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RICHARDHOWE.COM
Lowell voters speak out - here
is what they said
Richard
Howe, Jr.
Lowell voters returned seven
incumbents to the city council and selected two newcomers
to fill out the nine-member board. Veteran
councilor Rita Mercier topped the ticket with 7107 votes,
more than 1200 ahead of second place finisher Edward
“Bud” Caulfield. There was some
speculation – some might call it wishful thinking
– that both Mercier and Caulfield would slip out of
the top positions, but their strong showings proved once
again that the majority of Lowell voters place a high
value on the type of constituent service driven approach
to local government that is the specialty of both Mercier
and Caulfield.
Outgoing Mayor Bill Martin placed third, his highest
finish in five elections, defying the historic tendency
of mayors to struggle in their first re-election campaign
after serving as mayor. Martin, more than any other
councilor, seemed to benefit greatly from the near
citywide satisfaction with current operations at City
Hall. He was also able to sidestep any controversy
while serving as chair of the School Committee, a
difficult task in even the best of times.
Following Martin was newcomer Alan Kazanjian, the former
chair of the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals and a
prominent real estate developer and business
owner. Kazanjian waged an extremely vigorous
campaign and final campaign finance reports will
undoubtedly show that he spent more than any other
candidate in this race. His hard work paid off with
a very solid fourth place finish.
Council veteran Armand Mercier finished a surprisingly
strong fifth. In the days leading up to the
election, there was much speculation that Mercier would
slip precipitously, perhaps even out of the top nine
finishers.
This perception was enhanced by the Lowell Sun’s
failure to endorse Mercier, a decision the newspaper has
never publicly explained. Right behind Armand
Mercier came Kevin Broderick who duplicated his sixth
place finish in the 2005 election. Broderick was
perhaps the most aggressive incumbent in terms of
supporting City Manager Bernie Lynch, an approach that
earned him the enmity of those who are not Lynch
supporters, a situation that may have kept him anchored
in sixth place.
The final three spots on the council went to two
pro-Lynch incumbents, Rodney Elliott (seventh place) and
Jim Milinazzo (ninth place) and to newcomer Mike Lenzi
(eighth place). While this was Lenzi’s first
council election, he has been serving on the Greater
Lowell Vocational School Committee. He was also
re-elected to that office tonight.
Mehmed Ali, a U.S. Marine veteran and current employee at
the Lowell National Historical Park missed the final seat
on the council by only two hundred votes in this, his
first try for elective office. Besides being
actively involved in many local civic organizations, Ali
registered more than 1000 new voters from the city’s
Southeast Asian community, most of whom undoubtedly voted
for him given his strong finish. In years past,
many tenth place finishers have ascended to the city
council to fill vacancies, so the odds strongly favor Ali
joining the council before this term ends.
Following Ali came Joe Mendonca who had finished tenth in
the last council election and who had joined the council
several months ago to fill a vacancy. His short
incumbency was not enough to improve Mendonca’s
finish this time although his performance this year was
respectable enough to make him a strong contender in the
next city election.
Following Medonca came Bob McMahon and Jo-Ann Keegan,
both members of prominent local political families who
ran strong, well financed campaigns. Rounding out
the council field were Curtis LeMay, Lou Stylos, Kristin
Ross-Sitcawich, David Koch, Dave Laferriere, Patricia
Stratton, Edward Mackness and Darius Mitchell.
In the school committee race, newcomer Dave Conway topped
the ticket after running a strong, well-financed
campaign. With all six incumbents seeking
re-election, Conway’s victory cost incumbent Kevin
McHugh a seat on the school committee. The other
five seats on the school committee were captured by
incumbents Regina Faticanti, John Leahy, Jackie Doherty,
Jim Leary and Connie Martin. Retired Lowell High
teacher Dennis Canney finished eighth.
While this year’s election results certainly didn’t
amount to an upheaval of the status quo, it did raise
some questions about the future course of city government
here in Lowell. The defining event of the outgoing
council was the decision by a six member majority back in
April 2006 to inform then City Manager John Cox that they
had lost confidence in him. Cox resigned, but the
bitterness felt by him and his closest supporters has
been palpable. With this election, two newcomers
heartily endorsed by Cox – Alan Kazanjian and Mike
Lenzi – replaced Eileen Donoghue and George Ramirez,
two of the six councilors who moved against Cox.
With Kazanjian and Lenzi joining Rita Mercier, Bud
Caulfield and Armand Mercier, who were all strong Cox
supporters, there will be an entirely new dynamic on the
city council. And while City Manager Bernie Lynch’s
job is certainly not in jeopardy, his political life just
got a whole lot more complicated.
Richard P. Howe Jr. is the creator of www.richardhowe.com,
a blog that provides commentary on politics in
Lowell. He also serves as Register of Deeds of the
Northern District of Middlesex County. You can
email him at lowelldeeds@comcast.net
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The November 2007
Edition of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
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All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
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