ORDER-2018-135 : Election to fill Ward 5 vacancy created by the incumbent Gail M. Infurna becoming Mayor on Feb. 5, 2018. Said Election shall be conducted pursuant to Section 2-11(c) of the City Charter and in accordance with Rule 52 of the Rules of Order of the Board of Aldermen.

Transcript (~53 min @ 11:46)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 11:37 Michael P. Zwirko: mortimer seconded by alderman Boisselle on discussion hearing none all in favor aye any opposed or none the floor is now open for public participation we have one order before us this evening and i'll just read that order it is order 2018-135 election to fill ward 5 vacancy created by the incumbent gail m Infurna becoming mayor on february 5th 2018. said election shall be conducted pursuant to section 2-11c of the city charter and in accordance with rule 52 of the rules of order of the board of aldermen any members of the public wishing to speak on this order

▶ 12:22 Speaker 2: please come before us at this time my name is Sarah Waywell Tim and I reside at 89 East Wyoming Avenue in Ward 5 I'm speaking tonight about the Ward 5 vacancy and the vote that is happening tonight. This is a letter to the editor which I had submitted to the Free Press last week which was unfortunately not printed and I was hoping I could read it here tonight. In the coming weeks the

▶ 12:53 Speaker 2: Melrose Board of Aldermen, well tonight, will appoint a new representative to fill the Ward 5 vacancy left by Mayor Infernus change in leadership. I am thankful for the dedication of our board in working to make Melrose the best it can be and truly to be one city open to all. We are fortunate that so many well qualified candidates have put themselves forward. However, one candidate stands out in particular and that is Eugenia Gibbons. Dedication to service and community is who Eugenia is and what she imparts to those around her. In addition to working full-time at a Boston-based nonprofit, she is active in Mothers Out Front, has taken to DC for the Safe Chemicals Healthy Families Stroller brigade has worked on local campaigns and volunteers at her daughter's school the Lincoln Eugenia and I became fast friends when she and her family first moved to East Wyoming Ave several years ago our children are similar ages and always play together which has allowed us plenty of quality time with each other her husband is a teacher at Melrose High School and her daughter attended the ECC and is now a Lincoln Lion her mother lives a few blocks away

▶ 14:03 Speaker 2: We've had many open and honest conversations about a broad spectrum of topics, including those foremost in her mind. Education, transportation, and walkability, the needs of seniors, and affordability in Melrose. I know Eugenia to be kind and compassionate, empathetic, a good listener, intellectually curious, and quick-witted. Her humility and sense of humor make her approachable and easy to work with. Qualities that I think would make her an excellent advocate to award five constituents and a good colleague to be on the board with. During the committee meeting on 2-26, President Zwirko noted that our ward has been without Alderman Representatives for quite some time. Certainly Eugenia's professional experience in project management, program implementation and public policy enable her to hit the ground running. The board will benefit from having as smooth a transition as possible because of Eugenia's skill set. most importantly Ward 5 will benefit from Eugenia's commitment to the community we call home. This was a prepared statement that I had read I had some additional thoughts off the cuff as I was coming here so a pastime of mine is I love to find moments that I can quote the musical Hamilton and this is one of those moments. This is not a moment it's a movement and the one thing that strikes me every time I have come to this chamber is all of the white male faces staring at me from the walls and I'm very thankful for their service I'm thankful for all the white men sitting here service but I'm also I cannot express my joy when I look out at the current board and see what I see I feel like we have been handed on a silver platter the most amazing gift of an unbelievably qualified person in terms of policy and experience and it happens to be wrapped in a woman of color who can bring perspective that can lead us into the future of melrose and eugenia had asked me not to say that i felt that it was important to say that especially as a woman so i look forward to hearing the votes tonight and i hope that the right decision is made

▶ 16:27 Speaker 1: thank you thank you thank you sir good evening joe garino i live on clinton road in melrose lifelong resident of ward five my father still lives in the ward also i want to begin by saying thank you to the seven candidates that submitted their resumes unfortunately only one person will get in but i hope that they continue to get involved in the community so we get to know them i hope in the interim since february's meeting that the board of alderman was able to speak with the candidates get to know them and see who you'd be voting for this board has to make the right decision for Ward five residents in 2019 the residents will be able to have the choice to vote so I'm asking you to make the right choice I asked you to nominate Shawn McMaster as in my letter that I sent to the board today his involvement in Maeve Human Rights Commission various organizations shows his commitment to the community Shawn is a genuine person he has family values i believe he'd be a great fit and a great balance to this board sean is not doing this to have a title next to his name sean and i interacted over the last few years through different community involvement it's not like we've been best buddies for 10 years 15 years i observed sean from the sideline as a resident and as a local business owner sean reached out to me and asked me if you know want to know my concerns in the ward what i thought him and i sat down for over two hours over a cup of coffee i asked some questions as a resident and i asked some questions like an employer it was like an interview so it is no doubt in my mind that i would hire sean ward 5 has gone through two storms in the last couple of weeks we really haven't had anybody to represent to us except the alderman at lodge so it's no doubt my mind if something if sean was to be voted in tonight and someone called him at one o'clock in the the morning he would hit the ground running and know what to do so i asked you to make the right choice and vote sean in for ward 5. and i just want to say thank you to the board for your continued service to the community thank you sir thank you any other members motion to close public

