Melrose Candidate Profile: Monica Medeiros Solano For Mayor

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

Here, we learn more about Monica Medeiros Solano, who is running for mayor. Medeiros Solano is running against Jennifer Grigoraitis to fill the seat vacated by Paul Brodeur, who announced last spring that he would not seek reelection.

Medeiros Solano was a Melrose city councilor-at-large from 2014-20, a city councilor representing Ward 2 from 2008-14, and a School Committee member from 2006-08. She has 20 years of private sector and municipal finance experience, primarily in home financing and insurance.

Candidates were sent questionnaires and filled out the answers.

Name

Monica Medeiros Solano

How old will you be as of Election Day?

48

Campaign website

https://www.votemonica.com/

What city or town do you live in?

Melrose, MA

What office are you seeking?

Mayor

District

City of Melrose

Education

Emerson College, M.A. Political Communication; Northeastern University, B.S. Political Science, Minor Business Administration, summa cum laude

Occupation

Private sector and government finance experience: I have 20 years of private sector and municipal finance experience, primarily in home financing and insurance. During the heart of the pandemic, I worked for the Town of Norwood as a budget management analyst in the Purchasing Office of the general manager and in Human Resources. I assisted the Town in preparing for contract negotiation, working on emergency management issues, grant administration and procurement for all Town departments. I am also a licensed real estate salesperson.

Family

During COVID I married my husband, Earle, a fellow lifelong Melrosian. We are blessed to have our parents nearby. His parents are still in Melrose, and we live with my mother, Claire.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Not currently. My mother was a lunch mother at Horace Mann and later worked in the school business office. My father was a WWII Veteran. I have several extended family members who worked for or served our government including teachers, veterans and a police officer.

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

City councilor-at-large 2014–2020; city councilor, Ward 2 2008–2014; School Committee member 2006–2008; City Council representative on the School Building Committee 2012–2014.
Massachusetts Municipal Councillors’ Association: elected president 3 terms 2017–2020; second vice president 2016–2017 and district representative 2013-2015.
Massachusetts Municipal Association: Board of Directors 2013–2014, 2016–2020, Executive Board 2017-2020; Labor & Personnel Relations Policy Committee member 2015-2020.
Governor’s Advisory Commission on Local Government (LGAC): 2016-2020, appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker.
Public Education Nominating Council: 2006-2007, appointed by Gov. Mitt Romney

Why are you seeking this office?

I am grateful for the opportunities Melrose has given me, and I am running for mayor to ensure the next generations have these same opportunities and more. As a volunteer and a former elected official in our city for 14 years, I have worked hard to improve the quality of life for our residents.
I am running because I see the possibilities of what our future holds, and I want to help unlock that potential for all residents.

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

Financial instability which centers around the nearly $3 million structural deficit in the school budget and lack of long-term planning for our budget and infrastructure needs.

I believe the most important job I will have as mayor will be to provide a strong financial footing for our city. I am committed on Day One to begin building a five-year strategic financial plan for Melrose.

Having a strong financial plan will provide us the tools to better identify our needs and reach our goals for our school system, for public safety, and for much-needed maintenance of our city roads and water & sewer infrastructure.

I have the best experience to put this vision into action.

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

My depth and breadth of experience and my commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparency.

I am the only candidate to have represented Melrose citywide as a former city councilor-at-large and former School Committee member. My opponent has less than a quarter of the 14 years of experience I have representing Melrose. Through that time, I have helped the city face and tackle many challenges, including recovering from the drastic local aid cuts of the late 2000s, and have helped shape Melrose into the beautiful, vibrant city it is today.

My years of leadership with Mass Municipal Association. I have been involved in formulating best practices for municipalities throughout the Commonwealth and have forged relationships at the state and municipal levels that I can leverage to help Melrose succeed into the future.

Professionally I bring with me a strong background in finance having worked in both public and private sectors.

My commitment to strong fiscal management, government transparency, openness and accountability is unparalleled. In all of my elected experience, I have a proven track record of consistently pushing for more information to be shared with the public, especially around our budgeting and city finances. As mayor, I will have the chance to really open things up and make sure more voices are included in our decision-making process.

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

While the areas around our budgeting and long-term financial planning for our future are paramount, I will be focusing on what has brought so many people to Melrose and what has kept so many of us here. As our next Mayor, I will ensure we have:

• a well-run city that is fiscally responsible.
• excellent schools that push each student to reach their maximum potential regardless of their race, their ability or their socioeconomic status.
• a beautiful Melrose that is clean, that values our environment and cares for our infrastructure.
• a city that is open, inclusive and transparent that involves people in the decision-making process for decisions which affect them before they are made not just tells them about it afterward.

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

I am the only candidate for mayor who has served on a School Committee and hired a successful superintendent. I know how important it is to find the right person for the job who puts students first and respects our budgetary limitations. As a former School Committee member, I improved education for our students by voting to create the Early Childhood Center and new special education programming.

The next mayor will be tasked with managing the continued library renovation project, and the probability of construction of four new public safety buildings. I served on the School Committee while we built the new Middle School — on time and on budget. I served as the City Council representative on the School Building Committee while we successfully completed many school projects, including the new high school science labs.

Of all my experience, none has been more rewarding than helping my neighbors as their city councilor through the Ward 2 drainage improvement project, the largest public works project in the city’s then-history, which has greatly reduced flooding and helped to protect homes and property.

Working in leadership for a large municipality during a global crisis has prepared me to be ready to pivot to handle whatever challenges our future may hold. Additionally, my experience working not only with budgets, but also in bidding and contract management of large public construction projects, will benefit Melrose.

Combined, this experience puts me in a unique position to help the city manage during a period of heavy construction. While there will be many more issues to contend with, I bring the leadership, attention to detail, and forward-thinking problem-solving skills that will help Melrose grow and thrive.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. This advice has helped me be a much better person, friend and public servant. You never know what someone else is going through until you walk a mile in their shoes. By trying to see things through their eyes, you can much better understand where someone is coming from.

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

Voters should know that I am a persistent, creative-thinking problem solver who will respect your tax dollars with every decision.

As our next mayor, I want to focus on what makes us special here in Melrose, our sense of community and togetherness. I want to bring people together and foster that strong sense of community that I had growing up of neighbors helping neighbors.

Working together we really can have the best Melrose yet. I ask for your vote on Tuesday, November 7 or by early vote.