Myths and Facts
You will hear a lot of rhetoric this campaign season. Some people will be angry that anyone dared to speak up. So here's some of the things you are likely to hear about our organization. We thought we'd head them off at the pass.
Myth: You're just another faction with your own agenda. You just want to support your friends, like we want to support ours.
Fact: This is a great example of “projecting,” - assigning others the same traits as you have. Fact is, most of the people who support good governance in Lowell have no personal stake in the outcome, except a better government for all of us. Most of us work in the private sector with no reliance on contracts with the city or state. We are dangerous to “them” precisely because we can't be bought with promises of favorable treatment. At every turn we are accused of being just like them, and it makes us wonder...doth they protest too much?
Myth: You're a bunch of far-left/far-right partisan bloggers.
Fact: The candidates we will endorse, and the members of Move Lowell Forward, have a wide variety of personal political views. We think that it's not a liberal or conservative issue to want transparent, professional governance. In fact, our local election is supposed to be nonpartisan. Policies of a Democratic or Republican leadership trickle down from the state or federal level and these distinctions have less meaning at the local level. However, we think that local government is where you can effect the most change that affects you personally. That's where the power of a local election lies.
And the members of Move Lowell Forward PAC are of extremely varied backgrounds, from longtime or lifetime residents, to so-called recent “blow-in” citizens of Lowell.
Myth: You're just a Bernie Lynch supporter.
Fact: Though many of us do support City Manager Lynch on specific issues and policies, this is in no way a support-Bernie campaign. We believe that any city manager, current or future, should be hired for his experience, ability to make sound decisions, produce balanced and reasonable budgets, hire the best people for each position under him, and be capable of negotiating with unions. He also must be able to take the lead on good city planning, while being responsible to the City Council. These are all important aspects of the job, and done badly, burden Lowell's capacity for growth, and for delivering crucial services.
A previous city manager nearly got the city audited for badly managed budgets. Where would the city be if its bond rating sank because the state declared its fiscal situation unstable? Subsequently, under professional management, our bond rating has gone up, making borrowing money for capital investments less expensive. It's not the person we are supporting, but the philosophy of professional, transparent management.
To this end, we support a contract for the city manager, to ensure that the best professionals always apply and are hired for the position in the future.
You will hear a lot of rhetoric this campaign season. Some people will be
angry that anyone dared to speak up. So here's some of the things you are
likely to hear about our organization. We thought we'd head them off at
the pass.
Myth: You're just another faction with your own agenda. You just want to
support your friends, like we want to support ours.
Fact: This is a great example of "projecting," - assigning others the
same traits as you have. Fact is, most of the people who support good
governance in Lowell have no personal stake in the outcome, except a
better government for all of us. Most of us work in the private sector
with no reliance on contracts with the city or state. We are dangerous to
"them" precisely because we can't be bought with promises of favorable
treatment. At every turn we are accused of being just like them, and it
makes us wonder...doth they protest too much?
Myth: You're a bunch of far-left/far-right partisan "bloggers."
Fact: The candidates we will endorse, and the members of Move Lowell
Forward, have a wide variety of personal political views. We think that
it's not a liberal or conservative issue to want transparent,
professional governance. In fact, our local election is supposed to be
nonpartisan. Policies of a Democratic or Republican leadership trickle
down from the state or federal level and these distinctions have less
meaning at the local level. However, we think that local government is
where you can effect the most change that affects you personally. That's
where the power of a local election lies.
And the members and supporters of Move Lowell Forward PAC are of
extremely varied backgrounds, from longtime or lifetime residents, to
so-called recent "blow-in" citizens of Lowell.
Myth: You're just a Bernie Lynch supporter.
Fact: Though many of us do support City Manager Lynch on specific issues
and policies, this is in no way a support-Bernie campaign. We believe
that any city manager, current or future, should be hired for his
experience, ability to make sound decisions, produce balanced and
reasonable budgets, hire the best people for each position under him, and
be capable of negotiating with unions. He also must be able to take the
lead on good city planning, while being responsible to the City Council.
These are all important aspects of the job, and done badly, burden
Lowell's capacity for growth, and for delivering crucial services.
A previous city manager nearly got the city audited for badly managed
budgets. Where would the city be if its bond rating sank because the
state declared its fiscal situation unstable? Subsequently, under
professional management, our bond rating has gone up. It's not the person
we are supporting, but the philosophy of professional, transparent
management.
To this end, we support a contract for the city manager, to ensure that
the best professionals always apply and are hired for the position in the
future.
Latest PAC News
MLF Releases Set of Considerations for City Manager Contract
Move Lowell Forward PAC has released a document entitled Considerations for a City Manager Contract for the City Of Lowell, MA (download PDF here). The document is a set of ideas based around the PAC's stated mission, on ways a City Manager contact might incorporate goals and measurements in the evaluations that could help determine a performance-based contract with the City Manager.
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