(Editor’s note: The Readers’ Advocate’s role is to address the concerns of readers on a variety of matters, including the fairness of stories; what The Item covers and how; stories that may have been missed; and the emphasis put on certain stories but perhaps not on others. It is written by Jo Sullivan, a retired educator who is not a member of The Item staff and is not being paid. These commentaries appear periodically, on no set schedule.)
Too nice of a guy to run for re-election … he did not fully engage as mayor … he was limited by his skills as a state legislator … he is a consensus-builder and compromiser but not a my-way-or-the-highway guy.
The Item (Opinion pages, March 17 and 19) offered these editorial viewpoints in the wake of Lynn Mayor Thomas M. McGee’s announcement last week that he would not seek re-election.
The editorial opined that McGee did not fully engage in the job of mayor, but did not state examples of goals or city needs not met. In his March 19 column, Editorial Page Editor Thor Jourgensen nostalgically cited the my-way-or-the-highway approaches of former mayors and top aides adept in “twisting arms and knocking heads.”
This tone is startling and surprising if we compare the three-plus years of McGee’s tenure as mayor and the four brutal years of our former president. If we cannot appreciate and honor consensus-building and collaboration now, have we learned nothing?
By contrast, The Item in its latest special-issues coverage — “COVID-19 year in review,” March 13, and “A Year We Hope Never to Repeat,” March 19 — has been compelling and inspiring and unlike the negative tone of its statements about McGee.
The COVID-19 look-back stories covered in detail the terrible, heartbreaking effects of the pandemic on our local communities. The stories spoke to community collaborations to fight the pandemic, including Lynn helping Nahant with vaccine administration; Lynn and Swampscott joining forces to vaccinate veterans; and the large and efficient vaccination site at Lynn Tech organized by the city of Lynn and the Lynn Community Health Center.
When I received my first vaccine dose at Lynn Tech in February, I thought it could not be more organized and smooth. Yet when I received my second dose last week, the site had even more staff and volunteers, so patients moved quickly through the process. The city and Lynn Community Health Center collaborated to recruit school nurses, nursing students from Salem State University, National Guard members, local firefighters and EMTs to serve.
Even the photos published in The Item demonstrated what consensus can do: Mayor McGee being vaccinated by a National Guard member and teachers vaccinated by a fire chief at Breed Middle School. So, yes, let us have many committed, service-minded candidates. Bring them on, all who care about Lynn and are willing to work hard for the good of all our citizens. Consensus-builders are welcome. May the my-way-or-the-highway folks stay home and reminisce.
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Since my education commentary in February asking for more stories on schooling, The Item published 25 articles or opinion pieces on schools. Now more than ever, it is important to keep readers informed on this important topic. This reader was pleased to see that there have been 25 local editorials in the 11 weeks in 2021. Whether on regional issues or a local take on state and national concerns, Item editorials have an important role to play.
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