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Moak Has Irons in the Fire

Our outgoing Mayor John Moak is a finalist for the Pepperell Town Admnistrator position, according to an article on the Nashoba Publishing web site. He's one of two candidates, with the other begin Jason Hoch, former administrator of Littleton and Plaistow.

Moak told the Pepperell Selectmen that he'd be available in two weeks "and asked for an answer quickly because he expects other offers will be coming." His term runs until early Jan., but perhaps he has vacation time saved up.

From the article:

Moak had been an energy adviser who helped convert Newburyport's middle school electric heating into a solar power purchase agreement that is expected to save about $1.4 million over the next 20 years.

He recently worked on an administrative shutdown order to force the owner of the town's landfill to work more closely with the town to eliminate hydrogen sulfide, and has worked with three communities and the Army Corps of Engineers to replace eroding top soil covering sewer lines.

The article's description of Moak was a bit confusing as I don't know him to be an "energy adviser" to anyone. I also don't know about the eroding top soil of the sewer lines. Sounds like the reporter conflated some issues that probably came up during the interview?

Pepperell is an hour Southwest of here.

Towle Project Off the Market

The recent activity around the Towle Building might been a clean up aimed at enticing a buyer to take over the half-finished project.

But Jerry Lischke of Stoneridge says owner First Republic has asked him to take the entire project off the market. He wouldn't say why, but I have to think it wasn't drawing any significant interest. (How's that for insight?)

At least FR cleaned up Cashman Park. I just hope they winterized the old barn that still stands in the parking lot.

To be clear, the Towle Building was not up for sale, just the luxury housing project on the side and rear.

Clear the way

The boardwalk behind River's Edge is officially open for business and connects to the bike trail which, of course, isn't officially open for business. But it's open nonetheless.

Still no connection under the bridge, but could happen soon.

Good News

Congrats to Newburyport Business, the new weekly business news web site, for scoring the details on the fate of the (former) First Church of Christ building on High Street. Go here for details, but I'm happy to report it appears as if the building will be spared.

If that is the case, congrats and kudos to the buyer as well.

Oh! Christmas Tree?

I'm still not sure why this was lying out on Green Street.

But it found it's new home less than an hour later.

Charter Commission Meeting (Updated)

The Charter Review Commission will hold its second meeting on Tuesday night, 7 p.m at City Hall. At the first meeting, the commission appointed officers.

Steve Cole, of the School Committee Coles, is chairman. Kathleen Bailey is vice chairman and Shelia Mullins was named secretary.

Mullins says Marilyn Contreas, senior program and policy analyst for the Department of Housing and Community Development, will meet with the commission to go over responsibilities, answer questions and help get the ball rolling.

The public is encouraged to attend,but the first public hearing likely will be Dec. 9. All meetings are open to the public. Not sure if cable will be broadcast.

From the Daily News

Salvation Army short on Thanksgiving food

By Katie Farrell Lovett
Staff writer
NEWBURYPORT — Thanksgiving is just one week away, and The Salvation Army workers are getting nervous.

Although several companies are running holiday food drives, Major Kathy Purvis said the local chapter of the Salvation Army may not have enough food this year to distribute to all the families who have signed up for a turkey and supplies to make all the fixings.

"Usually by this time, our pantry is quite full of extra stuff," Purvis said. "The shelves aren't as full as they normally are."

The Salvation Army will distribute the Thanksgiving meal packages on Tuesday and will accept donations right up until that morning. Donations can be brought to The Salvation Army's office at 40 Water St.

Currently, they need turkeys, stuffing mix, vegetables, any kind of potatoes, dinner rolls, pie crust and filling, gravy, and anything else that might make a Thanksgiving dinner complete, Purvis said.

Last year, 75 local families signed up for a Thanksgiving meal package. This year, 65 families are signed up, but there are single people on a waiting list who will come after the families get their supplies, Purvis said.

The Salvation Army is also collecting monetary donations. Following Thanksgiving, the organization will start accepting items for their Christmas dinner packages, Purvis said.

The food pantry is also in need of "winter" food, such as soups, Purvis added.

Purvis said she's unsure why this year is bringing less donations than previous years. Usually when the economy is poor, The Salvation Army does well, she added.

"Maybe people just aren't thinking about it too much," she said.

"In advance, we thank everybody who is going to contribute this year in one way or the other," Purvis said.

