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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 August 27, 2007 11:47 AM
