If you know you know.

In Lowell, the petty squabbles amongst this Council (and most Councils before) over who is selected to be “Mayor” causes lingering grief. The shallow egos of all the Councilors get caught up in the horse trading and petty power mongering. They all take a piss in the coffee, then pretend to joyfully slurp it up. The pretense is depressing to watch, as it seethes into almost every major decision the Lowell City Council has to make.

Right now, the calculations over who will be the next “Mayor” is infecting the line-up of the coming City election. The Bubble accepts or rejects incumbents and challengers alike, on the speculated whip count for Inaugural 2024.

It’s gross!

Look. As a blogger, I can lean on hyperbole. Now, that I have your attention, let me say, in general, the City Council tries to do the best they can with what they have to work with. They have to work with each other. The selection of the Mayor is a process the drives wedges between the touchy egos of Councilors. I shit you not.

If you think there are high minded “reformers” out there who are determined to undo decades of “good ol boys” reindeer games, you’re a chump. The Who blurted it out, “Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.” Okay, there’s policy differences between tribes. But, the slimey real politicking is the same. Don’t trust me, get “inside” and see for yourself.

If you’re confused on why a City leader would succumb to adolescence, look no further than the Mayor’s portrait that hangs upon the wall. Every Mayor’s portrait, going back decades hangs along the wall. The conniving and treachery that goes in to how those portraits align is legend. Anyone that blames a select few in the sordid palace intrigue is a liar. They are all caught up in it, though some get ill while playing. Well, until it’s their face being considered.

Lowell would be better off shit canning the title of Mayor and archiving the Mayoral portraits. These artifacts of bygone politics are poison to reasoned and measured governance.

It won’t happen because the egos in play, have the power to decide. You won’t elect “better people.” They all fall from grace. It’s a shame Lowell has to suffer the collateral butt hurts that cycle every two years.

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(Below is an excerpt from a Cambridge Day article about term limits and the term “Mayor” that inspired this post. Click here to read the full Cambridge Day article)

Under the city’s current charter, the mayor is the presiding officer at council meetings and the chair of the School Committee. A city manager, who is appointed by the council, administers the city day-to-day.

Members of the Charter Review Committee pointed out that the title “mayor” is confusing, as Cambridge’s mayor does not have the role most people associate with the term. Instead of serving as the city’s chief executive, as the mayors of other communities often do, Cambridge’s mayor is the head of the city’s legislative branch.

“We’ve already voted not to give the mayor any meaningful power, so I feel strongly that we should call the mayor what it is – which is the chair of the council or the speaker of the council,” Bowie said.

Though member Susan Shell agreed the term “mayor” is confusing, she wondered whether another title would cause outsiders, such as those from the Conference of Mayors, to respect the position less. “I wouldn’t want a change of title to make it harder for someone to speak meaningfully for the city and represent its interests in councils where they’re used to having mayors,” Shell said.