Brian DeLacey Enters Race For Malden City Council

MALDEN, MA — Brian DeLacey announced his candidacy for Malden councilor-at-large Tuesday. DeLacey, a resident of Malden for more than 25 years, previously ran for Ward 3 councilor in 2015. He is the co-founder of the Malden News Network and a former Open Space and Recreation Plan committee member.

Read DeLacey's campaign announcement below:

I care a lot about the City of Malden and Integrity in Government. That's why I pulled papers to run for Councilor at Large.

My family has lived in Malden for more than 25 years. My wife, Lynn, and I raised three children who enjoyed all of Malden's academics, athletics, and activities throughout primary and secondary school years. Malden can provide a strong foundation for friendships, higher education and careers.

We like to say - in a good way: "You can take the kid out of Malden, but you can't take Malden out of the kid." Yes, Malden offers the promise of strong, positive values. However, the city can - and we can - make this better for all of us in the future.

Malden is at a crossroads. We are just finishing up a pandemic year. And we are still feeling the unsettling aftershocks of our national political climate. Your vote in the 2021 municipal election will help elect representatives to lead Malden into the future. I'm hopeful you will be a part of this process. Democracy relies on us.

In 2015, I ran for Ward 3 Councilor. It was a great experience campaigning against the sitting Council President. After the 2015 election cycle, I didn't disappear.

Some campaign issues I focused on in 2015 have been addressed. Others haven't.

The City turned attention to pedestrian safety issues I raised. Yet an important - though somewhat esoteric - area of municipal finance and mitigation accounting was ignored. After years of follow-up, it appears Malden's accounting is now (finally) catching up and becoming more transparent. However, this has taken far too long to serve the best interests of Malden's residents.

In 2016, I co-founded "Malden News Network". MNN has published hundreds of articles since then. This publication has a simple format with stories to benefit Malden residents. Many articles are in-depth and fact researched using public records and reliable sources. As a spin-off from this, we ran new-candidate bootcamps to encourage the local elections process.

In 2017, I was a member of Malden's Open Space and Recreation Plan committee. This involved extensive discussion, citywide community meetings, and a lengthy final report. That process made clear the benefits of public interaction, interdepartmental collaboration, and communication with the State.

Critical governance issues around transparency and accountability caught my attention. This led to a time-consuming but remarkably productive multi-year effort of public records work, writing, video, and communicating with City and State Officials. As a direct result, the City is now doing a (much) better job adhering to Open Meeting Law, Public Records Law, and the state's Shade Tree Law. Other residents have made similar positive contributions to the fabric of our city. This kind of civic engagement is fundamentally educational; it needs to be more widely encouraged and appreciated.

There have been plenty of fun local activities too. In 2019, I was part of the group that established "Malden After Dark", a social media site focused on Malden residents and stakeholders. The site aims to be helpful, polite, respectful, responsible, thoughtful and a First Amendment friend. It is a format that is needed now more than ever. The potential for more far-reaching development and use of technology in Malden presents a significant citywide opportunity.

A small group of us formed the first Community Preservation project to be approved. We worked with other volunteers on a number of improvements at High Rock Park: simple but striking hiking trails, bench and table seating, a new veteran's memorial flagpole, and appropriate signage. This was a good example of a resident-driven, CPA-funded, small budget project - an approach that could work well throughout the city.

Successful projects begin with the sharing of good ideas and talented teams. That was crucial for the Devir Park Revitalization Project. But these projects also take time and commitment. I was able to assemble another group of residents to work with DCR, city officials, and MIT to help preserve and improve the MIT Geodetic Observatory in Malden's corner of the Fells. This project took more than a year to arrange but the simple value is lasting. Elsewhere, a neighbor and I rediscovered the Sylvester Baxter Delta at Fellsmere Park quite unexpectedly. That historic project was subsequently embraced and improved upon by city officials. More recently, hidden gems of political history surfaced in Malden's City Charter.

Opportunities abound.

Malden accomplishes more when residents work together to get things done. I've provided a link to a number of ISSUES which could benefit from greater attention. We need to get more done. Faster. If we share in the effort, we'll share in the benefit.

YOUR ideas are most welcome! Please feel free to reach out to me with the contact information below. Let's work together to make Malden better.

Sincerely,

Brian DeLacey, Candidate for Councilor At Large

Email: BrianDeLaceyForCityCouncil@gmail.com
Text / Voice: (617) 863-0497
Campaign Website: https://sites.google.com/view/briandelaceyforcitycouncil
Campaign Ideas: https://sites.google.com/view/briandelaceyforcitycouncil/issues
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/briandelaceyforcitycouncil