4 Questions with Jason Chen

Jason Chen is running for city council as an At-Large candidate. He reached out to us and was gracious enough to offer answers to 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.

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Of the 20 candidates running for open positions:

·  13 are registered Democrats (65%),

·  7 are registered as Unaffiliated (35%)

·  0 are registered as Republican 0%.

Further, if you average out the total number of votes in Melrose, MA cast across Democratic, Republican, and write in/other or non-voting candidates in the last 3 presidential elections, it comes out as follows:

·  62.82% of residents vote Democrat: about even with the Democratic representation in the field of candidates this year (65%)

·  26.44% of residents vote Republican: HIGHER than the Republican representation in the field of candidates this year (0%)

· 10.74% of residents voted for a third party, write in, or skipped the question: LOWER than the Unaffiliated representation in the field of candidates (35%. This isn’t surprising).

Finally, according to the latest data we can find, of the 21,704 registered voters in Melrose:

·  6,656 are registered Democrat (30.65%)

·  13,340 are registered Unaffiliated (61.44%)

·  1,552 are registered Republican (7.15%)

·  166 are registered “Other” (0.76%)

Understanding that Unaffiliated is a classification whereas Independent is more a political ideology, anecdotally what this data says to us is that almost ½ of the registered Unaffiliated voters in Melrose lean toward either Democratic or Republican ideology but don't register as such. And that those Democrats that run for office vote as they identify but that a number of the Unaffiliated candidates, statistically, do not. 

1) Do you feel that candidates who are registered as Unaffiliated should clarify their voting record as a matter of honesty and transparency?

All candidates running for elected office should be clear on their positions on the issues they identify to be important for Melrose. They should also raise previous votes which they do or don't agree with, whether they were in the chambers or not. If unaffiliated candidates claim to be moderate and middle ground, then I think their positions are especially worth presenting in full, as that is where we need to rebuild consensus. At the municipal level, I think it's less important to stress how you voted in the general election, or which national political party you are registered for. That said, I expect many voters would use the 2024 general election as an immediate litmus test. In my canvassing, I'm also confirming that many unidentified voters are indeed moderate in their positions.   

2) Why do you think registered republicans are not running for office in Melrose given the clearly higher percentage of unaffiliated folks that tend to vote that way?

The Republican national brand has challenges right now. I suspect that's the main reason why we don't see more/any candidates running under the Republican banner in a town that is more progressive and tends to vote progressive. To be fair, it's no secret that the Democratic brand has its share of challenges, but Melrose has more progressive voters who are more accepting of those. When I talk to people, I notice that people quickly signal their political inclinations without using "republican" or "democrat," or even "conservative" or "progressive / liberal." I find it more useful to talk about specific values and policies than the big umbrella political parties which I'd argue, have moved too far to the extremes and aren't serving us well at any level of government.   

3) The second bullet point on your website says “Elected representatives can lead with values, integrity, and courage.” At the moment, the Melrose City Council doesn’t have a mechanism to reprimand, censure, denounce, or expel a member.  There also does not seem to be a recall provision in the bylaws.  In short, the only oversite available is via criminal conviction or waiting until the next election cycle to vote someone else into office.  Understanding that instituting rules of this nature could be weaponized, what is your opinion of city council members having no way to be held accountable for their conduct, past or present?

I would be in favor of a state-wide code which says that convicted felons are not allowed to serve in office. This is a basic mechanism, but there are a lot of odious behaviors that might not reflect good leadership and values, but aren't a felony. Independent journalists, interviews, and truth seekers can help the public understand who they are voting for, or who is representing them.  

From the Everett City Codes: (c)  Felony Conviction – Any person who has been finally convicted of a state or federal felony shall not be eligible to petition for, or serve in, any elective or appointive office or position under the city. Any councilor who has been finally convicted of a state or federal felony shall be deemed to have vacated their office and shall be disqualified from serving in any other elective or appointive office or position under the city. 

4) Of the 6 key issues on your website, what do you feel the city council needs to focus on as a priority the first day/week/month of the session?

Whatever happens with the override, my first goal is to prioritize spend to maximize the public benefit, and then explain it to the community. Even if the override does pass at the higher 2 levels, we need to do some scenario planning. There's a possibility that federal funding to MA will be severely cut in the coming year. In this case, Melrose will not fare well in distribution of UGGA or Chapter 70 state aid. Grants may also dry up. It's difficult to appropriate operational expenses for salaries and headcount in this scenario. 

If there are 3-4 new members on the city council, it will take a couple months to build an effective way of working and trust before we can start tackling the difficult budget issues. For me, it's a lot of homework, and then coming up with ways to have these discussions efficiently as a group. It's a role that I tend to take on in project teams and organizations- the person who figures out how to get the best out of each person's expertise and experience, and then set up a process that stakeholders can trust the outcome, even if it requires compromise. We have a couple months to do that before the budget cycle starts. It also sets the tone for the 2 year term. It's a lot of 1-1 conversations in the background, looking people in the eye and understanding their goals, strengths, and approach. People will also be trying to figure out what I'm about, so if I'm elected, I need to communicate clearly early on while building trust with city staff, peers on the city council, and constituents. 

In the background, we'll break ground on the public safety buildings and have our general contractors on board. Keeping them on track is critical. It's not clear if I'll stay on the Public Safety Buildings Committee if I'm elected, but this is a huge amount of taxpayer money that needs to be spent well.