Maria Belen Will Make an Excellent City Councilor
To the Editor:
“All politics is local,” a phrase often attributed to the late Massachusetts Congressman Tip O’Neil, is the notion that voters are strongly influenced by political decisions that directly impact them and that politicians who want to stay in office need to make voters a priority.
I am reminded of this phrase every two years when Chelsea holds its City Council elections and find it particularly meaningful this cycle because in District 8 we have a candidate for City Council, Maria Belen Power, whose everyday work for the past ten years makes the residents of Chelsea a priority.
Years ago, when I volunteered for various environmental campaigns led by Green Space, later GreenRoots, I first met and worked with Maria Belen. I was then, and am now, impressed by her skills as a vibrant, inclusive community organizer.
Maria Belen is passionate about her work in seeking and securing positive outcomes for our community and a better quality of life for us all. As a City Councilor, she will be able to build upon the improvements she has fought for in housing security, the environment, and transportation. In doing so, she will continue to be thoughtful and inclusive, asking probing questions and then listening to the answers so that her work is informed by the needs and desires of the community in which she has chosen to live, work, and raise her family.
I am confident that these skills will make Maria Belen an excellent City Councilor for District 8. I look forward to casting my ballot for her as City Councilor, and I encourage my neighbors to do the same. We need Power for Chelsea.
Sharlene McLean