Alderman Moran’s behavior and comments at Nashua Board of Aldermen (BOA) meetings often seem bewildering and inappropriate. This was again illustrated at the BOA meeting of 24 September 2024 when he opined on taxpayers’ reactions to receiving their “surprise” property assessment mail.
Excerpts from Alderman Moran’s comments during RESPONSE TO REMARKS OF THE MAYOR: https://youtu.be/nOf9YDorMgo?si=OvDACDlM_oauB9vo&t=797
….. I think I would say that we should handle it with grace.” ……. “So there’s fear there for folks who need our grace right now. We need to help guide them to the appropriate folks but we should be mindful that yes, I live in a million-dollar home. I won’t notice. I won’t notice paying more taxes.” ……..“One of my receptionist was homeless is getting into the NeighborWorks apartments downtown. I pay her $19.50 an hour. I thought that was a great rate. I had to give her a 50 cent raise in order to qualify for low income housing right here.” ….. “Not everyone’s in my category but everyone’s in my receptionist’s category. It’s a mixture. People are entitled to feel upset and they’re entitled to feel like me that my home value went up. It’s probably worth more than what the city says it is, but it’s not an equal representation of how people feel and we should respect that”
Excerpts from Alderman Moran’s comments during the later REMARKS BY THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN: https://youtu.be/nOf9YDorMgo?si=kmJ64gDD1VwXiVIZ&t=5097
….. “I, too, went to an event. I drove by the darkness to Wags to Whiskers at the Anheuser Busch factory. Alderman Lopez and I are both very talented clinicians but unfortunately, he can live in darkness on the weekends where I was trying to get away from it for a little bit, So we went over to Wags to Whiskers. My company sponsored there and we were talking about emotional support animals. I thought it was an opportune time after hearing about suicide just a second ago to remind folks that, you know, go down to the Humane Society. You may feel like you’re lonely, sad. There may be an animal there that you can adopt. I know that there are companies, maybe mine, that are sponsoring the adoption fee. Maybe you can’t afford to get the adoption fee paid………… you might find that an animal is going to help you through a difficult time.”
Later in his rambling remarks, Alderman Moran violates BOA norms: “… I know the President does not like talking about politics.” [NOTE: an appropriate norm six weeks before an election]. “It’s the rule but we have a State Rep. in the back there. He happens to be a State Rep. Lou Juris from Ward 7.” Alderman Moran goes on to praise the State Rep. despite it being election season and thus ignoring the convention not to use BOA remarks for political purposes.
These recent remarks are typical of his boasting and blathering. Usually, there are references to his counseling business [NOTE: the other Moran proclaimed, ‘talented clinician,’ Alderman Lopez, is an employee in Alderman Moran’s business], his wealth, his kids’ private education, his wife’s accomplishments, and various charitable donations. His shameless self-promotion during BOA remarks is unbounded even by BOA conventions, as shown by his acknowledgment in promoting a Democrat state representative running for re-election. His tone in his 24 September remarks is condescending and patronizing. I guess he sees no issue in revealing that his company’s receptionist has not only been homeless, but her salary is $20/hour after his kindness in bumping it up $0.50/hour so she could qualify for low-income housing. What a guy! What a generous employer!
It is not unusual for Alderman Moran’s remarks to be laden with his ‘very talented’ clinical analyses, so I wondered if I could borrow such insight; I thought I could enlist ‘Dr. ChatGPT’ (joke intended) to interpret his remarks. Asking the application to analyze only the first section above helped me better understand the ‘talented clinician.’
Here were offered opinions.
1. Insecurity or Need for Validation: Feelings of insecurity or vulnerability can be compensated by expressing personal wealth. Even though Mr. Moran says they should act with grace, he may be unsure of their ability to do so. He finds his self-worth by emphasizing his wealth as a defense mechanism.
Mr. Moran’s repeated personal compliments of his family, business, and personal wealth could be an attempt to assert dominance or elevate his status in the Boardroom and community. I am successful and influential. By bringing up wealth, he may be trying to protect his self-esteem or project an image of superiority, indicating an underlying need for validation.
2. Contradiction in Values: By interjecting the need to show grace, Mr. Moran suggests he is humble, composed, and emotionally mature. He then conflicts with the statement by boasting about his extreme wealth. He presents himself as materialistic. Perhaps he is conflicted between the person’s ideal self (wanting to appear graceful) and their actual self (seeking validation or attention through wealth).
Mr. Moran may need help with balancing these values of grace and wealth. On the one hand, he wants all board members to seem graceful, but on the other, he closely ties this to his wealth by emphasizing it.
3. Cognitive Dissonance: Psychologically, this behavior may reflect cognitive dissonance, namely, the discomfort a person feels when they hold two or more contradictory beliefs, which leads to mixed messages in their actions or words as they don’t align with their stated beliefs. While Mr. Moran calls for grace, inappropriately bringing up wealth suggests that he may be trying to manage the tension of not fully embodying grace by highlighting his perceived known strength – wealth.
4. Power Dynamics: Mr. Moran, in a subtle or not-so-subtle way, is interjecting wealth into a situation where “grace” is expected to assert power or control. He might need to fully trust that behaving gracefully alone is enough to handle the tense situations of new property assessments. Instead, he refers to his financial resources to reinforce his dominance or ability to control the public outcry.
So, suppose it’s fair for Alderman Moran to share his CSW insights during public remarks in the Aldermanic chamber. In that case, it seems fair to have an interpretation of those remarks passed through a similar analytic lens. For me, the opinions above better explain the source. I will work on obtaining the grace to understand that he seems unable to contain himself. The President of the BOA should enforce restrictions on political promotion and advise Alderman Moran on inappropriate blatant business/self-promotion. Also, restricting an Alderman to three minutes for all remarks unrelated to specific Aldermanic business might help focus the always analytical Alderman Moran. There is already a fully functional three-minute timer in the Chamber.
