City Council – Everett Leader Herald

Council meeting postponed, ECTV tech issues continue

By JOSH RESNEK

For the fourth time out of the last six ZOOM meetings, ECTV technicians have been unable to properly broadcast the meeting to the public.

Monday night’s disaster, heaped atop all the others, is becoming an embarrassment and making a mockery out the City Council’s effort to conform to new standards during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The City Council meeting scheduled for Monday night has been rescheduled for Wednesday night.

However, viewers are losing faith in ECTV’s ability to broadcast while the City Council has done nothing to voice its concern that management at ECTV, in addition to guidance from the City Council, is woefully lacking.

The mayor’s office, the de facto chief of operations and hiring for ECTV, has remained mum about the situation.

Monday’s meeting was typical of those that have been fumbled during the past two months.

The meeting began late, with those awaiting the broadcast confused when the ECTV screen remained black after the 7:00 pm start time.

At about 7:15 pm the broadcast began.

Mind you, a ZOOM televised hearing does not require much technology but whatever little is required, needs an experienced technician to broadcast to the public.

Napolitano’s resignation, new Asst. Clerk’s job raises eyebrows

Councilors question move’s legality

By JOSH RESNEK

Saying he has a great working relationship with City Clerk Sergio Cornelio, Councilor Peter Napolitano resigned his position last week to wait for his certain appointment to the empty position of assistant city clerk.

With the retirement of assistant city clerk and former mayor David Ragucci, the mayor has apparently chosen Napolitano to succeed him without advertising the position’s availability.

The mayor’s colleagues on the city council, except for Councilors Gerly Adrien and Fred Capone, have all pledged their votes to Napolitano, which explains his resignation and acceptance of the position before it has been advertised.

“I’m anxious to be of service,” Napolitano was quoted in a local newsletter.

Investigation into missing council video continues

Everett City Hall. (Photo by Jim Mahoney)

By JOSH RESNEK

Two weeks ago, an investigation was ordered when a City Council tape of a racially charged meeting disappeared, was destroyed, or was stolen.

When a Boston Globe reporter asked the City Communications director for a copy of the Zoom recording, she was informed that someone had hacked into the City of Everett server and deleted the recording of the meeting and the post-meeting assault fest.

Many expressed first thoughts that went like this: what an amazing coincidence? Of all the files that could have been deleted, that was the one file that miraculously vanished.

The attacks on Councilor at Large Gerly Adrien had been erased, or so it appeared.

An Immaculate Deletion?

No apologies forthcoming from the Council

At the City Council’s meeting two weeks ago, most of the council derided Councilor-at-Large Gerly Adrien for not attending the meeting in person.

Adrien felt their comments had racial overtones, especially the suggestion by several of the councilors who should have known better, who asked her to resign if she couldn’t do the job.

The meeting was ugly, a textbook example of mostly white councilors disturbed by having to serve with an assertive Black woman on the Council.

Adrien topped the ticket.

That gets her no respect from the present crew on the Council. With the notable exception of Councilor Fred Capone, Adrien has met the wrath of nearly every councilor since joining the body.

She is too noisy for the others. She is too concerned about things like racism, equality, servicing the poor and needy to have a positive impact on the crew she is sitting with as a councilor.

They don’t like her, and they let her know this.

Lack of city’s transparency troubling

Poor record of posting meetings minutes, information

By JOSH RESNEK

The late Charles Krauthammer – one of America’s great news commentators – once famously said that “whenever you’re faced with an explanation of what’s going on in Washington, the choice between incompetence and conspiracy, always choose incompetence.”

He might have said it this way about Everett.

“Whatever is going on at Everett City Hall in the corner office is a choice between incompetence and conspiracy.

“As a rule, always choose incompetence,” he might have said.

When it comes to transparency, the administration continues to lower the bar for allowing the public to access information.

Is there a conspiracy on behalf of the administration to deprive the people of Everett of information about the way their city is being run, or is it mere incompetence?

Records of city council and school committee meetings must be made available, and in a timely manner, for the public.

But this is Everett.