(This Column is being written and submitted to Inside Lowell early Friday before the recount even started. I’m away enjoying some grandpa time in Pepperell this weekend.)

It is time to let the Voters of Lowell choose the mayor! Over the years we have seen the Councilors fight over who will serve as mayor. We see it again after this election. The voters have said they wanted a change. They wanted to elect the mayor, yet the majority of the last two councils so far have ignored the voters.

In 2021, the municipal ballot included a nonbinding referendum question asking voters whether they would like to have the ability to directly elect the mayor at the same time they cast their votes for City Council members.

YES – 7,429
NO – 2,411

According to some research I did, Worcester held its first direct election for mayor in 1987. The city has a council–manager government in which the mayor’s role is to chair both the Worcester City Council and the city’s School Committee, just like Lowell.

In order to be elected mayor in Worcester, a person must place first in the mayor’s race and also finish among the top six in the at-large city council election, securing a seat as councilor at large. An individual cannot be elected mayor without additionally winning an at-large city council seat. In addition, the candidate elected to the office of councilor at large who receives the second-highest number of votes for the office of mayor will become vice-chair of the Worcester City Council.

Worcester has six at large councilors and five district councilors. Lowell has three at large and eight districts under a court agreement. Councilor Yem has asked about this, and Councilors Robinson and Gitschier brought forth this motion in October of 2024, which was sent to a sub-committee to die;

1. Robinson/C. Gitschier – Req. City Mgr. have the Law Department draft necessary language to facilitate residents’ ability to select our mayor via ballot, before the 2025 City Council election cycle.

Councilor Robinson has argued to follow the outline that Worcester uses. In the past, Councilor Nuon has expressed concern about using that model, saying, “we need to have a framework, and that framework needs to allow everyone, district councilor or at large, a chance to put their name forward for the mayorship.”

I agree with Councilor Nuon, and I think that it is time for the city and this next City Council to finally come up with a method. In my opinion, it’s easy.

Anyone who wants to can run for both mayor and city council. The person who receives the most mayoral votes would win, but they must also win a citywide or district council seat.

It’s not that hard, and insulting to voters saying having someone’s name on the ballot twice is confusing.

If you hear that, ask why they are saying Lowell residents aren’t as bright as Worcester residents?

I think it’s BS saying it would violate the ‘spirit” of the legal agreement. Let’s have a BINDING Referendum on this proposal or have one put forth by this upcoming council on the 2027 municipal ballot that will allow the voters, beginning in 2029, to vote for the person they want as mayor.

Many of us have, over the years, seen the mayor’s fight get so bad that families still don’t speak to each other and councils have started off fractured due to it taking 3 to 106 rounds to get 5 votes (when we had 9 councilors)

Change in Lowell is like swimming in a vat of molasses. It can happen, but it’s a slow, painful process. Let’s finally get this process to elect a mayor underway.

The mayor’s race in Lowell has been a contentious battle off and on for many years. Recent battles like Leahy/Samaras and Noun /Chau, to this Rourke/Noun battle, are nothing new and tamer than some past battles.

On Richardhowe.com, Dick has a very comprehensive list through 2010. I wanted to highlight a few memorable mayoral battles over the years. My memories from 2012-present will have to suffice for the rest.

1970 – Richard Howe was elected mayor on the fifth ballot

My favorite – 1972 – Ellen Sampson was elected mayor on the 106th ballot. On inauguration day, Paul Tsongas and Phil Shea were the leading contenders but neither could get the necessary 5th vote. After 15 ballots at the inauguration, the council voted to recess and resume the voting at the next evening’s regularly scheduled council meeting. During the 51 ballots cast that night, Shea, Tsongas and Councilor Richard P Howe all received 4 votes on various ballots but none could reach 5. Another recess was held and two nights later, after 40 more ballots, Phil Shea announced he was withdrawing his candidacy and would vote for Sampson, who was elected on the next ballot.

1976 – Leo Farley was elected mayor on the third ballot

1978 – Ray Rourke was elected mayor on the third ballot

1980 – Bob Maguire was elected mayor on the third ballot, defeating Sam Pollard, who had received Maguire’s vote on the first ballot.

