Most readers already know that Ms. Melanie Levesque is going to be Councilor Wheeler’s opponent, again, this year. What people might not know is that the executive council happens to meet on her birthday, May 20, assuming that date is not misinformation. Remember Dr. Frank? He’s the mathematician who brought his expertise to the 2021 My Pillow Symposium and later came to Concord for a presentation. If he is reading this, I present the question of how often does the government body of an incumbent candidate meet on the birthday of the opponent in an election year? For the executive council, I’m guessing NOT that often, seeing that there are only 5 members and they meet for regular business about 20 times a year. Their meeting schedule was published in January and I took note of that “oddity,” for lack of a better word.
I emailed Meagan Rose back in February to ask if the opening act entertainment had been arranged that far into the future (May 20), and I got the feeling that she was avoiding/delaying answering me, and I surmised that she was reading my mind. I mustered the self-control not to be a pest and followed up only once or twice, at generous intervals. You might remember that I mentioned in a previous article that she is an accomplished vocalist and often joins Kevin on his gigs, a well-known recent one being a birthday party for Daryl Abbas in November. I wanted to suggest that Meagan sing “I got a brand new pair of roller skates, you got a brand new key.” It’s 2 minutes long and starts with guitar (could be done by Kevin) and is quickly joined by piano (could be done by Karen Liot Hill (KLH), as I know she plays piano), and Kevin could be the tenor chorus in the 2nd verse.
Kevin, who was Melanie’s opponent in several elections prior to 2024, prefers to be known more as a vocalist than a guitarist. The opening performers usually play 2 songs, and the other one could be that belt-it-out-loud song Candles In the Rain, which would represent all 69 of them for Melanie Levesque. The artist, known as just “Melanie,” is the late Melanie Safka(1947-2024). I was also going to suggest that Melissa Blasek, a piano teacher, sit in the front row and report her opinion on KLH’s keyboard performance, but alas, it was not to happen.
The question of what should be done about Melanie’s birthday remained on my mind. Last year, she was newly elected to the Brookline School Budget committee without having an opponent, so I sent her an autographed copy of The Croydon Budget Battle and still await word(insert that Mr. Bean meme picture here) on her feedback. Meanwhile, I knew she was set to unleash her campaign at Lawrence Barn last night. I considered the miles on my odometer just to wave that public service message sign about her voting record across the street from the event site, but decided against it, mostly because I didn’t relish being in Friday afternoon rush hour traffic. However, Warmington was kind enough to tweet about it for all of us, as she was one of the very few in attendance.
The two pictures that Warmington tweeted included one of those mobility aid scooters that arrest victim Emilee Spiller’s husband used at David L’Heureux’s Thanksgiving dinner event. They’ve become quite popular, and I do remember Doug Burgum using one. I’m not sure how well they fare in an unpaved parking lot, like the one at Lawrence Barn, but there Melanie was, in 2 pictures. One of them is her seated with the scooter parked next to her, and the other is a group picture with her using it. Then I thought about VeoRide and their scooters, and how I haven’t seen (or even thought of) them or their bikes in a long time. It turns out that VeoRide discontinued its service in Nashua due to typical “blue city problems,” go figure!
Shucks, I thought a gift card for some VeoRide scooter time would make a good present for Melanie. Back to the drawing board. I should mention, as a formality, that the polite thing to do is to tell her to get well soon. If anyone in the enemy camp is reading this, let it be known for the record that I send my best wishes regarding her medical issue, but NOT for the election! Let’s be clear on that.
I will finish by pointing out that Melanie and Jan Schmidt suffer from the same mental illness, so it stands to reason that they act alike as much as they think alike. Melanie might want to refrain from parking at the city hall handicap spot without displaying the proper credentials.
