While Jean-Claude Van Damme made the term famous in pop culture, it was Aneurin Bevan who introduced the quote to the political arena; “politics is a blood sport.”

The next couple of weeks in the Mill City could prove just how accurate that statement is.

With District 3 City Councilor John Leahy set to depart the body in less than two weeks, speculation turns to who will replace him and how that process will play out.

Before looking at possible replacements and the fallout that will ensue as a result of the process, allow me a quick moment to gloat.

I told you so!

As early as 2021, when the new hybrid system of At-Large and District representation made its election season debut, I repeatedly questioned anyone in office what happens when a neighborhood representative running unopposed steps down prior to the end of their term.

I asked again when just two months into the new system in 2022, School Committeeman Andy Descoteaux stepped down and was replaced by the runner-up in that race, Susie Chhoun. And I kept asking all the way through the 2023 election season and early into 2024 when two district councilors and three school committee members ran unopposed and were sworn into their seats with nary a challenger in sight.

Lo and behold, here we are. The lobbying for how to replace Leahy is officially underway, and the battle lines were drawn over whether to hold a special election or have the council make the appointment.

We learned recently that the Home Rule Petition required to change the existing law and hold a special election was sent back to the city for “tweaking.” Once tweaked, it then goes back to the Legislature. Given the snail’s pace at which this process had progressed through the years, no matter what the final wording is, there are no guarantees that it will happen quickly enough to fill the vacancy in a timely manner.

There’s also the matter of the consent decree and the will of the plaintiffs. What were their intentions and why wasn’t that addressed as part of the original settlement or the different home rule petition efforts to get it settled?

The latter question is something that’s always bugged me and wasn’t addressed until City Solicitor Corey Williams broached the subject at last night’s meeting. Williams made some interesting points about what is and isn’t addressed in the consent decree and why that may be so. It appears a discussion surrounding this exact topic is finally forthcoming. How long that conversation takes and how whatever input the plaintiffs offer further changes or delays a process that’s dragged on for years remains to be seen.

Personally, I have always believed “succession” should be decided through special election. But as it stands right now, the law states the task falls squarely on the remaining City Councilors to make that appointment. Here’s the relevant passage:

Until a Home Rule petition is passed and signed into law, that’s how state law says vacancies will be filled, and that’s how the council voted to fill Leahy’s vacancy by a 7-3 vote last night, with Leahy abstaining.

Many won’t like it, and I sympathize to a point, but to echo my parents’ admonitions, “that’s what you get for waiting till it’s too late.”

I didn’t have the power to do anything about it. Others did, but displayed a lack of urgency to resolve the situation and even put forth a home rule petition previously that had nothing to do with special elections or the “will of the people.”

Because, after all, “politics is a blood sport.”

With all that said, we turn our attention to who Leahy’s replacement will be.

If you listen to “the bubble,” you’ve heard the familiar names of former councilors Bill Samaras and Dave Conway.

When contacted, Conway said he feels it’s “best to honor the will of the voters who elected me and remain on the School Committee.”

Samaras said whether appointment or special election, “a part of me would like to do it, but another part of me says you’ve had a good run, allow the next generation to step up. I’m still thinking about it.”

Another former councilor, Corey Belanger is interested and can stake his claim on the fact he put his name on the ballot last November. Belanger is “next in line” via his fourth-place finish in the At Large race and garnered the highest vote total in the Belvidere district of any At Large candidate in the 2023 election who isn’t currently serving.

“For starters, I wish to congratulate Councilor Leahy and thank him for his service and dedication to the City and am thrilled that he will still serve Lowell in another capacity,” Belanger said when contacted about his interest. “Like many others, I am watching closely to see what plays out here. There are many possible scenarios.  However, that being said, that if it is the wish of the Council to appoint a temporary replacement, you will see a full court press from me on the basis of November’s election results, both at large and in the Belvedere district.”

Yet one more former councilor’s name has been bandied about; Rithy Uong. Ironically, Uong stepped down from the council in 2005 after the Ethics Commission sanctioned him for accepting a promotion in the school department, a decision that has received renewed scrutiny now that an ethics opinion deemed it OK for Leahy to accept a job with Lowell Public Schools as long as he steps down from the council.

“I would love to be back serving the city and the people I love the most,” said Uong. “I would like to be considered by the City Council for the appointment if that is the way they choose to proceed, but I believe the council should let the people who live in the district decide via a special election, and I would also be a candidate in that race.”

Lastly, here’s an interesting suggestion; Patty Kirwin-Kielty. While no official count was kept, I’m told State Senator Ed Kennedy’s Chief of Staff received the most write-in votes. Granted, that number was low, but if you’re a fan of the “second place finisher” replacement theory used when Andy Descoteaux stepped down from the School Committee and was replaced by Susie Chhoun in 2022, Kirwin-Kielty is an interesting way to go. She certainly has the political “chops” to serve in that capacity.

Perhaps a surprise name or two will surface over the next few days, but for now, the field seems set. Who gets the nod and how much of a blood sport the replacement process becomes for a council already experiencing heightened tensions remains to be seen.

If the outcome isn’t to your liking, perhaps next time, the decision makers won’t give the loud-mouthed talk show host turned podcaster a chance to say; “I told you so!”