Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, November 8, 2019 DRAMA | FROM PAGE 3 perspectives, but late last month the race took a turn when Malden Youth Soccer President Jason Hamelin and former City Councillor Neil Kinnon began an online conversation about the candidates and the campaigns. Hamelin questioned Najmi’s citizenship and added, “This deserves a call to the FBI. Could be a sleeper cell.” Kinnon, who had been talking online with Najmi, said Hamelin’s questions about the candidate’s citizenship were valid. Malden residents who read the exchange or reports about it were appalled and they TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS quickly condemned the comments. “It was awful,” said Murphy, who released a public statement that criticized the racist rhetoric and stressed that diversity and inclusiveness are basic tenets of her platform. And she reached out to Najmi to personally assure him she had no connection to the exchange between Kinnon and Hamelin. “To me that was most imMALDEN AUTO BODY OF EVERETT INC., HAS BEEN A LANDMARK ON RTE 99 IN EVERETT AND WAS RECENTLY TORN DOWN TO MAKE WAY FOR THE ENCORE RESORT CASINO PROJECT. ALTHOUGH WE REGRET DEARLY HAVING TO LEAVE OUR EVERETT FACILITY WHICH WAS OUR HOME FOR OVER 50 YEARS. WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE OUR NEW HOME AT 9 WHITMAN ST MALDEN. IT HAS A VERY SIMILAR LOOK AND WE STILL HAVE THE SAME PHONE NUMBER AND STAFF. WE OFFER THE SAME EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE AND DELIVER YOU THE SAME QUALITY WORK AS ALWAYS. WE VALUE YOUR LOYALTY AND HOPE YOU CAN CONSIDER ALLOWING US TO HANDLE ALL YOUR AUTO BODY NEEDS. WE OFFER YOU INSURANCE CLAIMS ASSISTANCE AND ARRANGE ENTERPRISE RENTALS. WE WORK WITH MOST INSURANCE COMPANIES AND OFFER YOU A SMOOTH EXPERIENCE IN GETTING YOUR VEHICLE BACK TO PRE-ACCIDENT CONDITION. WE OFFER 24/7 TOWING SERVICE TO OUR SHOP. PLEASE DON’T HESITIATE TO CONTACT US IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF OUR SERVICES, OR JUST STOP BY TO SAY HI. PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE OTHER BODY SHOPS WITH SIMILAR NAMES SO MAKE SURE YOU COME TO 9 WHITMAN STREET MALDEN AND ASK FOR JIM. WE ARE THE ORIGINAL MALDEN AUTO BODY OF EVERETT INC., JAMES MASSONE PRESIDENT. WE HAVE BEEN A FAMILY RUN BUSINESS SINCE 1947 AND PLAN TO CONTINUE SERVING THE GREATER BOSTON AREA FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. MALDEN AUTO BODY 9 Whitman St., Malden 617-389-3030 PHONE 617-389-7578 FAX EMAIL: MALDENAB@YAHOO.COM portant,” wrote Murphy. “Danyal is by all accounts a fine young man taking the time to get involved in his community and has every right to run for offi ce. We agreed to continue our campaigns the way we have been running them from the beginning with no negativity and to focus on the issues.” In Ward 8, City Council President Jadeane Sica won 68 percent of the vote and a fourth term on the council after defeating challenger Andrew Vanni. Vanni, the fi nance director for the Town of Millbury, was a fi nalist during the city’s search for a treasurer in 2017. He withdrew his name from consideration for that position to take the job in Millbury but then emailed city councillors some negative information about another fi nalist. According to Vanni, he intended to send the message anonymously, but he accidentally entered then–City Council President Debbie DeMaria’s name in the “From” line in the email form. When DeMaria read the email, she asked police to investigate what she felt was a case of identity theft. The email was traced back to Vanni, and a hearing was held with a clerk magistrate. Vanni wrote an open letter of apology to DeMaria and, at her request, made a $500 donation to Bread of Life and Malden Overcoming Addiction. However, he has insisted there was no crime, no identity theft, no fraud – just a major misunderstanding. Vanni followed up that misstep with a challenge to Sica, who is winding up a highly productive and successful year as City Council president. Vanni, who did not raise or spend any money on his campaign and who seems to know little about some of Malden’s major issues, was not much of a match for Sica, who knows every nook and cranny in Ward 8 and thoroughly enjoys going to bat for her constituents. Still, Vanni ended his campaign with 252 votes from Ward 8 residents, which is something candidates may want to consider in the next election.
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