No Respect – Listening to the Candidates debate on Inside Lowell between District 8 Councilor John Descoteaux and Marcos Candido this week ticked me off. I get I’m an old Lowellian of 63, but one with a 24-year-old daughter who I’m proud of in many ways.
One is that my daughter treats adults with respect.
During the InsideLowell debate, Councilor John Descoteaux referred to his opponent as either Mr. Candido or Marcos. However, Mr. Candido just referred to his opponent as Descoteaux the majority of the time, showing absolutely no respect for Mr. Descoteaux or the position of City Councilor. He could have called him Councilor Descoteaux or Mr. or John, but instead, 98% of the time he was dismissive, calling him by his last name.
Unfortunately, Mr. Candido is also showing the same lack of respect to the voters in District 8. Going door to door or calling, yet doesn’t tell anyone that he is and is being supported by the Boston DSA (the Eastern MA chapter of Democratic Socialists of America.), whose Web page states:
We are working against the oppressive capitalist system in its many forms. We see these oppressions — economic inequality, patriarchy, white supremacy, to name a few — as interlinked, intersecting, and inseparable. Join us in building mass movements for the world we deserve and growing an openly socialist presence in communities and politics in the Greater Boston Area
Yet he, in my view, isn’t being transparent or open about his affiliation, or the work they are doing for him, canvassing and phoning.
No Respect II – Sadly, Solidary Lowell continues to show their lack of respect to those who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice for their country by continuously using the Ladd & Whitney Monument in front of City Hall for Political Rallies. More disappointing is candidates who they support going along with it! The picture below clearly shows Solidary Lowell standing out for their candidates on the memorial.
Just 15 or so days ago they held another rally there!
Join us at the Ladd & Whitney Monument on Friday, October 17th at 6pm to stand out in support of Lowell Together endorsed candidate Connie Martin for School Committee At-Large! After we Demonstrate, we’ll Dine and Discuss at a local restaurant (TBD).
When will a Councilor make a motion to ban ANYONE from holding a rally on that site?
For those not familiar here is some history on that monument:
“Thus, on June 17th, 1865, the crowd gathered around Merrimack Square, thereafter known as Monument Square, to attend the ceremony honoring the two soldiers. Later, Charles Taylor’s name would be added to the monument, in remembrance of the fourth and almost unknown man of the dead of the 6th Massachusetts. Among the speakers that day was then governor of Massachusetts, John A. Andrew, who charged the citizens of Lowell with keeping and preserving the monument, and with it the memory of Luther C. Ladd, Addison O. Whitney, and the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who had died to end slavery and restore the Union. The bodies of Ladd and Whitney were disinterred from their graves and were reinterred beneath the monument where they rest to this day”
If the Socialists and Solidarity Lowell want respect, shouldn’t they show some?
NOT a P.A.C – I was asked the other day if Solidarity Lowell was a Political Action Committee?
The answer is NO. At least they are not registered with the State as one. It is described as a volunteer group focused on social justice and does not identify as a PAC or political party.
HOWEVER– Lowell Together is “associated” with Solidarity Lowell, with a page on their website that states. “We provide consulting on campaign management, fundraising, treasurer responsibilities, volunteer coordination, marketing, and more. Once elected, we will help our candidates stay informed on the issues they need to weigh in on.”
So they will tell you who should run your campaign, how to raise funds, coordinate volunteers and do your marketing, but NOT give you any money unless a “member” makes a personal contribution. Then if elected, continue to “inform” you on what you should weigh into. Isn’t that what they and others accuse political parties and registered PACS of doing?
There is a striking similarity between the Boston Socialists and Solidarity Lowell, including supporting many of the same candidates, as the picture we showed above again shows!
Not a State Rep Candidate? Now that Rodney Elliott has officially announced his candidacy for State Senate, speculation on who would run for his seat when if he wins is bubbling. One person who may not is his former opponent ZOE F. DZINEKU who had an outstanding showing in the State Rep. Race when the seat was open. According to a few messages I’ve received, and according to the Cities GIS system, she no longer lives in this state rep district.
I explained to someone that although she has a Centralville address listed on the School Committee ballot, she must have lived in Centralville when she registered to run Citywide. Records show the 3rd Street address was sold in July of this year, and I’m told she no longer resides in his State Rep. district.
However, one of her former coworkers on the late State Senator Kennedy’s staff, James Ostis’ name has picked up traction as a possible candidate because he is a longtime resident of this district and has been actively involved in Lowell politics, serving as the Mayoral Aide for both Mayors Kennedy and Samaras. He also works at the State House.
Miscellaneous notes: I think we are going to see some very close City Council Races Tuesday Night.
The District 3 race between Dan Finn and Belinda Juran may come down to 30-50 votes depending on who you talk to in Belvidere. Many younger families with children seem to be favoring Finn, while the “old Lowell” political crowd seems to be favoring Juran. Turnout will be the key for both camps. Can Finn get the 30–55-year-old crowd out to overtake the old Lowell crowd of 56–90-year old’s? And does support from Solidarity Lowell and Vanna Howard help Belinda enough to overtake Finn? Does Dan get enough of the Belanger/Gendron voters to overtake Juran?
In District 4 – Can Incumbent Councilor Wayne Jenness defeat newcomer Sean McDonough? At the beginning of this election, I gave Mr. McDonough some grief over his “We Can Have Nice Things” campaign theme, but I’m hearing from Pawtucketville, Centralville and Downtown residents that they are impressed with Sean speaking to them one on one. He seems to have hit more residents throughout the district than Councilor Jenness. Can the Downtown crowd save Councilor Jenness?
