Was it Something I Said? Palin Resigns.

Posted on July 3, 2009 by billmanzi

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin gave a rambling farewell to the Governor’s Office, announcing that she would not be a candidate for re-election in 2010 and also announcing that she was stepping down as Governor effective July 26th. Left unanswered was the critical question of who would now be watching the Russians over the Bering Strait in her absence. Ah, the national security nightmare. John Weaver got right to the heart of the matter: From the Washington Post:

“We’ve seen a lot of nutty behavior from governors and Republican leaders in the last three months, but this one is at the top of that,” said John Weaver, a longtime friend and confidant of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the party’s presidential nominee in 2008 whose of selection of Palin catapulted the first-term Alaska governor to national prominence.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/wpniplayer_viral.swf?thisObj=fo815511&vid=070309-1v_title

Posted in National News | Tagged | 4 Comments

Beatle Juice Concert Postponed to Sunday

Posted on July 3, 2009 by billmanzi

The Beatle Juice concert scheduled for tonight at 6:00 p.m. at Nicholson Stadium has been postponed to Sunday at 6:00 p.m due to the threat of t-storms. They are a great band, and I hope to see you there.

Posted in Methuen | Tagged | 2 Comments

Methuen Readiness Center

Posted on July 3, 2009 by billmanzi

I was pleased to participate in the groundbreaking for the Methuen Readiness Center recently. We had Major General Joseph C. Carter, the Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard on hand, as well as Congresswoman Niki Tsongas and Lt. Governor Tim Murray. The project has moved along due to the great work of Congresswoman Tsongas, who has secured $22 million dollars of federal money for this Readiness Center. This is a great project for Methuen, and will make effective use of the site of the Armory on Lowell Street.

Read the Tribune story here.

Posted in Methuen | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Republicans Slug it Out Over Sarah

Posted on July 2, 2009 by billmanzi

How could I resist! The Vanity Fair article detailing the train wreck that was the Vice Presidential candidacy of Sarah Palin has triggered some rather heated exchanges amongst the operational wing of the McCain camp and the neo-cons who were along for the ride. Bill Kristol got it all started with an attack on Steve Schmidt, who was the McCain campaign guru, essentially accusing him of being a source for the Vanity Fair piece. From Politico:

Kristol cited a passage in Purdum’s piece in which “some top aides” were said to worry about the Alaska governor’s “mental state” and the prospect that the Alaska governor may be suffering from post-partum depression following the birth of her son Trig. “In fact, one aide who raised this possibility in the course of trashing Palin’s mental state to others in the McCain-Palin campaign was Steve Schmidt,” Kristol wrote.

Whoa there Bill. Schmidt fired back a hard one, invoking Kristol’s expert handling of former VP Dan Quayle. Can you spell potato(e)?

“I’m sure John McCain would be president today if only Bill Kristol had been in charge of the campaign.”

“After all, his management of [former Vice President] Dan Quayle’s public image as his chief of staff is still something that takes your breath away,” Schmidt continued. “His attack on me is categorically false.”

And Kristol ally and neo-con stalwart Randy Scheunemann (who we wrote about after Pat Buchanan exposed his ties to foreign governments) piled on Schmidt as well.

“Steve Schmidt has a congenital aversion to the truth,” Scheunemann said. “On two separate and distinct occasions, he speculated about about Governor Palin having post-partum depression, and on the second he threatened that if more negative publicity about the handling of Governor Palin emerged that he would leak his speculation [about post-partum depression] to the press. It was like meeting Tony Soprano.”

The Politico article is a great read, and has brought to light extreme bitterness by Bill Kristol over Schmidt’s firing of Scheunemann, who allegedly leaked to Kristol himself. Schmidt is a first rate political operative, and I thought that before he attacked Kristol. And Sarah, as I have said before, is the gift that keeps on giving.

Read the Politico story here.

Bill Kristol’s Blog at the Weekly Standard is here.

