Tensions Boil Over As MacMaster Blasts Mayor's Administration

MELROSE, MA — Weeks of simmering tension between Ward 5 Alderman Shawn MacMaster and Mayor Gail Infurna's administration boiled over Friday, with MacMaster saying Infurna dissuaded residents affected by the Brazil Street sewer disaster from contacting him and called him a "part-time alderman." MacMaster's claim about what the residents were told confirms what two of them told Patch.

"It doesn't surprise me," MacMaster said. "During my phone call with the Mayor and her leadership team on Wednesday morning, she expressed dissatisfaction about the level of contact that I've had with the affected residents throughout this crisis. She stressed the importance of streamlining communication, and she explained that my contact with the residents only complicates the administration's communication with them and causes overall confusion."

A member of the administration who asked not to be identified told Patch they are focused on resolving the issue on Brazil Street and did not want to get into a "war of words," but insisted MacMaster took Infurna's comments the wrong way.

Infurna said earlier Friday through a spokesperson that she did not tell the residents not to contact MacMaster, but rather to come to her office first because he was on family vacation. Infurna said her administration had been regularly updating MacMaster "to keep him in the loop."

MacMaster has been in Illinois for two weeks on a family vacation he said had been planned for six months. Residents affected by the sewage crisis tell Patch he's been their chief advocate even while out of state.

"To me, being on vacation as an alderman simply means that I am away, not unavailable," MacMaster said he told Infurna.

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Tension has been building since the sewage backup June 20. MacMaster, who lives on Brazil Street just a few homes away from those affected, said he wasn't told for hours after the incident occurred. He also said questions he sent June 25 - as well as two subsequent efforts to communicate - were not responded to until two weeks later, shortly after Patch inquired to the administration about how the homes would be determined to be habitable.

Patch also reported earlier Friday that at least two residents were told by Infurna's administration earlier this week to come to her team with concerns rather than MacMaster. One of them said Infurna said her team would have more complete information and could respond more quickly.

"I'm troubled by what was communicated to the residents at their individual meetings with the administration this week, and what was directly asked of me by the Mayor herself," MacMaster said in Friday's statement. "Whether it's the administration's unwillingness or inability to recognize the fundamental role of a representative government and the separation of powers, or something more nefarious than that, I do not know.

"But what I do know is that I don't work for the Mayor. I work for my constituents. No resident of Ward 5 should ever be dissuaded from contacting me. I will continue representing my constituents in the manner that they deserve, despite what was asked of me and what the residents were told by the administration."