1984 – Brian Martin was elected mayor on the tenth ballot. At age 33, he was the youngest mayor in the city’s history at that time.

My 2^nd Favorite – Richard Howe was elected to a second consecutive term as mayor on the first ballot by a 6 to 3 vote, receiving support from Bud Caulfield, Robert Kennedy, Kathy Kelley, Curtis LeMay, Ray Rourke and himself. Tarsy Poulios received three votes: his own and those of Gerry Durkin and Brendan Fleming. The result of the election was unknown until the votes were actually cast, since neither Kennedy nor Rourke had made prior commitments to either candidate.

1992 – Tarsy Poulios was elected mayor on the second ballot. On the first ballot, he nor Bud Caulfield or Kathy Kelley had the 5 votes. Bob Kennedy voted for himself in the 1^st round on the second ballot, Kennedy voted for Poulios, giving him five and the mayoralty.

1996 – Bud Caulfield was elected mayor on the first ballot by a 5 to 4 vote. Steve Gendron had thought, leading up to Inauguration day, that he had the votes to be Mayor.

From 1998 – 2010 there was only 1 round of votes needed.

2012 – Patrick Murphy was elected as the youngest Mayor in Lowell’s History on the 1^st ballot. Murphy and Councilors Kevin Broderick, Marty Lorrey, Bill Martin and Vesna Nuon, who chose Murphy to break the 4-4 tie. Eight-term veteran Councilor Rodney Elliott received votes from himself and Councilors Ed Kennedy, Joe Mendonca and Rita Mercier.

2018 – In December of 2017 John Leahy said he had the votes to be Lowell’s next mayor, but in January 2018, a Lowell Sun article stated: Samaras says he has deciding vote for mayor from Kennedy.  That proved correct ,and Bill Samaras was elected mayor.

2024 -After a couple rallies in December of 2023 supporting Citywide Councilor Vesna Nuon for mayor, the first City Council under the new election rules voted 11-0 to select District 6 City Councilor Sokhary Chau, who became the city’s first mayor of color and the first Cambodian American mayor in the United States. Some Nuon supporters argued the mayor should come from a Councilor elected Citywide

In 2026? Who knows.

Has current Mayor Rourke called and confirmed with all the councilors he lists as supporting him to make sure of his “solid 5?” Will they agree to make a public statement of support themselves?

Can Councilor Nuon get Councilors Gitschier and Robinson to make a public statement of support. as councilor elect Liang did, that they support Nuon?

The scuttlebutt that is Lowell’s political bubble is picking up vibes that it could indeed be heading that way. Or will they, and councilor elect McDonough, wait for inauguration day to let the public who elected them know who they support? They have that right, and as noted above, it’s been done before.

If that scuttlebutt is accurate, then once the recount is completed, the winner of that could indeed be the swing vote and decide who gets to be mayor!

Two years ago in November, Corey Robinson released a statement stating his support for long-time councilor and former mayor, Rita Mercier to serve in the position beginning in January of 2024, even though she hadn’t declared an interest. Will he make a public statement before January? Will Councilor-elect McDonough (who looks even younger with his latest haircut)?

Miscellaneous notes…Isn’t it also about time, now that we have two City Councilors who cannot accept a stipend (Gitschier and now McDonough), for this Council to ask the law department if they need to send forth a home rule petition to allow both to collect the council stipend, or can they just vote for a waiver of MA State law § 20 of G. L. c. 268A ?…Sam Meas has pulled papers to run for the State Senate Seat. He is unenrolled and needed to switch or enroll in a party by September 30^th…IF no Republican candidate runs, according to former Election Director Greg Papas, and if Sam got 300 unenrolled voters to pull republican (blank) ballots in the February 3^rd primary and write his name in, he will then run as a republican candidate on the March ballot. Otherwise, he will have to run as an unenrolled candidate…. the political bubble is saying Representative Vanna Howard was not only EXTREMLY unhappy with Virak Uy for pulling papers (he announced Thursday he wasn’t going to run after all), but that she was just as unhappy with his boss, Middlesex Community College President Phil Sisson for “allowing him to run” or not talking him out of running. Why blame him for what an employee has every constitutional right to do? Kind of undemocratic, isn’t it?