August 27, 2007

Who will be Dracut's new housing director?

SHOULD THE other candidates for the job even bother showing up?

That's our question as we look forward to tomorrow night's scheduled interviews with the five finalists to be the next Dracut Housing Authority executive director.

It would seem that the deck is stacked in favor of Mary Karabatsos, a 21-year employee of the Lowell Housing Authority.

After almost two months of attacks on the search process conducted by DHA board Chairman Kenneth Martin, Commissioners James Gookin, Bob Audet and Tom Salem last week made an end run and added Karabatsos' name to the list of four finalists selected earlier this month by the chairman's handpicked search committee.

Karabatsos was among 10 applicants for the job, but she was not chosen as a finalist by the nine-member screening committee ... in the open.

Last Monday, after the commission unanimously accepted the other four finalists, Gookin submitted Karabatsos' name. There were no objections, and no formal vote was taken.

Since 2000, Karabatsos has been the LHA family self-sufficiency director, overseeing all social service programs for the authority. The four other finalists have experience as an authority executive director. She does not.

If Audet, Gookin and Salem all pick Karabatsos, it arguably would vindicate Martin, who was the subject of criticism from the trio that he was stacking the deck in favor of his own candidates.

Martin all along maintained his search was open and honest. His search committee picked the heads of housing authorities in Amesbury/Merrimac, Derry, N.H., Salisbury and Wilmington -- none of whom have any obvious connections to local politics -- so the results seem to bear out that claim.

Remember, it was Gookin who in July tried to stop the search process by filing an injunction in Lowell Superior Court. Then, two weeks ago, Gookin, Audet and Salem conducted what may have been an illegal meeting to remove Martin as board chairman.

All of that begs the question: What was it that the band of three didn't like about the search process -- besides the fact Karabatsos was not a finalist?

Gookin dismissed allegations that this is a done deal.

"I don't know her. I've only met her once," he said. "But I hear that she is very capable and should be interviewed for the job. ... All five candidates have an equal shot."

THE SHARKS smelled blood in the water even before state Sen. Robert Havern had officially announced his resignation from the seat he has held since 1991.

Press releases were being prepared, sign orders readied to be sent to the printers.

After all, it is not every day that a state Senate seat is left wide open.

Havern's successor will be chosen by a special election, expected to take place in December. Sitting public officials -- the district's state representatives, and communities' selectmen or city councilors -- may run without giving up their current offices.

The 4th Middlesex District includes Billerica, Burlington, Arlington and parts of Lexington and Woburn. Havern is joining the consulting arm of leading Boston law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

By Wednesday afternoon, three state representatives looking to climb the political ladder had announced their intentions:

* Rep. James Marzilli. The Arlington Democrat has served on Beacon Hill for 17 years and was first into the fray, making calls from his Colorado vacation and posting a message on a Democrat blog. Later that day, Marzilli suspended his campaign following the death of his mother. He is expected to return to the campaign trail at a later date. He has hired big-time Democratic political consultant Michael Goldman to run his campaign and has a large base among Arlington Dems.

* Rep. Charles Murphy. A Burlington Democrat and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Murphy was first elected to the House in 1997 and is vice chairman of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.

* Rep. Patrick Natale. The Woburn Democrat, father of four boys under the age 6, has been in the House since 2005. He co-sponsored a bill to tighten laws for sex offenders. He is more conservative than Marzilli and Murphy. Among the three confirmed candidates, Natale may play well in Billerica, the most conservative corner of the district. He doesn't always vote the party line and in no way can be labeled a "Deval Democrat."

Others considering a run:

* State Rep. Jay Kaufman. A Lexington Democrat who has one main obstacle -- he does not live in the district. His home sits in the 3rd Middlesex District, Sen. Susan Fargo's territory. State laws, unlike federal laws, require candidates to live in the district they wish to represent.

* Diane Mahon. A close friend of Havern's and an eight-year Arlington selectman. She has worked with Havern to author several pieces of legislation, including a pending bill to perform a study of the Alewife area.

* Joanna Gonsalves. A Woburn at-large alderman who unsuccessfully ran against Havern in the 2006 primary, taking 39 percent of the vote. She is running for re-election, but calls the possibility of a shot at the Senate seat in "intriguing."

Other names being tossed around:

* Arlington Selectman Jack Hurd, the only Republican rumored to be jumping in. The Hurd family has deep political roots in Arlington. Hurd's cousin, Ed Hurd, is a former Billerica selectman, which could gain him support in the northern part of the district.

* Shawsheen Valley Technical High School Superintendent Charles Lyons, who lives in Arlington. Reached via e-mail while on vacation last week, Lyons said he was "flattered" that his name was being bandied about and was noncommittal about his intentions, simply stating that Havern "is a valued friend and was a fine public servant."

AND THERE'S another potential candidate who calls Billerica his hometown, but you'll be forgiven if you haven't heard of him.

Jeevan Ramapriya, a staffer with Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, is seriously considering taking the plunge. The 31-year-old has worked with Baddour since the senator first announced he was running, and is extremely popular in the marble halls of the Statehouse.

"I'd love the chance to represent the people of Billerica," Ramapriya said.

He lives in Boston but said he'd move back to the district if he decides to run.

THE FIGHT for the 4th may come down to an old-fashioned North vs. South battle.

Arlington and Billerica, the two largest towns, are split geographically and ideologically. Arlington historically skews to the left of the spectrum, while Billerica has grown more conservative.

In last year's race for governor, Republican Kerry Healey won Billerica by 300 votes, while Democrat Deval Patrick swept Arlington by more than 7,000 votes.

According to 2005 Census estimates, each has about 41,000 residents. However, Arlington has 28,022 registered voters to about 21,500 in Billerica, and is known for large voter turnouts.

FOOD FOR thought as the field shakes out:

* Billerica politicians have been quiet so far. State Rep. William Greene isn't interested in moving up. A failed Senate campaign could damage any chance those pols would have should Greene retire at the end of 2008.

* Arlington has kept a stranglehold on the seat for nearly two decades. If Marzilli, Mahon and Lyons all run, or even two of the three, a splintered vote will open the door for one of the other challengers.

* Gonsalves could have the best name recognition, having run in 2006. But Lyons is the political veteran with 30 years as an Arlington selectman and nearly two decades of working with officials in Burlington and Billerica through the tech school.

* Would Lyons retire from a $160,000-a-year job to become a $55,000-a-year junior senator? Depends on his pension.

* A Havern endorsement will carry a lot of weight in his hometown, elsewhere not so much. He didn't travel too much to the north end of the district. Billerica officials say he always provided if the town asked, but was low-key and not the kind of pol "who had bridges named after him," one said.

NINE DAYS to go before the Sept. 4 primary, and you can feel the temperature rising.

Democrat Eileen Donoghue made it quite clear last week that she's in it to win -- at any cost. After pumping another $125,000 of her own money into her campaign to finance television advertising over the final week, she has rival Democrat Niki Tsongas in her sights.

But as some of the focus in the 5th District race shifts to the two women, state Rep. Barry Finegold is waiting in the wings. Sensing the tension growing between Donoghue and Tsongas, Finegold asked his fellow Democrats to sign a "No Negative Campaigning" pledge for the final push.

Tsongas and state Rep. Jim Miceli both agreed, but Donoghue and state Rep. Jamie Eldridge were less enthusiastic.

Finegold may say his pledge is about changing the tone of politics that turns so many voters away from the process, but clearly there's an ulterior motive in play.

The third-place Finegold stands to benefit if Donoghue goes negative, knocking Tsongas down a peg and hurting herself in the process.

Finegold, unsullied, would then stand a great chance of picking up those voters disgruntled by the last-minute mudslinging.

"TIM FOR Treasurer" endorsed Tsongas this week, proving once again how the 5th District race has become a tangled web of loyalties.

On the surface, state Treasurer Tim Cahill's coming out for Tsongas seems to be just another big-name coup for the Democratic frontrunner. Cahill became the first statewide elected official to insert himself in the race.

But why Tsongas?

Former Marty Meehan staffer Lori Loureiro went to work for Cahill after leaving Meehan's congressional office. She is now heading the finance team for Donoghue's campaign for Congress.

Couldn't she convince her former boss to go for Donoghue instead of Tsongas?

One clue as to what happened came straight from Cahill when asked why he decided to get involved.

"Niki asked me to," he said.

LOWELL SUPERINTENDENT of Schools Karla Brooks Baehr might be in an increasingly uncomfortable position, particularly if Lowell High School Housemaster Dave Conway is elected to the School Committee in November.

Conway, who enjoys the support of state Sen. Steven Panagiotakos' machine, has been extremely critical of Baehr. The widespread belief in Lowell political circles that Baehr is forcing LHS Headmaster William Samaras to retire at the end of the 2007-08 school year will likely only make Conway more anti-Baehr.

His election could change the dynamic on the School Committee, where all six incumbents are seeking re-election.

If Conway is to win office, he must beat one of them. If that person is incumbent Connie Martin or Kevin McHugh, the fifth- and sixth-place finishers in 2005, it would dramatically change things for Baehr.

Martin is one of Baehr's biggest supporters, and the superintendent can generally count on McHugh for his backing, such as with the controversial China trip request that committee members will debate Wednesday.

Conway would then join incumbent Regina Faticanti -- who makes no secret of her desire to fire Baehr -- and force members John Leahy and Jim Leary to choose sides. Incumbent Jackie Doherty would likely side with Baehr. McHugh's support for Baehr would be no sure bet in that climate.

Retired LHS English teacher Dennis Canney, the other challenger in the race, has yet to make his thoughts known on the subject.

THE NORTHERN Middlesex Council of Governments is set to name Beverly Woods as its next executive director.

Woods, 50, has been with the council for 25 years, rising from college intern to assistant director. She has been tapped as the nominee to replace longtime NMCOG head Robert Flynn, who is retiring in November.

Members of the 27-member NMCOG board are scheduled to vote on Woods' appointment Sept. 5.

The agency is the conduit for spending state and federal transportation money in the communities of Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Pepperell, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro and Westford. It has a 10-person staff and a nearly $1 million budget for fiscal 2008.

CAN YOU smell a power struggle?

Littleton Board of Health member Peter Yapp's e-mail sparked a fiery exchange at Monday's selectmen's meeting.

"Being chairman doesn't mean being king (I'm sure there's a rule tucked away covering that situation), so if I hear anyone admonishing someone for not talking to the chair you're going to get in your place. Period," Yapp wrote in an Aug. 14 e-mail sent to all Board of Health members.

Yapp was defending himself for talking to Selectman Chairman Ken Eldridge and not Board of Health Chairman Peter Cassinari about Gino Frattallone's appointment to the Board of Health.

Selectman Reed Augliere said Yapp's e-mail was "offensive."

"I hope you are not going to put me in my place, Mr. Yapp," Augliere said at Monday's meeting.

The e-mail also blasted Augliere and Selectman Alex McCurdy for wanting to postpone a second vote on Frattallone's appointment.

Selectmen and Board of Health members took that second vote to appoint Frattallone on Monday.

Contributing to the Column this week were Dracut reporter Dennis Shaughnessey, Billerica reporter Jennifer Amy Myers, Statehouse Bureau Chief Hillary Chabot, City Hall reporter Michael Lafleur, Statehouse reporter Matt Murphy, City Editor Christopher Scott, Littleton reporter Bridget Scrimenti and Assistant Managing Editor Tom Zuppa.

Posted by Admin at 11:47 AM

August 22, 2007

What were Ogonowski's campaign reps thinking?

BY ALL accounts, Dracut's citizen farmer Jim Ogonowski is a nice guy. He'd talk to anyone visiting the Ogonowski farm.

So why is it difficult to get next to candidate Ogonowski?

Appearing last week on WUML's Sunrise program, the Republican hopeful for Congress was hustled in and out of the studio without so much as a wink or a nod to the Tewksbury-based Democratic operative and political sweetheart Marie Sweeney.

Sweeney, who chairs the Greater Lowell Area Democrats and is a member of the State Democratic Committee, was the program's co-host last Thursday morning, during a scheduled Ogonowski interview.

Sweeney said she agreed beforehand to sit it out and let fellow host Bob Ellis conduct the interview. She did, however, hope to meet the candidate about whom she has heard so much.

"I don't know what you would call what happened," said Sweeney, who is supporting Democrat Barry Finegold of Andover in the 5th District primary race. "Call it odd. Call it rude. I don't know. I will say that his handlers are not doing him any favors."

According to Sweeney, and others who were nearby, Barney Keller, Ogonowski's press secretary and the son of WBZ radio and TV political analyst Jon Keller, as well as another aide, hustled Ogonowski in and out of the studio as if the building was on fire.

"All I wanted to do was shake his hand and introduce myself," Sweeney said. "I wasn't going to attack him."

Keller replied, "We know Jim has been getting a lot of Democratic support, but I didn't realize the chair of the Lowell Democrats was thinking of voting for him. I thought she was already committed to Barry Finegold. If she's interested in changing her support to Jim, we would love to have her come in for a cup of coffee. Our phone banks are open 24-hours a day."

THE BILLERICA Republican Town Committee is hosting a Town Meeting-style question-and-answer session with Ogonowski tomorrow night.

However, Ogonowski is not the only Republican in the race. So, why wasn't Tom Tierney invited?

"Not as a group, but as individual members we are supporting Jim," said Committee Chairman Sandy MacMillan. "We are just trying to get the word out."

She said when Ogonowski entered the race he contacted all local Republican town committees, but they have yet to hear from Tierney. MacMillan said a member of her group did try to contact him. SunTalk LIVE debate between Republican Candidates Jim Ogonowski, and Tom Tierney.

THEY HAD the necessary permits and notified neighbors. But the fundraiser block party on Nadine Road in a quiet Acton neighborhood last Saturday night for state Rep. Jamie Eldridge, a Democratic candidate for the 5th District Congressional seat, still irritated a few residents on the peaceful street.

A noisy rock band played at full amp at the backyard fest, held at the home of an Eldridge supporter. Someone called the cops, who stopped by to check out the din. The next day, cars with parking tickets still lined the narrow street, blocking the way.

CITY MANAGER Bernie Lynch had some glowing praise for the Statehouse delegation last week after they secured a new $21 million University Avenue bridge for 2010. The project wasn't due to be completed until 2012 before they intervened. Lynch and the legislators from Lowell -- Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, and Reps Tom Golden, Kevin Murphy and Dave Nangle -- have had a lukewarm relationship at best so far.

Things appear to be changing though.

"You have to have recognize the city will progress only if all of us work together," Murphy said. "We do what's in the best interest of the city, and it doesn't matter whether we personally like someone."

Nangle said it's the delegation's responsibility to bring back state money for the city.

"We need to make sure that bridge is safe for all vehicular traffic," he said.

Let's hope they continue to mend fences, or should we say bridges, for the good of the city.

HE'S NOT running for City Council, and he doesn't want to be city manager again.

But former City Manager John Cox is out with his endorsements in the City Council election.

While stressing in an interview on WCAP that he's not actively working for anyone, Cox is backing three incumbents seeking re-election: Edward "Bud" Caulfield, Armand Mercier and Rita Mercier.

Among the challengers, Cox said he's voting for Alan Kazanjian, Robert McMahon and Mike Lenzi.

Kazanjian is the developer who just lost his seat on the ZBA when Lynch didn't reappoint him.

McMahon is the former Lowell Housing Authority Board of Commissioners member, appointed by Cox, and not reappointed by Lynch.

Lenzi, also a close Cox friend like the others, owns a Dracut catering business and sits on the Greater Lowell Regional Technical School Committee.

CITY RESIDENTS will be seeing a lot more of Caulfield this election season, as the councilor seeking his 11th-term said he'll walk city neighborhoods and knock on doors, something he hasn't done since his earliest elections.

Asked if he was feeling vulnerable this election season, Caulfield said no.

"But I am paranoid, I'm always paranoid," he said.

There's a feeling in some political circles that Caulfield and Armand Mercier could face some backlash at the polls this November by their unabashed support of Cox, even though both insist they've moved on.

Is Armand Mercier, seeking his sixth term, feeling heat this year?

"Absolutely not," he said. "But I'm taking nothing for granted." Mercier, however, did say he's going to increase his number of political advertisements.

As for Rita Mercier, she has topped every ticket since 1997. Hardly anyone expects that to change this year.

THERE ARE councilors who should be worried, at least according to Armand Mercier.

Those councilors are Mayor Bill Martin and Kevin Broderick, two councilors who Mercier said relied on Cox's political machine to get elected, then were among the six that forced him from office more than a year ago.

"I believe their bases are eroded by what they did to John," said Mercier.

Neither Martin or Broderick say they are worried. They declined to respond directly to Mercier's remarks, other than to say they'll campaign as though this was their first election.

Martin and Broderick, by the way, have combined to take a poll of Lowell voters and to find out what the issues are. Both have declined to release the results, saying they'll use poll data for political strategy.

KEN LAVALLEE, Lowell's acting police superintendent, continues to distance himself from his predecessor, Ed Davis. Most recently, Lavallee has selected Ed Dowling and James McPadden to become temporary captains, filling the spots left open by Robert DeMoura and Arthur Ryan Jr., who were promoted to deputy superintendent slots.

In picking Dowling and McPadden, Lavallee overlooked Lt. Mark Buckley, who was a member of Davis' inner circle.

Other Davis-distancing moves made by Lavallee since he stepped into the lead role last Dec. 1 include:

* Working closely with Middlesex Sheriff James DiPaola.

* Moving Sgt. James Trudel from head of the drug and vice unit and replacing him with McPadden.

* Overlooking Capt. William Taylor, who previously did a stint as acting deputy chief under Davis, for one of the spots ultimately won by DeMoura and Ryan.

JUST HOW close is Lavallee to becoming permanent chief? Last month, Lynch said that once Lavallee returns from vacation, which he has, the two will get down to contract negotiations.

The job no longer has state Civil Service protection, and Lavallee is looking for a five-year deal.

Lavallee said last week it would be premature to talk about a contract, as his interview with Lynch for the chief's job is scheduled for tomorrow at 11 a.m.

Lynch is also interviewing DeMoura and Ryan, plus Captains John Flaherty, Deborah Friedl, Thomas Kennedy, Kevin Staveley, Kevin Sullivan, Taylor and Jonathan Webb.

Quite likely Lynch will hammer out a deal with Lavallee although several councilors, who strongly favor Lavallee, feel a five-year contract is a bit extreme.

LISTED IN the fine print of last week's announcement of the sale of WCAP to a group of local private investors is the name of John P. Finn of Tyngsboro.

Finn, a member of a large and prominent Centralville family, is a Lowell police officer, as is his brother, William Finn. Another brother, Lawrence Finn, is a Lowell firefighter.

Another investor worthy of mention is Brian McMahon. He is the Lowell developer whose father, the aforementioned Bob McMahon, is a Council candidate.

But don't look for either John Finn or Brian McMahon to be involved in the station's operation.

Those duties belong solely to Sam Poulten of Chelmsford and Clark Smidt of Andover.

"Clark and myself are the managing partners, period," Poulten said. "Anyone else listed are just investors hoping to make money." Poulten, by the way, heads up Chelmsford's Town Democratic Committee. It's a good bet that whatever programming decisions he makes will involve politics.

COVERING CHELMSFORD for The Sun has apparently prepared some aspiring journalists well for life beyond the Merrimack Valley.

First, Ian Fisher left The Sun in 1989-90 to work for The New York Times, where he is currently employed.

Ian Bishop, who covered Chelmsford several years ago, moved onto the New York Post where he's been covering Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Now, he's been hired by the rival Daily News to oversee its national political coverage.

THE PRETENSE of impartiality was notably absent when Billerica selectmen and Planning Board members met last week to appoint a new member to the Planning Board.

In what became a Treble Cove Road throwdown, road residents Richard Tortola and William Faria both applied to fill the spot left open by the June resignation of Steven Tremblay.

Selectman Jim O'Donnell arrived late to the meeting and was not briefed on the format, which was set up to give each candidate time to speak and then answer questions from the boards before a vote.

Right out of the gate, during the questioning of Faria, O'Donnell pledged his support for Tortola. Planning Board member Ed McLaughlin did the same later in the meeting, lauding Tortola's excellent attendance record during his previous three-year term on the board.

Selectman Chairman Mike Rosa chastised McLaughlin, who replied, "But, Jim did it."

Faria took it all in stride until Selectman Kathy Matos noted that, with the important decisions coming the Planning Board's way in the coming months, she was looking for someone with experience, i.e. Tortola.

Faria said he was aware that his opponent had served a three-year term, but noted that "he wasn't re-elected, and there must have been a reason he wasn't re-elected." On top of all that, Faria said he was invited only five hours before the meeting. Tortola said he had heard about the meeting the night before, but was never officially invited.

In the end, board members tripped over each other to make glowing statements about Faria's "visionary" ideas and urging him to remain active in town, but Tortola won a 7-2 vote.

Following the meeting, Faria said he felt he had been "humiliated in front of the whole town."

Contributing to this week's were Column were Dracut reporter Dennis Shaughnessey, City Editor Christopher Scott, City Hall reporter Michael Lafleur, Statehouse Bureau Chief Hillary Chabot, Billerica Reporter Jennifer Amy Myers and Lifestyles reporter Nancye Tuttle.

Posted by Admin at 10:58 AM

August 13, 2007

21 hopefuls in race for City Council

WELL, THE field has been set.

There are 21 candidates in the race for Lowell City Council, including eight incumbents and a number of well-known challengers, such as, Alan Kazanjian, Jo-Ann Keegan, Curtis LeMay, Michael Lenzi, Robert McMahon, Kristin Ross-Sitcawich, Mehmed Ali and Louis Stylos.

Such a solid crop of challengers should make an interesting election season.

There is technically only one open seat -- that of Councilor Eileen Donoghue -- who is foregoing a re-election bid on the council to focus on her campaign to replace former U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan in Congress. Councilor Joseph Mendonca has been in office since last month. He replaced former Councilor George Ramirez, who resigned to take a job in Gov. Deval Patrick's administration.

Mendonca, a former School Committee member, finished 10th in 2005.

While incumbency will give his 2007 council campaign a boost, his seat is not considered as secure as that of his new colleagues.

Other council challengers include perennial candidate David "7th time could be the charm" Laferriere, Darius Mitchell and newcomers David Koch and Patricia Stratton.

A PRELIMINARY election is required whenever there are 19 or more council candidates, but councilors can seek permission from the state Legislature to waive that mandate.

They will do just that on Tuesday.

Mayor Bill Martin and Councilors Kevin Broderick and Rita Mercier all have motions on that night's meeting agenda seeking to cancel the Sept. 25 preliminary. It should pass easily.

If the Legislature approves Lowell's request -- a high probability -- the city election will be on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

ELIMINATING THE preliminary might not be such an easy call if there were 22 candidates instead of 21.

Councilors narrowly avoided that dilemma last Tuesday when Curtis Freeman appeared at the election office with his 50 nomination signatures at 5:04 p.m. -- four minutes past the deadline.

The 28-year-old Freeman, a constable and armored-truck driver, would have presented councilors with a thorny situation. They still likely would have pressed to waive the preliminary, but doing so could have a raised a few more state lawmakers' eyebrows.