▶ 18:54 Michael P. Zwirko: participation second it's been a motion to close public participation made by alderman Letter garabedian has been seconded by alderman mortimer on discussion hearing none all in favor aye aye public participation is closed so before we begin this evening i just want for the folks that are viewing at home and also the ones that are in the chamber just wanted to kind of outline what exactly is going to happen you'll note earlier when i stated read rather the order that it said that this will be done in accordance with rule 52. so there are some provisions of rule 52 of the board of aldermen that i will read before you now there's actually nine portions i'm not going to go

▶ 19:28 Michael P. Zwirko: through all nine we've gone through the first four already through the process of the applicants submitting their cover letter and resume as well as coming before the appropriations committee so there have been some stages that we've already walked through so for folks that in order to be eligible for the election to the ward 5 alderman Site you must have his or her name nominated and

▶ 19:55 Michael P. Zwirko: seconded so that's how you can get your nomination from there um we will find out during the nomination process the list of nominees we will then close nominations and that will be the pool of nominees that will be voted on by the board of aldermen the first applicant to receive six

▶ 20:18 Michael P. Zwirko: of those ten votes will be with award five aldermen however there will be some elimination should there be more than just two nominees so it reads here in section eight of rule 52 if there is more than one applicant and no applicant receives six votes on the first ballot the two individuals who received the most votes shall move to a second ballot the other applicants shall be eliminated in the event that there is a tie for either of the top two spots any individual in such a tie shall move on to a second ballot it then states that if no applicant receives six votes after at least five ballots the board may place the order on the table and continue with the process at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Aldermen so that is the process that will follow this evening before we open the floor for nominations obviously a motion would need to be made for that i ask if anybody has any questions members of the board that they would wish to ask any of the applicants the chair would entertain a motion to suspend the rules to do so if not i suggest we move to nominations i could make a motion to suspend the rules to see if the

▶ 21:29 Scott M. Forbes: candidates want to say anything before we vote any last minute statement it's been a couple of weeks so i would like to give them that courtesy certainly so alderman forbes makes a motion

▶ 21:44 Michael P. Zwirko: to suspend the rules second has been seconded by alderman Boisselle on discussion all in favor the motion to spend the rules has passed so the rules are suspended if there's any member that is a candidate for the ward alderman Site that would like to come before us and give a statement now is your time ladies and gentlemen

▶ 22:07 Michael P. Zwirko: just for uh for folks that are watching if you could just please state your name

▶ 22:14 Speaker 3: sure absolutely um good evening ladies and gentlemen my name is eugenia gibbons i am one of the applicants to fill this uh vacancy thank you very much for um this additional opportunity to offer some further comment so um good evening uh as was just noted no matter what happens tonight we'll all wake up tomorrow knowing who to call if power is once again out in ward five

