Melrose Candidate Profile: Maya Jamaleddine For City Council

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

Here, we learn more about Maya Jamaleddine, who is running for Melrose City Council. Jamaleddine is an incumbent and among 10 candidates running for four seats.

In 2020, Jamaleddine became the first Muslim elected official in Melrose and the state's first elected official to wear a hijab. She works as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion manager.

Candidates were sent questionnaires and filled out the answers.

Name

Maya Jamaleddine

Campaign website

https://www.mayaformelrose.org

What city or town do you live in?

Melrose

What office are you seeking?

City council at-large

Education

BA Psychology

Occupation

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion manager
Tumor Board Accreditation admin.

Family

I have four children

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

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

I was appointed to the Melrose Human Rights Commission and served as the chair.
I have been elected as city council at large for 2 terms.

Why are you seeking this office?

I have high expectations for a city that serves everyone and the inclusive approach to get us there. With my professional experience and my four years experience as a city councilor, I will continue to make the right decisions for the benefit of the people that I serve.

With my 17 years experience in healthcare, case management and as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion manager, I feel more equipped to serve every resident in my community. I understand their needs and bring their voices when decisions are made. I have been and will continue to be their voice at the table.

In 2019, I heard people's concerns and knew that we were missing a social worker for the city that can support individuals and connect them with the resources that they need. I promised to do that, and I delivered. I know that the most pressing issue in our city right now is the budget and our deficit. I will be challenging the new administration to hire a dedicated grant writer who can secure every grant for the city, so we can get more resources and most importantly support for our older adults, special education students and many other underserved people.

But this is not the only issue we have, I was able to accomplish many goals over the past 4 years and still have more work to do if I continue to be your city councilor.

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

As I mentioned in my previous response, I know we have a major issue in our budget and the deficit. I will continue to hold the administration accountable and push for more transparency as we are working on resolving this issue. I have filed orders and asked the administration to come before us to provide more information for tax payers and be more transparent.

I worked with many different departments to find ways to secure more money and will continue to work with legislators to find other solutions and resources on the state level. As mentioned, one of my priorities is to challenge the new administration to hire a dedicated grant writer, and this is a position that pays for itself, to secure more money for our city. We need to find money to pay for resources that we currently don't have for our older adults, special education students and other underserved people.

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

I have done this work, I understand the work that needs to be done and how it can be done. I have a list of goals to accomplish in this city and I know that a good achiever and leader should have a strategic plan of how to reach these goals, know when and what to prioritize, and deliver on their promises. I have proven that and will continue to do so if elected. I am accessible and I listen and act. I am not afraid to make tough decisions on important matters and want to move our community forward in the city where I raise my children and call home.

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

We have lots of work to do in addition to fixing our city budget. I know our special education students don't have the support they need and should have to thrive. I know that we need to review our school discrimination policy and will be working with school administrators and elected officials and urge them to do that through a DEI lens.

I’m happy to see our safety building project is moving forward and we now have the question on the ballot and will be supporting every effort to make it pass. But if it doesn't, I will continue to be involved in the conversation to come up with other solutions and ways that can make this project happen.

I acknowledge the need to have more and a variety of housing, so that our older adults are able to downsize while staying in Melrose, and our low socioeconomic-level residents or those on fixed incomes can afford living in the community they chose as their home. I will continue to work with other city departments to make our streets safe for people to walk or bike and for our children to be able to safely walk to school. We need to continue to make our city move toward the Net Zero goal and I will be supporting those efforts. These are a few issues of many that I will be working on and deeply care about.

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

I have served on the Human Rights Commission and been a strong leader and advocate. I successfully advocated for a city social worker and am so pleased to know the great work and support our social worker is providing to our constituents. I filed orders to provide more transparency around the budget and our deficit and will continue to model this high level of transparency. During the pandemic, I organized a group to sew over 1,000 masks to give back to those who didn’t have access to any. I was able to connect small business owners with different departments and resources to help them navigate and find resources to survive throughout the pandemic. I held office hours to be accessible for everyone and be able to hear constituents' issues. I will continue to hold myself — as I hold this city — to a high standard to best serve the people.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Before making any decision ask yourself who would be mostly impacted by it and put yourself in their shoes. Make sure that all boxes are being checked when you make the decision, so that no one would be left behind and unrepresented.

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

I love this community and have raised all my children here. I am grateful for the trust that people put in me over the last four years. Please vote for the candidate that you know will represent you best and who will deliver what they promise to do. The election is on November 7 and I hope I can have your vote.