Malden ADVOCATE Vol. 29, No. 1 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday Malden hosts first annual Menorah Lighting 617-387-2200 Friday, January 3, 2020 Looking back at 2019: Malden Year in Review By Barbara Taormina M Pictured are Ward 2 School Committee Member Rob McCarthy, Ward 7 School Committee Member– Elect Michelle Bucci Luong, Ward 3 School Committee Member Jennifer Spadafora, School Committee Vice Chair Leonard Iovino, Ward 5 School Committee Member–Elect Adam Weldai and Ward 6 School Committee Member–Elect Joseph Brown with City Councillors-at-Large Stephen Winslow and Craig Spadafora, Ward 6 Councillor David Camell and Ward 3 Councillor–Elect Amanda Linehan. Event organizers Lori and Alyssa Ardai are also shown with Mayor Gary Christenson. See page 13 for story and photo highlights. (Advocate Photo by Tara Vocino) Some highs and lows from the 2019 election By Barbara Taormina will represent Ward 7. Amanda Linehan won a narM alden’s biggest political story of 2019 was, of course, the city election. Although there were campaigns with new faces and fresh ideas, 2019 was a year for incumbents. All elected officials who ran for reelection won new terms. Still, there were some changes. Tara Beardsley, Catherine Bordonaro and Colleen Leon stepped down from the School Committee, leaving three open seats. Adam Weldai was elected to represent Ward 5, Joseph Gray will be the new School Committee member for Ward 6 and Michelle Luong row 31-vote victory over Community Preservation Committee Chair Juliane Orsino in the race for the Ward 3 City Council seat left open by John Matheson, who challenged Mayor Gary Christenson in the mayoral race. According to one seasoned political observer, longtime incumbent John Froio, who represents Ward 8 on the School Committee, and challenger Rachel Running set the standard for municipal elections with competitive and respectful campaigns. It was a classy race. The mayoral contest bealden Center and the new city hall are nearly tween Christenson and Matheson was not. Each candidate offered a twisted version of the other’s record topped off with desperate-sounding accusations. Christenson said Matheson failed to show leadership on the redevelopment of Malden Hospital and claimed he accomplished nothing meaningful during his eight years on the City Council. Matheson said the mayor had a record of sweetheart deals with developers and suggested Christenson’s support for residential projects showed a disregard for the city’s low-income residents. 2019 ELECTION | SEE PAGE 4 finished. Water mains are being replaced, roads have been repaired and repaved and safety upgrades to the treacherous intersection at Fellsway East and Highland Avenue are in progress. The city took steps to address broader challenges, such as regional transportation, residential development and the need for affordable housing. Malden also began to expand its appreciation of diversity into strategies for inclusion with discussions about racial equity and with plans for translation services to engage residents who do not speak English in local government. For Malden, 2019 was a busy year with a lot of news. However, the following stories seemed to stand out because of their impact on the community and their potential to shape 2020. MaldenCORE Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity, MaldenCORE, brought the issue of racial equity in city institutions, particularly in city schools, to the forefront this year. The volunteer group, which was formed in 2017 to carry on the dialog that began with the city’s Unity N’ Community forum, held several rallies over the summer to call for hiring more teachers and staff of color, more antiracism training for the school district’s teachers and staff and more support for students who are victims of discrimination. MaldenCORE’s rallies gave students an opportunity to share individual experiences of racism and to describe the effect of never having a class with a teacher from the same racial, ethnic or cultural background. The group raised awareness about the racial disparity beREVIEW | SEE PAGE 10 Members and supporters of Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity (MaldenCORE) rally for racial equity in Malden Public Schools.
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