Election Forum: Wednesday, Oct. 21st. 7:00-9:00 at City Hall

The Salem News will be sponsoring a candidate forum at Peabody City Hall on Wednesday, October 21st from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

This forum will feature candidates for the following positions:

• Mayor
  
  
• Councilor-at-Large
  
  
• School Committee

I only saw this as a brief mention at the end of one of Nelson Benton's opinion pieces and haven't seen much about it since then.

Now, sadly, a long standing work commitment will force me to miss this event... and I am very unhappy about it. This is exactly the type of forum I have been saying is needed in the City. I hope other's will share their opinions and viewpoints on how the night goes.

Ward Councilor Races in Peabody

I was asked to give some predictions and endorsements for the upcoming elections in November. Now, predictions are often rather easy here in Peabody... never bet against the incumbent. As for endorsements... well my though it who cares what I think? But I was asked so I will give mine below... BUT PLEASE add yours in the comments as well. Especially OG as you were requested as well.

But first... here are the 3 recent news articles from The Salem News on the three ward races with challengers.

Two campaign for Ward 1 council seat

Newcomer, veteran vie for Ward 4 seat

Ward 6 hopefuls tangle over temperament

So lets start with the sad news... Ward 2, 3 and 5 can't even muster enough interest to get a challenger to the incumbent,

Ward 2: Arthur Athas (unopposed)
Ward 3: Rico E. Mello (unopposed)
Ward 5: David R. Gamache (unopposed)

This is a sad state of affairs in my opinion. I like to see a vigorous campaign with lots of ideas being tossed around and a future vision of Peabody being discussed. Sadly this will not be happening in Wards 2, 3 or 5.

Ward 1

Endorsement: Rob Forti
Why? I think he has shown he has both an interest in his Ward and a high level of energy that he is willing to put into the job. When he used to post on the Peabody blogs, he was often a very reasonable person who made logical arguments and seemed willing to listen to others point of view. I think he would bring some new energy and responsibility to the council and Ward 1.
Prediction: This one could be close... but I think inertia will prevail and Barry Osbourne will emerge as the winner.

Ward 4

Endorsement: Jeff Grayson
Why? I have met both these candidates (I live in Ward 4) and while I personally like Bob Driscoll, I think he has lost real interest in the job. He is running hard (first time in a while) but I don't like what he has turned into as a councilor. He has sided with irrational and misguided neighbors over zoning issues in Brooksby Farms (going against the recommendation of the City's experts in order to placate a few vocal locals.) But more importantly, while I have heard him blame the CC for inaction on many issues... he is PART OF THAT PROBLEM and has been powerless to do anything about it for too long. Time to give someone else a chance to try.
But enough about why Driscoll has lost my support. I think Grayson has a future in Peabody politics. He is young and bright and full of energy and ideas... and idealism as well. And while idealism alone is NOT enough to change the world... it is better than a "No We Can't" attitude that the current City Council membership seems to rejoice in.
Prediction: This one will probably NOT be close... Bob Driscoll will win.

Ward 6

Endorsement: Barry Sinewitz
Why? Or rather... WHAT?? How can I endorse Sinewitz? I do not personally find Councilor Sinewitz to be either well informed or particularly gracious in his actions as a councilor here in Peabody. I certainly often disagree with his opinions and voting record, but mostly I dislike his reactionary style of politics. And yet I am endorsing him.
His opponent, Mr. Sheehan is perhaps a fine fellow... but he has yet to make that clear to the people. I NEVER FULLY TRUST what I read online... but then he goes and makes the Westside a linchpin in his campaign when given an open opportunity in the Salem News article. I am beginning to see why so many people see him as a non-candidate.
Prediction: This one will be a landslide and Barry Sinewitz will win easily.

I welcome comments and thoughts on the Ward Councilor races here. I will be posting additional posts on the At-Large and the School Committee races.

