Feeling is Mutual, Lady

This is a letter to the Gloucester times.

Actually, I like Gloucester just fine. There's just no need to be snippy.




Letter to the editor: Why did city officials all shun harbor forum?


To the editor:

On Monday, Dec. 8, my husband and I attended the community forum regarding Gloucester Harbor.

We are not affiliated with Citizens for Gloucester Harbor, but as responsible citizens in our community we wanted to gather information regarding the views of the use of our harbor. My husband and his family have lived in Gloucester for generations and still to this day several of his brothers work on the waterfront.

On arriving, we sat down as the mayor, City Council and School Committee were finishing up a meeting. My husband and I were both astounded by the fact that all of the City Council members and the mayor left before this informational forum began.

The forum had a packed house with many community leaders in attendance. Why our elected representatives believed that they did not need to listen to both presenters and audience on this important issue is beyond my understanding. Who does not feel that Peter Anastas or Angela Sanfilippo, after their lifetime commitment to this community, haven't earned the right to have their voices heard by those that we, the people, have chosen to represent us?

My husband and I were given this great opportunity to listen to people who have spent their lives committed to our fishing industry and our harbor and understand the multifaceted importance of the many different uses of our harbor. These speakers were talking about the future — maintaining and improving our working waterfront with many progressive ideas such as marine technologies and green energy opportunities. These speakers were also talking about the past, the great history of our harbor and how it is so much a part of who we are.

When I met my husband and was deciding to move to Gloucester 10 years ago, I drove him and two of his brothers down to the harbor in the wee hours of the morning to unload fish off a boat. As I watched them walk toward the boat in their orange slickers, I realized how much they love their work and their harbor and how much this is a part of who they are.

There is a difference between Gloucester Harbor and other harbor towns and cities. Do we want Gloucester to be another Newburyport? I think most of us here in Gloucester do not.

These are difficult times we face, no doubt. We should all be listening with an open mind right now, remembering who we are and where we came from.

We need to proceed very carefully and considerately as we develop our plans around the harbor. We do not need to act out of fear.

JANET MULLEN
Pine Road, West Gloucester