Left In Lowell

City Councilors Under Attack

16 Responses to “City Councilors Under Attack”

1. Anonymous Says:
   April 12th, 2006 at 10:45 am

   Mimi: Congratulations on a great report on what is going on in Lowell.
   I cannot publicly state my opinon (similar to yours) and I feel that there
   are many more in the same situation. John McDonough questioned the taxpayers
   building a parking garage for the mill owner and now that the council is
   questioning it he can’t figure it out. Does Councillor Caulfield work part time for
   McDonough Funeral Home. Also is he (John) a social friend of Councillor Mercier and her husband.
   That said, I do enjoy listening to CAP when John McDonough is ON and ditto when
   Tom Byrne is ON. SIGNED: A daily reader of Left in Lowell.

2. Lynne Says:
   April 12th, 2006 at 11:09 am

   What I do not understand, with the exception of Councilor Milinazzo, what the sudden turnaround is between last September and now? Everyone except Milinazzo and Howe voted for Cox’s raise. (Wow, reading that City Council Blogging piece again…rather biting wasn’t I?)

   C. Donaghue expressed at the time a frustration with hearing about things in the paper instead of from Cox, and that he needed to work on that. But besides little comments from others about how this wasn’t the best year ever, etc, nothing. So…what happened?

   Not that I am unhappy to see this discussion finally taking place. Unfortunately, facts and serious issues that have been raised by this don’t deter the local media from fighting to keep or help Cox. Give me a break. Stop it.

3. Lynne Says:
   April 12th, 2006 at 11:17 am

   Hmmm…what if WE showed up to the next city council meeting to bolster support for the 5 city councilors who support Cox’s resignation/firing? I think this would both be good for them to know that there are people out there with half a brain, and also prove that there’s forces other than those of the Sun and WCAP that sway public opinion.

4. No one you know Says:
   April 12th, 2006 at 12:41 pm

   When former Councilor Peter Richards brought the ordinance forward to require an annual written review
   of the CM and tied it in with a pay raise I expressed my concern to him that it would force councilors
   to either give the CM a pay raise or fire him/her.

   He didn’t see it that way but it appears to me that I was correct in my concern.

   Every CM evaluation since the ordinance was instituted has resulted in a pay raise even though
   some councilors express frustration. Abolishing the ordinance would also hold individual
   councilors accountable for vote yes or no on a pay raise, as it is now it insulates them because
   the “ordinance” mandates it.

5. Mimi Says:
   April 12th, 2006 at 3:01 pm

   Lynne:

   Dan Phelps has a timely piece in the Sun today; he interviewed former City Councilor Dick Howe and it may provide an partial answer to your question, “What happened?”.

   Howe states that “The majority of the City Council apparently has revisited and reviewed the city manager’s performance and has taken exception to his decision-making process in many areas, and I feel that’s to the advantage of the city. It’s late, but it’s still beneficial..”

   He also said, “I do feel they (the five Councilors) have shown courage, leadership and determination in changing the mood and the atmosphere in City Hall, and that’s the first essential step in bringing about better quality government in the city.”

   I think it is good explanation of what is going on and why.

6. K-R-S Says:
   April 12th, 2006 at 3:24 pm

   Mimi,
   I, too, liked Dan Phelp’s piece in todays paper.

7. howie Says:
   April 13th, 2006 at 3:16 am

   as much as i like Mr Howe,I think things are going good in Lowell these days,and you will be seeing some opposition to this coupde tat…I think a takeover from this majoriytuy fringe will be bad for the area.,..John cox can brinjg capital to this city, that some activist from the acre couldnt dream of…don’t jump horses in the middle of the stream!!!

8. Anonymous Says:
   April 13th, 2006 at 6:33 am

   There’s no such thing as a “majority fringe.”

9. K-R-S Says:
   April 13th, 2006 at 8:26 am

   Last I heard, it is our delegation that brings funding to our city

10. Turtledove Says:
    April 13th, 2006 at 1:50 pm

    I find it hard to believe the “five councilors” just recently
    discovered the Stoklosa school payment; that there are less than
    112 “regular” police officers, the remaining assigned to “other
    duties”, along with a half dozen other issues that lead to a look
    of utter SHOCK when discussed at the council meetings…and then
    they actually admit right before our eyes that the only reason they
    know is because they read about it in the SUN.
    The voters of Lowell should be ashamed for continuing to vote
    for this same council when you watch their performance every
    week. Every one of the councilors should be held responsible for
    decisions made by the city and if a mistake has been made, just admit
    it and fix it… stop wasting so much time looking for someone to
    blame… and BLAME they will. Every thing that goes wrong in this
    city in the next two years will be dismissed because it was the
    previous city managers fault! Remember that when property taxes are
    raised again this year. Mr. Cox will be long gone, but the entire
    council will be sure that let you believe it is his fault.

11. K-R-S Says:
    April 13th, 2006 at 2:14 pm

    Turtledove, I agree with you, particularly, on the issue of assigning blame. The Council as a
    whole has seeminglyallowed these issues to come to what they have become now.
    The unfortunate aspect of the CM issue, it accentuates the fracturing in our community.
    On one side folks see it as a “friend” who is losing their job, the ohter side sees the issue as moving on and moving ahead with progress. This whole issue is bringing out the worst in many, pitting
    neighbor against neighbor, one side of the city against the other and it is all completely
    unnecessary. We need to pull together as one and move on. The alternative, we all lose.

12. Lynne Says:
    April 13th, 2006 at 2:57 pm

    I agree, Turtledove, but this is a huge step in the right direction. I’ve watched Cox’s rudeness and intractability at every meeting. His ignoring of City Council motions and questions regarding issues large and small. And you know what? It’s better late than never. I am willing to forgive, and support them in this first (hard) step.

    It’s evident there’s a lot of good reasons no one (except Howe and sometimes Milinazzo) opposed Cox before now: Cox is so well-connected, it was bound to cause a lot of headache. After all, they live or die by press coverage, and given how snarkily mean the Sun can be (witness that stupid “10M” controversy in The Column) it can destroy your career at City Hall. But if they can do this, and then replace Cox with someone who actually is good at the job, and respectful of residents and of the Council, that will make up for a lot, in my opinion. Then, we keep at them to stay at that standard of governance.

13. K-R-S Says:
    April 13th, 2006 at 4:41 pm

    Lynne & Turtle..I ma willing to forgive, just do it right, otherwise we will be repeating this exercise in 5 years (or less).

14. K-R-S Says:
    April 14th, 2006 at 9:00 pm

    so..Anonymous…Do you think Tom Byrne is a candidate in our next election???

15. Anonymous Says:
    April 14th, 2006 at 10:21 pm

    Tom would make the election interesting.

16. SD Says:
    April 17th, 2006 at 9:23 pm

    Tom would be an excellent candidate . . . if he lived in Lowell.

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