Freeman said his next plan is to start a peer-run nonprofit agency called Teen Unite, which he intends to use to teach Lowell youngsters about the film and music industries, and video and computer technology.

"Even though it's kind of a bummer that I didn't get to do this, I've been given this opportunity to open up this nonprofit company for the youth."

MEANWHILE, THERE'S the issue of Kazanjian's appointment to the city Zoning Board of Appeals. His term expired July 28.

The board chairman and a member since 1992, Kazanjian had requested City Manager Bernie Lynch reappoint him to another five-year term though he could not serve on both the ZBA and council.

On Friday, Lynch opted to appoint William Bailey, a member of the city Board of Health, to take Kazanjian's position.

From nearly his first day in City Hall, Lynch has said he would not pick board or commission members whose service to the city could conflict with their business interests. Kazanjian is a developer who owns several businesses and real-estate properties across Lowell.

Recently, his vote on a Dunkin' Donuts project that received unanimous approval by the ZBA raised conflict concerns because Kazanjian owned property near the site. The manager also has replaced two people with ties to Kazanjian: former employee Daniel Squeglia, vice chairman of the ZBA, and former Historic Board member David Gray, Kazanjian Enterprises's finance guru.

EXPECT COUNCILORS and Lynch himself to have their ears pinned to local radio station WCAP tomorrow when John Cox, Lowell's former city manager, serves as co-host on the morning show. Cox has uttered nary a public word since leaving City Hall in August 2006.

Back from a two-week Hawaiian vacation, Cox is expected to light up the phone lines.

THERE AREN'T nearly as many interesting subplots in the Lowell School Committee race.

Incumbent School Committee members Jackie Doherty, Regina Faticanti, John Leahy, Jim Leary, Connie Martin and Kevin McHugh all are seeking re-election.

Challengers this year include retired Lowell High School English teacher Dennis Canney and LHS housemaster Dave Conway.

Conway enjoys the support of state Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, who started his political career with election to the School Committee in 1989.

Should Conway win a seat on the School Committee -- a distinct possibility -- it could spell bad news for Superintendent of Schools Karla Brooks Baehr.

Conway isn't campaigning as an anti-superintendent candidate (yet), but he has been sharply critical of the superintendent on several counts, particularly her alleged preference for out-of-district applicants for principal jobs.

Conway could exploit differences among school incumbents. It is expected that Baehr's annual review, which includes a $5,000 performance bonus, will be taken up by the board prior to the election. Two board members are saying privately that the bonus has been treated like an entitlement, but this year it will be different. They said they won't be granting any bonus to Baehr unless certain education targets have been met.

Conway has said the bonus should be paid only when strategic goals are achieved.

JIM OGONOWSKI'S campaign staff swore up and down this week that their man is not looking past challenger Tom Tierney in the Republican run-off for 5th District in Congress.

But look no farther than Ogonowski's blog, Blogonowski.

At the top of his blog in large block letters, Ogonowski urges people to "Vote October 16."

Isn't he forgetting something? Like, the primary election on Sept. 4? The only debates that Ogonowski has agreed to are high-profile events that are sure to get lots of media attention and television face time.

Tierney will appear on Thursday night on NewsTalk Live with Sun Editor Jim Campanini. An invitation was extended to Ogonowski, but his press secretary, Barney Keller, said the candidate has a conflict with an appearance on a local cable TV show.

IT'LL BE Manager Panagiotakos vs. Manager Campanini.

Lowell's politicians from the Statehouse delegation have challenged the Mass Media Madmen (and women) at The Sun to a charity softball game in September. Negotiations got under way last week with Campanini demanding that his team be allowed to have 13 defensive players in the field at all times.

His reasoning? Politicians are experts at finding loopholes, so "we don't want them getting away with any cheap hits." Pangy countered that the pols want four outs per inning. "It's like a rainy-day fund," he said. Stay tuned for more details.

POLITICIANS ARE notorious for inflating their credentials. But sometimes it pays to know your audience.

In a fundraising letter mailed recently by state Rep. Jim Miceli to lobbyists, he offers this sales pitch: "I have had the pleasure of working with you when I served on the Ways and Means Committee or in my current capacity as Chairman."

Of Ways and Means? Not so fast.

Though Miceli did at one point in his 31-year-career on Beacon Hill serve on Ways and Means, he was never the chairman. He is currently the chairman of the Committee on Personnel and Administration -- a fact he mentions elsewhere in the letter.

The chances are also pretty good that Massachusetts lobbyists are well aware that Rep. Robert DeLeo, of Revere, is the chairman of the powerful budget-writing Ways and Means Committee.

Miceli goes on to explain that he is trying to raise $100,000 in the closing weeks of his Congressional campaign.

Miceli raised about $15,000 in the first two fundraising quarters of the year.

NOT EVERYONE buys the idea that Meehan is staying neutral in the race to find his successor in Congress, despite assurances from Meehan that he's not involved.

Consider that Meehan's wife, Ellen Murphy Meehan, is the chairwoman of Niki Tsongas' campaign, Meehan's former district director Roger Lau is managing Tsongas' campaign, and at least three recent Meehan staffers in Lowell are working for the Tsongas campaign.

So it was no surprise Thursday night that Tsongas drew a few off-camera smiles and chuckles from those watching the NECN debate in studio with her response to a question from moderator Chet Curtis about whether Meehan should use his war chest to help the Democrats win in October.

"It would be nice if he could find some way to support the Democratic nominee," Tsongas said.

In fairness, two former Meehan lieutenants, Bob Larochelle and Lori Loureiro, are working with the campaign to elect City Councilor Eileen Donoghue to Congress.

WHY HAVE Lowell city councilors fallen all over themselves to order Lynch to indemnify Lowell police officer John Boutselis? It's an election year, of course, and Boutselis is president of the Lowell police patrolmen's union.

All nine councilors, crossing all partisan divides, last month told Lynch to pay Boutselis' $180,000 legal tab.

It was Mendonca's first meeting as a city councilor, but he had learned enough about the situation to vote in favor with the majority.