Read the Vanity Fair Article here.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Methuen’s FY2010 Budget

Posted on July 2, 2009 by billmanzi

I have posted the FY2010 Municipal Budget for the City of Methuen in pdf format. This budget achieves balance without layoffs and includes nine one year agreements with all city side unions. All managers took a one time ten percent wage cut, and all unions took cuts in wages and benefits equaling ten percent.

fy-2010-city-of-methuen-budget

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

School Budget Passed by School Committee

Posted on July 1, 2009 by billmanzi

The Methuen School Committee passed their budget on Monday night, and we were able to bring back the two band positions that will allow us to continue the level of instruction that we give today. It was a difficult budget, and the huge economic downturn that has led to big reductions in state aid will continually force difficult decisions in Methuen and across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Committee vote was unanimous. The City Council will meet tonight in budget session to vote on the school budget.

Posted in Methuen, Methuen City Council, Municipal Finance | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Franken Declared Victor

Posted on July 1, 2009 by billmanzi

Al Franken yesterday won a victory in the Minnesota Supreme Court in his long battle to be declared the winner of the closely fought Minnesota Senate race with Republican Norm Coleman. The Court victory prompted the incumbent Coleman to concede, and Governor Tim Pawlenty signed the documents necessary to certify Franken as the victor. And while the media has made a big deal out of the fact that Franken gives the Democratic caucus sixty votes that factoid is likely to be less important that the hype surrounding the magic sixty number. Both Senators Kennedy and Byrd have been out of the Senate for extended periods with illness, and I just do not see Democratic cohesion to the extent that the hype would have you believe. That sixty member caucus will likely disagree over the luncheon menu for their next meeting, and their divergent views on health care should illustrate that point.

Posted in National News | Tagged | 1 Comment

Baddour to Promote New Driving Safety Measures

Posted on July 1, 2009 by billmanzi

State Senator Steven Baddour announced his support for mandatory road and vision tests for individuals who reach 85 in light of a series of recent crashes involving elderly drivers. Baddour indicated support for a bill filed by Senator Brian Joyce that would make road and vision testing mandatory for drivers 85 and above, and held out the possibility of lowering that age threshhold as well as adding provisions that would allow family members to request testing. From the Herald:

“Everything’s on the table in terms of how you address this,” said Sen. Steven A. Baddour (D-Methuen), co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation, which has a hearing showdown scheduled for this morning.

“Clearly it’s all of these high-profile incidents that have grabbed people’s attention, and that have caused us to pay attention as well,” Baddour said, referring to five horrific crashes involving elderly drivers in recent weeks.

Transportation Committee House Chair Joe Wagoner is predicting a bill by Labor Day.

Posted in State News | Tagged , | 2 Comments

New Rasmussen Poll on Governors Race

Posted on June 30, 2009 by billmanzi

A new Rasmussen poll on the Massachusetts Governors race shows lingering political problems for Governor Deval Patrick, who trails Republican Christy Mihos in a head to head matchup. Governor Patrick has a 5 point edge over Republican Charlie Baker in a head to head matchup, but some of the underlying discontent with the Governor comes through clearly in this survey. The poll shows Patrick with a 57% disapproval rating, including 32% who strongly disapprove. Those are dangerous numbers for an incumbent. Other numbers of interest include Patrick being below 70% support amongst Democrats, and also registering faltering support amongst independent voters. Both Republican candidates showed more support than the Governor in this key area, and Rasmussen shows only 25% support for Patrick’s re-election amongst this key voter bloc. The Governor has plenty of time to turn these numbers around, and will still be a formidable opponent in the next election cycle. But he is vulnerable, and from this point forward needs to be error free. Today’s story in the Globe detailing his ongoing support for an increase in the gasoline tax while signing about a billion dollars worth of tax increases probably was not politically helpful.

Posted in State News | Tagged | 3 Comments

To Tell the Truth

Posted on June 29, 2009 by billmanzi

A new feature that will allow me to shed the light of day on some comments made over at the Eagle Tribune site. Yes I do read them, and lets get started with our old friend and candidate for political office Jack Burke. Jack did a posting on the Tribune story that detailed the legal issues surrounding a City Council rejection of the School budget. That story was prompted by a memo I had sent to the full City Council on that subject. Here is the Burke post in full.

