It's A New Age For Melrose City Council — Literally

MELROSE, MA — For Jack Eccles, age is just a number. The 23-year-old is among seven new City Councilor elected this fall, and in some respects, Eccles has more political experience than many of them.

The UMass graduate had a hand in several local campaigns in Amherst, and he was heavily involved with the Melrose override campaign. In fact, former Melrose Mayor Rob Dolan spoke at his kickoff party — one of the perks of being Dolan's intern way back when.

It's almost a wonder it took him this long to run. But with a new mayor and so much turnover in the Council, the timing was right. Melrose, Eccles said, is at a pivotal point.

"The next two years are really what inspired me," he said. "Every leaf is turning over ... It was an urgency to get involved now because I think it's going to be a big two years."

At the end of those two years, Eccles will finally be able to rent a car without paying an under-25 fee. Until then, he'll be helping shape legislation that will impact people two or three times his age.

Are there those who might feel uncomfortable with someone born in 1996 having that kind of input in their city and their day-to-day lives? If so, it didn't show at the ballot box.

Eccles got 5,695 votes, second in the at-large race only to Kate Lipper-Garabedian, the only incumbent in the field.

And he earned them. Eccles had strong showings in the limited opportunities candidates had to speak in public forums. He hit the streets hard to speak with voters, hearing lots about downtown vibrancy, transit, affordability, schools.

Eccles brings a unique perspective to those issues. The discussion on affordability and housing has almost exclusively been handled by homeowners. Eccles, who lives with his father in an apartment, is coming from the other side.

"Living in Melrose [as a homeowner] would be a dream, but it seems almost unattainable given where we are professionally right now," he said, talking about some some of his peers. He also noted how affordability impacts seniors as well, and he's made sure to include them in his conversations.

Eccles and six new City Councilors who will take office in January (Ward 2's Jeff McNaught has already started.) One might figure the overall lack of experience will give way to a slow start.

But Eccles doesn't expect much of a grace period — he doesn't think that's why he was voted in. He's been reading up on the rules and watching old meetings, and no other incoming Councilor has attended more Council meetings over the past couple of months.

He's ready to go.

"We get two months to get our ducks in a row [before taking office,]" he said. "I don't think that anyone can really take six months — or a quarter of their term — to learn the ropes."

Eccles, after all, isn't one for wasting time.