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Budgetary accountability and oversight

Fully-funded schools and public safety

Term limits for all elected officials

Practical affordable housing solutions

<h3>Fighting for Our Community</h3>Find out how I plan on using a seat on the City Council to bring our community together and deliver solutions for the most pressing issues that confront Melrose.

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Submit your comments, suggestions, or feedback or contact me using the information below.Phone: 617-459-7479Email: <a href="mailto:alex@alexformelrose.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">alex@alexformelrose.com</a>Let's Meet (virtual): <a href="https://tinyurl.com/ysucm8u6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://tinyurl.com/ysucm8u6</a>

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<h2>November 4th</h2>Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School

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<h2>Melrose deserves accountability and results.</h2><h2>I'm ready to deliver.</h2><h3>Let's elect an actual public servant who is dedicated to a stronger, more united city - not their own agenda.</h3><img src="https://run.imgix.net/3990d061-7ac6-4dca-b1e0-0ea93e52439a/d1b317c8-f9ee-41f7-a595-bdc2e596deac/5602995f-4976-4d87-86d5-7ccc8ef04241.webp?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C4096%2C2896&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="" align="right" alignwidth="30" variant="framed"><h3>Rooted in Family. Driven By Service.</h3>I grew up in Houston, Texas, as the son and grandson of immigrants, sharecroppers, veterans, teachers, and trailblazers. Throughout my life, my family instilled the values of resilience in the face of obstacles, kindness, and empathy. They also guided me to learn that the greatest joys come when serving something greater than yourself.I have always been passionate about public service. After attending Texas Christian University (TCU), I went on to work in the United States Senate in Washington, D.C. where I aided constituents daily who, for example, needed federal resources after a hurricane, help accessing benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and assistance in initiating a disability claim. I did, however, see firsthand the insidious influence of partisan gamesmanship and special interests at the expense of working families, decided to leave to get a business education, and have since worked with various organizations to assist them in adopting best business practices.In Washington, though, I was fortunate enough to meet the love of my life, Katie, a native of Manchester, New Hampshire. We would eventually move to the Boston-area in 2008 to be closer to her family and marry in 2009.<h3>Melrose: A Place to Call Home</h3><img src="https://run.imgix.net/3990d061-7ac6-4dca-b1e0-0ea93e52439a/f910df9c-01b4-439d-b956-ff750a28a72c/03ac6487-d4e5-4cb0-8d1f-179a1d839277.webp?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=19&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C3072%2C2637&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="" align="left" alignwidth="40" variant="framed">Katie and I made Melrose our home in 2016 where we have been blessed with two sons, Charlie (10) and Sam (7), and our beloved dog, Lady Bird (13). I coach at the Melrose Little League and Melrose Youth Basketball where I work with young athletes to develop their skills while learning the value in teamwork and good sportsmanship. Additionally, I dedicate my time to volunteering at the library at Hoover Elementary School and sit on the Board of Directors of The Bridge. My family and I are deeply devoted to Melrose, and I envision this great city fostering an environment where every individual has the opportunity to succeed and reach their potential.In my spare time, you can find me cheering on the TCU Horned Frogs or playing and singing country music with my kids.<h3> Committed to Results</h3><img src="https://run.imgix.net/3990d061-7ac6-4dca-b1e0-0ea93e52439a/875e00bc-62a6-40a7-9659-dd596470e77f/875e00bc-62a6-40a7-9659-dd596470e77f.png?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C489%2C597&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="" align="right" alignwidth="40" variant="framed">In my professional life, I am measured solely by results. I plan on bringing that same mentality to my work on the City Council where I expect to be held accountable for the value I bring to Ward 7. Whether in the private, public, or nonprofit sectors, I am always collaborating with diverse stakeholder groups to find solutions that achieve broader objectives and meaningful impact. Anything less is unacceptable.You can count on me to always be a "workhorse" and never a "show horse" and forgo the emptiness of performative politics that accomplish nothing. I will never seek to purposely divide our community for my own political gain and will always listen and seek common ground. My grandmother once told me, "Remember Alex, you were born with two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you speak." I plan on making that incredible advice my North Star while in office.

