The Daily is conducting interviews with non-incumbent City Council candidates ahead of the municipal election on Nov. 4 where residents will be able to choose up to seven candidates. This story will be updated with additional interviews as they are completed. All interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Editor's Note: The Daily reached out to Rick Caraviello but did not receive a response.
Tufts Daily (TD): Could you tell us a little about yourself and your background in Medford?
Patrick Clerkin (PC): I have lived in Medford for eight years, but before that, I grew up in North Reading, which is about three suburbs north of Medford. I went to public school in North Reading, and then I went to Northeastern and became a mechanical engineer. … I also started getting into handyman work. … I was previously involved with … Habitat for Humanity and with Big Brothers, Big Sisters and American Red Cross. I used to do a lot of platelet donations, and I was back in college in my fraternity, and all different roles. And then I was the president of the fraternity, and then I was the chair of the House Committee at my church in my hometown.
I really started to do my handyman work [in Medford], and I got to know a lot of my neighbors through that. … That got me more into learning about Medford’s problems and wanting to help address them.
Paul Donato Jr. (PD): I was born here in 1966 at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital and have been a lifetime Medford resident. [I’ve] been involved in the community in various organizations — National Night Out, Pride, craft fairs and Italian festivals. For the first time, I was part of Run Medford this past weekend.
Miranda Briseño (MB): I moved to Medford about seven years ago now. I started [graduate] school at Tufts on the [Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning] program. … I ended up deciding to stay here and really ended up loving it through my time at City Hall. I worked closely with a lot of businesses through [COVID-19] relief grants for technical assistance, for state and agency grant applications during [COVID-19], worked with restaurants and outdoor dining, did some mobility improvements with bus stop infrastructure and Blue Bikes. … I’ve really just gotten to know so many of my neighbors and really just immerse myself and root myself here in Medford.
Nick Giurleo (NG): I grew up in Medford. I lived here my whole life. … I graduated from Medford High School first in my class and went on to Tufts. ... After Tufts, I worked for about a year in Medford Square, [where] I worked for a law office. I had a great experience there … so I ended up going to Boston College Law School. I graduated in 2023, took the bar exam that summer, passed on the first go and became a licensed attorney in Massachusetts. … I currently work for a law firm in Boston that focuses on litigation.
Nate Merritt (NM): I moved to Medford in 2014 with my now wife, so it’s been about 11 years. … Since living here, Medford has been our home. …We now have a couple [of] children, and we’re working on raising them.
Within six months of moving in [and] buying [our] house, a car crashed through my front yard and hit the house next door — that was a surprise. And my first City Council meeting was shortly after that, when they were looking to adjust the traffic pattern in the building next door, so I found out about City Council … and since then is when I started getting involved.
Liz Mullane (LM): I moved to Medford in 2018 [and] first started getting involved with the Medford Democratic City Committee … being on our Ward 2, and then took over as chair for the past several years. … I currently work at Northeastern University … in their advancement department. I oversee six different teams and help raise funds and build programs around a variety of different areas and colleges … I’ve been in fundraising for over 20 years, and I’ve worked in a variety of different organizations. [This experience] really has opened my eyes to different issue areas and different ways to get deeper involved.
TD: What is motivating you to run for City Council?
PC: Right now, we’re dealing with a bunch of enclaves and a bunch of resources that aren’t connected to each other, and groups that aren’t communicating with each other. It’s in my nature to be someone who seeks to build bridges between groups that might not otherwise talk to each other, and to try to find common ground.
Going into [the 2023 City Council race], I just knew there were all these infrastructural problems. I also knew there were these cultural problems within the city. And what I learned from running in 2023 was the depth of the communications problem. … People retreat to Facebook groups and Reddit pages and random newsletters, and the informational landscape is very fragmented. … That contributes to … fear, anger, confusion, distrust.
PD: I was at a few meetings and I just didn’t think that the current City Council was that friendly to the people at the podium, to residents. … During the Charter Committee meeting, [committee members] worked tirelessly for several years to get this charter going and I just didn’t think that they had enough time to present. I was at the meeting, they held it to almost one o’clock in the morning before they decided to take the Charter Committee. That was my main reason and I wasn’t happy that one city councilor decided not to send it to the State House favorably.
