Melrose Republicans Seize Sign Controversy As Opportunity

MELROSE, MA — Whether it was supporting or denouncing the controversial message that lit up a police traffic sign last week, you couldn't find many people in Melrose pleased with the aftermath.

Unless you looked to the local GOP.

The Melrose Republican City Committee appeared to rejoice in the national attention coming down on the city — and particularly the criticism toward Mayor Paul Brodeur — using it as a fundraising springboard and opportunity to win over voters fed up with "political correctness."

The city committee on Friday morning posted to Facebook a Patch story about Brodeur, a Democrat, taking online abuse over his apology for the "The Safety Of All Lives Matter" police traffic sign on Main Street Wednesday.

"Check out the tweets from Dinesh D'Souza & Diamond And Silk! #MelroseMA #ItsOK2VoteGOP #mapoli" the post read, referencing two popular and controversial right-wing social media accounts who weighed in on Brodeur's apology. D'Souza called Brodeur a "moron" and Diamond and Silk told residents to vote him out.

The next post linked to the Melrose GOP's fundraising page. The post status said the committee was "feeling energized" and that the GOP stood with the "conservative pundits," as well as some others like Ann Coulter and Ben Shapiro, "against #MelroseMA liberals and their political correctness!"

The Melrose Republican City Committee did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

>>>Former Republican State Rep. Candidate: Melrose's Traffic Sign Issue Is Not A Political Matter

The Melrose Democratic City Committee saw the sign and response to it as an opportunity of a different kind. Chair Lisa Loveland told Patch Democrats will "work within the community to confront racism here in Melrose."

"The MDCC is fully in support of the actions that were taken by Mayor Brodeur with regard to the message that was displayed," she said. "In response to not only this incident, but to the myriad of other incidents that have taken place in our country recently, the Committee will be voting on statement and an action plan at our meeting on Wednesday evening."

Brodeur was subject to a wave of online criticism, which included some people weighing in on the All Lives Matter/Black Lives Matter discussion, but many lobbing personal insults the mayor's way. A number of the 22,000+ replies to his tweets came from out of state.

Related

• 'All Lives Matter' Sign Revealed A Dangling Thread In Melrose
• The Only Response 'Black Lives Matter' Needs Is 'Yes, They Do!'

You can reach Mike Carraggi at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi.