All posts by Sally O'Rorke, Correspondent

News

Barrett breaks the glass ceiling in Haverhill mayoral election

 

The city of Haverhill made history November 7, 2023. The voters of Haverhill voted Melinda Barrett to become the Mayor, the first female to lead the city.

 It took over 153 years to break theglass ceiling. In 1640 the city was incorporated as Pentucket and in 1870 was incorporated in as the city of Haverhill. The final results were Barrett, 7,038 votes and Guy Cooper a retired Haverhill Police Officer with 3,024. Barrett won with a two to one margin.

Another interesting fact is Barrett was also the first female to be elected to the Haverhill City Council President.

In her one minute spotlight for HC Media, the local community access station, Barrett stated that her top priorities would be responsible growth, continue the revitalization of the downtown and increasing industrial parks.

When asked, Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio what it meant for

Haverhill she states, “from day one she has been a partner in making Haverhill and the Merrimack Valley a better place, and now I get to call her “Madam Mayor,” Congratulations my friend, even better Congratulations Haverhill!”

Fellow Haverhill City Councilor Tom Sullivan stated “Melinda Barrett is a positive person and believes in good governing practices, moving forward Melinda will ensure an open dialogue, honest answers, and real solutions to the many challenges facing the city of Haverhill.”

In the Eagle Tribune article they stated it was a who’s who of people who attended Barrett’s celebratory speech at Maria’s Galleria, a family owned restaurant in downtown Haverhill as she thanked the many volunteers and supporters of hers.

In her interview with HC Media she stated her family owned a small downtown business for many years and she is going to continue in the revitalization that current Mayor Fiorentini began years ago. Fiorentini remarked “she worked hard and ran a great campaign and more importantly she worked hard over the last several years to prepare herself for the job.” He added “I think she will be a great mayor.”

Barrett stated in her interview with Marc Lemay from WHAV Radio “I love this city.”

Let it be known the City of Haverhill has broken the glass ceiling and a new day is dawning, a city needs all voices to be heard for it to become an even greater city. It is exciting and if you are asked to get involved, will yo u say YES!

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Uncle Sam wants you to vote

 

To vote or not to vote, that is the question?  Why do people vote?  Why do people not vote?  Does voting really make a difference?  Why you should vote?  These are important questions and I am sure you can come up with more.  The local election for Haverhill City Councilors and School Committee along with Lawrence Councilors and Lawrence Vo-Tech Representation is on the horizon and will take place November 7, 2023.

At Haverhill High School, a forum was held on October 16, 2023 for the community to listen and ask questions from the city councilors that are running in Haverhill.

The AP Government Class taught by Shaun Ashworth organized and hosted this forum and hosted another forum October 26, 2023 for school committee candidates.  The students were directly involved in the creation and implementation of both forums.   Ashworth challenged his class to get involved and Student Emmerson Cerasuolo, who is the vice president of the Student Council and a member of the AP Government Class stated “it is time to get involved and educate ourselves to get out and vote as soon as you turn 18.”

Cerasuolo also stated “we are granted this right and it is our duty to vote.”

Ashworth stated “I think it’s important that young people are civically engaged and register to vote because they are the next generation of leaders.  We have to support them so that they can lead our county effectively in the future.”  Ashworth went on to say “That means we need to provide them with the skills necessary to make informed choices.  In light of the aging leadership right now it is of utmost importance…. They are the future.”

Northern Essex Community College American Government Professor Stephen Slaner said he believes it would be an interesting concept to have a one day voter registration for all students at NECC.

“Voting is a way for citizens to register their preferences on an equal basis with respect to the issue of the day, two of which are matters of life and death. Nuclear weapons and climate change,” stated Slaner.  He goes on to say “Nevertheless, ours is a very imperfect democracy in which some people‘s voices matter a lot more than others.  “One person one vote” ignores the ways in which money and power influence what actually happens in our political system.”

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Auditor Diana DiZoglio believes “it is extremely important for the next generation to get involved because decisions that are being made now at the ballot box involve their future.”

According to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education website, there are close to 10,000 high school students in schools in Lawrence and Haverhill.  Northern Essex Community College has another 4,000 students.

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts you are eligible to register when you are 16 although you cannot officially vote until you turn 18.

At Northern Essex Community College, having the word community in the name is the key to getting the community involved in this very important initiative, it would highlight the important role the college plays in the future of our communities.

If Northern Essex would lead the charge and organize a voter registration day within the area would be a worthwhile initiative.

They could utilize traditional media outlets such as WHAV Radio, The Eagle Tribune and all of the social media outlets.  Sort of like a blood drive, where you collect blood to nourish bodies, you register to vote to nourish student’s minds.  YOU IN?