I know that they changed the zoning on Mystic Avenue. … Let’s have a plan. Let’s start building affordable housing, senior housing, veterans’ housing, a fire station. … Mystic Ave. is a gateway to the city because it's right next to I-93. … We could take care of our housing crisis.
MB: I’ve been a public servant for almost all of my working life. … I have experience both managing grants at the local level and then also now managing funding programs at the state level. I have the opportunity, at work, in my daily life, to work with municipalities across the state, with regional planning agencies. So I have the opportunity to see what other communities are doing, both close to Medford and farther away.
NG: I’m running because I started getting civically involved. I decided [that] I really need to pay attention to what’s going on … so I went into these meetings and I made a few public comments [and] people came up to me and said, “I really like your ideas here. Have you ever considered running?” … One thing led to another, and here I am, running for office. More specifically, I think it’s concerning the direction the city’s going. I feel like we’re going the wrong way right now, with a lot of different respects, in terms of affordability, but also with the zoning, as well as the way we’re conducting our meetings and the extent to which the public is being involved in decision-making.
NM: It’s not like I just walked into this particular election … never knowing anything about City Council. [I’ve] had disagreements … with some of the things that the recent body has been doing that I felt warranted a different option. If you don’t run, it’s kind of hard to complain. I figured it was time for me to put my money where my mouth was and … offer an alternative, especially with zoning. I’ve just noticed overall changes where there’s been a disregard for the input of residents and a push of trying to transform Medford into something that it necessarily isn’t, and in my opinion [is] not a net benefit to the city.
LM: I started wanting to get more involved after we bought our place in 2018. … I spent a lot of time on the street and sidewalks and noticed the disrepair of our sidewalks, [and] how it’s hard for any type of mobility to be able to navigate our streets. … I see so many times, people even trying to navigate crossing the street here — it’s just so difficult, and I know that that’s a concern across all of Medford. As I was getting more involved in seeing some of these different issues, it felt important to see how I could get in and make a difference.
I [have] been working in nonprofits for a while, and a lot of times I was working on the operation side. … I went back and got my [Master of Business Administration] and it really helped me to understand a lot more of the basics behind the operation [of] human resources, strategic planning and especially around budgeting. ... [Having a] background in that, not only within building nonprofits … and managing many budgets myself and then really focusing in on that as part of my MBA program, I felt that that would be something different that I could bring to the city.
TD: What’s lacking in the current City Council that you would hope to fix?
PC: Currently, six out of the seven city councilors in Medford are Our Revolution [endorsed]. And my issue with that is that the ties to the national organization are uncertain. … Our Revolution tends to focus on progressives, on young people, on [urban] areas. … I think that they’ve skewed the government [toward] a plan that heavily prioritizes those groups. … We need more independent voices in the government. We need balance and reason. … We need to focus on the city in its entirety.
You have to predominantly focus on Medford issues. Otherwise, we’re stepping so far beyond our domain that it overwhelms our capacity to deal with things which are really supposed to be our focus — things like the budget, rezoning in the city, making sure that the relation between Tufts and Medford is good. … You have to talk to the neighborhoods as well, because there’s a lot of animosity that’s built up from people who feel like they’re just being bulldozed. It’s like, ‘Hey, we made the plan in the back rooms and we’re going to pretend like we’re listening to you, but the decision’s already been made.’
PD: Transparency and resident involvement. … Instead of biweekly meetings, we’re going to go back to weekly meetings [to gain] more public participation.
MB: I’d want to bring my experience at the state level and my knowledge of transportation, like the various grant funding that’s available to municipalities across the Commonwealth … really supporting our transportation staff and increasing that staff so that if we do get grants, we can deliver on what we’re getting funded for.
NG: One of the areas I’ve been looking at is how can we meet our spending needs in a way that doesn’t put a burden totally on residents, because currently in almost all municipalities, we primarily get our revenue through property taxes. After the recent Proposition 2.5 override, property taxes in Medford have gone up, and a lot of residents have been deeply concerned about affordability due to those tax increases. … A good solution is to diversify how we get our spending revenue.
Tufts relations have been another facet of my campaign. Medford–Tufts relations could be better. You have a ton of Medford residents who just don’t know what the world of Tufts is, and vice versa. You have Tufts students, I can remember from my time there, who never went to places like Medford Square — didn’t even know it existed.
Zoning is key. There’s a plan on the table currently to comprehensively up-zone residential neighborhoods in Medford. I’ve never been opposed to reasonable zoning changes, and personally, I think many need to be made in order to incentivize commercial growth in the city. But on the residential side, I’m not very happy with the plan in its current form.
LM: There’s more that we can push to get a better sense of what some of our revenue streams are … [and] to address some of the other issues we’re seeing with anything that’s happening in understanding the budget side. [Because] a lot of my background has been figuring out how to raise funds … I thought that would be helpful.
TD: What are some of your priorities in the campaign? What issues facing the city are you most eager to tackle and address?
PC: Over the last five or six years, and with the lack of local paper, I think that city government has become accustomed to really not having to talk to journalists, more or less, and so I’m going to push for engaging with “Gotta Know Medford” and “[The] Tufts Daily” and telling them where key resources are so that they can let the public know where those resources are.
PD: Infrastructure is my main goal. The streets and sidewalks in the city are in deplorable condition and we need to make a comprehensive plan, even if it takes 20 years to replace the water, sewer, gas lines and put everything underground. Start working from the bottom and work our way up. Replace the sidewalks and replace the streets. … They do two streets a year. I think that we should bump it up to maybe four or five streets a year and put a comprehensive plan together.
We have to figure out how to secure funding, whether we get state and federal funds, Chapter 90 money or if we have to do an increase in taxes for streets, water lines, sewer and gas. I don't think that people would mind spending money if they’re getting a brand new sidewalk and street.
Some of the developers can pay for it, like if we’re [redoing] Mystic Ave., linkage fees and all that type of stuff. We can secure the funds. Same thing with a new school. Medford High [School] was built almost 50 years ago and I believe we need a new school for our children. I’m all for it, whether it’s a new school or refurbishing the school that we have.
MB: Everyone’s feeling the increasing costs of living, of housing. … We can, as a municipality, support folks, especially working folks, so that they can stay here in Medford … with an affordable housing trust fund.
Everyone [at City Hall] loves Medford and is trying their best, but we need more staff there to really serve all the 60,000-plus people that live in Medford. I’d [also] say infrastructure. Everyone knows we have potholes and sidewalks in a state of disrepair. Our [Department of Public Works] is trying their best, and we passed the overrides last year to get an in-house repair crew, which is really going to help start to address some of those issues.
Public schools are so important. I’m the product of public schools [and] my mom is a public school teacher, so I do want to put our best foot forward and fully fund our schools, making sure our special education learners, our English-language learners, are fully supported. I know that this coming council will need to vote to put a debt exclusion for the new high school on the ballot.
NG: With affordability, [I want to] try to encourage new growth in the city … developing other incentives for businesses to come to the city, and looking at areas where we could be doing much better commercially: Mystic Ave., for example … as well as Medford Square. … Why don’t we promote Medford tourism more? Medford has a huge amount of history, particularly tied to the Revolutionary War, but also the Civil War, further down the line.
NM: I want to figure out why businesses are leaving. How do I get businesses back [and strike] a balance like other communities have? … What can we do to incentivize [them to stay], and then from there, try to [help them] grow?
Public safety is a big tenet of mine. I was a firefighter and EMT for a decade, and knowing that they’re understaffed is a problem. I would like to [see] if it’s possible for us to have the fire department [become] an enterprise fund, meaning maybe they run a frontline ambulance. And that’s twofold: It stops beating up fire equipment going to medical calls all the time, because the ladder truck doesn’t transport a single patient, and also [stops tearing] up our roads.
LM: When I’ve spoken to small business owners within Medford … I’ve been told about how the process is hard to navigate. ... I can help to partner with the city, figuring [out] how to provide other incentives, how to help get rid of some of the barriers to entry into the marketplace, and really trying to address some of those ways to get the process to be a little bit better for small businesses to come in.
Our library is such a central piece in Medford. They have such great programming, but they … [need] more staffing support. I’d love to be able to see more support around mental health services throughout the city, as well as support and care for our seniors.
TD: Federal changes have had a major impact on Medford and surrounding areas, from the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the threat of funding cuts. How are you prepared to combat and manage this issue?
PC: I think that we have to be serious about funding sources that are more local. … Our tax base isn’t great, and this is why we’ve been relying on Proposition 2 ½ overrides. … I think it’s a form of financial duct tape. I do think that if we expand the tax base with commercial property, and we really create incentives for people to set up their businesses in the city, [we’ll] get much more tax revenue from commercial property than we do from residential property.
I think that it’s justified to be wary about the mission creep of ICE and what exactly it is that they’re trying to do. … I don’t have a problem with pushback against what’s seen as some of the more egregious [actions]. … On the other hand, I think if someone is legitimately a criminal, or they’re here illegally, then I think that ICE has a job to do. I don’t always like how it’s being done. So, how the City Council handles that, I think [is] just keeping people informed in general about what’s going on.
PD: We’re going to have to cross that bridge when it happens. As of right now, luckily, we haven’t come across that bridge yet. … The residents have to decide what they want to do. Do they want to spend money on a new school? Do they want to spend money on a new fire station? Or do they want to spend money on fixing the roads? It’s something that the residents and the Council have to work together on and come up with a comprehensive plan to figure out what they want.
It’s a federal issue, not a state or city issue. I don't want to see [ICE] going into schools, taking children out of schools, but [with] violent criminals, murderers, rapists and drug dealers, they’re doing their job. That’s what their job is: to keep the streets safe. I don’t agree with some of the tactics, honestly, but if there’s a murderer of violent criminals, and they got to get them off the street, then they got to do what they have to do. It’s a federal issue, there’s really not much the city of Medford could do.
MB: When we ensure that we’re not complying with ICE, we’re saving Medford’s resources and time on things that are not keeping anyone safe, that are instilling fear in so many residents. I really want to ensure that we continue that noncompliance and also support families that are being affected by ICE detainment, because so many of those people being detained and abducted are primary breadwinners.
In terms of funding cuts, Massachusetts as a state is doing as much as it can to continue to support municipalities. I think it’s really a matter of both strategically using the funding we do have and considering a more transparent budget process. The current council has really looked to improve the budget process … and I want to see it keep moving that way, and especially make it clear where money is going.
NG: It’s very important that we want our residents to feel safe, and any resident who doesn’t feel safe, we want them to come before the council and express why they feel unsafe, and the council obviously has an obligation to provide for their safety. … Medford recently passed a Sanctuary City Ordinance … but I’m also looking at what else can be done. For me, it’s challenging because ICE is, in fact, a federal law enforcement agency.
NM: It is [a threat], however, I [have to] wonder how dependent are we really on federal funds? If we’re dependent, the mayor has said we’re close to 600 million in the hole. … That’s a big deficit. That’s a dump truck of gold that [you’d] need, and even then, you’re not digging your [way] out.
Administrations change throughout the years, but here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter who was president when. The roads here [have] still been awful for decades. … Our ability to manage our own money [has] not improved, and they have not changed. So therefore, are we really dependent on federal funding, or is this an in-house problem?
NM: I am not a law enforcement person, and I would never try to be. There’s been a multitude of things that the current City Council weighed in [on that] we have no business [addressing]. … Nothing here in Medford has anything to do with international or even national policy. I think we need to get away from those issues. And when it comes to law enforcement, I want to let [them] do their job.
LM: When it comes to protecting your residents, that’s got to be front and foremost. ... It’s scary to see the ICE presence in Massachusetts, and I would do whatever I could to stand behind our residents to make sure everyone feels safe and heard.
