election on September 17.

Michelle Carson
Linwood Ave