▶ 22:42 Speaker 3: so that's a good thing it'll be great um in all serious seriousness though i would like to extend to each member of the board my appreciation for undertaking the unenviable task of choosing one of the seven of us to fill this vacancy left by mayor Infurna i'm proud to be considered alongside Mr. Cooley, Mr. Kirk, Mr. McMaster, Ms. Matthews, Mr. Meraz, and Mr. Navarra. The talent and qualifications possessed by each of us has surely made your decision difficult, so thank you again for taking the additional time to deliberate, to review our materials and our statements, and to weigh feedback from the public. We know that a vote for any one of us is in no way a vote against any one of us. The outpouring of support from our fellow Melroseans across the city and especially within Ward 5 has been overwhelming and humbling. I think I speak for all of us in saying thank you to those who submitted letters of support, who made phone calls or reached out to offer personal words of encouragement in the week since we were first invited to deliver personal statements and again this evening. When last in this seat, I asserted to each of you that if selected, I would be all in. has become even truer with each passing day i am confident in my ability to advocate on behalf of all ward 5 residents to represent our collective interests within this body while working to hold in balance the specific needs of our ward with the pursuit of city-wide goals that is after all the unique role of a ward alderman is it not simultaneously knowing the issues facing and solutions being considered by the city as a whole while also answering to and serving constituents in our neighborhoods and i'm prepared to do that dealing with matters of public policy is my profession my area of expertise as you all are aware is clean energy and climate but my advocacy extends beyond that to just solutions that ensure safe and healthy community communities that that benefit everyone, especially the most vulnerable among us. Policy acumen is important, but an ability to bring people together, to discover shared purpose and goals, and to forge smart solutions collaboratively is truly where my greatest strengths lie. Those are bolstered by a capacity to build personal connections, and they're informed by my own diverse background. All of this leads me to the most important motivator that has me here before you tonight. I'm inspired by this city and by the high standard to which it holds itself. I can point to several ways in which Melrose is a model in my own field, gas leaks repairs, renewable energy, energy efficiency, net zero planning. There are many, many examples in the energy field alone. But that leadership is certainly not limited to clean energy and climate, hence the motto, one community open to all. The pride I have in the city and my dedication to its enduring success cannot yet be measured by decades lived here, nor can it be quantified by volunteer posts held, but I assure you it is no less resolute. And if selected this evening, I will bring this drive and my skills to bear, serving alongside each one of you to leverage our community's strengths, to maintain momentum in the near term, and to navigate change effectively and together going forward. always I thank you for your time and your consideration I know this has not been an easy process so I thank you for undertaking it and I look forward to the results of tonight no matter what they are thank you thank you thank you good

▶ 26:35 Speaker 4: evening that Peter Navarro we're five obviously first off I don't have a prayer statement but I didn't want to just take a moment to say thank you for all of the support over the last year through my school committee run as well as to the conversations I've had over the last several weeks I've I have really been honored at the pleasure of having this opportunity I also want to say I understand that I am a unique applicant for this position I don't have a large background in public policy but what I do have is a background of problem solving and a lot of the things that we were challenged with our problem solving we're trying to understand how do we use taxpayers money better how do we solve problems where do we look for and so sometimes out of those unique equality is a problem-solving you can actually find winners that being said I wish that everybody has an opportunity to vote and I wish this was a special election but I understand that it's not so with that I just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity I look forward to your nomination tonight I realize that maybe after the nomination there might be a different story but I really am looking forward to serving Melrose regardless of the outcome this of this particular night I think I've said this many times I'm here to serve I want to find a spot so if it's not gonna be tonight I would like to find someplace

▶ 28:07 Speaker 4: thank you good evening as others have said thank you very much for your service I love Melrose I've been living in Melrose for nine years my wife is a longtime resident graduated from Melrose High just to tell you how much we love Melrose, we do all our business local. We're currently renovating our house. We're using Pegasus, who's a local contractor. We do our shopping local. Our dogs get groomed at a Better Companion. I drop my dry cleaning off at Blue Bell. Everything we do is local. We try to keep everything within Melrose when possible. As I mentioned, we are doing

▶ 28:52 Speaker 4: work on our house where we're staying it's a beautiful neighborhood but it's not home it's not ward five i drive by it on my way to work looking and saying you know what i can't wait till our host is done like we can come home to ward five i look forward to working with the the board in the future and if chosen that would be a great thing if not i would love to get more involved uh with the with the board or a committee or commission or something so in closing i i love melrose i'm sorry i grew up in stonem and meadows feels more home than where i grew up now all right and again thank you for all your service and i hope you consider me for

▶ 29:40 Speaker 5: what five's next ultimate do you mind stating your name do you mind stating your name you'll

▶ 29:46 Speaker 4: state your name do you mind stating your name oh i'm sorry i'm richard kirk and i live at 278

▶ 30:05 Speaker 1: washington street thank you sir thank you good evening john cooley 252 main street 250 main street two family i'd like to thank the board for letting me speak at the last meeting and more importantly that i had a chance to actually meet each of you and speak for a few moments i don't have any prepared statements i wasn't sure if there was still an open forum this evening but i certainly would like to reiterate a few of the points that i brought up in the past namely that the reason i'm here is first of all as a civic calling that i feel but more importantly the sanctity of the actual election process is very important to me At the last meeting, I was very impressed by six dynamic individuals that spoke, besides myself, who I feel would make outstanding candidates as a long-term alderman. As I stated before, that's not my case to actually run as a politician or have political aspirations.

▶ 31:27 Speaker 1: My purpose here is to responsibly serve the city and the ward with objective factual treatment so those that are actually interested can mount a campaign, make themselves known, and actually be elected in an election process without any unfair, and I'm not saying it would be, but a potential bias of being the sitting alderman in the next election. So, again, I enjoyed meeting all of you. I certainly hope that you will consider and cast a vote for me, and I look forward to the future of Melrose. Thank you.