Funding cuts are happening everywhere. … It’s better to be prepared and to be aware of those [cuts] and see that we can try to address anything that we can head on. I think it would be important to understand where the biggest impacts are, [and] how we can, as a city council, be able to help and support.
TD: You’ve aligned yourself with the group of independent candidates. What’s your goal with that group and how do you hope to differentiate yourself from both Our Revolution and “independent group” candidates?
PC: What unifies us is independent thinking among each of the candidates, local focus, a focus on the entirety of Medford rather than slices of it and practical solutions. … I feel like there’s this attempt to try to lump each of us into: “You are the anti-[Our Revolution] slate,” or “You are a Republican slate” or “You are a conservative slate because Our Revolution is progressive,” and that’s really not the case.
I’m really quite centrist. And the way that I put it — this is a direct quote from my website — is basically, in my head, there’s a round table with a progressive and a conservative and a libertarian, arguing it out with each other.
PD: Some of the issues the current council [deals with] go off the deep end with national and international items that really we don’t have control over. Let’s stick with what we know and what we love and what’s dear to our heart: the City of Medford. Let’s help our residents. Let’s help the elderly and vulnerable be able to stay here. I have two young children, 10 and 13. I want to make sure that they’re able to stay in the city when I’m gone.
MB: I got involved with ORM as an advocate in Medford. I wanted to support the current progressive electeds that we had [while advocating] for local policy change. … I see myself aligned on a lot of the efforts that OR puts forward, especially with its People’s Platform.
I have a lot of lived experience in terms of my parents growing up very poor. For a time in my life, we had to declare bankruptcy on our home. [I] really saw firsthand how the financial industry preys on working families. Bringing that lived experience to supporting working people in Medford offers me a unique perspective.
NG: We’re not a slate. … We don’t have a joint platform. … I think I’ve always thought as a matter of principle that government works best when you have a diversity of thinking. When you have people who already are predisposed to agree on things, you’re not really getting a policymaking process that is taking into account certain biases and other factors that are prejudicing the wisdom of the decisions that we’re making.
NM: I was never asked to join [Our Revolution], so I think I’ve done a good job of differentiating myself already from them. As far as with the others — George Scarpelli and I have had a wonderful, hot-and-cold history … but [at] the core, … we wanted to do what was best for the city. Maybe [we’ve had] different approaches to get to the same end [goal].
TD [for Clerkin]: Your platform mentions that you want to be more comprehensive, especially with information access issues. What’s the best way you want to go about addressing polarization and information-access problems?
PC: I’ve had about two years of experience in taking inventory of what the city has at its disposal. And thankfully, there’s a lot of great stuff. It’s scattered, and people don’t realize that it’s there. … For each topic area — whether it’s arts and culture, whether it’s community safety, whether it’s green spaces and sustainability — you have to find the influencers in those areas and then get them on board with being the core team that brings [information] forward.
You have to create easy on-ramps for people, regardless of where they are. You have to assume that there [are] always people who are not paying attention or casually paying attention, and who maybe want to get a little bit more involved, but if there’s no on-ramp for them, then they’re just going to say, ‘Well, I’m going to stay disengaged.’
I want to have [precinct] block parties [of] long term residents and renters/students actually meeting each other, getting a sense of being a part of the neighborhood. … I think that if we form partnerships between not just the institution of Tufts, but with the students at Tufts, that is a hugely untapped [opportunity] right now.
TD [for Mullane]: You’re focused on improving affordable housing infrastructure repairs and school support. What is your plan overall to fund these projects, and what impact might these costs have on Metro residents?
LM: Part of the reason why I mentioned the small business is because we’re able to create more small businesses within Medford [and] be able to help address some of our commercial tax base. … When it comes to our squares and corridors, [we need to look] at more mixed use, so that we are able to bring in the small businesses [in addition to] have housing that’s available for people. That just increases the amount of foot traffic.
I’m completely in support of our schools and trying to make sure that we have those services — any way that we can build up a lot around that commercial tax base, but also look at how we’re bringing in revenue and other ways that we can help to address some of those issues.
