In the Ward 3 elections held on November 7th, 2017, incumbent John Matheson was elected as City Councillor.
John Matheson
Opening Statement:
“Thank you Guillermo, thank you MATV for hosting this event. Thank you to the panelists and thank you to all the spectators that are here and all of you at home for tuning in. I too believe that this is a great institution and having these roundtable discussions really brings campaigns back to the issues and I think that’s what really matters. I’ll say a few things about myself in case you don’t know me. I am the Ward 3 councillor here in Malden. I am a Malden boy, born and raised in Ward 3, educated in our public schools. I was the first in my family to go to college and I went on to law school after graduating with honors and becoming an attorney. I came back here to Malden and started up my practice. I went on to get a masters degree in Business. And I ran for council because my neighbors were talking to me about the poor conditions of their street and sidewalk. It was as simple as the issues you see as you open your door…and funny enough that even today, we’re still dealing with the perennial issue of streets and sidewalks. We did 7 million dollars of new road work this year. I see Malden as a place of great opportunity. I love Malden. It is my hometown. I love our diversity. And my experience in the council has been a real honor and a privilege to serve, to serve the very community I grew up in. To help host the Fourth of July event that I got to participate in as a kid. And to serve in all the many committees, I had the honor of serving At Large, I had honor of serving as councillor president, and more recently, serving on the police station committee that delivered 20 million dollar project on time and below budget. So, anyway it’s great to be here and thank you so much for hosting it.”
Thoughts on Marijuana:
“This is a very hot topic that we see now. It is an international issue. I know that there are a couple of states that have legalized it with Massachusetts and several more. This is something that concerns all of us. On the council, I asked for a montorum. This is nothing unique, this is something that most communities in Massachusetts have asked for. We need time to study the developing law in the area as well as coming into grips of what is the revenue going to be like in this type of activity, and what is the cost going to be. One of the major concerns is these are cash-only businesses because the federal law bans marijuana as an illegal substance, so banks will not participate with these merchants. They have to do all cash transactions. This means these businesses that hold this cash could be subject to a lot of robberies. That means it will be more police force requirement. Also, I am concerned about what that will mean for the youth. Clearly, there are responsible consenting adults that want to participate in this and no one wants to stand in their way. The City of Malden did pass that ballot question. I do support ballot questions about 60/40. This something that is coming. We know Melrose is going to add dispensaries and we know Medford is going to add dispensaries. We are going to watch this issue very carefully and closely. I can tell you that I don’t want to see that near churches, places of worship, schools, I don’t want to see in the residential areas either. That is what the residents have told me. I don’t think Ward 3 is the right area to have dispensaries…”
Affordable Housing:
“I do think the administration could have made some way to make 10% affordable housing. That seems to be the benchmark under 40b that we are all looking for. Malden actually does better than most communities by offering a housing stock that is affordable. We are at 10.2% when the next decade comes and we perform the census. I believe we are falling below 10%, which means we lose some of its zoning control. We don’t want to see that happen. The citizens should be able to control their own destiny and their own city. There is another way to satisfy the 40 affordable housing component. That is by dedicating 1.5% of your total land area to affordable housing. Malden actually does that. On the council, we are asking the MRA to conduct a study. We offer a lot of senior housing. But clearly, this should be a component of new growth…We should add affordable housing to the new growth, to not run the risk of failing 40b.
Public service being accessible to all regardless of the language they speak:
“Malden as we know is one of the most diverse communities in the country. The most diverse community in Massachusetts. We have 70 plus languages spoken. Clearly, that is a challenge and an opportunity. I said to Nathan [Lamb] at the start, if you can live here, you can live anywhere. I could live anywhere based on my Malden background. Not that I wanted to. We ask this question to all the CFO candidates because you’re going to be the face of the city in a very high profile area. You’re going to have to deal with people with different language barriers. There is technology to help you. For example, we can put in kiosks where people can speak into the loosest and it be translated to the councillor or counterperson. There is no reason why someone should have to pay their tax bill and not be able to communicate with the person behind the counter today. We have budgetary options dedicated for software, and updating this equipment. It is available. We could do it now. I do believe some of the treasure candidates were receptive to that idea and that is something that we really need to roll out… What you will see in the future is a very streamline government. I would love to be apart of that.
Candace Julyan
Opening statement: “Thank you. I just want to thank all of the panelists and MATV for holding this. This is a very important and significant community service that I appreciate. As many of you know I am a first time candidate. I am not a politician. I decided to run because I want to see change. I feel that we need a different kind of government here in Malden. I think it is a government that needs to be more transparent, needs to be more engaged with citizens and it needs to be more community-focused. And that’s why I am running because I feel that those are things that I can actually deliver. My husband and I have lived here in Malden for over 30 years. I have come to cherish both the diversity and the amazing residents that I have come to know–my neighbors–and as I’ve become more involved in a number of community groups beyond my neighbors. What I really adore about Malden is both the longtime residents and the new residents. I feel that what’s important is for all of us to be together as a community. And that is something I feel like I can help have happen in city council. I bring some unique skills to city council. They’re not the normal. I have done a lot of community organizing and conflict resolution. And those are skills that I feel could bring civil discourse to the city council and that’s why I’m running.
Thoughts on Marijuana:
“I feel that a dispensary right across the police station would be a great idea. It would solve a lot of problems. It’s a shopping center there. We can work on ways to accomplish this. I think education is very important, and getting students involved is what will make difference. I think students should be involved in the education on this as well as the adults.
Thoughts on Affordable Housing:
I do feel that affordable housing is extremely important. One of the things that I have realized while door knocking is that people have talked about, particularly older people, their concerns on continuing to live in Malden. One of the things that I have seen and been disappointed with is in terms of what city council has done so far with some of these new developments. I think it needs to be some real requirements for these new developments. There needs to be a higher percentage of affordable housing units within those dwellings. That would be one way to certainly address the affordable housing. I heard someone talk about how to think of what is affordable. There are ways particularly with seniors to address how to make some housing affordable. By looking at water bills and a way to bring some of the cost down for seniors in particular so that they can remain in Malden and stay in Malden. I feel that this is a significant issue and one that i would like to put quite a bit of energy into. Particularity the new developments that are coming into Malden and making sure they have space available for the units.
Public service being accessible to all regardless of the language they speak:
I think that it is a real challenge to think about the language diversity is the serious issue. I actually did some work at the Senior Center, and we had to have everything translated. It was a real eye-opening experience. In order to have a conversation, people have to know what you are saying. So there has to be translations going back and forth. It is a different way in operating. I think that finding a different way to operate, I don’t know what that way is right now. But it must be a way that would allow another way for multiple languages… I think finding ways could be part of the conversation in that way could be rallying important… One of the people running has not been as respectful about diversity as I would want, city councillor [Neil] Kinnon. If I was on the city council I would not be voting for him as a treasurer.