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It’s a new day in Melrose, and I am excited to announce my candidacy to represent Ward 7 on the Melrose City Council! It is with deep humility and a profound commitment to our community that I seek the opportunity to serve you and work together to confront and overcome the challenges our city faces.I am running because, for too long, we have allowed many of our elected officials to skate by on their good intentions instead of their results. They have not, to date, shown any will to fight for fully-funded schools for our kids which jeopardizes their education and all of our property values. On too many occasions, we have heard our elected officials tell us they are doing all they can to secure funding for MPS yet they refuse to force the Mayor to spend the necessary political capital to do so. Additionally, many on our City Council are advocating for this approach to the budget without conducting minimal, much less aggressive, oversight. Such a relationship between our legislative bodies and the Mayor's Office is fundamentally unacceptable and has led to poor outcomes.I believe it is time to hold our elected officials accountable for their record of ineffectiveness.I believe it is time for change.It is time for leadership that is willing to stand up for Melrose when the Mayor’s budget does not align with the needs of our kids.&nbsp;It is time for a City Councilor who will ALWAYS conduct aggressive oversight and tear down the culture of political machinery in the name of a sustainable future for Melrose.It is time for a true public servant who understands they work for you, not political parties or advocacy groups, who are becoming nothing more than a mechanism to preserve the status quo.It is time for a leader that, instead of using elected office to divide us and demonize those with whom they may not agree, brings our community together towards a common purpose.My Friends, this is the candidacy I will take to every door in Ward 7 to demand a city government that answers only to you for a stronger, more united Melrose that is able to take on any obstacle we may encounter.We can do this, and Melrose will be better for it.I look forward to knocking on your door, meeting you, and learning more about your hopes and concerns for Melrose. I will also be hosting a formal kickoff on May 4 at the VFW from 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM and would be honored if you could attend. You can register here: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/46bsvrr2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://tinyurl.com/46bsvrr2</a>. In the interim, please reach out to me at <a href="mailto:alex@alexformelrose.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">alex@alexformelrose.com</a> if you have any questions or would like to discuss any issues that are of importance to you.Now let’s get to work and ensure that Melrose’s best days always lie ahead!

Today is a new day in Melrose where we demand accountability, transparency, and results out of our elected leaders. In that spirit, I am announcing my candidacy to represent Ward 7 on the Melrose City Council and would be honored to have your support.

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A New Day in Melrose

Most affordable housing proposals in Melrose have been unfocused, unwieldy, and unrealistic. I will work with the Administration to develop greater access to affordable housing in Melrose for teachers and first responders as well as greater access to down payment assistance for these vital members of our community. Melrose will be stronger and safer when we can call these amazing people our neighbors.

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Affordable Housing

Melrose, MA - Resident Alex Rodriguez has announced his candidacy for Ward 7 City Councilor in the upcoming Municipal Election on Tuesday, Nov. 4.Not affiliated with any political party, Rodriguez named some of his priorities if elected as funding the school district, improving public safety, and a focus on budgetary oversight.

Melrose Resident Announces Bid For City Council (Melrose Patch)

At their core, overrides are used to fix an existing "math problem" triggered by increased costs when inflation is greater than 2.5%. I support an override to fill the existing short-term gap to ensure that veteran's services, MPS, and public safety do not experience draconian cuts and vow, if elected, to conduct extensive public oversight on how override dollars are spent. I will, however, push the Mayor to propose budgets that provide a greater proportion of funding of these priorities through the regular budgeting process and only support budgets that attempt to do so to ensure long-term sustainability of these vital services.

School Funding, Public Safety, &amp; Overrides

The basic function of a legislator is to conduct budgetary oversight. Several Councilors have been nothing more than rubber stamps for proposed budgets. As your Councilor, I will use my position to drive more Council input in the budgeting process and conduct aggressive oversight to ensure city officials have to answer for how tax dollars are spent.

Budget and Oversight

Many of our officials extol citizen governance while accepting contributions and assistance from political parties and political action committees (PACs) in order to win elections. I pledge to refuse such help, propose term limits for all elected officials, serve no more than two terms, and not seek higher office after my time on the Council is over.

