Letter: Community Input Should Be Encouraged

MALDEN, MA — The following letter was submitted by Karen Colón Hayes, candidate for city councillor-at-large.

As parents, my husband and I made the conscious decision to encourage our children to develop their own voices. Although our views sometimes differ, as parents of young women, we acknowledge how important it is that women's voices are heard and we will continue to raise our girls to be strong and bold. It is our job as leaders to raise our youth to be resilient, inclusive, and forward-looking.

This is exactly what I did in my role as Malden’s Director of Human Services & Community Outreach. The Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program is a great example where we set up over 2,500 jobs for youth over the course of 9 years. This program engages our youth as early as age fourteen, and shapes them into tomorrow's leaders. As a mentor, I’ve learned it’s imperative to encourage growth and help our youth build confidence to articulate their views. As a City Councillor, I will actively seek input from everyone in the community to ensure that everyone’s voice is involved in building the best solution.

Collaboration and unity are essential to my approach of rising together. As one of the Chairs of Malden’s Promise, I listened to the opinions of youth groups, the Superintendent's office, city departments, and then synthesized them together into one cohesive and effective strategy. As a result, the school dropout rate was reduced from 7.2% to 2.2% in under three years. This is just one example of how my method of coalition-building is not only inclusive, but yields positive results. As a Councilor-at-Large, I will bring the same approach, from infrastructure to human services, with resilience, inclusivity, and forward-thinking to get the job done.

Councillor Spadafora reacted to my daughter using her voice by denigrating and dismissing her. If elected, I will use my leadership skills to do what I have always done - listen to all the voices in our community to find solutions and rise together. I will respect our diversity of opinions because that’s what makes Malden great and that is what will help us rise. People of all backgrounds, whatever table I am at, I promise there will always be a seat for you. #TogetherWeRise

Sincerely,

Karen Colón Hayes
Candidate for City Councillor-At-Large
www.KarenColonHayes.com