Melrose's Lemmerman Is Ready For 2019 Challenges

Jen Lemmerman has chosen some kind of year to take such a leadership role.

Assuming things go smoothly - which isn't always the case - the Ward 2 Alderman will become President of the Board of Aldermen in January. That means she'll head a Board dealing with issues sure to register on Melrose's Richter scale in 2019.

The most impactful issue will be the lead-up and aftermath of the Proposition 2 1/2 override ballot question in April's special election. The city will also be overseeing the rollout of the first recreational marijuana retailers in a city that doesn't even allow you to buy a bottle of rum.

Lemmerman will also be working as the bridge between the Board and multiple mayors. (Mayor Gail Infurna has already announced she will not run for reelection in the fall.)

But Lemmerman, in her sixth year on the Board, is ready for what she said would be a challenging year. And her immediate focus is on the city's fiscal health.

"Hands down right now the most important thing for the city is for us to deal with our budget problem," Lemmerman told Patch. "I've now voted on five budgets. I've seen then get leaner. I've seen them get more creative."

Lemmerman, who voted in favor of the last override (before her toddler was around,) said she will be voting in favor of the one in April.

"I'm nervous about what a budget would look like if we don't do something drastic to stop that cycle of finding ways to make ourselves work within the numbers," Lemmerman said.

If the $5.18 million override doesn't pass, Lemmerman said she'll be up to tackle whatever comes next.

"I think it's just important that whatever what we end up with, no matter how it plays out, that we do what we've always done, which is take the situation in front of us and do what's best for the city," she said. "I want to be a part of that. That's why I became an alderman. This was just a leadership opportunity."

Being the President of the Board means Lemmerman will assign committee chairs and lead Board meetings, the latter of which she should be familiar with since she currently chairs the Appropriations Committee, a committee of the whole. It also means she would step in for the mayor when the mayor is out or incapacitated. More unofficially, Lemmerman would act as the liaison between the mayor and the Board.

Lemmerman, who in her day job is a macro social worker dealing with healthcare access at a Boston nonprofit, is entering her sixth year on the Board.

"There are days when I still feel like I'm completely new because there is so much that goes into it," she said. "But I do bring five years experience to the role; I've voted on five budgets, had the perspective of seeing evolution of those budgets over time. I think I bring some of that historical knowledge."

One of her first major accomplishments was helping create the city's Women's Commission.

"Long after I'm gone from the Board, there will be this body in the community," she said. "And that's something I'm really proud of."

One subject that continues to be on her mind, though not her short-term agenda, is pushing the Board toward a more gender-neutral City Council title. She has in the past sponsored such an order, which would have brought Melrose in line with dozens of other communities.

"I absolutely continue to support it," Lemmerman said. "I think it's overdue. I think it's a common sense change."

That might bubble up again some time down the road. For now, it's one very big step at a time.

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Courtesy photo