DONATIONS NEEDED

The Salvation Army is in need of the following items to distribute to families to make for Thanksgiving diner:

Turkeys

Stuffing mix

Vegetables

Any kind of potatoes,

Dinner rolls

Pie crust and filling

Gravy

Donations can be brought to The Salvation Army at 40 Water St. in Newburyport as late as Tuesday morning before noon

Going, Going....

Well, a sign in the front of the First Church of Christ building on High Street suggests a sale is pending.

New Comment Policy

The bastard spammers found me, so I had to insert one of those annoying "Type this word that you can't really read" features on my comments page. Sorry about the inconvenience, but I've got more "male supplements" than I can handle.

Welcome Newburyport Business

I didn't want to repeat the same mistake by snubbing a fellow blogger, so let me present my dear readers with a link to the newest non-paper paper in town, Newburyport Business.

Good luck to Gillian Swart, Melanie Wold and Stewart Lytle.

I'll have deeper thoughts on this at some point, but this will do for now.

Mary Baker Art on Display

I regret not posting this sooner because the show opened officially last Saturday. But you still should make your way down to Kaya, the jewelry store at the corner of State and Essex Streets, to visit with some of the paintings done by our fellow blogger Mary Baker Eaton. They'll be on display until the end of the year.

Take that Stanley Walker,

This popped into my head this morning after enjoying Victor Tine's account of the ceremony honoring former Daily News editor Bill Plante. Written in 1928 by Stanley Walker, city editor of the New York Herald Tribune.

"What makes a good newspaperman? The answer is easy. He knows everything. He's aware not only of what goes on in the world today, but his brain is a repository of the accumulated wisdom of the ages. He is not only handsome, but he has the physical strength which enables him to perform great feats of energy. He can go for nights on end without sleep. He dresses well and talks with charm. Men admire him, women adore him; tycoons and statesmen are willing to share their secrets with him. He hates lies and meanness and sham, but he keeps his temper. He is loyal to his paper and what he looks upon as a profession; whether it is a profession, or merely a craft, he resents attempts to debate it. When he dies, a lot of people are sorry, and some of them remember him for several days."

Besides my many friendships, a small laminated card with this writing was one of the most lasting things I received from journalism school. Geeky as this sounds, I carried it in my wallet for years after college. I'd rediscover it while digging deep into my wallet for some lost piece of paper and read it once again.

I'm not sure why I kept it. Religious fervor, I suppose. Newspaper reporting, unlike most professions, is truly a calling. Salary, benefits, comfort and security are all secondary considerations to doing the job well. There's a public service element to it for sure, a fact that most people don't recognize, but it's true. Reporters really do care.

I always found this writing amusing, particularly the end, because in addition to shorting themselves on several comforts reporters must accept that fruits of their labor have a very short shelf life. Like a new car driven off the lot, their articles lose considerable value once they're read. Unlike a car, most articles are worthless in a day or two.

I don't have the card any more. I wish I knew where it went, but I've never forgotten the message. So it came to me as I read about Newbury's decision to name the new Hay Street bridge after Bill Plante. This wasn't a random landmark. As you can read in the article and in this moving piece once written by the newspaperman himself, the bridge holds special meaning to Plante.

As Walker suggests, Newspaper people don't expect to leave any indelible marks in this world, at least professionally. Bill Plante,thanks to a classy move by the town of Newbury, is the exception.

A disturbing trend

So, only 39% of the voters turned out to vote in Tuesday's election. Dismal. Depressing. Just plain sad.

How's this compare to years past? From the Daily News article reporting on the 2007 general election.

Voter turnout was lower than the previous two general elections with 43 percent - or 5,327 - of the city's 12,141 voters casting ballots in the mayoral race. In 2005, 52 percent voted; in 2003, 51 percent went to the polls.

Six years ago, just over half the eligible voters bothered to go to the polls. This week, just over one-third made it.

People, this is not good.

What this says to me is its clear the politically active "old guard" continues to vote and vote well. (Good for them by the way.) But their numbers are shrinking as newcomers like myself move into the city.

But we new folks aren't holding up our end of the bargain. We're not caring enough to vote. We're not letting our voices be heard.

Why the hell not?

I'm not going to suggest that the outcome of the mayoral election would have been different if the turnout were considerably higher, although common sense suggests that Donna Holaday had the support of the long-time residents and natives, much more so than James Shanley.

But we can't continue this way. We can't let one-third of the voters in this city decide its course. If you fellow newcomers to this city love it as much as you profess you gotta stand up, get involved and for goodness sake's vote.

