Medeiros asks for your vote for Mayor

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE VOTERS OF MELROSE:

My name is Monica Medeiros, and I am asking for your vote for Mayor.

As a local elected official in Melrose for nearly 14 years, as a City Councilor and former School Committee member, I have worked hard to keep Melrose affordable and to improve the quality of life for our residents.

I am invested in our success. That Melrose is such a desirable community is no accident. Many people have been working hard at the local level for years to make Melrose what it is today. I am one of those people, and I want a chance to keep doing that.

The Melrose I envision ten years from now expands upon our success by using creative thinking and out-of-the box ideas to take us to the next level.

Melrose deserves strong financial management. I will help us avoid wasteful spending and reach our community goals by auditing our books, using financial forecasting to plan for the future, and by presenting a budget everyone can understand.

I will begin, Day One, to build a five-year strategic financial plan for Melrose. Having a strong financial plan in place will set us on the path to meet our needs for education, for public safety, to fix our roads and address our aging water & sewer infrastructure.

I will always be looking to find ways for us to be more efficient. Keeping Melrose affordable means looking for ways to creatively find cost savings. For example, we could better leverage our proximity to the hospital and surrounding colleges and universities to seek partnerships to provide support systems in our community and in our schools. As Mayor, I hope to build a vibrant volunteer and intern program to help build tomorrow’s leaders.

I will push for accountability in our school system to ensure resources are focused on the classroom, and supporting programs that foster creativity and problem solving skills to give our students what they need to succeed.

I want to see us be a leader in Community Engagement by opening up city government to make it accessible to all, not just the politically connected. Decisions about whether to eliminate the overnight parking ban or whether to expand our liquor licenses to include package stores selling hard liquor should not be rushed through. They should include a broad community discussion with proper notice and ample time for feedback from all points of view to be considered.

As Mayor, I will create a “Civic Engagement Committee” to explore ways we can improve access to services and information, and to ensure all populations are treated fairly and equally. In my experience, taking a neighborhood approach to government by involving stakeholders in the decision making process yields the best results.

As a City Councilor, I have been a fierce advocate for accountability and transparency, consistently calling for a more open government. As your mayor, I would be able to put this into action. At the heart of what I hope to provide is a budget that is grounded in sound fiscal management and that is clear, transparent and easy to understand. My administration would provide our taxpayers with clear financial detail of how their money is being spent and open the doors to let more voices be heard.

I have the best experience to put this vision into action. Not just from my experience in city government, but also with my experience on the state level.

Governor Baker has appointed me to his Advisory Commission on Local Government. I have been elected three times as President of the Mass Municipal Councillors’ Association. I serve on the Executive Board of the Mass Municipal Association and on its policy committee on Personnel and Labor Relations.

In these roles, I interact with municipal leaders – mayors, town managers, councilors and selectmen from all across the state. We share ideas and create best practices. I, uniquely, can bring this knowledge and this network to Melrose to help us to grow and to thrive.

I want to change the way we do business at City Hall to open the doors to a friendlier, more inclusive, more forward thinking and fiscally responsible Melrose.

On November 5th, I ask you to vote for me, Monica Medeiros, for Mayor.

Visit www.VoteMonica.com or follow me on Facebook at "Monica Medeiros for Melrose" and Twitter @VoteMonica to learn more or get involved.

Sincerely,

Monica Medeiros

Candidate for Mayor