Melrose Candidate Profile: Kimberly Vandiver For City Council

MELROSE, MA — With the Melrose Municipal Election scheduled for Nov. 7, Patch is profiling the candidates.

Here, we learn more about Kimberly Vandiver, who is running to represent Ward 5 on the Melrose City Council. Vandiver is running unopposed to replace Shawn MacMaster, who announced in April that he will not seek a fourth term.

Vandiver is a freelance operations consultant who has never held public office.

Candidates were sent questionnaires and filled out the answers.

Name

Kimberly Vandiver

How old will you be as of Election Day?

36

Campaign website

https://www.kimformelrose.com/

What city or town do you live in?

Melrose

What office are you seeking?

City councilor

District

Ward 5

Please give us your party affiliation

Democrat

Education

Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from MIT, Master’s in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT

Occupation

I’m a freelance operations consultant, which means I do a little bit of a lot of things, and I enjoy the variety.

I started out as an operations consultant at Stroud Consulting in Marblehead, and since then I’ve worked on solving operational problems, big and small, at a variety of companies across several states and countries. I’ve implemented effective processes, made sense of messy data, created feedback loops, improved quality metrics, hired and managed teams, and worked cross-functionally with people from engineers to designers to physicians.

Family

Married to Alex, with 1-year-old daughter Eleanor

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

No

Why are you seeking this office?

I want to take an active role to support our community, address our challenges, and make Melrose the best that it can be.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The more pressing issue I’ve heard about is budget clarity. People want to understand what we are spending and why, what we can expect to spend going forward, and what tradeoffs and decisions are on the table. They want to trust that we will continue to be able to fund the schools and other projects and programs, while also supporting current residents who are concerned about rising costs.

I will summarize the information that we have and communicate it with residents. The city budget is complex, but we can draw out bigger categories of spend and examples, and project those forward. Communication is hard because we all have so much information coming at us constantly. I will work on getting people signed up for existing communication channels so that they can be informed, and also seek more creative ways to get information out.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I think we need a City Council that brings a mix of backgrounds, skills, and types of experience to the table. My approach to focusing on operations, management, and data is an important part of that mix.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

When it comes to things people care about, a close second to the budget clarity is street issues. I will focus on the basics, including issues with sidewalks, lack of lighting, unsafe driving, and anything else that’s preventing safe use by all.

Melrose has a lot to offer to residents, including the Victorian Fair, Home for The Holidays, Beer Garden Events, Porchfest, Open Studio tours, a weekly Farmers Market, and more. I want to make sure that awareness and access to these events extends all the way to the southern end of Ward 5, near Oak Grove.

I want to explore adding a crossing or bridge over the commuter rail between Oak Grove and West Wyoming. Crossing in one direction, this would provide access to Pine Banks Park as well as increasing foot traffic for quite a few nearby businesses including: Jitters Cafe, Bobby C's Italian restaurant, Ocean Sushi, Hinge Fitness, Step 1 Childcare, the YMCA daycare, Beauty Nail Design, Metro Credit Union, and Hunt's Photo and Video. Crossing in the other direction, this would add access to The Fells and foot traffic for Little Sprouts Daycare, Firefly Bicycles, Alex + Theo Artisinal Home Decor, and Fitzgerald Physical Therapy. The overall effect would be a connected community with more business and recreation options for all.

I have many more ideas, which I have shared on my website. I also look forward to hearing from the community about what they would like to see addressed.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I’ve worked for several CEOs who wanted better visibility to their data and metrics, and I found ways to get that for them in a way that was accurate, clear, and able to be gathered regularly (that’s important —you don’t want reports that take days to make.)

I’ve run teams that required me to work on yearly, quarterly, and weekly planning, and balance short-term and long-term priorities with the resources available.

I’ve been part of companies that were growing and changing quickly, and am used to the amount of communication needed to keep everyone engaged and informed.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Get the basics right quickly and build trust.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Please visit https://www.kimformelrose.com/ to learn more about myself and my positions, to sign up for email updates relevant to Ward 5, and to get in touch to share your ideas.