City Councilor, District 7 – I see Incumbent Councilor Paul Ratha Yem in a very tight contest against challenger Sidney Liang. Liang has some strong neighborhood and out of district supporters (his campaign Manager for one), but Vice Mayor Yem had the Mayor and Councilors Scott and Chau walking the district supporting him. Will that be enough to hang in?
City Councilor, District 8 – Did the Boston Democratic Socialists and Solidarity Lowell do enough to convince voters to replace Councilor Descoteaux? I’m hoping NO, and think the residents of the Highlands are too smart to have an outside agenda direct who they vote for.
City Council District 5 – It may be contested, but Kim Scott wins in a landslide!
Citywide – Gitschier- Mercier -Nuon in a runaway!
School Committee Citywide – Martin and McFadden by wide margins.
TUNE INTO INSIDELOWELL TUESDDAY, BEGINNING AT 7:00 PM FOR ELECTION RESULTS !
10 responses to “Nutter’s Sunday Notes (November 2, 2025)”
Just an observation from ward 3, Belinda Juran and Rep. Vanna Howard share many of the same voters, my guess is they see the council race as a dry run for the state senate seat, they are working O T to get out the vote.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt Mr. Candido calling C. Decoteaux by his last name very disrespectful. He never once addressed him as Mr. Decoteaux, or councilor,even John.
Hey, what’s this?!?
“Thus, on June 17th, 1865, the crowd gathered around Merrimack Square, thereafter known as Monument Square…”
Crowd gathered?!?
It’s been a gathering spot for over a century, Gerry..
You’re being ridiculous.
Interesting perspective on district 3. I thought Finn represented more of a business as usual approach and traditional Lowell politics.
It wasn’t just disrespectful, it was blatantly ignorant.
Hi, Just chiming in as it seems that you forgot my name in your article. As it appears you are advertising all the people that are paying for this blog. And they are really getting their monies worth. You are failing to allow the actual voters, people, the residents, you know, the people who live here, the people who are actually the voters to not really make an educated decision but rather just hear the opinion of the white folk who already are in office.
So here you are, My name is Sherri O’Connor Barboza and I am running in district 5, which is considered South Lowell although my neighbors will argue that; I am also a write in for School Committee for South Lowell and Belvidere. I speak English, Portuguese and working Spanish, unlike the other person running.( I will leave out the name as you did mine.) I am a graduate of UMASS Lowell with a dual major in Accounting and Philosophy and extensive graduate work in Special Education. While raising my children which I continue to do my youngest attends the Morey and my oldest is at home at 27 years old diagnosed with Autism and she is nonverbal and there are very few events and activities that support her in the community. My husband is an immigrant from Brazil and is a United States Citizen as I am. I talk and walk with people in the community; ones who work hard, the ones who are retired and shut in except for doctors visits, the unhoused and their need for shelter, children being subjected to a underfunded school system with run-down buildings, the disabled and differently abled with invisible disabilities that may navigating this city with difficulty. I have watched UMASS Lowell take over the city and wondered why we are not retaining are buildings that can provide revenue such as the Spinners baseball field, the Tsongas Arena, our open spaces that are up for grabs while the city says there is a lack of open space. I am baffled by why our bus system was moved from downtown Lowell to the train station. The residents of Lowell seem to be last in line in any decision made by the city unless it is in their backyard. I am running for our community not for UMASS Lowell, which I am a proud graduate of; not for the multi-million dollar corporations that are pushing their diesel bomb sites. We have a rundown police station that is receiving minimal attention and not enough police on our force. I was never invited to speak because you did not care to hear what I had to say. I was only ever invited to debate. This City only invites residents to defend themselves: but has its hand open for foreign investors, universities and large corporations. We pay taxes, we live here and we deserve to be represented by people who have our interests in mind. The others have lobbyists, media relations and attorneys to do their bidding.
This is a ridiculous article. Many of my neighbors and I in the upper Highlands have enjoyed Marco‘s Candido‘s Ernest engagement with our community. When I see Eric G or John Descôteaux at events, such ans those ant Tyler Park, they stand around talking to Lowell Police and don’t even bother saying hello to families unless they are people they grew up with. Some of us are really sick of these townie politics and looking for a change. The fact that you think that he is highly funded by some outside group and this is the “big issue” just made my husband and I laugh out loud. Many of us, with younger kids in the Highlands, are voting for Marcos for real change.
Sherri,
I would like to respectfully correct you, in that Gerry writes what Gerry feels and does not represent this website, nor does he financially benefit in ANY way from InsideLowell. In addition, he discusses the candidacies of many candidates who did not advertise this election season. Your statements in this regard are off base.
It should also be noted, in the interest of transparency, that you did not respond to MULTIPLE requests to debate your opponent in District 5, as all the other district candidates did, and Councilor Scott did when contacted. Happy to provide you a chance to speak on your candidacy in these comments, but you could have said all of the above in a one-on-one sitdown with your opponent on gotten into a more in-depth back and forth on the isses, as all other district candidates did regardless of whether they advertised their campaigns with us or not.
Jerry, your making Candido out to be a Manchurian candidate or something. I think he’s been pretty clear that he supports these socialist ideals on every issue. He lists the DSA endorsement right on his candidate page. Both district 8 candidates have pros/cons. But to characterize Candido’s campaign the way you have here and then say he’s being sneaky? That’s a steaming pile of hypocritical crap. You gotta be better than that.
Also, there’s these things called “issues”. Housing, zoning, education, transportation. Interestingly your election eve notes don’t mention a single one.
Laura,
There’s certainly nothing wrong with Gitchier or Descoteaux talking to police at Tyler Park, but I see them talking to a lot of people. I’m sure that if you were to say hello, either one would be more than happy to meet you and discuss the issues with you. Both have stopped by our neighborhood, knocking on doors. More importantly, if you were to call either one with an issue of concern to you, they would be responsive.