Government Reform

Ward 7 was the first of Melrose’s seven wards to see a competitive race develop for its City Council seat, between current City Councilor Devin Romanul and challenger Alex Rodriguez. In November, Ward 7 voters will choose between two candidates with similar values and priorities, but different visions of what the City Council can and should do to achieve those goals.Both Romanul and Rodriguez are parents of elementary-aged children. They volunteer in their children’s schools and coach youth sports. They both deeply value the Melrose community, and each of them has shared that their main motivation for running for City Council is the desire to ensure that Melrose remains a great place to raise a family.Romanul and Rodriguez both believe that a property tax override is needed in order to maintain city services and the quality of the Melrose Public Schools, and they have both stated that they will be voting and campaigning <a href="https://themelrosemessenger.org/articles/05-25/override.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">for the highest override amount</a> in November. And they share a commitment to listening to and prioritizing the needs of Ward 7’s residents.But while Romanul sees compromise and collaboration as central to his legislative work, Rodriguez seeks to upend what he sees as a culture of suppressing debate within the City Council. They are both committed to transparency and accountability, but Romanul focuses his efforts on soliciting constituent feedback and making complex budget issues accessible to the public, while Rodriguez believes that City Councilors need to ask more difficult questions and engage in more oversight.More About AlexAlex Rodriguez is running to represent Ward 7 on the City Council because he wants “to make sure that Melrose stays a great place to grow up and grow old” and to challenge what he sees as a culture on the City Council where hard questions are not asked and substantive debate is discouraged.Rodriguez has a Masters degree and a Doctorate in Business Administration. He has worked in marketing and user engagement in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, and has taught and lectured at several local colleges. Currently he owns a consulting firm dedicated to customer retention strategies.Rodriguez and his family have lived in Melrose for almost a decade, and his two children attend the Melrose Public Schools. He volunteers at the Hoover Elementary School and coaches Little League.“I really believe we live in an incredible city,” said Rodriguez, “I don’t look or sound like most people who grew up here” (Rodriguez’s Texan roots come out in a hint of what he calls a “chicken-fried accent”) “but my family and I have been welcomed with open arms. Melrose is a great place for kids to grow up and thrive, and I’m running for City Council because I want it to continue to be an attractive place for our kids to raise their own kids.”“At the end of the day, I’m just a dad,” he went on. “I’ve had a front row seat to the critical issues the schools are facing, and, like any rational parent, I’m nervous as to the financial sustainability of the school system. I’m worried about what the educational experience will look like if the dam breaks. Volunteering at the Hoover library, I’ve watched our teachers pull off daily miracles with little to no resources, but in the not-so-distant future they just won’t be able to do that, and the consequences could be catastrophic to our kids’ educational experience, and to our home values.”Rodriguez described how he saw this happen in Houston in the 1980s, when oil prices fell and the city’s economy was badly hit. “It killed our part of town,” he said. “I vividly remember seeing several homes foreclose on our street. This is real, and it can happen. It’s not just fictional. In the case of Houston, it was created by external economic circumstances. But we have a choice as to whether we experience this or not.”“We need people on the City Council who will not let this just happen to our kids,” he went on, “without stimulating a fact-based debate that drives real solutions for Melrose.”In Rodriguez’s view, “We don’t have an oversight culture on the City Council right now. And oversight is so important because that’s the means by which we develop trust with our residents. As time goes on, the City Council just turns into a rubber stamp for the mayor, and that has unintended consequences: we lose accountability in local government.”“The reality is,” he continued, “the right questions aren’t even being asked right now. We should have real disagreement - collegial, substantive, but a real debate. My background gives me experience in being able to ask the toughest questions at the toughest times. I have no problem doing that.”“I’m a businessperson,” Rodriguez added, “and I love a spreadsheet. I’ve done budgets in the public sector as well as for private companies and nonprofits. I have a deep understanding of the structural budget challenges we face under Proposition 2½. Fundamentally, we’re on our own if we want to set Melrose on a path to a sustainable future.”Rodriguez’s background is part of what is driving him to run for City Council. “I’m the son and grandson of combat veterans,” he said. “I’m descended from Mexican immigrants, sharecroppers, and trailblazers. They have given me a very deep faith, and taught me to stand up for those who are marginalized; to uplifting the least, the last, and the lost.”