Mike Mangan – Everett Leader Herald

Incumbent Mike Mangan facing 4 opponents in Ward 4 contest

Leader Herald Staff

Incumbent School Committee Chairman Mike Mangan is facing a number of opponents in his bid to be returned to the Ward 4 seat.

Two weeks ago he was facing three candidates.

As this week comes to pass, that number has increased by one, school committee hopeful, local insurance man, James Mastrocola.

Mangan is also facing Thomas Messina, Robin Babcock, and Lucas Rosa.

Messina so far is the only candidate out of the handful who has had his signatures certified.

Mangan has carved out a place for himself on the school committee.

He presents himself as someone who makes his own decisions.

He recently served up the motion to begin the search for a replacement for Superintendent of Schools Priya Tahiliani, but only after praising Tahiliani and detailing how he did not want to be doing what he did but that he had to do it as it was the wish of the school committee.

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— Eye on Everett —

THE BLUE SUIT

Personal and private, hush, hush discussions with the mayor’s favorite Blue Suit and Leader Herald editor Josh Resnek.

Last week, the mayor was supposed to become the chairman of the School Committee.

It never happened.

“What went wrong?” I asked the Blue Suit.

“I’m not sure. Carlo never said anything to me about it,” the Blue Suit replied.

“Does Carlo care that Mike Mangan was elected chair of the School Committee?” I asked the Blue Suit.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Maybe he stayed away because he knew he didn’t have the votes,” the Blue Suit added. “People like Carlo, mayors everywhere, wherever they serve, do not want to walk into an ambush. That’s just the way of the political world.”

“On the other hand,” he reflected in the late afternoon Tuesday as we drove around the city in my Lexus, “he might have been away. I don’t know,” the Blue Suit said.

I told the Blue Suit I thought it was strange the mayor would give up on the opportunity to become the chair of the School Committee. Then I let the Blue Suit in on a little secret.

“What secret?” he asked me.

“When Mangan got elected, and unanimously, it was a sigh of relief for School Committee members Joe LaMonica, Millie Cardello, Jason Marcus and especially for – you guessed it – Mike McLaughlin.”

“Why is that?” the Blue Suit wondered. “What are you talking about, Josh?”

“The folks who have given their vote to the mayor – LaMonica, Cardello, Marcus and McLaughlin sighed with relief when Man- gan became chair because Mangan won’t badger them, or bother them, or twist their arms to do as the mayor would likely order them to do. That’s a real advantage to public officials whose political lives are entirely dependent upon the mayor. When you think about it, it is hard to imagine just why the mayor is able to control these people as though they are robots with computers that direct them to do only as the mayor demands,” I said.

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Mangan gains vote of confidence, wins leadership position on school committee

By Josh Resnek

Last week’s election of Mike Mangan to chair the Everett School Committee was one of those very unique moments in Everett politics.

Mangan was nominated by School Committeeman Mike McLaughlin.

The School committee then cast a unanimous vote electing Mangan the chair.

Mangan’s ascension to the chair caps several years of sometimes humbling and difficult city politics which led him there.

Until the night of the meeting last week, it was believed that Mayor Carlo DeMaria was set on being named the school committee chair.

This was to have been the mayor’s ultimate act of consolidation of the political power he wields citywide.

What happened?

The mayor didn’t show up for the meeting.

He was either away vacationing or declined to attend knowing he didn’t have the votes.

Whatever the reason for the mayor’s failure to appear, Mangan’s victory is something to behold.

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