top of page

The "Independent" Candidate: Are they really?

  • Writer: Oz
    Oz
  • 1 day ago
  • 4 min read

According to the latest data we can find (both online and through a FOIA for voter records), of the 21,704 registered voters in Melrose:

·         6,656 people are registered Democrat (30.65%)

·         1, 552 people are registered Republican (7.15%)

·         13,340 people are registered Unenrolled (61.44%)

·         166 people are registered “Other” (0.76%)


Compare this to the best national average we could research (31 states plus Washington D.C. track party registration):

·         39-40% Democrat

·         33-34% Republican

·         27-28% Unenrolled / Independents


While the registered Democrat numbers are off by a few percentage points, the Republican and Unaffiliated/Independent numbers are wildly different between Melrose and the national average.  How is it possible that Melrose has TWICE the average of unenrolled voters and almost four times LESS than the average number of registered Republicans?  Take a look at how Melrose actually voted in the last 3 presidential election years (2016,2020, 2024, averaged):

·         62.82% of residents voted Democrat

·         26.44% of residents voted Republican

·         10.74% of residents voted for a third party, write in, or skipped the question


Half of the registered Melrose “Unenrolled” actually vote Democrat. Of the remaining half, more than 2/3 actually vote Republican.  Why does that matter, you ask?  Because in no scenario does the math make sense when comparing these actuals to the registered party affiliations of the 20 candidates running for office:

·         13 are registered Democrats (65%),

·          7 are registered as Unaffiliated (35%)

·         0 are registered as Republican (0%)

    

The correlation between democratic-voting Melrosians (62.82%) and representation in the candidates running in this years election (65%) is pretty close to accurate; within the margin of error would be our guess for such a broad calculation.  But how is it possible there isn’t a single Republican representative in the remaining 35% of candidates considering that, statistically, there should be at least 1 or 2 on the ballot?  The answer: there is, but they don’t admit it.

First, we must define some terms.  In Massachusetts, Unenrolled is the same as Independent. It is a political registration category. If you don’t want to be ID’d as a Republican or Democrat, you can choose Unenrolled/Independent.  However, “independent” can mean all sorts of things because under that political registration is a whole subset of 29 political designations that fall under the “independent/unenrolled” umbrella; and that’s just in Massachusetts.  You can read about them here, which we highly recommend because they are not just folks like the Green Party, but also the Pizza Party, Pirate Party, and the Prohibition Party! In the case of the 7 candidates running for open seats in our community, how do you know where they land in this wide spectrum of “Independent”? 

  For example, Alex Rodriguez and Cal Finocchiaro are the only two candidates to actually self-identify as "independent". It's likely they are referring to the more national, political ideology of Independent where they agree/disagree with various planks of both major parties' platforms. Four of the other unenrolled candidates (Stewart, Park, Hamilton, and Clark) do not claim to be independents as a political ideology, or anything else for that matter; they are just registered as unenrolled. Phil Gindi, the last unenrolled-registered candidate, doesn’t claim anything, anywhere that we can find, but one look at his personal Facebook page will tell you he is Republican. Certainly nothing wrong with that (though we don’t like the MAGA vibes and yes, Republican and MAGA are different!) but the question is: why hide it?  Why NOT register Republican?  And for the rest of the candidates: where do you stand on Independent spectrum? Where do you stand on state and federal issues?

Maybe it doesn’t matter to you who they voted for in the last 3 presidential elections because you feel it doesn’t come into play in local politics. But maybe knowing the answer to these types of national platform-based questions will show a little bit more about the content of their character as it relates to Melrose matters. Where do they stand with LGBTQ rights?  Where do they stand with free speech? Where do they stand on the 5th Amendment and the violations of both the 5th and 14th Amendments at the hands of the Federal Government (I.C.E.)?  During the April 7, 2025 city council meeting, during a vote on a resolution condemning the “inhumane and damaging actions by I.C.E. against immigrants” both Ward Hamilton and Robb Stewart abstained from voting for/against the resolution (18:30-19:30 is the vote).  Why?   Maybe innocuous?  Maybe they don’t see an issue with trampling on the constitution? Or maybe they are looking for a neutral way to both appear to be supportive of law enforcement and the rights of immigrants, which is to say... not take a stand at all.

                We would urge readers to reach out to these independent candidates and ask them where they stand on the issues that mean the most to you, and not local issues like the override but state and national issues.  Because what’s happening nationally affects all of us locally, sooner or later. And the character of the people you are electing is just as important as where they claim to stand on the topics up for a vote once they are sitting in City Hall.   

Recent Posts

See All

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating

Disclaimer.  This is an opinion-based website based on provable fact, history, first and second person narratives, and logical analysis.  It is in no way affiliated with the City of Melrose and/or any particular candidate, ballot measure, or party. If you don't like what is said here, take it up with the signatories of the U.S. Constitution; you can argue with them about the First Amendment.      

bottom of page