It's
easy to look at all the nice, warm and fuzzy stuff happening around
Somerville and then point at Mayor Joe and say it's all because of him
– but the truth of the matter is that he is only one piece in the
puzzle, albeit the most visible piece.

The Board of Aldermen and
the School Committee really accomplish a lot more on a day to day basis
than most people realize – and while they serve two year terms like the
Mayor, their respective President and Chairperson only have 12 months
in their leadership roles. That's not a lot of time to get things done
when considering each body's goals/agendas.

Dennis Sullivan has
always been a colorful character – his effervescent personality and his
genuine interest in what you have to say automatically endears him to
what is generally regarded as the widest age range appeal of anyone
holding office today. As President of the Board of Aldermen this past
year, he has stepped up and demonstrated his ability to corral a group
of 11 elected officials with very different personalities, that can be
occasionally divisive and bring them together to make tough decisions.
He did a great job this year and we are sure he will continue to fight
the good fight when he rejoins the horseshoe.

Paul Bockelman has
done an outstanding job this past year as Chairman of the School
Committee – a difficult elected body to understand for the average
person on the street – in a year with plenty of action. Sure most
people have no idea what the School Committee does, but this year saw
plenty of work being done there from contract negotiations to setting
lofty long term goals for the school district. His personal and
professional experience in dealing with municipal issues on both sides
has proven vital this past year and we could certainly use more people
like him on our elected/appointed bodies.

With impending local
aid cuts looming in the not too distant future, this coming year will
prove interesting at the very least for both the new President of the
Board of Aldermen and the Chairperson of the School Committee. It will
certainly not be a year without some pain – thankfully each of these
two elected bodies has had their eyes fixed cautiously on the horizon
for some time now – so it most likely won't end up as bad as most will
suspect from the start.