Bedford Select Board Chair Margot Fleischman has a new professional position. And she says her years of experience in Bedford town government are a major asset.
Fleischman is director of strategic initiatives and communications for Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur.
The position formerly was the mayor’s chief of staff, Fleischman said, and when it opened up last spring Brodeur “reconceptualized” the job.
Responsibilities delineated in the job description include: assist in setting strategic priorities; incorporate data analytics and best practices to assist in the decision-making process; plan, develop and implement art, cultural, and other economic development initiatives; and respond “sensitively and constructively” to citizen complaints.
Fleischman also supervises the mayor’s communications coordinator and acts as “gatekeeper.” She also is public information officer for the city in cooperation with the emergency management team, and works with appropriate officials to ensure financial goals are met and reported.
“It still retains a lot of the functions of chief of staff,” Fleischman said, like “communicating internally and externally about the priorities of the mayor.”
She is also the mayor’s liaison to the seven district and four at-large city councilors. “I’m getting to know them,” she said. “They are the legislative body, and even though I am from the executive branch, there’s a common understanding that you are accountable to your constituents.”
Fleischman said she has found that Melrose is dealing with many of the same issues that are so familiar in Bedford: traffic and transportation, sustainability, development, affordable housing. She said her years on the Bedford Select Board, Planning Board, and various appointed committees “transfer very nicely” and have been “incredibly useful.”
Melrose was chartered as a city in 1900, and with a population of about 28,000 it is significantly smaller than some area towns, like Billerica and Arlington.
“It’s a very charming community with so much going for it,” Fleischman said. “It has the core urban flavor because of its location.”
Fleischman, who has been on the job in Melrose for about a month and a half, said she hasn’t formally been in the workforce since 2014, although she served as volunteer president of Communities for Restorative Justice in the interim.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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