Candidate Stands Out In Crowded Field

Candidate Stands Out In Crowded Field

By Bill Gouveia

This column appeared in the Sun Chronicle on Monday, July 27, 2020

           

            It may come as a surprise to many, but in the 4^th Congressional District there are currently 11 individuals on the ballot to replace Rep. Joe Kennedy, who is running for Senate against incumbent Ed Markey in the Democratic primary.

            With so much going on in the world, politically and otherwise, it must sometimes seem to those 11 candidates that they are the only folks truly interested in what would normally be an intensely watched and scrutinized election.

            I’m pretty involved in local affairs, but I admit to not paying this race much attention until recently.  Having actually met only Julie Hall, a republican candidate from Attleboro, I wanted to know more about some others.   That led to a recent conversation with another candidate who impressed me very much.

            Her name is Jesse Mermell.  She’s a Democrat from Brookline, the northern part of the district where a lot of the candidates tend to be from.  She is a Progressive with politics pretty much the opposite of President Trump – which will not endear her to many in this more conservative part of the crazily-drawn district that stretches from the outskirts of Boston to Fall River and New Bedford, and includes many of the Sun Chronicle area communities.

            But if you look at Mermell expecting to find a wild-eyed Liberal with no plans or ideas other than growing the government, you’ll be sorely disappointed.  While her idealism clearly shines through, she is in fact a shrewd and pragmatic political activist who understands that positions mean very little if you can’t bring them into being through the political process. 

            She is part of a growing new breed of potential leaders who understand that principles and politics are inexorably linked.  When asked during a recent interview how she thought the causes she fights for (healthcare, education, women’s rights) could best be advanced in today’s political climate, her answer was short, to the point, and absolutely correct.

            “Win elections”, she said.  And that is something Democrats have either forgotten or ignored until the last two years.

            Mermell says she was raised in a very small town in rural Pennsylvania, where her grandmother instilled in her values she has not forgotten.  She has participated in government at the local level as a town meeting member and the state level where she worked with groups such as the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus and the Alliance for Business Leadership. 

            And unlike many current leaders at the highest levels of Washington, Mermell understands that the major political and social issues of the day do not individually exist in a vacuum.  She notes they are tied together, and have to be addressed as part of an overall plan

            When asked how a progressive Democrat from Brookline would relate to voters in the Attleboro area, Mermell said she believes people will see in her the same basic values they hold dear.  When queried on the challenges of running for Congress in the middle of a pandemic, she chuckled and noted “I’ve never run for Congress without a global pandemic, so I guess I don’t have much to base it on.”

            That alone got me to like her.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official.  He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.

Norton Needs To Fix The Water "System"

It's The System, Not Just The Water

by Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle
And the sad saga of the Norton Water/Sewer Commission continues.

Last week that elected board (more on that later) voted to remove the water dispensing machine outside town hall providing for residents who have had ugly, undrinkable, unusable brown town water in their homes for years. The machine had been disabled since March, when commissioners decided that unlike private machines, it was not safe to operate given the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, commissioners cited their “fiscal responsibility” to the townspeople in getting rid of the dispenser. They said the cost could no longer be justified since the new filtration plant has “mostly eliminated” the brown water issue.

There are a few glaring problems with those statements.

First, brown water is still an ongoing issue in a good number of homes. Those people still have to pay to bring in clean water, even while still paying their water bills for the town water ruining their clothes and appliances. They have been spending extra on water for a while, so the commission’s spending complaints ring hollow.

Second and most amazing is that any of the water/sewer commissioners has the gall to use the term “fiscal responsibility” when discussing their board, given their failure to properly manage the major ongoing piping project that has now doubled in cost from the original amount of the contractor’s bid.

Just last month the board came back to taxpayers for another million dollars on this out-of-control boondoggle. It is at least the third time they have had to go to town meeting for more money. They cited “unforeseen issues” such as extra rock and ledge, claiming the project could not be finished without additional funding.

Coming back once is understandable. Twice is more than questionable. Three times is both inexcusable and unforgivable. It represents a lack of planning, a lack of preparation, and gross mismanagement. What it most definitely does not represent is “fiscal responsibility”.

But you know what? At this point, Norton citizens have to stop blaming the water department and the commissioners. Instead, they should put the blame where it truly belongs — on themselves.

At least three times in the last few decades voters have had the opportunity to eliminate the elected water/sewer board. Each time they declined, keeping it the ineffective, obsolete, ridiculous entity it is. Norton voters — you have had your chances.

But you kept it an elected board, which has not worked out. In fact, you currently only have two members on the three-member board. Why?

Because in last month’s election, no one ran for the open seat. Not a soul.

Despite all the trouble, complaints, issues and problems — absolutely no one stepped up to seek the office. And usually, when there is a candidate, that person is unopposed.

Having two or three well intentioned part-time volunteer officials completely in charge of a multi-million dollar water/sewer system is the height of foolishness. Those departments should come under the auspices of the professional town manager with centralized authority placed in a department of public works.

When Norton votes on a new town charter this April, they should remember changes like this are essential. Sort of like access to clean water.

Bill Gouveia is a Sun Chronicle columnist and longtime local official. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.

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We Have To Do This Together

Young And Old, We Need Each Other Now

by Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle July 13, 2020
The coronavirus has inspired a lot of conversations about making important and difficult changes in our behavior and lifestyles — at least temporarily.

But people over 60 like me are finding they aren’t always in charge of their own situation. We are not always able to exercise a reasonable amount of control over our own risk of contracting and dying from this deadly and highly contagious disease. And that can at times be almost paralyzing in the fear it causes.

We can stay out of restaurants, not go to bars, avoid large crowds and family gatherings, and wear masks whenever we do have to go out — just like everyone is being asked to do.

But some of us still have to work. We still have to go to the grocery store. We can’t hermetically seal ourselves in a mayonnaise jar and hide under the porch for the next year or two (nothing like an old Johnny Carson reference to show your age).

So unless the “youngsters” do all those things too, this disease can still kill us. Young people are far less likely to actually get sick, but still prime candidates to carry the virus back to those who are more highly susceptible. The fact you may be more resistant is great, but does not decrease the risk to your parents, grandparents, extended family and older acquaintances.

The burden for the health of older Americans is still squarely on their own shoulders. They have to stay at home, wear face coverings, and do all the things our health experts tell us (even when our president flaunts and regularly ignores them). That’s on us. That’s our responsibility.

But it is also yours, younger generation. And we need your help.

It’s horribly unfair that schools and colleges have had to close. Many young people have been cheated out of what should be some of the best and most meaningful times of their lives. You should be free to live life to the fullest, go out and have a good time, enjoy your families and friends. There’s nothing wrong with the fact you’d like to go out to a bar and socialize, or play some hoop with a bunch of friends.

But please avoid all those things for a while longer. We hate to ask, but it affects us greatly. We’d like to live as long as possible, and to a significant degree that now depends on you helping to contain COVID-19.

Some believe this disease is part of “natural selection,” or “thinning the herd”. Perhaps we are supposed to die off to balance the scales of nature that were so badly disrupted by this virus.

We know you have sacrificed heavily and struggled to provide for your families during this difficult time. We understand what you have had to endure. We were young once, and frankly we think what you are going through really sucks.

But we still have things to contribute. We want to see our grandkids grow up. And to do that, we desperately need your help. We are not ready to pack it in.

Thank you for your sacrifices. When we can — the next round is on us.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.

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