Councilors Left Out of the Loop?

Councilor Says “Back Room Deal” Took Place for Leadership

The Medford City Council. From left: Robert Penta, Stephanie Muccini Burke, Robert Maiocco, Breanna Lungo, Michael Marks, Frederick Dello Russo, Jr., and Paul Camuso. Courtesy photo.

– Allison Goldsberry

The City Council nominated its 2008 leadership in a caucus last week that one councilor says was nothing more than a “back room deal.”

City Councilor Paul Camuso said the process to select a Council President and Vice-President is normally an open one. Prospective candidates call around to each councilor for support before a caucus is held and call each councilor out of courtesy even after a fourth vote is secured.

Camuso said he did not receive a call from anyone this time and that himself and Councilors Robert Maiocco and Frederick Dello Russo, Jr., were left out of the loop.

“It smacks, it stinks…I’m very upset that the whole Council wasn’t notified and we had to hear about it through the grapevine,” said Camuso.

Camuso said he heard about which councilors were jockeying for the positions while he was out shopping in West Medford Square and not from his Council colleagues.

City Councilor Stephanie Muccini Burke, who received the presidential nomination for the 2008 Council session, said nothing was done differently in selecting the leadership.

“This year was handled the same as prior years except the results are different,” said Muccini Burke.

Five of the Council’s seven members held a caucus after last Tuesday’s meeting to nominate a President and Vice-President. Camuso was absent due to a family obligation and Dello Russo was on vacation.

It was up to senior Council member Robert Penta to call the caucus. Dello Russo said he had asked Penta to postpone the caucus until he returned from his vacation, but that Penta had tried to reach him while he was out of the country to tell Dello Russo he was going ahead with the caucus because the votes were there to determine the leadership.

Dello Russo said the Council has more important issues to focus on than “who will gavel in the meetings,” and that he did not feel as though he had been left out of any decision-making.

“I never for one second felt out of the loop on this,” said Dello Russo.

Councilor Maiocco, currently serving as Council President for his ninth (non-consecutive) term, said that though he thought it was unusual that he did not receive any calls from his colleagues seeking his support, he does not feel any ill will toward anyone or the leadership selection process.

“It’s not sour grapes with me. I’m grateful for the support I’ve had,” said Maiocco.

The Council will officially vote in its new leadership in January, and if all goes according to plan, the 2008 Council will likely be led by that body’s two female councilors, Muccini Burke and Breanna Lungo.

According to Muccini Burke, Lungo, currently the Council Vice-President, has been nominated for that position for 2008 and has received the nomination for the presidency in 2009. Muccini Burke has been nominated to serve as President in 2008, a position she has held previously.

City Councilor Michael Marks has been nominated to serve as Vice-President in 2009, a position he has also held before.

More on the City Council…

The Council will hold its next regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night at 7PM at City Hall. They will consider a home rule petition submitted by Mayor Michael McGlynn to change the property tax classification.