Let me rewind for a moment.
Mayor Donna Holaday honored me a few weeks ago by nominating me to the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority. The City Council still needs to give its thumbs up or down on the appointment, and tonight is the night when the so-called second reading occurs.
This is a new role for me in Newburyport. The blogging thing has been great, and I have no plans to stop. It's given me an opportunity to contribute to the city dialogue for the past four or five years even though I've never really had to get my hands dirty.
Voters thankfully left me off the Charter Review Commission, so I didn't need to attend their multitude of meetings. I'll help out with food drives, clean ups, and events at my son's school. But I haven't had a "full-time" volunteer job, not yet.
I hope that changes tonight.
I'm eager to help shape what happens down on the waterfront lots. I realize that I'm the hundreth or so person to utter such sentiments while accepting a post on the NRA. That much-maligned body has been working hard to make something happen for 40-plus years with no success on the waterfront lots.
But I feel this group and this Mayor is generating some genuine momentum. I just hope I can help.
I know this appointment will worry some. The P. Preservationist chimed in yesterday. To be honest, I was a bit surprised by two things: one, that it took this long for him to write such a column; and two, his sense of alarm that the final meeting was tonight. See, the P. Preservationist was at the first meeting two weeks ago, even wrote about my being there, so I assumed he would have heard me stand up before the council during public session to offer myself for questions as an appointee to the NRA. Perhaps he'd stepped out of the room at that point, and I mistook his silence for tacit approval.
But all that doesn't matter. I'm glad he posted, and I actually found his post encouraging, specifically this part.
If the citizens of Newburyport show clearly what they wish, then the NRA will have to re-shape if they want to proceed. Some compromise would allow all parties to get what they want and the leaders of the NRA will be hailed as heroes!Not being a member of the NRA yet, I can only speak for myself. (I haven't even had the pleasure of meeting the other members, except for Chairman James Shanley.) But I truly believe compromise is a great idea. The gridlock on Capital Hill shows us what happens when hardened idealogues refuse to surrender a little in exchange for a lot. Frankly, I don't think that approach benefits us here.
If the council confirms my appointment tonight - or even if it doesn't -I believe we'll all find that there's a great deal of common ground along the Merrimack if we just started looking for it.
26 comments:
isn't your relationship with Shanley a bit of an issue? Or perhaps that is why you were nominated?
I'm not sure what the issue is. The fact we know each other and grab a cup of coffee every few months?
As to why, I couldn't speak to that. I like to think my writings on the waterfront, past experience on a planning board and general interest in serving helped.
I've resigned myself to the fact that my appointment wouldn't please some folks. Still, I thought it was worth doing.
Thanks
Thanks Ari. Much appreciated.
who is currently on the board?
Who is the Port Preservationist? You seem to know who he is. Given that he likes to slam people, the brave thing for him to do would be to put his name nehind his opinions, like other bloggers. Unlike posters like me, he has a whole blog site.
Patty Dorfman
Adam Guild
John Morris
James Shanley
I do know who PP is although we've never had a conversation about his secret identity. So he's never confirmed it directly to me.
I don't disagree with your larger point.
Congratulations, Tom. Glad I was there tonight to hear the Council approve your appointment.
Anonymous - does the simple fact that you may know a person on a local board or committee disqualify you from sitting on that board?
supporting a certain person for his run for mayor and then receiving nomination to a board in which he is currently chair does raise a few eyebrows Jon.
*joe
Re the P Preservationist:
Sorry, but given that the other bloggers in this LHD debate have had the guts to use their names, it seems like cowardice to me, especially with his name calling and self-righteousness. You and Ari Herzog playing "I know something you don't know" makes it even sillier.
But it goes to show this is a very small world in Newburyport blogs...
@8:03
I don't mean to be a smart ass, but do you think my grand plan was to endorse one mayoral candidate with the hope that the other mayoral candidate would win and then appoint me to the NRA?
Yes, I've said many times that I agree with James Shanley's general point of view on the waterfront.
Does that somehow disqualify me?
But the only POV that really matters in all this is Mayor Holaday's as she's the one who appointed me. My POV had to match her POV or this doesn't happen.
She met with me. We had a great talk. I'm glad we could see eye-to-eye.
@9:13
You and I share the same opinion on anonymous bloggers.
But I don't reveal for two reasons:
1) I think it would be a turd move; and I don't think of myself as a turd.
2) Karma is a bitch. His identity will be revealed someday and I suspect it will be not be subtle.
I'd rather just let that happen.
Finally, in my defense, I don't go around saying "I know something you don't know." I just won't put it in my blog.
Ask me in person someday and I'll probably tell you.
I knew my ears were burning yesterday! Hey, I like the snazy title, Port Preservationist. Unfortunately, the "P." stands for Poor.
I have always said that if anyone wants to know who I am, they should get involved in historic preservation and they would then know. In fact, everyone in this city should get involved in such and then everyone would know who I am.
There are already hundreds who know my identity. I can tell because every time I make a post that someone disagrees with, I get dagger eyes the next day!
Ooop, my bad Poor.
Do you really think having the opportunity to get to know you will DRAW people into public service?
Just kidding....
I know this is not a big issue, but sorry, Masked Preservationist, you just don't get it. You may be known to a very small circle and take pride in maintaining this blog anonymity, thinking it's cute that only some know who you are. But if you want to be a leader in the LHD and other issues in the city, that will not help you. Step up if you want to be listened to and respected, like Tom, Mary Eaton and Ed Cameron have. Otherwise, you're just heckling from the balcony.
are any member on the board natives of newburyport?
Meeting tonight, 7 pm at the library. Come and ask them.
Anonymous - I know you claim that there's a difference between a blogger and one who only comments, but your anonymity makes your comments sound hollow, heckling from the 2nd balcony.
And why, might I ask, is it at all relevant if any of the Board members are Newburyport natives?
There is more than one anonymous poster here. I did not comment on Tom's NRA appointment or ask about natives on boards. I only commented on the mysterious blogger. Joe, I think there is a big difference between posting a comment anonymously and having an anonymous blog and depicting yourself as an expert on a topic of note and slamming people. But reasonable minds can disagree. Some have more time to comment online than others.
because i don't like the idea of people who have just moved to town and lived here a few years making decisions that effect people that grew up here and have lived here their entire lives.
I'll respectfully disagree. I prefer a system of government that represents all of its citizens, not just a fortunate few.
And lookie there, my photo works.
@ Anonymous 1:59 PM -
Please define "a few years." Is it 3, is it 20? Or, is it anything less than "their whole life?" There are plenty of people who have lived here their whole life who are less engaged and less caring about the community than some who have lived here "a few years."
My understanding is, those who have lived here for "a few years" have the exact same rights to serve on local boards as those who have lived here their whole lives. It's often not a choice between appointing those who have lived here "a few years" and those who have lived here their whole lives.
i never said they didn't have the right to serve on the board, i was just curious if there were any natives. Why is it wrong to wish to have my views and concerns represented?
if you had to ask someone what yeat meant (or used urban dictionary ::cringe::), then you're new
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