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Hanna Interviews
Methuen Mayor Bill Manzi How
does it feel to be mayor? It feels great to be mayor. I campaigned very hard for the job and I am having quite a good time doing it. Why do you think the voters picked you? I think that the voters picked me because they felt I could do a good job for the city, and they thought my qualifications were good, and that my campaign presented the best ideas for the city. How much did you win by? I believe it was 68% to 28%, somewhere around there. Were you surprised by how much you won by? I was happy to win the election. I really didn’t know what the results would be in terms of the percentage either way. I am just gratified to win — though it is good to know you have a mandate. What was one of the first things you did as mayor? I left the coffee pot on overnight and almost burned the office down (laughing). After that I was able to hire a new economic and community development director and reorganized that department so we would have a land-use planner. We have also devel-oped and put out on the street a request for a master plan study. That part has been done. We've reorganized the Fire Department, following a plan laid out by Chief Gallant. I know past mayors attempted to get some-thing like this through, but they were never able to get it done. We got it done. I think it is this reorganization that will make our Fire Department more responsive and easier for the chief to run. So, those are two notable achievements that I have been able to get done in the short time I have been mayor. What do you mean by Fire Department reorganization? The Fire Department reorganization involved eliminating a lieutenant’s position and creating a non-union assistant to the chief,. The fire services have a scheme of management that is not really very good; the four deputy chiefs all essentially run shifts. They are shift commanders. Several of those deputies will never see the chief. But when the chief leaves, one of those deputies will have to serve as acting chief and he would have to try and run it from a shift. That’s not really the best way to do things, I think. The real administrative duties are run by the day captains. The request by the fire chief was to create a super deputy or an aide to the chief. Because of our financial issues I couldn’t give him that, but we did negotiate the aide position in return for the lieutenant. So we got rid of the lieutenant and put in an assistant to the chief, and the only cost to the city is the difference between the lieutenant’s salary and the new position — which isn’t much. It is a firefighter and the assistant will come from the ranks of the deputies. It will be non-union and non-civil service; the union has agreed to this. Now, this management reform may seem small or boring, but it is a major accomplishment. How was the media coverage of your campaign? I truly felt that I got a fair shake from all the media sources. I know politicians like to gripe about the media, but I thought at least throughout the campaign that I was treated pretty well. I try to be open and above board with the media. I like to think that the relationships that I have with the different media are based on the fact that if they call with a question I always answer it. It’s not just constituents you have to do that with. I think that newspapers have an important role to play in disseminating information to the public. What do you think of the new City Council? I have a great relationship with the new Council. The new chairman (Steve Zanni) — I served with before as a city councilor. I believe I have served with every one of the councilors before, except for two. I know them all. I have had successful dealings with them in the past and I think my relationship with them now is quite good. What do you think of the new School Committee? It’s been a great experience. I know most of them, as well. I think we have a good group on the School Committee. Do you have any political goals beyond mayor? Not right now. I just want to do my service as mayor. Those things are more a matter of timing and opportunity. Right now, I have to focus on doing the job the voters elected me to do for the next two years. Who are you supporting for Arthur Broadhurst’s state representative seat? I have many friends in that race — two city councilors and others I have served with in the past. As mayor, I am going to take a hands-off approach and let the voters decide. I will attend most of the parties, though. I like the parties. Who do you think will win that race? I think it is going to be a wide-open race and I think that the winner will be the one who gets the most votes. What ever happened to ‘I try to answer every question?’ Well, that was an answer wasn’t it? Not a good one. OK, fair enough. How do you like being chair of the School Committee? It is an interesting experience. Superintendent Littlefield has resigned to take a job in New Hampshire and as chairman I am involved in the search for a new superintendent. It is something we have just started, but it does take a lot of time. How is the progress going in selecting a new superintendent? We hired a consultant to aid us in the search. The process is just beginning. I could probably answer that question better in 30 days. Would you vote to fire your superintendent if he did what Superintendent Harutunian did in North Andover? This is a yes or no question. I think that I have enough trouble dealing with my own issues in Methuen. I don’t want to get involved in North Andover’s situation. However, I will say that in The Valley Patriot poll, I voted that I was a member of the North Andover School Committee and was incapable of making a decision (laughing). Should Harutunian be fired? I think you have to be fair to the School Committee members, because, regardless of their personal feelings on this, there are legal issues to deal with. The committee is charged with making the best decision for all the citizens, so acting rashly and moving too fast on something like this can cost the town. I know they are looking into it. We have to have due process and you can’t have a rush to judgementjudgment. So you are not going to answer the question? Uh ... no. Are you having fun being mayor? I’m having the time of my life being mayor and this interview has certainly been one of the highlights — for sure. You made a promise before the election not to raise taxes. Do you still stand by that promise? We are working through the budget now and we are going to do the best we can to maintain the tax levy the way it is now. I don’t have the numbers right now, but we are certainly going to make our best effort. Do you support the new term limits being proposed by Councilor Andrew? Nothing has been officially proposed yet, but I am not in favor of any term limits. At the local level, I don’t see any real need for them. You gave up your City Council chair when you ran for mayor. Should Councilor Zanni give up his chair while running for state representative? I gave up the chair because I had been chairman for five years and I knew the mayor’s race would be all encompassing. Had I been in the chairman’s seat for only one year at the time, I might have made a different decision. So, I think it’s up to the chairman to decide if he is still up to doing the job. If he is comfortable with doing that, then good for him. Zanni was elected by the full body for a full year, so remaining chair is really up to him and the rest of the Council. Who are you supporting for governor? I have endorsed Attorney General Tom Reilly. I think he will do a great job for the commonwealth. And I know for sure that he will do a better job as governor than he did at picking a running mate. Who do you think will win the governor’s race? I think my candidate certainly has the best shot, but again, the person who wins that particular race will be the one who gets the most votes. I don’t know if that is an answer. No, not really. Obviously, I think Attorney General Reilly is going to win. How’s that? It is an answer, at least. How come there are no Valley Patriot newspapers in the mayor’s office? Well, they sell out so fast here that we literally cannot keep them in stock. Is there anything else you want to tell me before we finish up? Yes. I am moving the Veterans Services office down to the first floor because it is just too hard for some of the veterans who are in need of these services to get up here to the third floor of City Hall. *Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com |
