Running for Mayor is no Joking Matter

Until November 2007, the city of Newburyport, Massachusetts hadn’t witnessed an incumbent mayor re-elected to a second term in a decade. John Moak changed history with his re-election to a second 2-year term.

Will he run a third term? whispered the rumor mill for several months.

The flood gates opened last week in the Winthrop Transcript, a newspaper located 35 miles south. Moak wants to manage Winthrop and is one of three candidates vying for the job.

Within days, Moak spoke to the Newburyport Current of which I extract the following:

“It took a lot of thought,” Moak said. He is on record as saying the salary, about twice the $65,000 he earns in Newburyport, was another factor in his decision to apply for the position.

But wait.

Newburyport Today, an internet news magazine launched earlier this spring, in which the mayor pens a weekly column, had this to say two days ago:

The Daily News ran an article on Saturday about my pursuit of a position as Town Manager in Winthrop. I am one of three finalists; all very good candidates. I choose to pursue this position for personal and professional reasons. If I am not selected I will enthusiastically seek re-election in the fall. This is the only position I have ever considered while in office, it is a unique challenge.

I consider it extraordinarily privileged to hold the office of Mayor of the City of Newburyport; and, I will continue to focus on the needs of our community.

Not to be outdone in the local news selection, the Newburyport Daily News covered the story several times since, including an article today, interviewing regional mayors and managers and recognizing a town manager slot offers higher pay and less politics.

I think Moak’s a great guy and I admire him a lot. But, with full disclosure that I previously worked alongside the mayor when he hired me as his assistant chief administrative officer, I have a problem with the part where he says he’ll run for a third mayoral term if rejected from the Winthrop gig.

Running for mayor is no joking matter, yet I can’t help but chuckle that he’s on record stating the Winthrop town manager salary was a factor in his applying for the job. If that’s true, then why would he consider running again for mayor and not some other job, government or not, where he can earn more?

If salary is a primary motivator for his hopping communities–which I think is great motivation, by the way–then why would he be persuaded to run again? Moreover, why should Newburyport’s citizenry be persuaded to vote him into office thrice?

I wait to see what November’s ballot looks like, and if Moak’s name will be on it.

Related posts:

1. How a Mayor Resists the Core of Government 2.0
2. How Obama Ordering a Hamburger is a Lesson and a Warning for Every Chief Executive
3. Case Study: How 11 Mayors use Twitter

Tagged as: Government, Newburyport

Comments: