We know that many regular Town Council meeting viewers on WCAT may have been watching the Bruins-Canadiens game Tuesday night, but those who stuck with the Council witnessed a great exhibition of being an effective town councilor submitted by Craig Mael, The first-term Precinct 1 councilor was at his best, offering his ideas on a variety of issues such as how to raise some needed revenue for the town. Mael offered a proposal to charge our seniors $5.00 for their resident parking passes which Craig said would generate $6,000 for the town which he wants to earmark for the Winthrop Council of Aging/Robert A. DeLeo Senior Center.
Mael brought his ‘A’ game to this council meeting and it was clear that he had done some considerable research — as he always does — spoken to town officials, and gotten a true sense of his constituents felt about his ideas. Craig has been a positive voice for this town and has brought a new and exciting perspective to the Town Council. His ideas certainly get his colleagues thinking and often times debating in a healthy and productive way whether the “Mael Measures” should go forward or be referred to a sub-committee.
We know that Craig Mael had told some people that he may be a one-term councilor, but we hope that he will reconsider that and continue to serve in town government. We can only imagine how proud his mother, Rona Mael, who has been such an active and vibrant supporter of this town and contributed so much of her time to the Winthrop Scholarship Fund, is of her son when she is watching the Town Council meetings at home.
Councilor Mael spoke about how he was not pleased with a previous editorial in this newspaper — the one in which we vigorously defended the outstanding public service of Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo. Craig felt we should have included the names of the two councilors who criticized the Speaker at the public meeting.
We respect the diligent efforts of Craig Mael on the Council and we’re sure residents beyond his precinct enjoy listening to his innovative and thought-provoking approach in his position as one of our elected representatives in town government.