Congratulations Melinda
To the editor:
I am writing to congratulate Melinda Vega Maldonado on her recent inauguration to the Chelsea City Council, which I had the privilege of attending. Ms. Maldonado will be a great asset to the Council in the months and years to come, and look forward to her making important contributions to the City of Chelsea and the surrounding area.
It has however come to my attention that following Ms. Maldonado‘s strong first place finish in last September’s preliminary election, the candidate eliminated in that election, Olivia Ann Walsh, immediately announced her support for and endorsed the then incumbent Councilor, who is a member of the Republican Party (see Chelsea Record, Sept. 26, 2019). Now ordinarily in a non-partisan municipal election, this would not be a matter of great significance, but Ms. Walsh immediately thereafter went on to file to run against an incumbent Democratic State Committeewoman for our district in the upcoming presidential primary on March 3. Supporting Republican candidates, whether in a municipal election or otherwise, is simply not a credential that one brings to a convincing candidacy to serve on the Democratic State Committee, let alone to attempt to oust a long serving and faithful Democrat from this obviously Democratic Party position! Ms. Walsh should have been aware of the inappropriateness of this action, given that our state party leadership had selected the Chelsea Council District 2 race between Ms. Maldonado and her Republican opponent in the November general election as one of its target municipal races around the state for which it was asking special help from Democratic Party officials and activists in support of Democratic candidates.
I trust that the Democratic voters of Chelsea will take Miss Walsh’s questionable loyalty to the Democratic Party to heart in voting on March 3 and support incumbent Committeewoman Lesley Rebecca Phillips for re-election.
Linda Sophia Pinti
Democratic State Committeewoman,
Middlesex & Suffolk Conference Representative