Alderman Melbourne Moran Jr is supposedly not seeking reelection this fall. Let’s hope, for everyone’s sake, that it’s true because he really is a moron. I call him “Alderman Moron” and encourage others to do the same, but Ward 7 moderator Avalon Lewis got a head start in preparing for Alderman Moron’s future private citizenry by referring to him as “Mr Moron” from the public comment mic last night.
There’s already plenty of chatter about the Chinese water factory and Pennichuck Water Works out there in cyberspace. It comes from a variety of outlets, including lame stream media and others sympathetic to Nashua’s ruling class. I’m not here to sort out the facts because others already have, whether or not any favorite cherry-picked details are favorable to your preferred narrative or that of the next person.
I will, however, bring some observations to the attention of the readers. The first one is that the mayor was true to his longstanding modus operandi that he used in his 2023 mayoral town halls and in his famous “Coffee with the Mayor” casual events. As for the latter, Doris summed it up best. He manages those hour-long events by wasting approximately the first 10 minutes with announcements that can be found elsewhere. Then he introduces a wingman of sorts, usually a new hire or staffer, to have the floor for the next 30 minutes or so. With only 10 or 15 minutes remaining until the clock strikes on the hour, he takes questions, but only calls on people he already knows, and the questions must be germane to the content spoken by the wingman. Ordinary tax plantation serfs seeking access to the mayor for important kitchen table issues are NOT welcome. Kind of odd for a city that calls itself a welcoming city, don’t you think?
As for the mayoral town halls he had in the year he was up for election, he opened with that 10-minute David Letterman-style monologue playing defense because the December 2022 property tax bills were still fresh in everyone’s mind following the fall citywide appraisal. It was akin to “first strike advantage” in that he wanted to chill attendees from talking/asking about their recent bills. He blamed the depreciation of commercial property, mostly by referencing the effects of COVID and calling the Pheasant Lane Mall a dead mall, as the culprits responsible for the explosion of residential property taxes. It was no surprise that he used the same tactic last night when the Board of Aldermen met because of the number of spectators present, many of them signed up to speak about the Chinese water factory.
Right out of the gate, the mayor spent 10 minutes trying to discourage, disarm and deflect people from taking to the mic for public comment. He was a master craftsman at blame shifting, which I’ve observed him doing to Councilor Wheeler. He blamed Wheeler’s opposition to commuter rail for the unpleasant consequences of his leadership and that of his enablers, most of the aldermen. Last night, it was the Sununu administration’s fault for inviting the Chinese buyer to town. Let’s be clear, Sununu needs to answer for his crimes against Granite Staters just as much as the mayor needs to answer for his crimes against Nashua, but anyone of average intelligence can recognize the “it’s everyone else’s fault but mine” strategy.
After the mayor spoke, Alderman Sullivan moved to suspend the rules to allow for public comment immediately following the water works guy’s presentation, which would have allowed for most of the audience to speak, observe and then go home at a reasonable hour without sitting through the ennui similar to that of the 10/13/21 executive council meeting while waiting for the $22M covid money vote. Alderman Moron and several of his ilk pushed back with all kinds of arguments, mostly spewing contempt for their critics. Sadly, the motion failed as the three supporters got steamrolled by the swampsters in that roll call vote. Alderman Moron spared no time with his serial long-winded antics that were all over the place each time he spoke.
I will take a moment to remind the readers that Alderman Moron has just as much Grok content written about him as former Alderman Jan Schmidt. One of those things is that he called Laurie Ortolano a predator, and he is being sued in his PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL capacity as “Mr Moron” rather than as “Alderman Moron,” though the mayor approved the use of city money for his legal defense. There’s also plenty of content on the bad ethics of that for those looking for a review of that subject matter.
The complete video of last night’s clown show is available to anyone looking to spend insufferable hours, but the last hour of public comment is worth watching, in my opinion. The lineup included many known people, like Lily Tang Williams, Hollis Reps, Liz Barbour, and Hon Sue Homola(Sue is a woman of honor, so using that title is appropriate.). Al Fulchino and Aaron from the Hollis GOP spoke, as did a Hollis expert on security. Many other private citizens, like the Scaers and former Alderman Teeboom, spoke, and Alderman Wilshire saved the best speaker for last, and Avalon Lewis was a good choice as “the closer.” Not only did Avalon “tear the mayor a new one” for the way a caller was treated on the phone by a staffer, but he referred to Alderman Moron as “Mr Moron” in his statement, and it deserves its own sound byte link that you can hear by clicking here.
