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July 24, 2007

Lavallee eyes 5-year contract for chief post

THE EXPECTED coronation of Kenneth Lavallee as Lowell's next police superintendent could be sailing into uncharted waters.

THE EXPECTED coronation of Kenneth Lavallee as Lowell's next police superintendent could be sailing into uncharted waters Lavallee, 52, wants a five-year contract. Such long-term deals aren't typically embraced for public-sector employees. City Manager Bernie Lynch signed a two-year contract when he was hired nearly a year ago.

Driving Lavallee's argument for a longer deal is the fact the job no longer has Civil Service protection, which City Councilor Edward "Bud" Caufield and Lavallee booster likened to a "lifetime contract."

State lawmakers recently allowed the city to withdraw the job from the Civil Service system. Lynch said he likes that idea because he can choose who he wants. Civil Service requires the new chief to come from among the top three scorers on an exam.

Lavallee, who's expected to make $132,800 this year, said he wants to retire at 57. With two kids soon headed to college, he's thinking security. Lavallee needs five years of service to qualify for a full pension at 80 percent of his three highest-paid three years.

He said if a five-year deal is impossible, he'd take a three-year deal, but with contract language stipulating that at the end of the contract he could reclaim his deputy superintendent spot, which still has Civil Service protection, if things weren't working out.

Lavallee said if he doesn't get that, "then I'll have to consider not taking the job."

Lavallee has impressed everyone since becoming acting superintendent on Dec. 1, even traditional Police Department critics like Caulfield, so it's hard to imagine an agreement will not be reached.

GEORGE RAMIREZ is one happy guy today.

First, he starts his new, $100,000-year-job tomorrow as principal legal adviser for Robert Coughlin, undersecretary of business development for the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

Second, he's no longer on the City Council. After serving about three-quarters of a two-year term, his resignation took effect last Friday.

Third, he'll be replaced by a supporter of City Manager Bernie Lynch, former School Committee member Joe Mendonca, who was the 10th-place finisher in the 2005 election.

Ramirez tells anyone who'll listen that his crowning achievement as a councilor was bonding with five other councilors to force John Cox to resign as manager in April 2006.

To hear Mendonca say Lynch is doing a "fine job" is music to Ramirez's ears.

And the music becomes a symphony when Mendonca said he'll align himself with Councilors Kevin Broderick, Eileen Donoghue, Rodney Elliott, Bill Martin, and James Milinazzo "more than the other three."

Mendonca did stress he would be an independent voice who takes "one issue at a time."

HOW VALUABLE is running as an incumbent?

Kevin Broderick was the 10th-place finisher in 2003, and got on the City Council in August 2005 after Rithy Uong resigned amid an Ethics Commission probe. Broderick won the seat outright in November 2005.

Mendonca finished out of the money in the 1999 race for School Committee, then gained the seat when Kathryn Stoklosa died. He then won election in 2001.

Most politicos agree Mendonca will need whatever help he can get in the council race. He's been out of the spotlight since he left the School Committee two years ago. He's not widely viewed as someone who schmoozes well and works a room to his advantage.

Still, Mendonca's surprising 10th-place finish last year proves that he has a constituency, particularly in the Portuguese community.

Mendonca's name will now appear on the ballot as an incumbent, listed in alphabetical order with the other incumbents seeking re-election.

In the meantime, he has the new platform of council meetings, where he can file dozens of motions and speak on every issue.

A BOSTON Phoenix article last week questioned why the state's Democratic establishment -- and Emily's List -- had flocked to Democratic congressional candidate Niki Tsongas' side "despite her obvious flaws as a candidate," i.e. her lack of government experience, and the fact there is another woman in the race.

The article, by David S. Bernstein, said the departure of Tsongas field director Sarah Compton and her replacement by former state Democratic Party Executive Director Gus Bickford "seemed to be an admission the campaign was stumbling" in the aftermath of a poll by the campaign of Lowell City Councilor Eileen Donoghue, one of Tsongas' Democratic rivals. Donoghue's poll showed Tsongas' support having dropped from 35 to 26 percent among likely voters in the Sept. 4 primary.

Donoghue's poll still showed Tsongas with a 9 percentage-point lead over Donoghue.