Donoghue, one of the council's foremost opponents to the police union's controversial 2005 attempt to get a four-day work week, wasn't about to buck the trend, either.

Arguing that "sometimes juries get it wrong," Donoghue said the city should financially back any officer cleared by internal affairs investigators, who are not exactly renowned for finding fellow cops at fault. Donoghue may not be running for council this year, but she is running for Congress, and she needs all the union endorsements she can get.

Boutselis is well-respected around the city, and by all accounts could very well have gotten a bum deal with the 2002 federal jury verdict in his excessive force case. Lowell picks up the legal tab for city employees in many, many cases. The rub here is state law seems to specifically prohibit Boutselis' reimbursement. (It has to do with the jury's award of punitive damages in his case.) Now Lynch finds himself in a tough spot.

If he abides by opinions from his legal department and outside counsel, he risks alienating his council bosses.

Should the manager fork over the money to cover the union boss's legal bills, he risks setting a dangerous precedent.

Lynch is expected to unveil his decision during a public safety subcommittee meeting on Tuesday.

JUST WONDERING. Why did no Dracut selectmen attend the Second Annual Jack DiTillio Memorial Golf Tournament last Monday?

CHELMSFORD FIRE Chief Jack Parow has made an interesting pledge on the Web site of the New England Division International Association of Fire Chiefs.

Parow has promised to resign as Chelmsford's fire chief in 2009 if he is elected as president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

Parow has worked in the fire service for 31 years, so we presume he would actually retire as Chelmsford's chief, securing his local pension, and then work as a full-time president of the New England organization. It will be interesting to see if yet another member of Chelmsford's management team leaves the community.

LOOKS LIKE former Councilor Ramirez might have a new boss less than one month into his job in the Patrick Administration.

Undersecretary of Economic Development Robert Coughlin has applied to become head of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, a job once held by former Speaker of the House Thomas Finneran.

The council fired Finneran earlier this year after he plead guilty to obstruction of justice for his role in redistricting in 2001.

Ramirez started working for Coughlin in a $100,000-a-year general council post last month.

State Sen. Jack Hart, D-Boston, is also angling for the biotech position, which paid Finneran more than $400,000 a year.

Word is, the job is Coughlin's for the taking.

ANYBODY SURPRISED by the way things went during Ayer Town Administrator Shaun Suhoski's performance evaluation this week? Selectmen Pauline Conley and Frank Maxant lambasted Suhoski, but they've been doing that since the night he was hired in January 2006.

It seemed odd, though, that Maxant didn't take part in the 3-1 vote awarding Suhoski an above-average grade of 4 on a scale of 0 to 5. He apparently wanted the evaluation based on an average of each selectman's scores but there wasn't precedent for that. So when Selectman Connie Sullivan motioned to give Suhoski a 4, Maxant couldn't object to the method of determining the grade and decided not to take part.

Maxant said his scorecard gave Suhoski scores as low as 0.

WHEN FORMER tenants of the former Julian D. Steele public-housing complex face off against the Lowell Housing Authority during their class-action trial in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston in November, they will be represented by counsel from the very large Boston firm of Foley, Hoag & Eliot LLP.

Foley Hoag has taken the case pro bono.

The former JDS tenants, who were gathered together by attorneys from the Boston-based Massachusetts Law Reform Institute and the Lawrence-based Neighborhood Legal Services, argue that the LHA relocated them to new neighborhoods with high minority concentrations after they were moved out to make way for Steele's demolition.

The city of Lowell and the state Department of Housing and Community Development are being sued as well.

MARK OCT. 22 on your calendars.

Former Lowell Police Superintendent Ed Davis, the current Boston police commissioner, will be feted by his friends, family and supporters at the Vesper Country Club in Tyngsboro.

The event will be a fundraiser for the D'Youville Manor Nursing Home in Lowell.

A key organizer is Davis booster Dick Viau, a member of the D1'Youville Board of Directors. Many years ago, Viau was also a key organizer in the fundraising drive to purchase the LPD's mobile communications van.

Plans for the event are still being worked out. Stay tuned for more details.

IT'S DOWN to the final four.

Littleton has four finalists for the town administrator position.

Two candidates are from Greater Lowell, one candidate is from the Cape, and the fourth candidate is from western Massachusetts.

"The search process has been slow and painful, but we finally have some great candidates," said Selectman Chairman Ken Eldridge.

The town received 42 applications for the position, including form Oregon, Kentucky, and Arizona.

At Monday's selectmen's meeting, the Town Administrator Search Committee will publicly announce the names of the finalists.

The board will interview finalists in public on Aug. 27.

Contributing to the Column this week were City Hall reporter Michael Lafleur, Statehouse reporter Matt Murphy, Statehouse Bureau Chief Hillary Chabot, Editorial Page Editor Sharon Flaherty, Ayer reporter Jack Minch, City Editor Christopher Scott, Littleton reporter Bridget Scrimenti and Dracut reporter Dennis Shaughnessey.

Posted by Admin at 11:25 AM

August 6, 2007

Tsongas nets some negative publicity

THE INTERNET can be a fickle place.

Democratic congressional candidate Niki Tsongas had the first campaign Web site among candidates to replace former U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan. She joined networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, endearing herself to the connected generation while listing songs like "Beautiful Day" by U2.

She even had a clever marketing campaign on the search engine Google, which placed her name prominently on the page every time someone searched for one of her rivals.

But times have changed.

Posters on YouTube lately have been taking shots at Tsongas, posting videos titled, "Niki the Incumbent," and "Niki THE Dean," meant to show Tsongas inflating her past experience in politics and education.

And while there are several videos on YouTube showing 5th Congressional District candidates in forums and at public events, these are the first overtly negative ones.

Perhaps other candidates, who are also joining MySpace sites and sharing photos on flickr.com should take note: Sometimes the Internet bites back.

TSONGAS ISN'T the only candidate being called on the carpet for not watching her words.

