Ed Schmitt

Sam Hammar Shows Up for Melrose

Last weekend was the annual Friends of METCO event in Boston. This is an organization I have been involved with in Melrose for years and their annual Boston event is an important opportunity for Melrose families to travel to one of the neighborhoods where some of our METCO students live. Often the event is not well attended - people are busy, it’s summer, etc. All good reasons, and also hard to accept for an organization that means so much to me.

I’ve known Sam Hammar for some time, but was not expecting her to go to this event. She’s running for Mayor. Surely she’d be knocking on doors, appearing at some kind of campaign event, or anything else. But there she was, in Dorchester to support our METCO families. And as we talked about it over coffee this week, I was reminded of one very simple reason why she has my support for Mayor. Sam shows up.

Whether it’s through my work with the Friends of Melrose METCO, the Melrose Human Rights Commission, or any other organization I’ve been involved with in our city, what I know is that showing up and engaging is the most important sign of commitment. When Sam Hammar shows up she listens, learns, inspires, and then rolls up her sleeves and helps out. And because of this, Sam gets things done. I’ve seen her do this time and again in Melrose, and she’s not even in office yet.

So let’s get her there. I encourage you to join me and vote for Sam Hammar for Melrose Mayor on September 19.

Ed Schmitt