In any event, the article is the first real hit Tsongas has taken from the press, and it must have had Donoghue's camp smiling.

Compton said the insinuation is inaccurate.

She said she left the campaign to become the executive director of a Boston-based nonprofit organization called the Criminal Justice Policy Coalition and had given a month's notice.

"It was an opportunity that just wasn't going to be there in the fall," she said. "It was a difficult decision."

Katie Elbert, Tsongas campaign spokeswoman, said team Tsongas had intended all along to bring aboard Bickford, a Westford resident who specializes in heading get-out-the-vote operations. With Compton leaving, he just assumed her duties as well, Elbert said.

"He has a lot of experience," she said. "He knows this district very well. We're really excited to have him on board."

OF COURSE, the Tsongas people conducted their own July 15 poll of likely primary voters showing their candidate with a commanding, 23-point lead over Donoghue and growing favorability ratings. So, it's anyone's guess which poll to believe.

Looks like the old saw could use a slight tweaking: There are lies, damn lies and political polls.

STATE REP. Jim Miceli may have raised only $4,140 in the last fundraising period, bringing his total to just under $11,000 for the entire campaign, but the veteran pol said he is "unequivocally" in the race to stay.

Three of his four listed donors didn't even live in the district. (Neither does Miceli, who lives in Wilmington, but his district includes most of Tewksbury.)

By contrast, Eldridge, who raised the fourth most during the period that ended June 30, raked in more than $158,000. Tsongas, who topped the list, brought in nearly $670,000 with nearly 80 percent of that total coming from outside the district, though almost 90 percent of her contributors were Massachusetts residents.

Miceli also had an extremely lackluster performance during the fundraising period that ended March 30.

At the time, he said: "I'm going to have a big amount late, right when it counts."

The primary is 44 days from today. It's late.

Last Friday, Miceli, who sold his insurance business in 2000, said he can "access money any time I need it" and added that in his 16 previous elections to the state House of Representatives "I used a lot of my own money."

"If I needed money tomorrow morning, I could access it," he said. "This isn't about money. It's about a message. It's who has something to say that's meaningful. Watch. Talk to me the day after the election. I have run in 16 elections. I must know something about getting elected."

TOM TIERNEY, a Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District, has been trying to make an issue out of Jim Ogonowski's no-shows at several recent debates.

At a debate last week, sponsored by the Non-Profit Alliance of Greater Lowell, Tierney said, "His handlers are telling him to stay out of sight. If you see my friend Jim, tell him it's a bad strategy."

But is it?

Ogonowski, a Dracut farmer with strong conservative values, had nothing to gain. Some think it's a smart move for Ogonowski to let the other candidates punch themselves out, and the take on whoever is left standing after the Sept. 4 primary.

But some also think that Ogonowski could use the batting practice and should have attended the NPA debate, as well as last Sunday's "front porch" debate outside Fern's Country Store in Carlisle.

Ogonowski's campaign manager, Barney Keller, said one-on-one debates with Tierney are in the offing.

"We've been looking for (Tierney). Maybe he should consider moving into the 5th District," Keller said.

Tierney lives in Framingham, which is in the 7th Congressional District. He is making his fifth run since 1984 for the 5th District seat.

WITH AN extremely small primary turnout likely, every Democrat covets the support of organized labor, which has yet to come out in force behind any one candidate.

The Merrimack Valley Central Labor Council, an umbrella group for unions representing about 60,000 workers in the Merrimack Valley, considered the issue last Thursday night and couldn't come to a consensus on a recommendation.

Next up is the state AFL-CIO, which will meet on the subject Tuesday, and determine whether to give an endorsement, which could be crucial to determining if any 5th District Democrat gets a major labor endorsement.

Paul Georges, the Merrimack Valley Central Labor Council president, said he has no idea if any candidate will receive the two-thirds vote necessary for an endorsement.

"It's too hard to predict," he said. "There's some very, very good candidates running for Marty's (Meehan) seat. There's different loyalties from within the same group for different candidates."

THE TYNGSBORO School Committee nearly missed the boat.

It wasn't until committee member Diana Keohane suggested applying for state money for a building project at this week's meeting that her fellow committee members got on board with the idea.

It's a good thing, too. The deadline to apply for Massachusetts School Building Authority money is July 31.