“Kids don’t vote,” Rodriguez went on, “and they don’t have a lot of say in what goes on at their schools, so they have to trust adults to fight for what they need. The North Star in Melrose has to be about our children: is this a good place to raise kids? When we look at pieces of legislation, that has to be the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth priorities. This is about our kids, and what they deserve.”“If you’re a parent of a child with special needs,” Rodriguez added, “you deserve to be supported by the community, not be a financial afterthought.”“My family is a constant reminder to me of why I’m here,” he concluded, “to build bridges in our community and to deliver measurable results.”For Rodriguez, what makes Melrose so special is “the neighborliness that is embedded in the culture across generations. We really care for each other, in good times and in bad. It’s not unique to Melrose, but it’s very tangible here. It’s a really inclusive community, welcoming to people who are different. My family is still relatively new, but we’re engrained in the community as much as someone who’s been here for generations.”But he sees the polarization that has been happening at the national and state levels as a threat to the community.“Our local body politic is evolving into a shape that is unhealthy,” Rodriguez argued, “Party identification has seeped into our nonpartisan elections, and this kind of environment makes it difficult to hold incumbents accountable. We’ve seen how this plays out at the state and national levels, and I don’t think anyone can argue that it leads to successful governance.”While Rodriguez, now an independent, worked for a Republican senator early in his career, he has seen his own views skew to the center as the Republican Party shifted rightward. Although Rodriguez has voted for candidates from both major parties, he said, “I’m not a member of any political party, and I will reject support from any political party. I will not accept a public endorsement from anyone in office. I’m proud of running this kind of campaign. I would rather lose than be accountable to anyone who expects you to throw objectivity out the window when you get into office.”Rodriguez is also in favor of term limits for the City Council: “I don’t think this should be someone’s permanent position,” he said, “and I’m committed to not seeking higher office.”One role Rodriguez sees for the City Council is lobbying state officials for more options for Melrose to generate more revenue to meet rising costs.“We have obvious financial constraints as a community that relies on residential property taxes,” Rodriguez explained. “They’re not unique to us - we see them in other bedroom communities. It makes us really vulnerable to economic pressures. We’re not set up to absorb economic shocks. Right now, overrides are the only solution at our disposal, and desperate times call for desperate measures. But our leaders need to realize that relying on the electoral system and the political whims of the moment to get the funding we need to deliver public services - schools, public safety, services for veterans - is not sustainable in the long term.”“Right now, there’s no political will to address Proposition 2½ at the state level,” he continued, “but we need to pressure our state delegation to not sit silent when the governor tries to address municipal taxation in ways that are not beneficial to Melrose.”Rodriguez suggested that one possible avenue for generating more revenue might be to push the state legislature for some sort of home rule legislation related to taxation that would apply only to Melrose. “No one wants to discuss it,” he said, “but we don’t have a choice anymore. We need to figure out how we can deleverage ourselves from property taxes. It’s high risk to have this much revenue coming from one source. We will get to a point where we do price people out of the market - so Melrose might still be a great place to grow up, but it won’t be a great place to grow old. And say we pass the override in the fall: what about the next one? We will find ourselves in the same position unless we take action now.”While Rodriguez wants to seek alternate avenues for taxation in the long-term, he is emphatic in his support for <a href="https://themelrosemessenger.org/articles/2025/05/override.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">all three tiers override questions</a> that will be on the ballot in November. “Our financial challenges are very real,” he said, “and we’re in this situation because of structural revenue issues, not mismanagement.”“By opposing the override as it is written,” he went on, “you are tacitly supporting cuts to services that veterans earned through their blood and sacrifice. You are voting for fewer public safety employees, inevitable school closings, higher student-teacher ratios. We could be looking at a potential state takeover of our schools in the not-too-distant future, which would kill our property values. The biggest concern I hear from Ward 7 residents is that our roads are awful, a disaster. If the override fails, those roads aren’t going to fix themselves.”“The consequences of the override’s failure are far more problematic than the consequences of its passage,” he concluded.Rodriguez’s criticism of the budget the City Council approved for this year is not because he believes any of the items in it aren’t worth spending money on, but because he believes the budget did not sufficiently prioritize the Melrose Public Schools over other expenditures. “Budgets are a reflection of our values and priorities,” he said, “and you have to ask yourself: where did our kids fall in those priorities? We’ve heard from elected officials for a long time about how much they care about our kids, but if that were the case, you would be making every effort to fully fund the schools and leave other parts of the city more vulnerable. Why is so much school funding leveraged on the passage of the override?”“The culture on the City Council has attempted to minimize debate in a public setting on the mayor’s initiatives,” Rodriguez went on, “I believe that culture has extended outside the Council, and it hurts the city when we need to have robust debates, not silence dissenting opinions.”“We need oversight and accountability to build trust,” Rodriguez continued, “We can’t pass an override and then just say, ‘here’s a check and then we’ll never ask about it again.’ We need oversight in order to build broad-based community support that unites Melrose instead of dividing us into camps. It’s perfectly reasonable for voters to have that expectation that the mayor and her administration will make a well-reasoned business case for every line item on the budget. Let’s get it all out in the open, and let people decide where they stand from there.”Other issues Rodriguez would like to address, if he is elected to the City Council, include improving the snow removal ordinance to ensure that it is enforceable and looking into policies that would create more affordable housing, including offering property tax relief for homeowners who add Accessory Dwelling Units and supporting Melrose teachers and first responders who want to live here. “We have a decent amount of latitude to be creative in how we can increase housing stock and general affordability,” Rodriguez reflected.Rodriguez aims to make his campaign personal for Ward 7 voters: “I want to be the one knocking on the door,” he said, “never a volunteer. In a small race, every voter has the right to ask me any question they want while looking me in the eye.”In terms of how he would go about the work of legislating, Rodriguez reflected, “A good legislator is always inquisitive. They’re always searching for the right questions to ask, to create the most positive impact for the most people possible. You have to ask yourself: What is the problem the legislation is addressing? Is it addressable through law? Does this legislation address the problem? Can the legislation be enforced? Is it likely to withstand legal challenges? Who benefits the most from it? Is anyone likely to experience undue harm from it? What would that harm look like and how could it be mitigated?”“Then you engage stakeholder groups,” he went on, “and gather their input in good-faith discussion. You look at how similar communities addressed the issue, and look at what worked and what didn’t. And then you get something done. Because ultimately, the perfect can become the enemy of the good, and good isn’t all that bad.”In line with his commitment to keeping national politics out of City Hall, Rodriguez expressed his disapproval for the vote the City Council took last spring calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. “People in Melrose have very divergent viewpoints on the matter, and there’s no realistic way the City Council can have any influence on world events. The actual debate within the City Council got quite heated, and for what? What did it accomplish? Was it worth dividing our community in such a way? I would have recommended that people press our federal leaders on the issue instead - it would have had more impact on the situation in the Middle East.”While Rodriguez is a committed Melrosian now, he still values his Texan roots as, in his words, “the president, founder, and sole member of Texas Christian University Alumni Association in Melrose.” He loves spending time with his family and he follows college football “religiously.”“I’m doing this for my boys,” he reflected, “to show them that if you really feel strongly about something, then it’s OK to lose, and if you lose with your honor and with your values intact, then so be it. The first people I thought of when I entered this race were my dad and my grandpa. My dad wasn’t even born in this country, but he went and got shot at in Vietnam, because his country called and he went. It’s a form of patriotism that I could never match, and it shaped how I was brought up - always leaving the campsite better than I found it. Win, lose, or draw, I hope the campsite is better than when I entered this race.”

Melrose, MA - Alex Rodriguez is running to represent Ward 7 on the City Council because he wants “to make sure that Melrose stays a great place to grow up and grow old” and to challenge what he sees as a culture on the City Council where hard questions are not asked and substantive debate is discouraged. Rodriguez seeks to upend what he sees as a culture of suppressing debate within the City Council. He is committed to transparency and accountability with and earning the public's trust through thorough and effective oversight.

Ward 7 To See City Council Race Between Romanul and Rodriguez (Melrose Messenger)

Join us as we kickoff our campaign and get one step closer to getting Melrose ready for an exciting future!Doors open at 6:00PM.

Campaign Kickoff

Join us for food and fun as we kickoff our campaign! Doors open at 6:00 PM.

Alex Rodriguez is running to represent Ward 7 in the City Council in Melrose, Massachusetts to bring budgetary accountability, fully-funded schools and public safety, and the necessary political reforms to ensure that Melrose's best days always lie ahead.