The face of politics is changing in Chelsea

♪ >> THE MAJORITY OF RESIDENTS IN CHELSEA ARE LATINOS, BUT THAT WAS NOT REFLECTED IN CITY LEADERSHIP UNTIL ONE WOMAN FOUGHT TO CHANGE THE FACE OF LOCAL POLITICS. >> YOU CAN TRANSFORM LIFE LITTLE BY LITTLE FOR OTHERS, AND THAT IS WHY WE NEED TO BE MAKING DECISIONS WHERE POLICIES ARE MADE. >> SHE IS A FORMIDABLE FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. SHE IS A CHAMPION OF HER COMMUNITY PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY, SPENDING HER SPARE TIME EMPOWERING OTHERS TO SEEK POSITIONS OF POWER. >> SHE HAS A FULL-TIME JOB. HE IS IN SCHOOL. >> SHE IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF A HUMAN SERVICES ORGANIZATION IN CHELSEA THAT OFFERS LANGUAGE COURSES, TRAINING, AND CITIZENSHIP SUPPORT. >> PEOPLE COME HERE AND WE HELP THEM SURVIVING THAT CRISIS AND MOVE THEM TO SUSTAINABILITY. ♪ >> SHE SAID SHE FELT THE URGE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AT A YOUNG AGE , SHORTLY AFTER SHE RELOCATED TO MASSACHUSETTS FROM PUERTO RICO. >> I MOVED HERE WHEN I WAS NINE YEARS OLD IN 1978. I THOUGHT I WAS COMING TO ANOTHER TROPICAL ISLAND. I WAS WEARING SHORTS. IT WAS AFTER THE BLIZZARD OF 1978. >> THAT WELCOME DID NOT DETER HER FOR FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHTS FOR OTHERS THEN AND NOW. >> I FEEL STRONG ABOUT PROMOTING OUR LADIES AND FOR THEM TO HAVE A VOICE IN OUR COMMUNITY. >> SHE HAS SPEARHEADED THE CAMPAIGNS OF MULTIPLE CANDIDATES AND SHARES A SPECIAL CONNECTION WITH ONE OF >> — THEM. SHE IS GLADYS’S DAUGHTER, AND THE DISTRICT COUNCIL FOR DISTRICT TWO. >> SHE HAS MENTORED ME FOR HALF MY LIFE. I’VE BEEN WORKING FOR 16 YEARS IN OUR ORGANIZATION. >> SHE WORKS WITH GLADYS AS POLICY AND ORGANIZING DIRECTOR, AND REPRESENTS DISTRICT THREE ON THE COUNCIL. >> IT IS THE FIRST TIME THIS BODY ACTUALLY REPRESENTS THE CITY THAT WE REPRESENT. >> WHEN YOU ARE UP THERE, BEHIND YOU IN THOSE CHAIRS, AND YOU LOOK AROUND AT THE OTHER CITY COUNCILS WITH YOU AND YOU SEE WOMEN IN LATINAS. >> RIGHT NOW, JUST TALKING ABOUT. >> IT IS ON HONOR AND PRIVILEGE, JUST BEING PART OF THE CHANGE. IT IS JUST, WOW. >> JOSIE IS THE HOME WE RAISE OUR CHILDREN IN. THUS CHELSEA IS THE HOME WE RAISE OUR CHILDREN IN. >> THAT COMMUNITY CONNECTION IS CRUCIAL AS CHELSEA LOOKS FORWARD TO A POST-PANDEMIC FUTURE. >> CHELSEA HAS ALWAYS HAD THESE CHALLENGES OF DISPLACEMENT, POVERTY, CRIME, FOOD INSECURITY, BASIC NEEDS NOT BEING MET. NOW WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT JUST BECAUSE WERE NOT TALKING ABOUT IT DAY-TO-DAY THAT WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THOSE ISSUES . >> AND THAT WE DO NOT GET UN- SEEN AGAIN. >> THE WORK CONTINUES. WE ARE STILL STRUGGLING. ♪ >> THERE IS STILL MORE WORK TO BE DONE IN CHELSEA, BUT NOW THOSE LEADING THE CHARGE SHARE MORE WITH THE PEOPLE CALLING IT HOME. >> I AM HOPING WE CAN ADD NEW SCULPTURES AND SOME SCULPTURES OF COLOR ONTO THESE WALLS. [LAUGHTER] >> WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO CREATE LEADERS IN OUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO PASS ON. >> ANY LATINA, ANTI-WOMEN IN OUR COMMUNITY CAN DO THIS. >> LET’S MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR COMMUNITIES AND FAMILIES. THE BUILD A BETTER COMMUNITY YOU NEED TO SIT WHERE DECISIONS ARE MADE. IF THEY DON’T INVITE YOU, YOU BRING YOUR VOICE. ♪ SHAYNA: AS WE MENTIONED, THE MAJORITY OF THE RESIDENT ARE LATINO. ANTHONY: THE MOST RECENT U.S. AND SEDATE PUT THAT NUMBER AT 68%, BUT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN

The face of politics is changing in Chelsea

City leadership is now a more accurate reflection of its population

Updated: 8:00 PM EDT Sep 22, 2022

The majority of residents in Chelsea are Latinos, but that wasn’t reflected in the city’s leadership until recently. In the past few years, four Latinas have run successful campaigns for school committees and city council, thanks in part to the help of Gladys Vega. Vega is a champion of her community both professionally and personally. Her full-time job is executive director of La Colaborativa in Chelsea, a human services organization that offers language courses, career training, and citizenship support.In her spare time, Vega empowers others to seek positions of power. That includes her daughter, Melinda Vega Maldonado, city councilor for District 2, and Norieliz DeJesus, La Colaborativa’s Policy and Organizing Director and city councilor for District 3.

NEEDHAM, Mass. —

The majority of residents in Chelsea are Latinos, but that wasn’t reflected in the city’s leadership until recently. In the past few years, four Latinas have run successful campaigns for school committees and city council, thanks in part to the help of Gladys Vega.

Vega is a champion of her community both professionally and personally. Her full-time job is executive director of La Colaborativa in Chelsea, a human services organization that offers language courses, career training, and citizenship support.

In her spare time, Vega empowers others to seek positions of power. That includes her daughter, Melinda Vega Maldonado, city councilor for District 2, and Norieliz DeJesus, La Colaborativa’s Policy and Organizing Director and city councilor for District 3.