Paying Attention!
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Degnan Steals the Show But Haltmaier Holds Her Own
Susan Haltmaier, Joe Smith and Lenny Degnan are your candidates for the board of selectmen seat vacated by John Leeman. They sat for half an hour and answered issue oriented questions presented by the League of Women Voters.
There was nothing I could possibly look forward to more than attending this debate and watching former Lawrence Mayor Lenny Degnan in action once again. I have followed Degnan’s political career in Lawrence since he was elected to the City Council. He’s a great showman and never disappoints his audience by making a boring performance.
At the tip of his fingers or the tip of his tongue he can read or recite relevant statistics, budget figures and applicable laws on most issues. During the debate he spewed facts and figures with ease, toting not only his ability but his experience in municipal government. There is no question that this guy is good at what he does.
Degnan came into this debate as the only person who has worked as an elected official or dealt with city and state budgets. During the debate he was animated and even met the challenge of the moderator who disputed one of his claims. "are you sure there have been eight overrides in North Andover?" he was asked after concluding his answers.
"Here it is," Degnan retorted, "right from the Town managers office." He then read the bond prospectus for the town declaring that indeed there had been eight overrides. Style and experience aside, however, Lenny Degnan’s issues and temperament must be compared to the other two candidates in the race.
Degnan said he thought proposition 2 ½ overrides were a "Band-Aide" approach to solving fiscal problems. He said the open town meeting wasn’t effective because meetings go too long and by the end of the night people are voting on things long after most of the voters had gone home.
Susan Haltmaier spoke of supporting proposition 2 ½ overrides to fund education, slowing the growth of the town, supporting the sale of airport land and promoting strong environmental policies. She supports the open town meeting as did Joe Smith, saying that a representative form of government for North Andover wouldn’t work.
While Degnan was scoring points on fiscal matters, Haltmaier seemed much more in tune with what the voters of North Andover are looking for, as evidenced by the number of overrides the voters have supported in the past.
One thing that stood out about Sue Haltmaier that Degnan simply couldn’t touch was her ability and willingness to listen to others and admit she doesn’t know everything. At one point in the debate she was asked if she would have made the same decision as the board of selectman on removing Allison Lescarbeau from the planning board. She responded by saying she wasn’t privy to all the discussions and didn’t know all the reasons they ruled the way they did.
I like it when a politician doesn’t know the answer to a question and isn’t afraid to say so. It’s a strong indication of someone who is capable of working well with others, which is something the board of selectmen need desperately.
Call it
first time jitters or just a case of nerves for Joe
Smith, but he had a hard time keeping my attention and
his focus seemed a little out of sorts. He is a likable
enough person, but as a candidate he let Haltmaier and
Degnan run all over him with their quick answers and
eloquent follow ups.
Smith has great experience as an engineer and is very
well educated. If this had been a job interview he
probably would have done much better. But this is
politics and the ability to communicate your ideas and
persuade others is just as important as the ideas
themselves. This race is clearly between Haltmaier and
Degnan.
As someone who has never been a big fan of Lenny Degnan it never ceases to amaze me how well he handles himself and how easily he can explain complicated issues so that the average person can understand them. And though I didn’t really want him to be the "winner" of this debate, he certainly does know his stuff.
What impressed me more though, was the way Sue Haltmaier held her own against a seasoned pro like Degnan. Never having been the mayor of Lawrence, never having held a press conference she came out of this debate with better than a 50-50 chance of wining the election. She showed class and a contemplative nature that would work well the other board members. If Susan Haltmaier were not in this race I would be predicting an easy win for Lenny Degnan in September. But Haltmaier is going to give him a run for his money.
As debates go, this was more like a candidate forum. A real debate where the candidates discuss issues among themselves would have given the voters a better flavor for who these individuals are and the way they handle issue and other people. If I were scoring this based on the amount of information learned by the observer, Lenny Degnan won hands down. If I were basing my score on class, temperament, and ability to work with others it would have to go to Haltmaier.
The people North Andover really need to know more about these candidates and their ideas before making a decision. I hope the debate is not the only measuring tool you use when making your decision on September 11th. Read the candidates literature. Call them on the phone and pick their brain on the issues that are important to you. Stop and have a conversation with them at the post office when you see them holding signs.
Whatever
you do, don’t go to the polls without investigating
each of these individuals and understanding their true
philosophy and motivations. You are only short changing
yourself if you do.
Tom Duggan is the Host of the Paying Attention! radio
program on WCCM every Saturday afternoon from 12-2pm and
the Paying Attention! television program on Channel 8
cable access in Andover, North Andover, Lawrence and
Methuen.