The SBA began accepting applications on July 1 for state-funded building projects after four years of freezing funding. The School Committee will have to schedule a public meeting before the deadline to sign its letter-of-interest.

The middle school needs the most work, where windows, a boiler, gym bleachers and cafeteria equipment all need replacing.

Greater Lowell Technical High School, also in Tyngsboro, sent a letter-of-interest last month for a possible expansion project that would have to be partially paid for by Tyngsboro taxpayers.

JOHN RYAN faced a lot of condemnation and scorn when he resigned from the Tewksbury Board of Selectmen three months ago. Nothing quite like that has formed for the board's latest defector, retired Police Chief John Mackey.

Maybe Mackey's reason for resigning, in some people's eyes, holds more water than Ryan's. Mackey is moving to New Hampshire and thus cannot remain a Tewksbury selectman.

Ryan, meanwhile, had a tougher time assuring people that he simply needed to spend more time with his children, as rumors swirled about his health and his frustration with the new makeup of the board.

Mackey's his first deed after handing in his resignation on Tuesday was to apologize to Tewksbury's residents.

Ryan disappeared from the public limelight right after his resignation, evading all media requests for interviews until talking with The Sun a full week later.

But the men did share a common approach on at least one subject. Both said they had full confidence the remaining board members would cope just fine.

MORE THAN two weeks after publicly denouncing Grotonfest organizer Jane Bouvier for keeping the date of the event on Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, Groton Selectman Josh Degen says he has "had it" with the controversy.

But that doesn't mean he has forgiven Bouvier and Groton Business Association.

"I still feel the same way about it as I did yesterday," he wrote in his message he posted on the Groton Talk-about e-mail exchange server last Tuesday. "I will not go to Grotonfest at this point ever again," he wrote, adding that he wishes the festival's continued success and everyone attending to have a good time.

REPROGRAM YOUR TiVO for Monday nights. The fire is back in Billerica politics and the Board of Selectmen is the best show in town. After a rather tepid few months of meetings, the fur was flying once again in the Conway Hearing Room last week.

Selectmen canceled a forum to discuss trash pickup, with several members angry that they learned about the meeting via press release and could not attend.

Then, Chairman Michael Rosa said town counsel may have changed position on the question of eliminating trash pickup at multifamily units -- a change that only Rosa and Town Manager Rocco Longo were aware of.

"Are you going to tell us of this new opinion or is it a secret?" Selectman Jim O'Donnell asked. O'Donnell then blasted Rosa for poor communication. Several times during the night, Rosa told O'Donnell that he did not appreciate his sarcasm.

Frustrated Selectman Marc Lombardo called for the board to consider changing counsel, the law firm of Brackett and Lucas. Lombardo said he often waits for weeks for legal opinions, and once received a call from the firm only after Longo intervened.

Even normally level-headed Selectman Kathy Matos had a hard time keeping her cool.

"I could not have been more specific in my questions to counsel (Donna Gorshel Cohen) that night (last month's meeting)," she said. "We absolutely need to hold off on this meeting until we have answers."

IT'S HARD to get past a seemingly offhand comment that Mohammed "Mo" Khan, the Montachusett Area Regional Transit administrator, made during a meeting between the Ayer Board of Selectmen and the state Executive Office of Transportation last Monday.

It sure sounded as if he said MART wants a single parking facility for the town instead of the hybrid solution backed by residents and selectmen.

After the meeting, Khan insisted MART will do whatever the town wants.

Speaking of that meeting, Stephen M. Woelfel, statewide transit planning manager for the EOT, insisted he couldn't make any decisions and knew nothing about Ayer's plans to increase its parking inventory for commuters, shoppers and recreation. He said he was just going to report back to his bosses which begs the question, why didn't they go to the meeting, because they have the power to release the funding needed to build the parking facilities?

Contributing to the Column this week were City Editor Christopher Scott, City Hall reporter Michael Lafleur, Dracut reporter Dennis Shaughnessey, Groton reporter Hiroko Sato, Tyngsboro reporter Chris Camire, Tewksbury reporter Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl, Billerica reporter Jennifer Amy Myers and Ayer reporter Jack Minch.

Posted by Admin at July 24, 2007 2:38 PM

Comments

Posted by: Bill Deignan at July 28, 2007 6:34 PM