RIP Jim Shaer

Last week Melrose said goodbye to Jim Shaer, someone who is well known to many of you. Jim was active in Democratic politics for most of his life, and he was among those who advocated for the nomination of John Kerry as lieutenant governor. After Kerry was elected senator, Jim served as Assistant to the Senator and then as Assistant State Director. Later he went on to work for a number of organizations, finishing his career as the Executive Consultant for Advocacy and Public Policy for the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. Here in Melrose, Jim was involved in local political committees and was a member of the Charter Committee that revised the Melrose City Charter in 2005. Away from government, he also wrote the Around Town column for the Melrose Weekly News. There are some nice reminiscences from friends and co-workers in this article, which ran last week. He left us far too soon, and our thoughts are with his family.