THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, March 26, 2021 Page 11 ~ Letter-to-the-Editor ~ Ward 4 Councillor is Present – And Unaccountable Dear Editor, During my eight years as a City Councillor for Ward 4, I can’t recall a time when a fellow councilor voted “present”. It’s a cop out rarely used in local politics, as politicians usually correctly identify that their constituents won’t look kindly on their elected representative hiding behind a ‘present’ vote. A present vote is essentially ‘taking a pass’ on the vote. Yet in the last 5 weeks, my ward councilor Ryan O’Malley has done just that four times. Is it any wonder politicians at times get labeled as not trustworthy? City Councilors are elected to represent the citizens of Malden. That means taking a position on issues. Sometimes those issues are easy, great photo ops, with everyone happy. Sometimes not. As a ward four resident, I expect my ward councilor to actually vote on important issues. Yet on four occasions, O’Malley has refused to go on record and do the job he was elected to do. Voters should demand to know why O’Malley: Voted ‘present’ after an hour long debate on a critical licensing matter. Despite the fact that the license applicant was at the meeting to answer questions, and despite the fact that the issue had been discussed thoroughly the prior week in committee, O’Malley choose to leave voters guessing what his opinion was on the issue. Proposed a 66% increase in fees charged to residents for trash disposal, and then voted ‘present’ after his proposal was rejected by all of his colleagues. REVIEW | FROM PAGE 8 view team examines. The survey focuses on key areas of their child’s ELE program. Survey results will contribute to the monitoring report. Parents and other individuals may call OLA Review Chairperson Sibel Hughes at 781338-3569 to request a telephone interview. If an individual requires an accommodation, Refused to return to work at City Hall despite the fact that many of his fellow ward four residents have no choice but to work on site every day, and despite the fact that hundreds of City workers are working every day. O’Malley then voted ‘present’ when his colleagues all voted in favor of following the recommendation of the Council President on the issue. Voting present can only mean one of a few things. Either O’Malley is showing up at meetings unprepared to discuss and vote on items docketed well in advance, or O’Malley is, in an election year, avoiding going on the record on items that have any element of controversy. Either one is unacceptable to me as a ward four voter. Malden residents have heard the word ‘transparency’ from O’Malley more times than one can count. Yet basic transparency starts with voting on matters you are elected to vote on so residents know where you stand. Otherwise, voters are left to speculate, leading to concerns about back room deals and bad motives. The residents of ward four deserve to know where their ward councilor stands, especially with important votes coming up on additional development in the downtown. Anything less is simply unfair to those living in the ward without representation. Signed, Jeffrey Donahue Ward 4 resident and former city councillor such as translation, to participate in an interview, DESE will make the necessary arrangements. Within approximately 60 business days of the onsite visit, the review chairperson will provide Northeast Metro Tech with a report with information about areas in which the district meets or exceeds regulatory requirements and areas in which it requires assistance to correct or improve practices. Malden girls’ basketball team tops Somerville, 43-35, for first GBL win Cherilus (15 pts.) and Curran (12 pts.) lead balanced attack By Steve Freker T he steady improvement each game was evident as Malden got closer and closer to the “W.” In a 43-35 win over visiting Somerville last Friday night, Lady Tornadoes Head Coach Scott Marino’s Tornado finally cashed in and reaped the benefits. Led by a balanced scoring attack, topped by sophomore forward Nevaeh Cherilus’s season-high 15 points, Malden claimed its first win of the season and first in the Greater Boston League to go to 1-2 on the year. Cherilus was joined on the scoresheet by teammates Yasmine Alayan (9 points) and Lisette Curran (12 points) for the balanced offense. Cherilus has been a key performer on offense since the season started, but just could not seem to get shots to drop in previous games, not breaking double digits yet this season. But that changed Friday. Cherilus stayed aggressive with drives to the basket and offensive rebounds which led to some uncontested layups and some baskets after contact. “Some of her [Cherilus’s] shots started to drop and it was great to see,” Coach Marino said. “She’s been working hard and just hasn’t been able to contribute like she wanted to do in the scorebook.” Malden also ramped up the defense and got some good capitalizing baskets off turnovers by Somerville, igniting a big, 10-2 run in the third quarter which broke a tie and put Malden ahead for good. **** Malden topped Lynn Classical for a second straight win on Tuesday night (2-2) and was scheduled to play on the road at Revere High tonight. Malden High School sophomore Nevaeh Cherilus led Malden with 15 points in a 43-35 victory over Somerville at Malden’s Finn Gym. (Henry Huang Photo)
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