News Talk for the week of Nov. 1

The Mayor‚Äôs office submitted their pay raise requests for elected officials this week. It wasn‚Äôt submitted for the board‚Äôs official agenda by 2 p.m. on Thursday but was presented that night to the board as an after 2 p.m. item. The proposal was for $110K a year for the Mayor and sure enough it was approved. And then, in the surprise of the night, Ward 3 Alderman Tom Taylor, stepped up to the plate and said the mayor deserved more and motioned to raise it to $125k —  10 aldermen voted yes 1 voted no.  Who do you think voted no? even the progressives on the board — Rebekah Gewirtz, Walter Pero and Denise Provost — voted in favor. The only Alderman to vote against it was Alderman Bill White.  Aldermen will  now receive 25K a year and School Committee members $10,507. We understand everyone needs more money in this economy and we‚Äôre glad the Mayor‚Äôs pay is finally at a level so we can attract good people to the job, but we think the Police Department and Fire Department should get their raises as well before hundreds of non-union employees in the city get theirs.

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The strangest thing happened while the pay raise was being discussed and the vote taken, the audio of the city‚Äôs cable channel covering the board meeting went out and some people even reported losing their entire signal.  How strange was that? It must have been a mistake. Or was it? 
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Representative Denise Provost’s last minute decision to resign effective October 31 was probably based on the fact that she just couldn’t get the votes for her buddy Marty to succeed her on the board. Maybe she felt that her colleagues were going to betray and, sure enough, we heard through the underground that is exactly what they planned to do. Provost resigning as of October 31 forces the city into having a city-wide special election as opposed to after November 1 when the board could have voted for her replacement. Rumor has it she couldn’t trust them, she must have heard about the treachery just like we did. Hey, whatever you say about Denise, you have to admit she’s smart – she didn’t give them the chance to get one over on her this time.
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We hear a well known political hack with ties to the Winter Hill bank who also owns an electrical company when he isn‚Äôt busy making back room deals, may get some support from the inside puppet masters who want to pull the board‚Äôs strings. We‚Äôre not sure it will actually happen, but anything is possible right?   
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So who is positioning himself for control of the Board of Alderman? We hear from various sources that Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche is trying to get support away from popular Ward 7 Alderman Bob Trane, who is next in line for the throne as he is currently Vice President.      
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We‚Äôve heard (or is it just wishful thinking?) a couple names as potential candidates for the special election to fill Provost‚Äôs vacated alderman-at-large seat. Former candidate Marty Martinez, representing the Secular Progressives faction of the city (we heard that title and loved it, don‚Äôt you?)  and former candidate Stephen Glines. More names tossed around include the younger members of two popular local families — Matt Capobianco and Attorney Chuck Sillari, longtime political hack Tom Bent, former Ward 6 Alderman Jack Connolly and the school committee members from Ward 7 and Ward 1 — Mary Jo Rossetti and Maureen Bastardi. The last time a special election for a vacant Alderman at Large seat was held was way back in the 1970‚Äôs with Eugene Brune and Alan Kenny. Eugene had just finished second in the mayor‚Äôs race and was considered to be a shoo-in for the spot until election day, when Kenny — a little known school committee member from Ward 3 — won the special election and shocked the city. Who‚Äôs going to shock the city this election? Martinez and those cocky Progressive‚Äôs shouldn‚Äôt count their chickens before they hatch.
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Former Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay recently lost her older brother Brian to cancer last week in Galway, Ireland. As you recall, we mentioned before that her other brother Gerry passed away a few weeks ago in London from the same thing. Our hearts and prayers go out to Dorothy and her family.      
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Happy birthday to Alderman-at-Large Dennis Sullivan who celebrates his birthday October 31 — Halloween. Wonder if he went door to door as a kid for Halloween candy and his birthday gifts? Happy birthday Dennis.
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We heard Deval Patrick may have cancelled his appearances planned for us here in the city, in fear of that he would get caught up in a picket demonstration from the Police & Fire unions that have been around. Probably a smart move on his part, but it’s too bad for Mayor Joe and his administration. They could have put on a real show for the man who will likely be the next governor. We have a feeling that Deval will do well in Somerville regardless.
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Anybody see the patrol officer’s unions new protest signs? Well guess who made them? Mayor Joe’s old foe Tony Lafuente himself. Tony, did you charge the union or was this one on the house? To be truthful, the new signs are more professional looking but we liked the homemade, minimal style of the old ones. Oh well, no accounting for taste, right Tony?
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Speaking of the protest, someone in City Hall supposedly took down the oversized portraits of local firefighters that had been hanging in the building for the last year. We hear the reason they did so was because of the protest but we don’t want to believe anyone in City Hall could bee so petty.