▶ 31:53 Speaker 5: Thank you.

▶ 32:04 Speaker 6: Hi, I'm Jeremy Moroz. Certainly isn't the first time I've been at this table, but I have to admit that it's humbling to think that, you know, I could be more participatory in the process from the beginning with all of you. as a ward five alderman um you know first and foremost i think that you should know that if i am on the board i will challenge you i'm not going to stop challenging the board the city to try to make the best improvement in the best way the most efficient pace manner whatever because you know the better we get tomorrow the better we can get two days from now and three days from now and four days now and when we drag our feet and wait you have to be considerate about what what you're doing and be and make a good decision but we can make a difference we can do some things in Melrose that need to be done that that have lagged here one issue about I believe we're going to have some tough

▶ 33:06 Speaker 6: decisions to make in the next few years here I think there are some economic realities that are coming to bear they may not but we need to start to figure out what our priorities are what the alternative choices are that we need to make and figure out what are our values as a city we don't have to sit down and talk about what our values are what is it that we value most we just kind of go along and there's certain structures in the city we have to perpetuate because they're necessary but there's other things that we have a choice about and I don't even know what my decisions are about what those choices might be but I think that's something an opportunity for this board to explore where does Melrose want to go what do we want to be and not just react to whatever political turmoil that might be in Washington or in Beacon Hill or somewhere else but we have Melrose that we can work on we have Melrose that we can make the best Melrose that we can make here and frankly one of the jobs of Ward Alden is make Ward 5 the best Ward 5 that it can be for the people that live there and as I said before there are challenges in Ward 5 we often go along and accept those challenges oh well that's what's happened in those areas just like we do in certain other parts of the city you know um you know ward seven some of the flooding issues right sylvan street and stuff and we have to figure out how can we make it better how can we put something behind us that we've put up with for a lot of years and we've gotten past some of the larger flooding issues as an example in town it was great not to have to worry about the middle school flooding you know with the big storms recently um but there are more things that we can do to make mellows better to make it a better place to live for more people and give more people

▶ 34:48 Speaker 6: more opportunity to thrive. Anyway, again, I think you know who I am, what I'm about, and I thank you for considering me. And I do want to say that I am terrifically impressed with the whole body of candidates here that has come forward here. And I hope that no matter who is appointed or elected at whatever time you do that, that we can actually have a nice Ward 5 meeting and sit down and discuss together the issues of Ward 5. We did that a few years ago the police to the auspices of the police department meetings and that was very that was great it was a way of the community to get together and i wish we could do that more frequently thank you thank you

▶ 35:35 Shawn M. MacMaster: good evening mr president good evening members of the board of alderman my name is sean mcmaster from 35 brazil street i just wanted to thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you this evening thank you for the opportunity to have appeared before you on february 26th i can say regardless of what the decision is tonight that i'm a better candidate and a better person for having gone through this process i think i'm particularly a better candidate for having had the opportunity to interact with residents of ward 5 during this process and particularly hearing from the other very qualified candidates and learning about the issues that are important to them and the expertise that they have and that they would bring to the board of alderman or simply by being residents and continuing to be vocal on the issues that are important to them with respect to issues and my professional qualifications I would rest on my personal statement that I made on February 26th I'd also rest on the letter of intent that I submitted the one thing I would say that I didn't say on the 26th is that as a constituent in Ward 5 I had the opportunity to work closely with former alderman Infurna to interact with her closely on neighborhood issues the new developments that were built at the bottom of my street Brazil Street which brought a number of new residents into Ward five and certainly had neighborhood impacts working with her on a fire hazard issue on Brazil Street parking and traffic issues so I interacted with her very closely as a constituent and I think based on that interaction I have the unique opportunity now sitting here before you as a candidate to know how important it is to be responsive to the needs and the requests of the residents of ward 5 to be active and to be visible in the community so again i just want to thank you for the opportunity

▶ 37:46 Speaker 4: this evening thank you i think i'm at the last one um again i as everyone else i'd like to thank you

▶ 37:55 Speaker 4: very much for your your allowing us to come and speak again I'm gonna be brief

▶ 38:01 Speaker 4: I think that my my academics my work history and already my support to the

▶ 38:16 Speaker 4: children into the community and my volunteering speaks for itself as

▶ 38:29 Speaker 4: already a you know a supporter of the city to run a city I think it takes a lot of balance there's so many things there are so many so much important to

