Attleboro's Mayor-Elect Doesn't Need This Controversy

New Mayor-Elect Not Off to Transparent Start

By Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle

Congratulations are in order to Attleboro’s new Mayor-elect Paul Heroux. His convincing and solid victory over seven-term incumbent Kevin Dumas was set up by his intense campaigning, a solid record as state representative, and his earning the trust of the voters.

But less than 24 hours after being elected, Heroux found himself in a political controversy of his own making. While he claims to be surprised it has made headlines, it is obvious he knew or should have known this issue deserved public comment during the campaign.

Just hours after his victory, Heroux casually let it drop — arguably for the first time in public — that he intended to keep his state representative seat even after taking office as mayor. He did not initially put it that way, preferring to simply state he intended to stay long enough “to try and finish my projects” on Beacon Hill. To add to the confusion, he later said he might be able to wrap those up by the end of the year and resign just before he’s inaugurated.

But if Heroux indeed remains a member of the Legislature after being sworn in as mayor, several issues are raised. First and foremost is this simple one:

How can this self-proclaimed “full-time legislator” possibly give full effort to that job while simultaneously running the area’s largest city on a full-time basis?

Heroux has an unquestioned work ethic. He has been a tireless advocate for his district, and while doing that still managed to run one of the most vigorous campaigns in city history. He cites this as evidence he could more than adequately perform both tasks, particularly in the short-term.

He points out if he resigned upon becoming mayor, the district would be without representation for many months. There would most likely have to be a special election to fill his seat, which he says would cost taxpayers about $50,000.

He also claimed that having a special election in the next few months would be “unfair” to possible Democratic candidates. Heroux (a Democrat) says city councilor and Republican Julie Hall has been planning a run for his seat for a long time, and thus an accelerated election schedule would provide Republicans with an advantage over potential opponents.

Saving the city money is admirable, as is finishing important projects going on at the state level. The point about leaving Attleboro without a state rep for a period of months is concerning. But despite all that, Heroux should have talked about this sooner publicly, and he should resign from the Legislature as soon as he assumes the mayor’s office.

A claim by the mayor-elect that he didn’t talk publicly about staying in his current position because “no one asked me” is pretty lame. He says he was asked the question dozens of times while knocking on doors, and was always honest and upfront about his intentions. If he was asked it that often during campaigning, he had to realize it was an important point to clarify publicly.

Rep. Betty Poirier, R-North Attleboro, was correct in criticizing Heroux for not making a public announcement during the campaign about intending to hold both offices, however briefly. She called him “disingenuous” on this issue, and that may be kind. Heroux is a savvy politician and campaigner. The idea he is now surprised by this reaction is just not credible.

As for being fair to Democrats in any upcoming election — that is simply not Heroux’s job. He is the representative for all the people of his district, not just the Democrats. He should be protecting the district, not his party.

“I do not know of any Attleboro Dem who can beat Julie in a special election,” Heroux said. That may or may not be true, but it is a bad and partisan reason to delay the election and selection of a new representative.

Forget the fact Heroux would be collecting two public salaries for two full-time jobs at the same time. The real point is he chose to run for mayor, and city voters have the right to demand and expect his full attention and devotion to that job. His motives may be pure, but this would be a serious mistake.

It certainly is not how a new mayor should start a new, transparent, open and full-time administration.

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