Back to some Business

From the School Committee:

The Newburyport School Committee has initiated its search for a new superintendent. A key step in this process is to identify the characteristics that the Newburyport community is seeking in our new superintendent. There will be a community forum on Monday, November 9th at 7pm in the RAN/Molin Auditorium. Your input is important, because it helps us to find a candidate who is the best match for Newburyport. The entire Newburyport community is invited to attend.


For more information about the Superintendent Search, please go to: http://www.newburyport.k12.ma.us/supt.html

The Day After

Well, I always told myself that if the question passed and I lost I'd still be a happy guy.

Man, was I wrong. Losing stinks, at least it did last night.

But things are better this morning, and I'm so glad I went through with the process. I did, in fact, meet a lot of great people and found election night a whole lot more exciting if you've got some skin in the game. I highly recommend the experience for anyone interested in politics, especially those on the sidelines who insist candidates should run even if they have zero chance in winning.

In the end, this probably is the best outcome for the Charter Review issue. Now I can blog on the issue without fear of betraying trusts or presenting conflicts. I can still shout from my laptop and ruffle feathers (if needed) without complicating matters.

In fact, that's probably why some of you didn't vote for me. You'd miss my unvarnished commentary. Yeah, that's the ticket.

But I'm thrilled the question passed so overwhelmingly. I feared a squeaker would undermine any sense of mandate the commission now holds. The poll on the right was in fact an accurate measure of the mood of the populace. People are open to change; the question will be, how much.

I look forward to helping answer that question.

Thanks again to everyone who voted for me.

And the winners are....

The Daily News just confirmed what I wrote in a comment.

Based on the unofficial vote tally last night, the others voted to the commission, in alphabetical order, were:

Kathleen Bailey, chairman of this year's Yankee Homecoming Committee;

C. Bruce Brown, a former city councilor and Waterfront Trust member whose son is U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown;

Steve Cole, a lifetime Newburyport resident who is a member of the School Committee;

Roger Gagnon, a history teacher for 36 years at Newburyport High School who recently retired;

Hugh Kelleher, executive director of the Plumbing Contractors Association of Greater Boston who charis the city’s Tree Committee;

Bruce Menin, a non-profit administrator who was re-elected to a fourth term on the School Committee last night;

Sheila Mullins, an interior designer who has lived in Newburyport for 22 years;

James Stiles, a data manager and environmental examiner who was runner-up for mayor two years ago;

and Bruce Vogel, a regional manager for an e-mail service provider who served four years on City Council.

Again, congratulations and good luck to the commissioners.

Charter Review In, Salemi Out

The Daily News is doing a nice job of reporting on the important races in town, so here's the link to their page.

The other big news, particularly in these parts, is the passage of the Charter Review question by considerable margin. Unfortunately, your intrepid blogger was not one of the nine people selected to do the review. But, such is life.

Congratulations to the nine selected to do the review and to the 11 that ran but didn't win. It was a fantastic experience.

I'd personally like to thank anyone who took the time to vote for me. I truly, truly appreciate your support.

And a hearty congratulations to the other winners of the day, particularly Donna Holaday who defeated fav James Shanley as well as council newcomers Heartquist, Cronin and Herzog.

Quite a moment for Democracy

I took The Boy to the polls.

I held his tiny hand as we walked in the Hope Church, checked in, picked up my ballot and ambled over to the booth

Once there, I knelt down to show him the ballot, all the names of the "mommies and daddies" who want to help the city including his own Daddy. I made sure he saw our last name on the ballot so he could really understand the significance of the day. (We'd been watching a Berenstein Bears in which Papa Bear runs for mayor of Bearville just last night.)

And then, after taking it all in, he spoke these words that I'll never forget....

"Daddy, I need to go to the bathroom."

Kind of gets you right here, doesn't it.

Election Day

Here's the agenda for today

I. You go to vote. Polls open 7 am to 8 pm. Don't know where? Go here.

II. Vote yes on the Charter Review Commission. You can figure out the rest.

III. Check back here later tonight. I'll try to post the results as soon as I get them. If I can't get them I'll post saying so.

IV. Check out PortMedia for a life report from City Hall with Gillian Swart.

V. Thank God you live in a Democracy.

Gotta say, it's pretty cool being on the ballot. I once ran for Planning Board in my old town, but I was unopposed. I managed to beat out blanks and incumbents, but this is a lot more fun. I think I'll bring The Boy.