▶ 38:43 Speaker 4: so many people how do you make everybody happy you can't right so i think balance is an extremely important and fragile thing that everyone needs to consider in all decision making and in my line of work i'm a troubleshooter i make decisions and i try to

▶ 39:06 Speaker 4: make answers out of everything so again I thank you very much for allowing us to speak allowing me to speak and I asked for your support this evening thank you do you mind just stating your name oh I'm sorry I'm Patricia Matthews I live

▶ 39:25 Michael P. Zwirko: on Kingsley Avenue thank you and thanks to all the applicants for for that this evening so at this time I would entertain a motion to open the floor for nominations so moved second there has been a motion to open the floor for nominations made by alderman Mortimer seconded by alderman Forbes all those in

▶ 39:52 Manisha Bewtra: favor opposed floors open alderman future may I speak before I make my nomination please all right I wanted to thank the eight residents that applied fill the seat john cooley eugenia gibbons richard kirk sean mcmaster patricia matthews jerry morose dianne mullet and pete navarro thank you all for taking the time to do so i think you've demonstrated your deep commitment to and love for the city i trust that each of you will continue to stay engaged and by continuing your service to our schools our local businesses our non-profits our unions our boards and commissions and here at city hall um that you will continue to stay engaged and i hope you'll continue to partner with us and continue to challenge us regardless of the outcome of tonight's vote through reading your applications hearing your public statements on february 26th and from hearing your many supporters each of you sound like a wonderful neighbor to have and you make ward 5 in the entire city a great place to be as you may imagine tonight's vote is really tough a few of you have gotten to know through this process and others i've known as friends um after much personal deliberation and after reviewing letters of support and phone calls from within ward 5 and from across the city I thought about a variety of things I thought about you know what will an applicant add to our deliberations at this table or proverbial table since it's more than one table what will the the applicant bring to Ward 5 and to their fellow neighbors in Ward 5 and how will they help Melrose lead as such I've decided to support Eugenia Gibbons with my vote today at this meat table at this

▶ 41:49 Manisha Bewtra: meeting last week we had a public hearing regarding a national grid petition to install underground conduits at an intersection I think we had a really great discussion about neighborhood impacts traffic for all those outside of that particular neighborhood and thinking through how National Grid could move through the process efficiently while also at the least inconvenience to those nearby we also brought up issues such as complete streets and making sure that when a road is torn up that we're thinking about how to make better pedestrian accommodations or make other improvements one of the reasons I was particularly impressed with what Eugenia has to offer is that she reached out to me afterwards and asked is this actually related to gas leaks that we have in the city and she noted that Melrose has been a model city about fixing gas leaks and I I was impressed that she had the resources to follow through and with organizations such as heat the home energy efficiency team as well as with city staff our energy efficiency manager and other city staff to research and understand a broader context, a different angle than what each of us were necessarily bringing to light at that particular discussion. That may or may not, you know, impact that vote and that one decision about an intersection, but what I thought was useful was the understanding of clean energy and environmental impacts in a way that I think none of us again brought forward. She's really committed to Melrose leading by example, as she mentioned in her statement earlier today, not only on clean energy, climate renewables and green communities, but I think in many other ways that she's noted in her statement. I know that she's going to be available to her neighbors to help out in a pinch, as are many of the other applicants. but I I know like in this as she said we've got a snow storm coming and I'm sure she'd be willing to pick up the phone be out there listen to calls etc she's noted how Ward 5 is a window or a corridor into the city and and that there's a lot of diversity within that Ward renters and owners longtime residents newcomers and including many who are new to the country her own family has many different windows into the what the city has to offer her youngest son is not yet in preschool her daughter is at the Lincoln School her husband teaches at the high school and her mother is a senior citizen who recently moved to Melrose to be closer to family I think that intergenerational perspective will be particularly valuable to what she brings to the table. Additionally, I think she'll be a really great resource in terms of communications, not just available in a pinch by phone, but also make herself available through social media, which as an alderman I've noted how many different ways people try to get in touch with me, and I know she likewise would be make herself available in those many ways. And all in all, I just want to to say that I strongly support his her tonight and ask for your support as well with that I nominate Eugenia Gibbons we have a nomination that was made by

▶ 45:39 Michael P. Zwirko: alderman Bewtra for Eugenia Gibbons is there a second for that nomination second the second has been made by alderman Medeiros any other nominations this evening alderman Boisselle like to nominate Shawn

▶ 45:56 Michael P. Zwirko: McMaster's there's been a nomination made by alderman Boisselle for Shawn McMaster is there a second for that nomination second second made by alderman Tremont ozi any other nominations this evening alderman