The saddest part of this story is that the Mayor acts as if it is the City Council fault.
He seems to forget that he is the CHAIRMAN of the SCHOOL COMMITTEE. He has not pushed for the School budget.
When I read the story and all the associated stories about the City budget and school budget, there is one central player, Mayor Manzi.
He is on center stage and acts as if all is happening around him and he is just doing the best he can, poor man, to work with what he is given. He is the Chief Operating Officer of the City, as he is wont to remind one.
Another year with stop gap measures. One time revenue or one time negotiated freezes.
When will we get a comprehensive and affordable plan that will provide the services that the citizens require at a price they can afford?
We don’t even have a Capital Improvement Plan. No long term plan. Just a year to year quick fix approach. Is this what you bargained for?

Lets get started then. I have posted my memo to the Council, in full, below. This memo was sent because of several City Council inquiries relative to the legal issues surrounding a Council rejection of the school budget. So lets see if we can understand Burke’s point here.

1) The City Council asks me a question.
2) I answer the question by doing the research necessary, and relating information given by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
3) Jack Burke says I am blaming the City Council.

That unedited memo is below. You can be the judge. Where in it do I blame the City Council for anything? We should strive to Tell the Truth Jack, not invent things for political gain.

There was some question about the legal effect of the City Council rejection of the Methuen School Department budget. In response please accept the following. My Chief of Staff, Attorney Matthew Kraunelis, discussed this issue with Kathleen Colleary, an attorney for the Department of Revenue. Attorney Colleary informs us that without a City Council approval of the School Department budget, the Methuen School Department will have no legal ability to pay any bills after June 30th. On that basis, the City Auditor will be forced to reject any School Department requisitions for payment, including payroll, after June 30th. Attorney Colleary also informed us that under such conditions Methuen would be in jeopardy of violating the Prompt Payment of Wages law and also subject to court action by the Attorney General of the Commonwealth to compel payment of the net school spending amount. Attorney Colleary also clarified the issue of a so-called one-twelfth budget. She informs us that no such option is available to municipal school systems unless the system is regional. One-twelfth budgets would have to cover the entire budget, not just a certain portion of a budget, such as the school portion. I hope this clarifies some of the questions raised by Council at the Tuesday meeting. Do not hesitate to call with any additional questions.

The Burke posting also refers to one time revenues being used. I hope to post the municipal budget today, but I can tell you that unlike years gone by this budget was not balanced with one time revenues. In fact for the first time in years we have achieved structural balance. We should strive to Tell the Truth Jack, not invent things for political gain.

Finally Jack criticizes the nine collective bargaining agreements reached with our unions because they are for one year.

One time revenue or one time negotiated freezes.

But they are one year labor contracts that do not call for freezes but rather for ten percent cuts in base wage and benefits. Senior staff took major pay cuts, not freezes. And since all city side contracts would have been up on June 30th of this year my Administration has done what has never been done before in Methuen, which is to negotiate nine full extensions for one year before the expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreements. We have produced a balanced budget with no layoffs, and done so while protecting the property taxpayers of Methuen. And yet, despite the criticism, I did not hear Mr. Burke calling for the Council to reject these agreements or vote down the budget, which was passed unanimously. I did not hear any specific changes recommended by Mr. Burke either.

As far as a five year Capital Improvement Plan my Administration submitted the first five year plan the City has seen in eight years last year. We will continue to refine it, and will submit a revised plan when it is appropriate. We have, despite these terrible economic times, acted on our plan, purchasing 7 police cruisers and a new animal control van in the past year. Giving people the idea that a five year plan does not exist is just false. We should strive to Tell the Truth Jack, not invent things for political gain.

There is the first edition of To Tell the Truth. There will be more. Differences of opinion are what our democratic system is all about, and that includes correcting the falsehoods and half truths that are used in that debate far too often.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 6 Comments