Unity, action and coffee change face of town government
Published on April 11th, 2001
STONEHAM , MA - One more vote was cast in 2001 than in 2000, but a lot has changed. The balance of power has shifted on the Board of Selectmen, and the School Committee will have two new members, eventually.
Selectmen
Pat Jordan first took the gavel to become Chairman in 1981. As sitting Selectmen Chairman in 2001 Jordan was the only incumbent not to be re-elected.
“It’s been an honor to serve the town,” Jordan said. “But I have a lot more going on in my life than Stoneham politics.” The sound of a baby grandchild in the background is just one example.
“People were ready for a change,” newly elected Selectman Anthony Kennedy said.
But the 2001 Town Election was not a classic case of the new guard pushing out the old, but a revitalized group of longtime players uniting to take control during a period of discontent.
Winning back the Selectman seat he lost in 2000 after one term, Kennedy topped the 2001 ticket with 2,146 votes — the most votes for a candidate for Board of Selectmen since Mark Vaughan won with 2,525 in 1991. Sitting School Committee member Mary Pecoraro switched horses midstream without the slightest splash, taking the second Selectman seat with 2,018 votes. Only 1,423 voters went for Jordan.
Kennedy lost in 2000 by only 63 votes to second place finisher Bob Sweeney. Cosmo Ciccarello topped the ticket with 1,840 that year. This result gave Jordan the votes to take over as Chairman from Al Conti. At the time citizens wondered what would have happened if Gordon Perks hadn’t run; he took 295 votes out of the mix.
Kennedy learned his lesson and shared friends and tactics with Pecoraro in 2001. Instead of bullets the 2001 ballots were full of double-barrels. Uniting campaigns violates an old political axiom but, although they’re not new to the game, Kennedy and Pecoraro are not old school pols.
Oddly enough, one of the ideas that Selectman and Jordan supporter Bob Sweeney has used to reach out and help people — coffee discussion groups — was borrowed effectively by the Kennedy and Pecoraro campaigns.
“You meet with people, talk and hear their issues and become a person to them,” Pecoraro said.
Getting together, having coffee, and talking with people may have been the key to the 2001 election.
Jordan called the many people with whom he has worked over the years to remind them to get out the vote, supporters said. But this approach doesn’t broaden a voter base. Inviting groups of people to “coffees” and then asking them to talk to all their friends throws a much wider net.
Support from other town pols with strong followings, particularly School Committee Chairwoman Jeanne Craigie and Ciccarello, added a core to the broad base of supporters gained through coffee networking.
“If I’m nominated for Chairman this time, I’ll accept,” Kennedy said, and he was. He became Chairman at the April 10 meeting.
The issues:
“I think people were tired of hearing that we have a budget crisis,” Pecoraro said. “Tony (Kennedy) and I were both saying there are ways to solve our budget problems.”
The phenomenon of a chief elected officer getting voted out during a political downturn is nothing new at any level of politics.
“People didn’t sense that the existing Board was proactive enough,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy delved into the numbers of the fiscal 2002 budget, looking for ways to offset costs with expected lottery money, for example, and Pecoraro talked about encouraging more commercial development to generate revenue.
Jordan was at the helm of a sinking ship, as utility costs, and insurance premiums soared and state funding slowed. Making cuts and weathering the tough fiscal times may have been a realistic approach to pull Stoneham through this economic slowdown without affecting property taxes. But the voters signaled a belief that something more must be done or at least attempted.
“I wish them well,” Jordan said.
Chapter 70:
Parent Linda Corapi began a grass roots effort to lobby Stoneham’s state legislators for more Chapter 70 funding.
She gathered information and organized a meeting open to the public and attended by Stoneham’s state legislators and department heads. Corapi’s cause united a broad base of parents across town. This voting block, held together with coffee and conversation, may have determined the election.
Kennedy and Pecoraro aligned themselves with the movement, pledging support.
Jordan said that he did not think the Selectmen could help Stoneham by applying any more pressure on the legislators. The School Committee has met with Representatives Paul Casey (D-34th Middlesex) and Mike Festa (D-35th Middlesex) and Senator Richard Tisei (R-3rd Middlesex) on two occasions in the past 18 months.
At the March candidates forum, Jordan stated that Chapter 70 was an issue the School Committee should handle.
“I think people preferred the idea of collaboration and cooperation between boards,” Pecoraro said.
School Committee
Although Daniel Moynihan beat David Sheils for the single open spot on the School Committee, Pecoraro’s election to the Selectmen opens another seat.
Daniel Moynihan credits his election to the School Committee to hard work and organization.
“I couldn’t have done it without my well-organized campaign committee,” Moynihan said.
David Sheils said he worked hard as well, but added that he is learning about politics as he goes.
“Although I’ve been active volunteering with the schools, I’m new to this (running for office),” Sheils said. “I could have communicated better.”
But Sheils has a good chance at Pecoraro’s old seat. Sheils has no legal right to the seat, but running a campaign shows a level of determination which may help him win favor with the joint committee of the Selectmen and School Committee charged with filling the seat. The joint committee is accepting letters from citizens interested in the School Committee position.
“Mr. Sheils deserves a lot of credit and some deference,” Moynihan said.
“I think it helps that he ran,” Kennedy agreed.
Planning Board
Neither the winner, Mark Shamon, nor the loser, John Biggio, returned phone calls as of press time.
Thank you
All the candidates contacted for this article wanted to express their sincere thanks to the many people who helped them and who turned out to vote.
“...especially the ones who voted for me,” Moynihan joked.
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