It’s Official!!!
By Jim Conley • Feb 26th, 2007 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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According to the Jesse Mermell Web site, Rep. Frank Smizik, Selectman’s Chair Robert L. Allen, Jr. and the former School Committee one-person-wrecking-crew Marcia Heist have signed on to chair Jesse’s awesome campaign for Brookline Selectman.
Marcia and Bobby together again! OMG!
Marcia says that, “Jesse’s understanding of both fiscal and policy issues impacting education in the Commonwealth and in Brookline will be an invaluable asset as she advocates for our schools.”
That’s awesome! Marcia has to see in Jesse what was missing from her time on the school committee…she had, like, no idea how to manage fiscal and policy issues. In fact, her mangling of a superintendent hire set Brookline’s schools back by three years. Fortunately, a new crew cleaned up her mess and gave us Bill Lupini.
Bobby and Marcia were on board when the Lawrence School renovation was botched to the tune of $3 million. LOL!
I even had to bust Marcia for illegally bidding advertising for new administrative positions…at a time when the school department was saying it couldn’t afford new globes and maps for classrooms. It was ill. (See the inspector general’s letter invalidating the contracts here.)
Never mind that. As Jesse’s Web site says: “64 days until victory!”
Awesome!
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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Once again a demonstration of the Brookline political fraternal social order of endorsements surfaces providing coattails of the establishment political order to juice the way for the coronation of the designated replacement of a departing Selectman (Mike Merrill). But these coattails of the Kingfishes and Queenfishes may be a tad tattered and worn. I wonder how designee-Selectman to be Jesse Mermell feels about a charter change for Brookline? Or is she committed to the archaic, obsolete, inefficient and unaccountable Representative Town Meeting that she been a part of and which puts her in a position to be beholden and a handmaiden to Chair Allen? This will look good on her resume as her political career blossoms from our Muddy River community to the State, and, nay may I say it, Congress? Jesse, may the PAX be with you!
I would like to know more about what Ms. Mermell stands for. So this is an open letter to the candidate.
Ms. Mermell, you say you support “appropriate development”. It would help us undecided voters if you didn’t waffle. The town is currently a battleground between people who want to live here and preserve the character of our neighborhoods and those who wish to exploit real estate opportunities to make a lot of money building the town up. Jesse, whose side are you on? If you are allied with Bobby Allen, I suspect you favor urbanizing Brookline and giving big breaks to developers. After what we have been through these last few years, you can’t walk down the middle of this road. If by “appropriate development” you mean “very little development” then I’ll vote for you. Elaborate. Let us know.
Then comes the issue of affordable housing, which I know you support. But, please Ms. Mermell, do you agree that affordable housing should be distributed throughout Brookline, including in South Brookline, or do you wish to concentrate it all in the Coolidge Corner neighborhoods? As you know, the power elite whose support you seem to have secured have worked hard to keep affordable housing out of South Brookline and away from certain neighborhoods (you won’t find any in Bobby Allen’s neighborhood, or Roger Blood’s or Donna Kalikow’s). Will you break from these folks and strive for a more equitable distribution of affordable housing throughout the town?
And on the issue of “fiscal responsibility”, do you have the courage to stand up for sanity and oppose the multi-million dollar refurbishing of town hall, or would that be biting the hand that has just begun to feed you?
Finally, I think you are supporting higher property taxes (an override and the CPA), but I am not sure. Clear that up for me please. You should know that contrary to what some say, the people who live in Brookline are generally not the super-rich sons and daughters of privilege. We work hard and sacrifice so that we can live here and enjoy what Brookline has to offer. How are you going to make living here more affordable for us? We need a break too.
I look forward to your response, and depending on your answers, I may wish you good-luck.
Hmmm, 58 days until the election and still no answer from candidate Mermell.