A short story in last Friday's Boston Herald quotes Harvard law professor Lawrence Tribe skewering Lowell City Councilor Eileen Donoghue for making a comment that made it sound like she wanted to be involved in the selection process for the next Supreme Court justice.

Of course, the Senate not the House, confirms supreme judicial nominees.

Donoghue said if she were lucky enough to get appointed to the Judiciary Committee in the House, she would be very concerned about the next justice appointed to the bench.

Tribe said any high-school student who has taken civics, let alone a lawyer like Donoghue should know the House has nothing to do with the confirmation process.

Donoghue aid she knows that. She simply meant to say that everyone should be concerned about the Supreme Court, and she would like to raise questions about whoever comes next.

Speak carefully, candidates. With a month to go, it seems everything is fair game.

IT'S CRUNCH time for candidates interested in entering the Lowell City Council race, as Tuesday's deadline for submitting nomination papers approaches.

Last week's big news was that Michael Lenzi, a member of the Greater Lowell Technical High School board and owner of a well-known Dracut function hall and catering business, pulled papers to run for council in addition to the tech board.

He was joined by Louis Stylos, 50, a Chelmsford dentist, self-described booster of professional government and a fan of City Manager Bernie Lynch.

Stylos said he plans to turn in his nomination papers by Tuesday.

Lenzi, who had been on the Cape vacationing with his family until Thursday evening, said he's in. He returned papers for both races Friday.

Coincidentally, both Lenzi and Stylos live on Holyrood Avenue in the city's Belvidere section.

LENZI WILL BE considered a favorite among the challengers, by virtue of his large political family and because the gregarious caterer knows a great many voters.

The big question for Lenzi is whether he is running to avenge former City Manager John Cox's ouster by a six-member council majority in April 2006. (Lenzi and Cox are friends.) But others say he's upset with the alleged mistreatment of his longtime friend, Lowell Public Works Commissioner Ed Walsh.

Lenzi said neither is the case.

OTHERS HAVE tried to leap from the Greater Lowell Tech School Committee to one of the city's more high-profile elected bodies.

Former Greater Lowell Tech board member Ralph Hogan, for example, was unsuccessful in his 2003 bid for the Lowell School Committee, despite winning his last tech-board election with more than 8,000 votes. Tech-board member David Laferriere is making his seventh council bid this year. Meanwhile, George Kouloheras was able to serve on both the Greater Lowell Tech board and the Lowell School Committee for many years. A wing of Lowell High School is named after him.

AS OF last Friday, a city preliminary election was seeming increasingly unlikely. Sixteen candidates, including Lenzi, had turned in their nomination papers: incumbents Kevin Broderick, Edward "Bud" Caulfield, Rodney Elliott, Bill Martin, Joseph Mendonca, Armand Mercier, Rita Mercier and Jim Milinazzo, and challengers Alan Kazanjian, Jo-Ann Keegan, David Koch, Laferriere, Lenzi, Curtis LeMay, McMahon and Kristin Ross-Sitcawich.

Challengers Mehmed Ali and Stylos both said they will return their nomination papers.

Adding in Ali and Stylos makes 18 candidates. A preliminary election can be held if there are 19 or more candidates for the nine council seats.

Darius Mitchell, who ran unsuccessful council campaigns in 2003 and 2005, and first-time challengers Curtis Freeman and Patricia Stratton have yet to return their papers.

Should one or two of those three enter the race, meaning 19 or 20 candidates, councilors would likely seek to waive the preliminary election. Should all three run, 21 candidates would force a preliminary runoff.

Two possible candidates who haven't requests papers yet are Donoghue and commercial landowner Tom Byrne, a local radio personality. Donoghue is widely expected to choose to retire as the congressional candidate heads toward the Sept. 4 Democratic primary. Byrne said he will make up his mind this weekend.

Westford Street convenience-store owner Fred Bahou is the only potential challenger to Laferriere and Lenzi in the tech-board race.

ACTON STATE Sen. Pam Resor, 65, is rumored to be contemplating retirement after her current term ends in 2008.

Asked her plans, Resor, who has been in the state Senate since 1999, said "there have been rumors like that for years."

"I haven't made that decision yet," she said. "I've got a few more months. You don't have to make that decision right away."

The state representative in her hometown, Jamie Eldridge, is running in the congressional special election, with Resor's endorsement. He has campaigned hard, and has raised his profile significantly, especially in Resor's district.

If Eldridge is unsuccessful in his congressional bid, and Resor -- whose elective career dates back to the Acton Board of Selectmen in the early 1980s -- decides to retire, Eldridge would have to be considered a favorite to succeed her.

THIS WEEK, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern introduced a proposal in Congress that would tax Americans when the country decides to go to war.

An add-on to the federal income tax, the so-called "war tax" would not only help finance the war effort, but also ensure that every citizen has a stake in the decision to go to war.

Where have we heard that before? Ah, yes. From Independent congressional candidate Patrick Murphy.

Murphy, 25, has been talking up a war tax since he announced in June that he is running for Congress. He even sent his proposal to members of the Massachusetts delegation looking to find a sponsor. Looks like he found one in McGovern.

"We're just happy that the idea is going forward," Murphy said. "It will at least make people think before we do go to war."

PAGING JIM Ogonowski.

One of two Republicans running to replace Meehan in Congress, Ogonowski has been a no-show thus far at the candidate debates. And it's not like there has been a shortage of invitations. His absence has left his Republican opponent Tom Tierney, of Framingham, with the mike all to himself.

Tierney was left to debate himself last Thursday at a forum sponsored by the AARP. And again on Friday, Tierney sat next to an empty chair at a health-care debate for all candidates in Westford.

"I've met all the Democrats in the race, and they're all wonderful people," Tierney said. "But I have yet to meet him.

"I've been asked if I'm insulted that he doesn't show up at these events. I'm not, but the people really being insulted is the audience. You should be able to hear from him how he feels about issues like health care."

Ogonowski has been campaigning hard. He has just chosen not to make these debates a big part of his strategy.

