Posts Tagged ‘Politics’

As of this writing, we have eight people (and counting) running for Selectman in the July 19 Special Election to fill the nine months left on former selectman Betsy Sheeran’s term. This sudden surge of interest in public service is truly a wonderful thing to behold. My only question is, where were some of these […]


Special effects

06May16

If you are one of those who thought last week’s election meant that you could finally count Phyllis Hull out, a) You don’t know Phyllis Hull very well and, b) you might want to cork the Champagne, at least for now. Hull was defeated in her bid to be re-elected to the Board of Selectmen […]


The recent candidates debates at WCAT once again proved to be a valuable tool in informing the voters about the candidates and issues in advance of the April 26 Town Election. I was happy once again to have had the privilege of serving on the press panel that posed questions, in two separate debates, to […]


We’ve arrived at the Put Up or Shut Up Season. Monday, Jan. 4 was the first day that you could pull nomination papers to run in the April 26 Town Election. For those who for the past year have been have been telling anyone who would listen that you could do a better job running […]


‘Tis the Christmas season, and Mr. Paid Reporter Man is filled with the spirit of giving toward the naughtiest and the nicest in Wakefield. He’s made his list and checked it twice. If you don’t find your name on his list, perhaps you haven’t been sufficiently naughty or nice. To the Lake Quannapowitt Water Quality […]


The newest addition to last weekend’s Festival Italia was by far the best part of the event and should immediately be made a permanent fixture of this annual celebration. No, I’m not talking about the Wakefield Civic League booth.


Every time there’s a low-turnout local election or Town Meeting (or both, as we recently had in Wakefield) talk inevitably turns to ways to improve voter turnout and participation. On the surface, it seems like a noble idea. “How can we make voting easier?” people wonder, as if voting were a task akin to climbing […]


On October 8, , Shelter Development publicly unveiled its new proposal to construct a 137-unit Brightview Senior Living facility on downtown properties currently owned by the Fraen Corporation. The facility would front on Crescent Street. Representatives of Shelter Development presented a general overview of the proposal at last night’s meeting of the Zoning Board of […]


Both candidates running for the 32nd Middlesex District seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives want to keep casino gambling in Massachusetts, but incumbent Rep. Paul Brodeur and his Republican challenger John Lock disagreed on most other issues as they debated last week at Wakefield’s WCAT studios. The 32nd Middlesex District includes all of Melrose […]


What, me vote?

12Sep14

The 2014 Massachusetts State Primary Election was Tuesday, September 9 and if you are one of the 20 percent of registered voters who cast a ballot, congratulations. You are in an elite group. One week before the Primary, on Sept. 2, the Boston Globe surveyed 605 voters to see how many were paying attention. The […]