I will not bother to look at the other races as the race for Mayor is a joke and Bonfanti will win by a huge margin (with no real competition) and as for the other races????? Who cares?

behind every shadow the bogeyman

U P D A T E D

I would just like to make clear that NO ONE is accusing Mr. Forti of any wrong doing in this instance. This post by Needham's Corner was in response to a multitude of rantings and ravings at this and other Peabody blogs. Mr. Forti has been very forthright when addressing the public during his campaign as well as on these blogs. This post was NOT IN ANY WAY meant to imply any wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Forti. I hope readers will read the post above this one and see that Mr. Forti has my support in his race.

- Peabody Insider

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Some of our paranoiac readers (well, yeah, you aren't really paranoid if the world is truly out to get you!) may be unfamiliar with certain provisions of the Hatch Act, a federal statute that restricts local partisan political activity by local, state, and federal employees.

Read about it here: http://www.osc.gov/ha_state.htm and before you go all off about "strong men" and coercion, think about how the law might be interpreted with respect to local politics. I once worked with someone in a non-profit agency whose funding came from the feds, and she was unwilling to hold a sign on election day because she thought it was a violation of the Hatch Act. Misinterpretation of federal law is not uncommon (!), but perhaps once in a while people err on the side of over-caution than under-caution.

It would be great if people would read the law and think for themselves about how it might be interpreted, instead of just grabbing onto whatever random interpretation is floating out there in the blogosphere. There ain't no law agin THINKING.

Election Endorsements and Predictions????????? Good Idea...

A person posted here asking if I would be making any endorsements of candidates for office in the City of Peabody. They also wanted to know predictions about who I thought might actually win.

This is a good idea for a post. I will need to do some research into ALL the candidates first... at least those who are running in races against someone else.

Sadly, I (like Needham's Corner) have had few candidates visit my home. One was here (Grayson, Ward 4 challenger) in person and two others (Driscoll, Ward 4 incumbent and Hochman, School Committee challenger) left literature when no one was home.

I am very desirous of knowing what these candidates stand for and what they see as the future path for Peabody. I have read the local papers, gone to websites and facebook pages, I have even asked some directly for these answers... and received little, if anything, in return.

So while I do not feel that competent to discuss some of the other ward challengers, I certainly have an opinion on most of the existing ward councilors and the at-large folks. And the school committee as well... I know the incumbents, but VERY little about the challengers.

Then you have the two that are utterly meaningless... Library Trustee and Electric Light Commission... Frankly... who cares. Library trustee? As long as we don't get a book burner like Bev Dunne in that roll... I could care less. And light plant? I mean what DO they do anyway? That job seems like simply a Free Health Care Position to me.

So I will do some due diligence and start a post very soon on the endorsements and predictions... and I hope everyone will toss in their own two cents in the discussion as well.

I would also be happy to publish the websites of ANY candidates... so please feel free to pass them along in the comments.

More on this to come.

Apathy Central

So here it is October 3; the election is about one month away; and here is what my household has seen for campaign activity:

• Visits from incumbents for any elected position: Zero
• Literature from incumbents for any elected position: Zero
• Literature from challengers:
• --- One for ward councilor
• --- One for school committee
• Visits from challengers: One

I do not live at the end of a long dead-end street in a remote area, so it's not about geography. I think it's about taking votes for granted.

I am not one to spout the 'change for the sake of change' or 'throw all the bums out' rhetoric that sometimes characterizes certain elements of the frustrated electorate, but this year, I really have to wonder:

We have 11 do-nothings on the City Council whose sole tasks as they apparently see them are issuing special permits (done by planning boards and boards of appeal in many other towns, to free up town councils to focus on bigger-picture issues) and rubber-stamping budgets and bond issues. The job that they SHOULD be doing, i.e., making legislative policy (zoning, for example) is left to the mayor and his staff, with the council's sole activity to squash any spark of initiative or new thinking that the mayor puts forward.

We have a school committee that directs the super to cut particular jobs, and then lambastes him when it turns out that you can't just hire any old body off the street to fill the position at reduced cost, AFTER HE TOLD THEM THEIR IDEA WOULDN'T WORK.

I am supporting a couple of challengers this time around. I have heard their fresh ideas, and while they might be over-idealistic, I would rather give them a chance than deal with the same old defeatist bunch who seem to have lost their appetite for even TRYING to improve this city.