By the way,

Brown Square does not look like this any more.

The big tree is gone.

Why I'm voting for James Shanley

I've done a horrible job blogging on this election, which is too bad because I was really looking forward to the discussion. I don't like posting this on election eve, but I didn't want the season to slip by without fulfilling my long-promised reasons for endorsing James Shanley. Well, there's really only one.

I think we need him.

I disagree with the Current's endorsement, suggesting now is the time more suited for a candidate like Donna Holaday, someone who knows the inside and the outside of a ledger and can pull together a tight budget. To me, that would be the defensive position to take at a time when we need to show a strong offense.

We need a mayor who is looking beyond the squabbles of today and yesterday. Someone who recognizes the status quo just isn't working today. A person who is willing to lead folks toward possibilities they hadn't previously considered.

Shanley did that for me two years ago. We were attending one of the NRA's public hearing about the waterfronts, specifically asking what features should be included in the Cecil Group's plan for a waterfront park. Having just arrived to the city a year earlier, I attended the meeting thinking the battle over the waterfront parcels had been fought and won. The waterfront would be open; it's just a question of what we rest upon this openness (openicity?).

Skating rinks. Tot lots. Art displays. one after another suggestions for park features. Then Shanley stood up and reminded the NRA that the waterfront lots were economic engines that shouldn't be left in idle.

I couldn't believe what I'd heard. Someone actually suggested publicly that the lots be built upon. I thought these issues were settled in the 90s when Roger Foster finally abandoned his hotel bid (or had it abandoned for him), but someone had the guts to bring it up again.

We met for coffee later and his argument was convincing. We can't afford to maintain wide open green space. We need tax revenue. This city needs to maximize our resources if we're going to survive, thrive and restore some of the school programs and services that have been cut over the years.

A park, in my opinion, isn't the most practical or even the most attractive use of that space.

I know the surveys and so-called consensus that has built after 40 years supposedly wants an open waterfront. My question is this. Why isn't anyone using the park we currently have? A month or so ago back, we four made our way down to the Farmer's Market just before closing. We did our shopping, ambling through the crowds that still filled the Tannery parking lot and filling our shopping bags with vegetables, peaches and cider doughnuts. The place was packed, alive and a joy.

Lunch was next so we wandered over the Abraham's, grabbed some sandwiches and made our way to the Waterfront Park for a picnic. One might expect the place to be jamming in the middle of a glorious Sunday afternoon but that one would be wrong. The place was empty, a few families here, a napping waitress there, but the park was a quiet contrast to the bustle of the downtown and the Tannery, with the only exception being the boardwalk and walkways that guided people around the green space. In my opinion, this state isn't unusual. I never see crowds enjoying the grass we do have. The park always looks empty to me.

Having just returned to Newburyport a few years ago, I can testify that people "out there" don't think pastoral riverside retreat when they think of Newburyport. Quite the contrary, they think State Street, restaurants, shops and boardwalks. They want vitality. So do I.

In my opinion, people who have lived in this city forever-plus overstate the importance of the park in the ability to draw visitors to town. Most of the visitors to our fair city have parks in their own towns (admittedly without a river), what they don't have is our historic downtown.

As I write this the temperature is sagging into the 40s. I wonder how man people will be using that park this weekend or the weekend after that? How can we commit such a massive parcel of our downtown to be used for a handful of concerts and a three or four months of pleasant weekend afternoons?

To be clear, I'm not talking about building on the entire waterfront. I think we should extend the park on either side, but we should complement the open space with life, vitality and a return of the commerce that made and makes this city great.

This is the vision James Shanley laid out a few weeks after that 2007 meeting when we met at Plum Island Roasters. He never accepted authorship of the idea. (I'm told it was Nick Cracknell, the former planning director, but not sure.) But he sold it.

Anyway, at the time, I thought he was mildly nuts. I compared him to a WWII Japanese soldier who'd been holed up on a tropical island and didn't know the war was over, but I listened and I came to appreciate the vision behind the point of view, and I also appreciated the guy who was willing to stand up at a meeting filled with people who dreamed of parkland and state a completely contrary position.

I think he's consistently been willing to push for unpopular ideas that he thinks will work. He wants paid parking without free parking on the street, a system Donna Holaday seems to favor. I agree with James that the free parking will only undermine the paid parking system, causing people to drive around looking for "free" spots and adding congestion. He wants to develop a parking management program first before considering a parking garage. Again, at this time when government dollars are drying up we need to be prudent so this makes sense to me. (Jim Roy, a garage backer, had a great exchange with him in a recent Liberator.)

