Lynn council prez’ moves leave Barton stewing

LYNN – Maneuvers by City Council President Timothy Phelan on Tuesday stalled the appointment of Patricia Barton to the License Commission despite unanimous approval hours earlier by the Interview Committee.Barton, a lifelong Lynn resident and esteemed educator, arrived at City Hall in late afternoon to attend the 6:30 p.m. interview session. Under questioning primarily by Ward 2 Councilor William Trahant and Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, Barton said she would not immediately vote in support of a permanent return to a 2 a.m. closing time for city bars.The present rollback to 1 a.m. has become a contentious point among city councilors, restaurant owners and residents. It emerged as an election issue last November when Kennedy told bar owners she would attempt to have their argument heard.”With a clear conscience I can say no, I would not support a permanent (return to the 2 a.m. closing),” Barton told the Interview Committee.Asked if she would entertain requests for temporary extended closing times, Barton said, “I believe people should be heard. What’s the point of coming in and making a request if you know the answer is no?”The Interview Committee voted unanimously to recommend Barton’s nomination by Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, with some members wishing her well and remarking that their support would continue at the full City Council meeting at 8 p.m.Although Barton’s appointment was on the City Council’s printed agenda, it was skipped over during the course of business, leaving the candidate, her brother Gordon “Buzzy” Barton, the mayor and other friends and relatives astonished by the inaction.City Clerk Mary Audley announced that the vote on the recommendation by the Interview Committee would lay over until the next City Council meeting, a rare action given that mayoral appointments are routinely rubber-stamped.In the hallway, Phelan explained his decision not to go forward with the mayor’s appointment. He told Barton, her brother and mayoral Chief of Staff Claire Cavanagh not to read too much into his decision, maintaining that it was strictly procedural since it was not an emergency and no councilor had asked for an emergency vote.Mayor Kennedy was incensed. “Patricia Barton was on the agenda. She was told to be present. She had been before the Interview Committee less than two hours before the council meeting started and they approved her. She waited until the very end of the City Council meeting, and then she went home with nothing. She wasn’t shown any courtesy,” the mayor said. “In all my years as a councilor, I can’t recall an emergency vote on any of these things.”Barton, who holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and a master’s degree in education from Suffolk University, spent 20 years as a teacher and administrator in the Lynn public schools, the last nine as vice principal and principal at the Fecteau-Leary Middle School and Pickering Middle School. She retired in 2007.”I’m looking forward to serving on the Lynn License Commission,” she told her interviewers. “Public safety is paramount. As long as the data supports the 1 a.m. closing, there’s nothing wrong with it.”The mayor appointed Barton last month to fill the License Commission seat formerly held by John Pace. In doing so, she also installed Barton as the commission chairman, pushing aside Richard Coppinger, the present chairman, who remains on the three-member board.Phelan last month said he would vote to confirm Barton’s nomination, describing her as independent and thoroughly prepared.Postponing Barton’s appointment leaves the License Commission with only two members. The board oversees liquor licenses and serves as a tribunal when local establishments violate the law.