4 Questions with Alex Rodriguez.

Alex Rodriguez is running for city council in Ward 7 against incumbent Devin Romanul. He reached out to us to clarify some information on our website and was gracious enough to offer to answer any questions we might have. Below is our Q&A. It was done over email and, with exception of style and formatting, nothing has been edited.

1. What is your opinion of the fact no registered Republicans are running?

I think it speaks to the fact that we live in an overwhelmingly Democratic state and a

predominantly Democratic city within that state. As I am learning firsthand,

candidates, regardless of affiliation or lack thereof, make a lot of sacrifices to run for

office – the most significant being time. It also takes a lot to put yourself out there

and be willing to become a little bit of a punching bag. Not everyone is willing to do

that, and, to be honest, who can blame them? Today’s political climate, inside and

outside of Melrose, has become petty and vindictive. Add social media into that mix,

and you have a recipe for turning a lot of good people, regardless of political

affiliation, away from wanting to serve their community. I cannot speak for anyone

other than myself, but I would assume that what I have just described would

probably turn off a lot of people if they are in an extreme political minority.

2. Do you feel candidates that run as Unaffiliated should clarify their ideological

affiliation as a matter of transparency?

It depends on several things. The question, first, assumes that an Unaffiliated

candidate has an ideological affiliation. This is often not the case, especially the

more local the office. Additionally, suppose a candidate has historically voted based

on candidate quality, which can, at times, be totally divorced from ideological

affiliation. The ultimate goal in any election, in my view at least, should be to find

officials, regardless of political affiliation, who you trust to do everything they can to

benefit the most possible people in a way that will improve their community for the

long-haul while minimizing and mitigating the pain of those who might not help –

regardless of the issue.

For example, I (and maybe some of your readers) have voted for candidates that I

did not really “agree with” from a policy perspective, because I really did not want

their opponent in office, or thought they happened to possess a skillset that was

desperately needed for an office at a particular time. In less polarized times, this was

more common. I think the ideological purity tests we have resorted to are incredibly

harmful, dumbing down policy debates, and dividing us against each other in a way

that only seems to benefit political classes. As issues go at the federal level, for

example, there is no reason why a person could not broadly be in favor greater

regulation, oversight, and enforcement of securities law and banking regulations

while holding the view that Medicare and Social Security, in their current forms, are

financially unsustainable and need some element of reform with accompanying

changes in the Internal Revenue Code in order for them to be available for future

generations of retirees. One position I just articulated is a traditional left-of-center

position, and the other is a conventional right-of-center position, and each has little

overlap. In our traditional political camps, it is becoming more difficult to hold such

views and solve significant problems.

To me, at least, if you have a question for a candidate about an issue or their values,

just ask them about it in good faith. You may not like their answer, and if you object

to the answer enough, help their opponent get elected. That’s democracy. Too often

in Melrose, however, we have scrambled to try to put candidates into ideological

boxes which, in my opinion, has allowed our own political class to get by with

underperformance and makes it difficult to solve the problems we confront.

3. Why was it important to you to clarify your Unaffiliated status as “Independent?”

There are several reasons. First, we have nonpartisan municipal elections and do

not have party primaries. In other words, we don’t need the basic functions of

political parties in nonpartisan elections. When I see local political parties try to

involve themselves in elections that are explicitly meant to discourage partisan

politics, I, and probably many of your readers, find it disgraceful. Additionally, what

one would view as a traditional partisan lens at the municipal level is littered with

shades of gray and is genuinely in the eye of the beholder, which, I would

hypothesize, is less so at higher levels of elected office.

Also, some issues should not be viewed through the ideological lens at all. For

example, I have made conducting thorough public oversight of the Mayor’s proposed

budget a central issue in this campaign. Thorough public oversight is not an issue

tied to any political ideology. It is simply a best practice of any legislative body, one

which, in my opinion, we have largely ignored in Melrose, both within the Council

and the School Committee. Emphasizing the schools over other line items, for

example, is not attached to some long-standing ideological goal I have. I hold that

belief because, in my view, failing schools cannot be an acceptable option in

Melrose as they will hurt our kids and decimate our property values.

I also believe the insertion of partisan politics in Melrose has led to governance of,

by, and for the loudest partisan activists in our community and has empowered them

to engage in destructive political behavior that is tearing at the social fabric of our

city. Such behavior, in my opinion, has poisoned the local body politic, and I want no

part in that. Additionally, it has led to political practices that are aimed at

accumulating power through division, which pits us against each other in a way that

only benefits those in our local political class, all while ignoring the existential issues

we currently confront.

From a personal perspective, I want voters to know that I can stand on my own two

feet. I neither need nor want to confine my vision for Melrose to please a segment of

a political party. On top of that, we have to confront a reality about political parties. If

you are a candidate for political office, they expect that you will check your objectivity

at the door and go along with their agenda because they have dedicated resources

on your behalf to get elected. In the case of my candidacy, I wanted voters to know

that I want nothing to do with political parties and that the only interest I will

represent will be theirs – even those who did not vote for me or would oppose me to

their dying day. I am seeking to represent all of Ward 7, not a faction that lives within

it.

3a. How do you feel being an independent in a field of Democrats and Unaffiliated

candidates makes you stand out? Pros & Cons.

I don’t know if it necessarily does. That is something you would have to ask voters. I

can speak to what I hear from them.

Occasionally, people ask me what my political affiliation is, but it is honestly rare in

these partisan times. When I tell them that I am an Independent, they are quite

receptive to the idea of having a candidate for public office that fundamentally rejects

political parties and the destruction they have caused. Even many voters who are

members of one of the two major political parties will tell me that they are happy to

see a municipal candidate who wants nothing to do with either one of them and

wants to, for example, know that we have a sustainable path forward for more

sustainably-funded schools for the next ten to twenty years and have better

budgetary oversight.

I honestly have not found many cons, except simply not having some of the natural

advantages that come with being backed by a political party. To be honest, though, I

would rather lose than have those advantages and be beholden to those who gave

them to me.

4. What does being an Independent Candidate mean to you at the city council level?

To me, being an Independent means I am beholden to no one except the voters of Ward

7. I never have to think about how a party city committee might react to my vote or

position, or how a decision I make might affect someone’s reelection—my own included.

That is not, and should never be, the job of a legislator at any level. Unfortunately, in the

partisan times we live in, it too often is.

We have seen these kinds of allegiances here in Melrose, and they have hurt Ward 7.

Too often, some councilors and school committee members act as if their job is to

advance the Mayor’s agenda. It’s not—and neither is it to obstruct it. Their job, and mine

if elected, is to represent the people, to balance competing priorities, and to seek

compromises that serve as many residents as possible while minimizing harm. As an

Independent, my vote and my voice can help restore that kind of healthy, constructive

governance.