Your Local News, Sports & Information Online! Scan and Subscribe! Vol. 34, No. 47 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday 617-387-2200 Friday, November 21, 2025 City Council votes to dismiss four debt exclusion initiatives totaling $57 million in new, proposed property taxes Councillors Hayes and O’Malley sponsor five debt exclusion requests for $91 million in all By Steve Freker T he Malden City Council on Tuesday night voted down four out of five requests for ballot questions — in a future special election — asking voters to approve debt exclusions that added up to $91 million in additional property taxes. A fifth request, for a $36 million debt exclusion — and ballot question — to pay the assessed City of Malden bill for the construction of the new Northeast Vocational High School, was referred for discussion at the next City Council Finance Committee meeting. All five debt exclusion and subsequent order requests to be placed as a ballot question in as yet-unscheduled future special election were cosponsored by Councillor-at-Large Karen Colón Hayes and Ward 4 Councillor Ryan O’Malley. One, the request regarding the Northeast Vocational funding, was also cosponsored by Ward 6 Councillor Stephen Winslow. The debt exclusion requests The Malden City Council voted to dismiss four debt exclusion requests at its regular meeting on Tuesday. Pictured from left to right: Front: Jadeane Sica (Ward 8); Chris Simonelli (Ward 7); Carey McDonald (at-Large); Ari Taylor (Ward 5); Amanda Linehan (Council President, Ward 3); back row: Peg Crowe (Ward 1); Craig Spadafora (at-Large); Karen Colón Hayes (at-Large); Paul Condon (Ward 2); Ryan O’Malley (Ward 4) and Stephen Winslow (Ward 6). (Courtesy/City of Malden) Rep. Donato honored by Massachusetts Family Resource Centers Special to The Advocate S tate Representative Paul J. Donato was honored to receive an award from Family Resource Centers at a recent event. A statement released by Rep. Donato’s office reads: Family Resource Centers grew out of the knowledge that when families are brought together, without court intervention, outcomes are vastly improved. Between 2005 and 2012, myself, other legislators, DCF, families, and many non-profit stakeholders involved in the system collaborated to reform the CHINS (Children in Need of Service) proFAMILY| SEE PAGE 8 were unrelated and unaffiliated to the process which is now ongoing regarding a request for a $5.4 million Proposition 2 1/2 override. The override sum would specifically help close a structural budget deficit of $8.4 million for the existing FY26 budget year, which runs to June 30, 2026. Discussions have been going on for just over a month INITIATIVES| SEE PAGE 9 Historic Artwork from Malden Artist Darius Cobb is Featured in Ken Burns ‘American Revolution’ Series Malden Public Library is Among Area Institutions Featuring Cobb’s Diverse Works Special to The Advocate M alden, MA – Paintings from local artist Darius Cobb (1834-1919) are among the artistic renderings of the events of the War of Independence that are featured in the new Ken Burns six-part series, The American Revolution. In part one of the series, State Representative Paul J. Donato is shown with Judge Joan M. McMenemy and Glenn Daly of EOHHS at the awards ceremony hosted by Massachusetts Family Resource Centers. which premiered on Nov. 16, Cobb’s painting The Destruction of Tea in Boston Harbor, helps depict the events of Dec. 16, 1773, when Boston’s ARTIST| SEE PAGE 11 Darius Cobb’s painting, The Uniform.
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