Don't expect to see him go head-to-head with Tierney until Aug. 13, when he plans to appear at a debate sponsored by Channel 5 WCVB.

"We've been focusing on the grass-roots part of the campaign," said Ogonowski spokesman Barney Keller, son of WBZ-TV political reporter Jon Keller.

Ogonowski is confirmed for four debates, including two more sponsored by the League of Women Voters and a final debate Aug. 27 sponsored by UMass Lowell and The Sun.

OGONOWSKI HAS been knocking on all sorts of doors. But this week he sought support in the biggest house, the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Republican candidate addressed GOP lawmakers in a closed caucus meeting in Washington after attending an "issue class" with the Republican National Committee.

"I got introduced to the entire caucus," Ogonowski said. "The room looked full. In fact, based on the look of the room, you would have thought we had a Republican majority in Washington."

Ogonowski told lawmakers about himself and said he'll win the Oct. 16 special election. He received a standing ovation, according to a campaign aide.

FORMER STATE Sen. Sal Albano of Somerville recently called Warren Shaw, the radio talk-show host and former Dracut selectman, to entice him into supporting Tsongas in the 5th District race.

Shaw told Albano he hadn't decided who to support. So to sweeten the deal, Albano invited Shaw to a Tsongas fundraiser at Mike's Ice Cream Stand on Nashua Road.

Shaw says the ensuing conversation went something like this.

Shaw: "Well, you just helped me make up my mind."

Albano: "Great. We'll see you there."

Shaw: "I don't think this is going the way you want it to. Do you know what I do for a living?"

Albano, who probably doesn't get up to the Merrimack Valley much, didn't know Shaw's main work is operating a farm and ice-cream stand.

Despite the call, "I'm still undeclared," Shaw told The Column.

BEFORE HE hangs his lawyer's shingle, would-be attorney David St. Hilaire should take a closer read of state conflict-of-interest rules.

St. Hilaire, the city's senior building inspector, went on the radio last Monday in defense of ZBA Chairman Kazanjian, who earlier this month cast a vote in favor of converting a Dutton Street car wash into a new, drive-through Dunkin' Donuts. Kazanjian owns several properties in the immediate vicinity, including one across the street.

Kazanjian certainly appeared to have violated the state law with his vote.

The council candidate's apparent transgression was no deadly sin. The project had no opposition, and Kazanjian could have been making an honest mistake.

St. Hilaire, drawing upon 16-year-old educational materials from the state Ethics Commission that he said are distributed to all city officials, told radio listeners that Kazanjian was acting perfectly within his rights, that he is prohibited only from voting on a property that "directly abuts" his own. So, even though Kazanjian's closest holding is across the street from the Dunkin' Donuts, it was OK for him to vote, according to St. Hilaire.

"It's in black and white," St. Hilaire told The Column last week. "That's what we were taught by the Ethics Commission."

Not quite.

An Ethics Commission advisory from 2005 clearly defines the central question in such cases as whether a public employee could have a financial interest in the matter at hand. According to that opinion, a public official is presumed to have such a financial interest whenever his "property is directly opposite a street, public way or private way, or (he) is an abutter to an abutter within 300 feet of the property" on which the vote is to be taken.

DENNIS PETERSON, who retired last month after 32 years on the Tewksbury police force, is adamant that his abrupt departure had nothing to do with a growing rift between him and Chief Alfred Donovan.

In an e-mail to The Sun last week, Peterson said he was "deeply disturbed" by a story that had laid out how his two-week retirement notice to the town coincided with the trial of former Tewksbury dispatcher Neil McLaughlin.

Peterson and Donovan, who are said to already have had a strained relationship, presented conflicting testimony during the trial on whether Peterson told Donovan about a quasi-confession that McLaughlin had made.

"My retirement has nothing to do with any court case or my relationship with Chief Donovan," Peterson wrote, qualifying arguments to the contrary as "speculation and rumors."

Peterson retired as a lieutenant. He founded the Tewksbury detective bureau's narcotics division and the Tewksbury Police Athletic League, and there is no question he will be missed. It also wasn't a secret that he was considering retirement.

But many still question whether politics ended up being the final straw.

IN DRACUT, even a new concession stand can become a political football.

Four people have come forward to fill a vacancy on the 12-member Veterans Memorial Park Committee. Selectman James O'Loughlin suggested putting all four on the board. But selectmen John Zimini, Bob Cox and Joe DiRocco balked at expanding the group, saying there is no reason to expand a committee whose work is essentially done.

One of the applicants is Ted Kosiavelon, of Ted's Construction, who says he donated countless hours of labor during construction of the snack shack.

Kosiavelon plans to run for selectman next year. Both Cox and Zimini are up for re-election in 2008, and observers think this may be an effort to keep Kosiavelon out of the limelight.

A STRUGGLE could be brewing over where the Pelham Police Department has its vehicles maintained.

The department currently brings its fleet to Woody's Auto Repair on Nashua Road. Charging $74 per hour for labor, it's the most expensive garage in town. By contrast, Laurent's Auto Services on Old Bridge Street is the cheapest, charging $60 per hour.

Selectman Bob Haverty is questioning the logic of spending nearly 20 percent more for Woody's. This year, the Police Department is asking for $35,000 to maintain its vehicles.

But Police Chief Joseph Roark cites Woody's 24-hour towing capabilities, the quality of the mechanics, and the garage's willingness to move police vehicles to the front of the line as reasons to stick with the mechanic.

Expect selectmen to push Woody's to give Pelham a "special deal" if it wants to keep its lucrative contract with the town.

Contributing to the Column this week were City Hall reporter Michael Lafleur, Pelham reporter Chris Camire, Statehouse Bureau Chief Hillary Chabot, Statehouse reporter Matt Murphy, Sun Washington Bureau reporter Evan Lehmann, Tewksbury reporter Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl, and Dracut reporter Dennis Shaughnessey.

Posted by Admin at 12:59 PM | Comments (2)