Jean Gorman

I’m Jean Gorman and I’m writing to my beloved city of Melrose to express my excitement for the upcoming mayoral election. After 57 years in my starter home, I continue to be in love with our community. My family grew up here, my grandchildren continue to live here, and I have been involved with and embraced by too many local organizations and efforts to name. Melrose is our home and we are so grateful for the lives we’ve built here.   

But for the last few years, I’ve been very worried for Melrose. The challenges our city faces are getting ahead of us and our current leaders and their approach are struggling to keep up. Some of our challenges we’ve seen before - a limited budget, empty storefronts, infrastructure in need of repair. Others seem surprising for a modern city - a teacher contract that took too long to settle, a budget that has too many surprises, and a sad sense of division in solving these issues. What is certain is that the challenges we face are complicated. What is uncertain, however, is whether we have the courage to elect a new type of city leader to guide us through it all. 

Melrose, it’s time to elect Sam Hammar as our next Mayor. I’ve known Sam for years and am very impressed. She is a creative problem solver, dedicated collaborator, and eternal optimist. She brings critical experience from her work in Boston rebuilding struggling business districts and at the Massachusetts State House working with Seniors, Veterans, and Students to help them with financial stability. She is as dedicated to the health of this community as anyone I’ve ever met. And every single time I see Sam, she greets everyone and every conversation with a warm smile, open heart, and “can-do” attitude. Sam is exactly what Melrose needs right now.

With the dedicated team at City Hall by her side and the support of this community around her, Sam Hammar is sure to tackle our city’s challenges with vision, courage, creativity, and the unique ability to build a coalition of differing perspectives to solve our problems. There is nothing we can’t overcome if we work together. That’s how we do it in Melrose. 

I’ll be proud to vote for Sam on September 19 and hope you’ll join me.