Left In Lowell

For the past couple of months, when discussing the Massachusetts’ 5th District Congressional special election on LiL and other blogs, I have made it quite clear that I support Eileen Donoghue’s candidacy.

When she announced that she was running for Congress, my initial reaction was that the Lowell City Council was losing its field marshall. But I believe that we have enough officers and an army behind them to continue the work that Eileen and others have started – moving Lowell forward.

Although I agree with most of her positions, that is not the only factor that made me decide that I wanted her to be my next Representative in Congress. For me it is an issue of character, experience, leadership, intelligence and commitment.

Donoghue has served the City of Lowell for the past 12 years both as a City Councilor and 2 terms as Mayor. She has a lengthy record of accomplishments, at times making tough but necessary decisions. She has the right temperament to successfully navigate the halls of Congress but understand the needs of the people of the 5th District.

Some of the big names outside of the District are supporting the insider, establishment candidate, but Eileen has many of the not-so-big names from inside the District on her side. And at the end of the day, this is what counts.

Please consider giving her campaign a long, hard look. If you are not familiar where Donoghue stands on issues, you can visit her web site. She is principled but not dogmatic. So she is open to ideas and arguments. Her campaign headquarters are located on Merrimack Street, in downtown Lowell. The phone number is 978.453.2007.

Donoghue, as well as the other Congressional candidates have appeared at numerous public forums and will continue to do so throughout the campaign. I would strongly suggest you attend one of these “debates”. There are taking place all over the District and being sponsored by various entities.

Of course, a number of blogs, including this one, are providing a public meeting place for us to discuss this race. And as for the mainstream media coverage, for now I suggest you read Matt Murphy of the Sun. The Boston newspapers have not assigned anyone to cover this race and the little coverage they provide is slanted and uninformed.

And those of you who have expressed your commitment to Eileen’s candidacy (Mike, I am talking to you), please be sure to make a financial donation by June 31st. Any amount is fine. She has an ActBlue account and you can always send a check to her campaign headquarters.

This is our race; do not let others take it away from us.

Dick Howe has a great post musing on teacher contract negotiations in Massachusetts. He has what I like to call a great grasp on the real problem regarding the structure of such negotiations; the Lowell’s Sun’s editors might want to be sure and read it (and I’m sure they will, though I doubt they’ll listen) because he has a message for them as well (bold mine):

Overall, this settlement was a very positive development. Undoubtedly the reactionaries who populate the editorial page of the local paper will see it differently and will condemn this agreement as they do all things related to public education. Instead of whining about percentages or health insurance differentials, they should tackle the question of why this state requires school committee members and not the superintendent of schools to conduct union negotiations. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if the city council were to negotiate union contracts for city employees? If the city manager can negotiate those contracts, why can’t the superintendent negotiate with teachers? The answer lies on Beacon Hill, but the Sun’s editorialists prefer stirring the pot of discontent rather than advocating real change.

Now, I’m not sure if other problems would be created if the rules were changed. How much does the superintendent need to have a great working relationship with teachers? Negotiations for contracts can leave bitterness on both sides (though, the School Committee seems to keep on good terms with teachers despite some tough times). However, it is true that our city manager does this job on the city side, and it works pretty well, and city councilors can keep a little distance from the fray. I imagine getting involved directly would make it harder for a city councilor to serve. Plus, as Dick says, it would be chaos. As someone who works on projects for clients, I can tell you it’s better to have one point of contact for the job than a group. Whenever all the little decisions have to go through a committee, it bogs down the project and sometimes the results are not optimal.

But if that’s structurally mandated by Beacon Hill, that’s where the change has to be made. I don’t expect that legislators are interested in rocking the boat, at least, not the current crew.

Also, check out Dick’s coverage of School Committee candidate Dave Conway and the race in general. And anyone interested in local issues of education should be reading School Committeeperson Jackie Doherty’s blog. It’s great to have a “Lowell blogosphere” with multiple perspectives and different interests to cover the city!