Melrose Alderman Monica Medeiros announced today that she will be campaigning fulltime as an official candidate for state senate in the 5th Middlesex District in the special election to be held Tuesday, April 1, 2014.
Medeiros is the only Republican and only woman in the race, and says she is encouraged by the enthusiastic support she has received throughout the district so far.
“The fact that we collected more than 1000 signatures in about a week is evidence to me that the voters are clamoring for a choice,” Medeiros said. “I want to be that choice.”
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Medeiros says her interest in this seat dates back to high school when she was an intern in then State Senator Richard Tisei’s office.
“I went there as a young person with a certain set of expectations. When I got there my eyes were opened to the many areas in which people need assistance and the many ways that a state senator could help people. Now I want to go there to be the state senator directing a staff and interns and introducing a whole new set of young people to public service.
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Medeiros has made public service a part of her life, whether it be as a volunteer, as a former school committee member or as a Melrose Alderman where she currently serves.
Her professional career in home financing is on hold with the announcement that she will take a leave of absence, effective immediately, to campaign fulltime.
Medeiros said she was compelled to get into this race because no one was talking about the issues that affect us most.
“Families are struggling,” she said “to pay ever increasing taxes and fees for property, water and sewer, athletics, healthcare and utility costs. People are working harder and longer and walking away with less and less of their own money to spend on providing better opportunities for themselves and for their families.”
“I heard little about the waste on Beacon Hill and inefficiently run programs, which take away funds that could come back to our cities and towns to help us pay for the things we really need on a daily basis such as better schools, public safety, health care and job opportunities,” Medeiros said.
“I am looking forward to using this time to meet voters and hear their concerns,” she said.
Medeiros recently topped the ticket in the Melrose Alderman at Large race last November and also serves as the Aldermanic representative on the School Building Committee.
She previously served three terms as a ward alderman and a term on the Melrose School Committee.
Last year, she was elected the District 5 Representative on the Massachusetts Municipal Councillors’ Association, and by virtue of this position serves on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
A lifelong resident of Melrose, Medeiros is a product of the Melrose Public Schools. She went on to graduate summa cum laude from Northeastern University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. She later earned a Master’s degree in political communication from Emerson College.
To get involved with the campaign, contact Volunteer Coordinator Julie DeLillo at (978) 328-6031, email VoteMonica@gmail.com or like Monica Medeiros for State Senate on Facebook.
The Special Election to be held April 1, 2014 is to fill the seat formerly held by Katherine Clark who was elected to US Congress last December. The Fifth Middlesex district includes Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield and Precincts 1, 2, 3 and 8 of Winchester.