▶ 46:09 Monica C. Medeiros: Medeiros like to nominate Jerry Mraz oh excuse me alderman Medeiros has

▶ 46:12 Michael P. Zwirko: nominated Jerry Mraz for nomination to the ward 5 vacancy is there a second second there's been a seconded by alderman Forbes any other nominations

▶ 46:30 John N. Tramontozzi: this evening Alderman Tramontozzi nominate John Cooley second there's been

▶ 46:33 Michael P. Zwirko: a nomination made by Alderman Tramontozzi for John Cooley seconded by Alderman

▶ 46:41 Monica C. Medeiros: Medeiros to nominate Patricia Matthews second there has been a nomination for

▶ 46:46 Michael P. Zwirko: Patricia Matthews made by Alderman Medeiros has been seconded by Alderman

▶ 46:54 Michael P. Zwirko: Tramontozzi nominate peter navarro alderman mortimer makes a motions to nominate peter navarra second there's been seconded by alderman wright nominate richard kirk second there's been a

▶ 47:08 Michael P. Zwirko: motion for nomination of richard kirk by alderman Tramontozzi which has been seconded by alderman medeiros any other nominations this evening did we get everybody patricia closed nominations

▶ 47:28 Michael P. Zwirko: patricia matthews thank you there's a motion made by alderman mortimer to close the nominations second has been seconded by alderman forbes all those in favor any opposed The nominations have been closed. There are seven nominations this evening. Before we take a vote, I will extend an offer to any alderman who wishes to make any statement on behalf of a candidate

▶ 47:58 Scott M. Forbes: this evening. Alderman Forbes. Thank you, Mr. President. I seconded the nomination for Jerry Moroz this evening. If anybody knows Jerry, I'm sure everybody here on the board does. He's at every meeting he is not afraid to voice his opinion and he's somebody that's earned my respect over the course of my term here on the board whether I disagree with him or not disagree with him he holds me accountable and he holds his board accountable he asked tough questions he challenges each and every one of us and if we don't know the answer he forces us to go find the answer which in turn makes us better people and it makes us a better board and like i said uh you know there are at times we have conversations and i we may just agree to disagree uh but at the end of the day he has my respect and uh he has my vote this evening

▶ 48:47 Michael P. Zwirko: thank you thank you alderman forbes alderman Tramontozzi yes thank you i also would like to

▶ 48:50 John N. Tramontozzi: thank all of those who submitted applications for consideration to the ward 5 vacancy i was pleased to see the many qualified individuals of exceptional character interested in serving the city of Melrose in this capacity I do truly hope

▶ 49:11 John N. Tramontozzi: that even if not chosen you continue with that spirit of volunteerism and participate in civic activities to continue to make Melrose a desirable community to live and raise a family I also want to thank all those residents of Ward five who wrote to this board with expressions of opinions and thoughts about who might best serve the ward this has been a very difficult decision but I believe that the person ultimately selected by this board will serve honorably with the best interest of Ward 5 and the city of Melrose at heart my support this evening is for Shawn McMaster's for the Ward 5 alderman vacancy Shawn has been actively involved in the Melrose community he's a dedicated individual who truly believes in giving back to the community he has demonstrated this community outreach with his participation in Meadows Alliance Against Violence the Meadows Human Rights Commission in various other organizations I believe that he is well prepared to address concerns of and be a voice for the residents of Ward 5 his work in the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office has prepared him for this role I believe that his experience as a victim witness advocate as director of community partner partnerships have provided him the unique qualifications and skills to take on the role as an alderman i believe he will come to this job with needed energy a strong commitment and desire to do what is right for the people of

▶ 50:47 Michael P. Zwirko: ward 5. thank you thank you old man trey mantozzi any other alderman wishing to speak alderman

▶ 50:53 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: look Letter garabedian thank you and thank you all for being here tonight and for putting yourselves forward um it is uh very honorable of you to do so and we are very blessed to have so many qualified candidates tonight i'm thrilled that many of you have even advanced your dedication to the city and plan to serve it in whatever capacity you can and i look forward to working with all of you in the future in reviewing the paper submissions that each of you provided and also your comments both tonight and a couple weeks ago and then looking at all of the constituent feedback that we received which was overwhelming and really encouraging to see so much civic engagement my plan is to support sean mcmaster tonight for the position of ward 5 alderman i was struck not only by Shawn's professional experience working in the DA's office on issues that are of utmost importance both to our community and to our region including the opioid crisis but also to his commitment and service in Melrose for many years I also noted that he spoke most directly both in February and in his letter to us about Ward 5 specifically and his knowledge of the diverse population there his work with recent immigrants many of whom we heard from in the submissions that we received over the last few weeks and so to me I was very impressed by his candidacy that said I am certain that whatever outcome comes of tonight we will have a very qualified person serving Ward 5 and so I thank you all for being here. Thank you Alderman Lipper-Garabedian. Any other

