Contenders for mayor take stage for debate
By Katie Farrell Lovett
Staff writer
NEWBURYPORT — Mayoral candidates James Shanley and Donna Holaday will face each other in a debate tonight at 7 in the high school auditorium.
The debate is sponsored by The Daily News of Newburyport and the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce.
The candidates will be asked a variety of questions that were submitted by citizens.
The five topics for discussion include leadership, education, economic development, budget and waterfront/downtown parking. The candidates will be asked two questions related to each topic.
The moderators of the debate are John Macone, editor of The Daily News, and Chuck Withee, the chairman of the Board of Directors for the Chamber of Commerce.
The election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
28 comments:
i hope they ask shanley why his first call after winning is going to be to stephen karp.....
I could see that coming up. I can't go, unfortunately, but let me know what he says.
Course he addresses that in the interviews with the Liberator, so I guess I know what he says. He'd like Karp to speak more publicly about his plans.
Anonymous, why on earth would he call Steve Karp when Karp (or at least many of his sychophants and reps) will be right there at his victory party?
Tom Ryan predicts Shanley Victory, you read it here first. I can't wait to tell the other sychophants.
I heard that Shanley is part of a Karp sleeper cell - sent to live amongst us until the time was right for him to become activated and assist Karp in building his evil hideout along the waterfront.
Personally, I hope someone asks Shanley to produce his birth certificate - some say he was born in a CVS.
good point tom. i wonder if karp has "contributed" to shanley's campaign at all...?
I can't believe how many comments this is generating.
Anyway, I think the financial reports should be available soon. (I assume by "contributing" you meant give money.)
Course if Karp is smart he gave the same amount to both campaign. It'd be foolish to back only one. Gotta hedge your bets.
Tom Ryan is making a pretty safe prediction, considering the Holoday campaign seems to be MIA so far.
Sorry, Anon2:
Holaday has campaigned in every corner of the city and everwhere in between. It's not so simple for Shanley.
Bubba, I like the sleeper cell comment....is it so far-fetched?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say both candidates have campaigned vigorously. And I have a feeling next week is going to be crazy busy. We don't need any more snipes in this aera.
Whoeever wins will deserve it.
"Course if Karp is smart he gave the same amount to both campaign. It'd be foolish to back only one. Gotta hedge your bets."
I beg to differ, Tom. If Karp is smart, he stayed clear when it came to donations. Then again his sycophants haven't.
If Donna was smart, tonight she'd point out who the Chamber is behind...and lo and behold that's who Karp is behind, too.
Funniest thing I've seen yet is the lady from Newburyport today site showing a photo of the Moak for Mayor sign and stating she's not involved in the race...heck she designed Jim Shanley's website!
i don't think anyone is debating the legitimacy of the election, only that one candidate has some questions as to whether his loyalties lay with the people or the developer...
I hate it when my best satire goes unappreciated - I knew I shouldn't have edited out the part about sharks with lazer beams attached to their heads, or the bit about Shanley being born in the greeting card aisle. Clearly we need a sarcasm emoticon !
Your humor was well received at this address, Bubba.
Tom, you're right. And I gave $10 to Shanley's campaign. Is that sycophant level?
Anon 5:33....I just wanted to get away from the "My candidate campaigned harder than your candidate debate." I personally don't think it's an either/or scenario, but I know we like to draw lines around these parts.
BTW, I just wanted to say there's a DEBATE TONIGHT. Save your venom for my posts next week, if I ever get a chance to write them.
Your humor was well received at this address, Bubba.
Tom, you're right. And I gave $10 to Shanley's campaign. Is that sycophant level?
Anon 5:33....I just wanted to get away from the "My candidate campaigned harder than your candidate debate." I personally don't think it's an either/or scenario, but I know we like to draw lines around these parts.
BTW, I just wanted to say there's a DEBATE TONIGHT. Save your venom for my posts next week, if I ever get a chance to write them.
Tom, think you may have misunderstood. I don't think anyone is a sycophant of Jim Shanley's. However, there are plenty of Karp brown nosers around.
You giving $10 to Shanley means you've given to the candidate of your choice. Doesn't say anything about you sucking up to Karp.
For the record, if I was writing about this election, which I'm not, I would point out that neither candidate is bad. I do think that Jim Shanley has the potential to be a better mayor than Donna Holaday. But I also think he has a potential to be a much worse mayor. He has the tendency to ignore those who disagree with him...or better yet, bury them. Examples? Strong councilors Tom O'Brien and Tom Jones who don't always disagree with Jim Shanley.
And of course there was that silliness with being council president, city councilor and NRA appointment. Come on, aren't there enough solid volunteers in the city that he has to be in control of everything?
Tom S: Holaday is not my candidate...I was just stating what I have been seeing personally. I don't think Shanley is going to walk right in. The statement was meant to say that its not so simple that he will easily walk in to office. Holaday is a seasoned campaigner. I don't know which way it will turn out but I expect the race to be close as well as a low voter turnout on election day.
BTW: No venom intended....sorry it appeared that way.
Maybe so, Tom. But I think many people use a broader brush than you do, painting anyone who doesn't see Karp wearing devil horns as a sell out or sycophant. Perhaps I was reacting to that.
I agree with you. Neither candidate is bad and either will make a good mayor. I do think Shanley will make a better one. I can't speak to your charges about O'Brien and Jones. I believe you're friendly with both (as I'm friendly with James) so you might have better insights on that than I do. But I haven't seen any sign of that watching the council meetings or keeping up on the news.
As for the NRA, there was precedent with Erford Fowler sitting on the council and the NRA. Plus, James did bring a unique perspective (See Mary's blog and mine next week) so I saw value (and so did JOhn Moak who nominated him) in having him on board and I also saw zero harm.
Good comments all!
My bad. Venom was the wrong word. I was just having some fun.
My bad. Venom was the wrong word. I was just having some fun.
Tom,
Congrats, this is great debate on your site. Good points in many of the posts. Thanks for hosting it.
Listen, I don't think Steve Karp is evil by any means, but I don't think has Newburyport's best interests in mind or else he'd give it more attention. However, I think it would be great if a mayor in town was more impartial and less pro Karp.
Great point about Erford. You got me there...Shanley = Fowler.
But, I argued against Erford doing it back then, too. I think it was even worse since Jim Shanley was not just a councilor, but also the council president. And the NRA position coupled with the council presidency is a bit too much power.
Chris Sullivan, perhaps the best city council president I ever saw in 11 years, said it best when Kevin Finnegan was councilor and state rep: "How many masters are you going to serve?"
I just think there's enough talent in Newburyport to spread the influence around a bit. And yes, Mayor Moak wanted Jim Shanley, but Jim Shanley didn't have to take the position.
If elected, will you outlaw the sale of Phillies gear within the territorial limits of Newburyport? Because that would totally win my vote.
Are you kidding me? The Phillies are our last hope against the return of Sauron (aka the Yankees.) Go Frodo Martinez!!
Where's the post-debate discussion on this site?
Honestly, I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. Work is killing me. This weekend.
Tom,
I just heard a disturbing report that Shanley's closet is filled with khakis. It's only a matter of time before someone uncovers his spandex bike pants. No wonder he wanted my donation in the form of a Dockers gift certificate.
Post a Comment