The Mayor's Update: February 21, 2020

Photo of Mayor's "Vote" Socks

Photo of Mayor Brodeur and Clerk of Elections Joanne Perperian by an Early Voting sign

Early voting in the presidential primary and state general election will begin on Monday, February 24. Because this is a complicated election, we are gearing up with special training for our poll workers, who will be working on Election Day itself, March 3. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the early voting, as we anticipate this Election Day will be a busy one!

Early Voting is available February 24-28 in Melrose City Hall during regular city hall hours (8:30-4:00 pm Mon.-Thurs. and 8:30-12:30 on Friday). Evening voting hours are available on Thursday, February 27 until 8:00 p.m. Voters can come to city hall to cast their ballots for both elections at any time during early voting hours. They will need to check-in and request their presidential primary ballots separately from the state representative ballot.  

What I Did This Week

Much of my time this week was spent on the Fiscal 2021 budget, as I went over the details with our Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Dello Russo, and began meeting with individual department heads to discuss their departmental budgets.

Photo of City Workers Fixing Water Leak

Water Main Break: We also had to contend with an unpleasant surprise on Thursday, when a water main break shut off water to much of Main Street, including City Hall, Memorial Hall, and Fire Headquarters. Thank you to our DPW water workers for getting the leak fixed promptly!

Pine Banks: I attended my first meeting of the Pine Banks Board of Trustees. As you know, the park is jointly owned by Melrose and Malden, and this was my first opportunity to meet with the board that governs it. I look forward to a fruitful partnership!

Photo of Mayor and city staff meeting with Census Representative Arthur Mwebe

U.S. Census: This week we met with Arthur Mwebe of the U.S. Census Bureau to discuss the rollout of the 2020 Census. This is different from the City Census that you (hopefully) filled out earlier this year. The U.S. Census is used for many purposes, most importantly for apportionment of federal aid and adjusting voting districts – “Money and power,” as Mr. Mwebe put it. The census forms will be distributed on March 12, and I want to encourage everyone to fill them out. You can do it online, it only takes a few minutes, and it makes a big difference to our city! If you want to know more, check out the U.S. census website.

What I’m Doing Next Week

We will appear before the City Council's Appropriations Committee on Monday to discuss the Commission on Disability. The City Council established the Commission last year, and this is the next step, deciding how it will be structured. The School Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 25.

On Tuesday morning, I will be the featured speaker at the Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting, and on Wednesday, I will be attending the Mass Mayors’ Association meeting in Newton. On Wednesday evening, I’ll be at the ribbon-cutting to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Beauty Café on Main Street. And on Saturday, February 29, from 5-7 p.m., I will attend the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Listening Session at Temple Beth Shalom.