▶ 52:46 Monica C. Medeiros: members? Alderman Medeiros. Thank you. I too want to thank all the candidates who put themselves out there. We've had an excellent group to choose from which has made this exceptionally difficult. I too want to thank all the residents that have spoken tonight with their words of support for their candidates of choice as well as those who have written to us about the issues that are important to them. This certainly is, like I said, it's a tough choice. However, the more I think about it, the more obvious it is to me that there's really one

▶ 53:31 Monica C. Medeiros: person that consistently is interested and involved with the issues that come before us and who comes and speaks to us so often and that's Jerry Moroz he's knowledgeable about the issues he's intelligent he he does the research he he does challenge us and I think that that's a good thing and I would like to see him on the other side of this table and I think he could bring something very valuable to this horseshoe a perspective and not just not just always speaking to the issues that are before us but actually having an opportunity to bring things before us he's somebody that is involved and cares about energy and the environment he cares about people he cares about this city and I think he would bring a lot to the table so although there are so many choices and I am so happy to hear so many of you say that you would like to be involved and I hope that we can find ways for each of you to become more involved but those are the things that were the most important to me and will lead me to my

▶ 54:40 Speaker 5: vote tonight thank you thank you all the men videos the other members alderman

▶ 54:44 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: lemmerman Thank You mr. president and I would echo everyone sentiments this evening of thanking everyone who came forward and put your name out there and was willing to serve the city in this manner I know it's not easy to go through this process and and also then to be willing to do this this job as well so I appreciate that I feel like we have had a series of very difficult decisions on this board recently and I can honestly say that this was one of the most difficult for me personally because we have some really excellent choices and so it is a happy position to be in to have this problem but but it was very difficult for me and I weighed a number of things just as my colleagues on the board have and and they've gone through those including professional experience Melrose community involvement and Ward 5 specific engagement and since it is a Ward 5 seat tried to hear from as many residents of the ward as possible because we are in this position of choosing someone to represent an electorate who is not going to do it at the ballot this time around. Being ward alderman, I also looked at each of these things through the lens of the unique role of a ward alderman who really exists as an advocate for the neighborhood specifically. For those reasons, I am going to support Shawn McMaster this evening for his experience that he has put forward. i know that he will be able to uh represent ward 5 and hit the ground running um right away which is what we will hopefully be able to have somebody do this evening that said i think that there are people who put their name out there who will be incredibly well suited for positions in the city in a number of ways and i know that i would be very happy and hope to have the opportunity to sit down with people and talk about those things and i think that i speak for many members of the board who um who would i'm sure be willing to chat as well so i hope that that will happen and

▶ 56:46 Speaker 5: continue thank you thank you alderman any other member hearing none i hope the board could

▶ 56:51 Michael P. Zwirko: indulge me i would like to make one comment before we begin the viva voce voting process i am so proud of ward 5. i really am you know it's the ward that i come from it's the only ward i've ever lived in the wednesday prior to the nominations or submissions being due we had two candidates applicants and i was really worried you know i'm looking in my backyard you know wondering who's going to apply and then lo and behold six more applicants appear on thursday the 22nd so i agree with everything that everyone has said about you putting your names forward and you know staying active and that is very important you know just as a little history i was in your seat before back in 2011 when our state representative paul broder was elected state representative he then relinquished his seat for alderman at large and i was an applicant at the time so i do think it's very important for those that aren't successful this evening to stay involved because you know if it's ultimately a seat on the board of alderman that you're seeking i'm proof that it is possible i did not get the selection in 2011. i had to run in 2015 to do so so I just want you to keep that in perspective and you know Ward 5 is actually a very interesting ward it's a small ward because it's very dense and but it's also a ward that's obviously close to my heart just because not only do I live there but it's really the only ward that I kind of know like in and out with the back of my hand so that being said I just did want to declare that I will be supporting Shawn McMaster this evening for the Ward 5 seat I've worked with Shawn for many years probably dating back to 2010 I think that was when we I first met him primarily through the Melrose Alliance Against Violence and his work on the annual walk and candlelight vigil and furthermore over the years I've gotten close with him I consider him a friend and his work with the DA DA's office over the past five years on the opioid crisis really means a lot to me personally and also our neighborhood he hasn't he has an impeccable resume he's easy to get a hold of he's worked with government at various levels before I really feel that he can hit the ground running on this and he'll do a very good job in representing us as some folks from the public had mentioned tonight you know Ward 5 lost power twice in the past week due to the storms we may lose it tonight you know we didn't have anyone to go to but you know that's what I'm thinking about when I'm filling this seat so I will be supporting Shawn McMaster this evening but it does mean a lot to me that we had seven well initially eight but seven qualified applicants I mean this is a I wish we had seven vacancies to fill but with that said we should move on to the Viva Voce voting process so clerk do you mind

