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Paying Attention!
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Council Supports Cronyism
The City Council voted
down a measure that would stop city employees from serving on the
School Committee. The actual vote was a 4-4 tie, effectively
killing the measure for one year unless one of the four
councilors who voted "no" reconsider. District
"C" Councilor, Nilka Alvarez was absent from the
meeting. She strongly opposes city workers engaging in a conflict
of interest by serving as the mayor’s equal on the School
Committee while working as her employee for the city.
Councilors Sullivan, Frechette, Gosselin and Kivell (all of whom
are said to be pawns for the mayor) voted to allow city employees
to serve in both capacities. Frechette actually said that he
believes the council should not be taking away the rights of city
employees to run for office.
But Councilor Frechette has it all wrong. By the council stopping
city employees from serving the city in both capacities, they are
not stopping anyone from running for office. They are not taking
away anyone’s rights. We are a product of the choices we
make in this world and any city employee who wants to run for the
school committee would still be free to do so. They would just
have a choice to make if they won the election. They could leave
their city job, or they could refuse to accept the school
committee position. The city employee would have the choice.
You see, that’s what freedom is all about, making your own
choices. By preventing city employees from serving on the School
Committee we prevent conflict of interest when the mayor says
"vote the way I want you to or you suffer at work."
I hate to question the motives of our fine City Councilors,
especially given the track records of the mayors buddies, but
this all looks pretty clear to me. Sullivan, Frechette Gosselin
and Kivell want to make sure School Committee members Carol
Bannon and Martha Previt can both run for reelection. Bannon and
Previt are both employees of the city, work for the mayor and
vote for everything the mayor wants. Kind of like the four
Musketeers on the council.
So what we have here is the mayors political machine protecting
each other and ensuring that the mayor gets her way once again.
It’s too bad that Nilka Alvarez was not able to attend the
meeting. And it’s really too bad that we have four
councilors who want to do the mayor’s bidding to allow two
School Committee members to do the same.
As voters we always say we want more responsible government. We
constantly complain about the way politics get in the way of
progress. But if we don’t do something about it and become
proactive, nothing will ever change. It’s up to. You are the
voters and you are the only ones who can change things. Call your
councilors and tell them you want to stop the favor swapping and
political patronage that occurs when city employees are allowed
to serve on boards like the School Committee. Actively campaign
in November against those four councilors who stand in the way of
progress. But more importantly, make sure you contact the four
councilors who had the courage to try and change the system.
Councilors LaPlante, Blanchette, Devers and the District
"B" councilor all deserve praise for their courage.
Sullivan, Gosselin, Frechette, and Kivell, on the other hand
deserve to be called to task. I only hope that the voters will do
what’s right come November.