I think the time has come to settle these issues: the waterfront, paid parking. These programs, if executed well, all promise to bring revenue back to the city when we most desperately need it. Do we need a mayor who shows a propensity for counting the dollars or generating the dollars. I'm favoring the former, and I see James Shanley as that person.

I'll echo every other publication and blogger who has expressed an opinion on this matter. We're enormously lucky to have two capable candidates, and I'd be pleased to call Donna Holaday mayor. But I truly think James Shanley is the right candidate for this time, and that is why I'm voting for him.

Thanks.

p.s. Crazy day tomorrow, not sure how deeply I can get into comments until Wed.

Why Vote for Me?

That's a fair question.

I've kept the campaigning to a minimum here. That's partly intentional, I never wanted to turn this into the Tom show. But I've also been insanely busy with the new one, work and all the other elements of life. No complaints.

So I really haven't addressed why I'd be a good charter commissioner, and that's a fair question to ask. This is a unique race, both for candidates and voters.

How should voters judge the candidates? What's the criteria for a good charter review candidates? And what should the candidates say. Most of the candidates all trying to be non-committal, steering clear of answering any direction questions about what form of government we might favor. It's not that we're hiding anything, rather we just honestly want to keep or options open and let the discussion set the commission's course.

But here are a few things I feel I can offer up:

City Manager vs. Mayor -- As I stated in an earlier post, I'm leaning toward a four-year term for mayor but I'm honestly open to hearing the arguments for something else. If you're basing your decision entirely on my mayoral preference,don't vote for me. I wouldn't want to disappoint.

City Council -- As I suggested at the forum last week, I'd prefer the city council retain some sort of ward representation as that gives voters one councilor dedicated to their interests. But I also see the weakness. An issue in Ward 5--say the landfill--is mostly the concern of that councilor and those voters. The rest of the councilors aren't dependent on those votes to retain their seat so they can care a little less or not at all. I'd like to explore a system that gives voters in any ward an even stronger voice in selecting more than one city councilor so as a city we might follow the lead and care a little more about problems that aren't our own. I'm not certain such a system exists, but it's worth exploring.

Other boards--I brought this up a long time ago, but I'd also like to investigate the possibility of making some of the seats on key city boards elected positions. I'm not entirely satisfied with the mayor having total appointing power (should say total nominating power with city council approval, just would like to have some board members not need to pass over the mayor's desk.)

So those are the issues. Now, as to my qualifications: As a news reporter I've covered municipal government from Cape Cod (where this city boy first heard the terms, Town Manager and Selectman) to the North Shore. Hell, I covered the Statehouse and Boston City Hall while I was still in college (no pay, mind you, but I did get clips.) I love tracking municipal government, which is one reason I started this blog.

I really think this passion coupled with my research and reporting skills would serve the commission well. I hope you think so too.

Note: I appreciate the support from commenters but I'm going to shut off comments on this one. I'd hate for this post to turn into something that might hinder the commission's work going foward if I'm lucky enough to be elected. The two comments I've received have been very polite, very civil, and very kind, thanks for that. But I'd regret it if a potential future fellow commissioner took offense at an off-hand remark made so close to the election. I have no designs on impacting other campaigns, just my own. Thanks.

The good, the bad

I generally don't have much use for Halloween. Yeah, we carve the pumpkins and give out the candy, but I don't anticipate the day all that much.

As holidays go, I can take it or leave it. But as days in Newburyport go, it's one of my favorites.

It's the only day of the year when most of the neighborhood roams the streets or sits on their front steps with welcoming smiles. Last night proved to be one of those great nights again, giving us an opportunity to reconnect with neighbors we really haven't seen much of since....sigh...last Halloween.

Unfortunately, the night was spoiled a bit by some teenage kids who decided to empty every unattended basket of candy. I'm sure it was done in the mischievous spirit of the day, but I somehow can't endorse the premise of taking candy that's intended for little children. Seems a bit....shitty.

The loss of candy isn't a big deal. Unfortunately, the Boy caught a wind of what happened and I believe he cut his trick-or-treating short because he didn't want to leave the remaining candy unattended. (I'd caught the buggers before they completely cleaned us out.)

I know we're lucky if this is what counts as youth problems. Still, it bugs me a bit. So if you're teenager came home with an inordinate amount of candy last night, consider this.

Great night with the neighbors though.