▶ 59:36 Speaker 3: Arlen Biltra Eugenia Gibbons Eugenia Gibbons Arlen Rozelle Shawn McMasters

▶ 59:44 Speaker 3: John McMasters Arlen Forbes Jerry Moroz Jerry Moroz Arlen Lemmerman Shawn

▶ 59:57 Speaker 3: McMaster Shawn McMaster's Oliver deeper Gary vian Shawn McMaster Shawn McMaster's I'm madeira's Jeri Moroz Jeri Moroz all the mortgage

▶ 1:00:13 Speaker 3: Shawn McMaster's Shawn McMaster's olive and crema tosy Shawn McMasterischen

▶ 1:00:21 Speaker 3: McMaster all the when my Shawn McMaster Shawn McMaster President's work oh Shawn

▶ 1:00:28 Speaker 3: mcmaster sean mcmaster seven votes for um sean mcmaster seven votes for sean mcmaster means he

▶ 1:00:36 Michael P. Zwirko: is the selected applicant to fill the ward 5 vacancy made by alderman gail Infurna at this time i would ask that the chair of the appropriations committee alderman lemmerman kindly escort soon-to-be alderman mcmaster to the podium i also think at this time it's appropriate

▶ 1:01:12 Michael P. Zwirko: for a little round and i'm at this point uh the vacancy is open we need to fill it so if the clerk could kindly come up and administer the oath i speak your name hi sean michael

▶ 1:01:26 Speaker 7: mcmaster do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that i will be a true faith in allegiance

▶ 1:01:34 Speaker 3: to the commonwealth of massachusetts to the commonwealth of massachusetts

▶ 1:01:39 Speaker 7: we'll support the constitution and we'll support the constitution thereof so help me god so help

▶ 1:01:43 Speaker 7: me god hi hi sean michael mcmaster do solemnly swear do solemnly swear and i will faithfully

▶ 1:01:49 Speaker 7: and i will faithfully be impartial and impartially discharge and perform discharge and perform all

▶ 1:02:00 Speaker 3: the duties incumbent on me other duties incumbent on me as all the men as alderman of the city of

▶ 1:02:01 Speaker 7: melrose of the city of melrose according to the best of my abilities best of my abilities

▶ 1:02:09 Speaker 7: agreeably to the rules and regulations of the Constitution and laws of the commonwealth

▶ 1:02:16 Speaker 3: so help me God

▶ 1:02:18 Speaker 7: I, Shawn Michael McMaster do solemnly swear

▶ 1:02:24 Speaker 7: that I will support the Constitution of the United States thank you very much

▶ 1:02:36 Michael P. Zwirko: Shawn, I'll give you a minute if you'd like to say something and just to lighten the mood a little bit here um earlier this year we had two new aldermen whose first vote was for mayor alderman mcmaster's first vote first vote will be to adjourn

▶ 1:02:52 Shawn M. MacMaster: thank you mr president thank you to members of the board of aldermen for those who supported me tonight i really appreciate your confidence in me for those who didn't i hope to earn your confidence in the weeks and the months ahead i'd like to thank the candidates from ward five my neighbors Patricia Peter Richard Eugenia Jerry and John as I said earlier this evening I really am better off for having gone through this process for having listened to you and please know that your expertise is important to me I would really like to have contact moving forward to sit down have the opportunity to learn a bit more about how I can be a voice for you as residents of the ward to the residents who don't know me yet I really look forward to getting to know all of you and to hearing from you and please know that I really make a commitment tonight to get started to roll up my sleeves and do the best that I can to work in collaboration with my new colleagues on the Board of Aldermen to be the best advocate that I can for the represent for the residents of board

▶ 1:04:01 Francis X. Wright Jr.: five so thank you thank you so grab your seat yes mr president yes before alderman mcmaster takes a seat will alderman Boisselle be moving back over here where he's always been giving up the ward 5 seat oh so yeah i was going to actually be happy to have the new alderman sit on our side

▶ 1:04:20 Michael P. Zwirko: how can i go against that at least for one evening morning there's not like a light side and a dark side so again thank you all

▶ 1:04:38 Monica C. Medeiros: this evening mr. McMaster sit next to me mr. boys all it's been a treat so at