December 24, 2023

The Lowell City Council met Tuesday night for their final meeting of this session. There are several things I would normally write about but since today is Christmas Eve, I thought it best to let the rough and tumble of Lowell politics slide for a week. So, my notes on the Council meeting plus my Lowell Political Year in Review will come to you next Sunday.

For today, I will share the farewell remarks made Tuesday night by Councilor John Drinkwater who did not run for reelection this year. Drinkwater burst upon the political scene in 2018 when he ran for State Senate. Eileen Donoghue, the incumbent Senator, had been appointed Lowell City Manager, so the seat was open.

A first-time candidate, Drinkwater finished a strong second to Ed Kennedy in the Democratic Primary. Here are the vote totals of the five candidates in that race:

1. Ed Kennedy – 4679

2. John Drinkwater – 4212

3. Rodney Elliott – 3557

4. Terry Ryan - 2841

5. Bill Martin – 2312

The following year, Drinkwater ran for the Lowell City Council which was still composed of nine Councilors all elected at large. In the preliminary election, he finished fifth, but in the general election, he jumped up to third place, finishing behind Rita Mercier and Vesna Nuon and ahead of Rodney Elliott, Sokhary Chau, John Leahy, Dave Conway, Bill Samaras, and Dan Rourke.

Two years later in the first election with the hybrid system of three at large and eight district councilors, Drinkwater won an at large seat, finishing third behind Vesna Nuon (6156 votes) and Rita Mercier (5875) but ahead of fourth-place finisher Bobby Tugbiyele (4103 votes).

During his four years on the City Council, John Drinkwater brought intelligence, class, and common sense to the Council Chamber every Tuesday night. The city was fortunate to have him hold office, and he will be missed.

At the conclusion of Tuesday’s meeting, other Councilors shared accolades for their departing colleague and then he spoke. Here is my transcription of what he said:

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I don’t know that I can quite articulate what it meant to hear those kind words from a group of people that I respect so much and have enjoyed serving with so much. So first, I want to thank all of you for those very kind words. It really means a lot.

For the past four years, it’s been an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of Lowell. First and foremost, I want to thank the voters for their confidence in me, to send me here and allow me to do this job, all the voters, and all who participate in this city’s democracy. I truly appreciate those who vote, those who tune in, those who reach out. We really couldn’t do this job with the input of all the residents.

I really mean it when I say I’ve learned so much over the past four years from serving with each and every one of you. Every one of the colleagues that I’ve had the opportunity to work with, whether it’s on this Council or the past Council, has brought something to this job: an area of expertise, some of their experience, that’s just added so much to this Council. And the Mayor, I believe, just referred to the Council as a team and I think that’s accurate. Because every member here, every member of the team, brought something that added something to the residents of Lowell. And it’s been just such a pleasure to serve with a group that brings so many ideas, so much dedication, so much passion for this city.

And as has been alluded to here tonight, even when there’s been disagreements, we all come from a place of good faith, and a place of trying to do the right thing for this city. There’s never going to be unanimity in the right or the perfect way to move forward, but over the course of the past several years, I have always felt that where there have been disagreements, they have always been respectful, and each and every person comes to this job, comes to these desks, from a place of good faith and just trying to do what they think is right for the city, what they think is right for the residents. Nobody’s here for selfish reasons.

And I truly have learned what it takes to do this job and I have such respect for those who have been doing it for longer than I have because it takes true commitment. That is one thing I want to express to the residents at home. And I think they know this, but it really just does take a tremendous amount of time and often times sacrifice to perform this work and I just have such respect for each and every one of my colleagues for doing that, and for doing that with such passion and knowledge and working on behalf of the residents.

It’s also been a pleasure working with the City Manager, Manager Golden, and your team. Truly, every time I’ve had to reach out with an issue it’s been just extremely responsive, and each and every member of your team that I’ve had the pleasure of working with, again, just cares about the city and is here to make life better for residents and it’s been a real honor and a privilege to work with you and your team.

There’s also a lot of members of the city staff that I may not have had a chance to work with personally, but I think there’s unbelievable work that goes on at all levels of city government. And to see it from this chair and just seeing what goes on, I really hope the residents of Lowell appreciate the work that goes on behind the scenes in each and every department to make this city run. Running a city is not an easy thing to do. It takes a lot of individuals, a lot of teamwork, from the top on down, and I just have such respect and admiration for each and every one of our public employees who make this a great place to live.

I’ve also had the opportunity to learn about so many community organizations, the nonprofits, a lot of people who may not get the recognition, the wonderful recognition that I was just privileged to sit here and receive. As elected officials, we all from time to time get that. I’ve often heard it referred to as it can be a thankless job. I understand that. But it also can be a job where you go to events, you get thanked, you get recognized. There are a lot of people in this community, particularly those who work for community organizations, nonprofits, who also help the residents of the city but who don’t always get that kind of recognition and I do appreciate that through this Council we have had many people come through and get the recognition for the work they do behind the scenes, but there are many, many more who I see helping our constituents and improving the quality of their lives in our nonprofit sector, and they don’t get recognized enough.

I didn’t script anything, and I’m hoping I don’t leave anyone out, but I want to make sure that I extend gratitude to my family for supporting me in doing this work and allowing me to do this work. There’s a lot of sacrifice that has been made behind the scenes by members of my family. Tuesdays are particularly hectic. We’re always running around. I’m sure people have seen me in a tie at sporting events, heading out a little early. There’s people who have seen me giving my kids a ride home after, but certainly, to my wife Julie, it’s certain that none of this would be possible without her support and everything that she does behind the scenes at home and, you know, for my kids, it’s actually been really wonderful over the past few years to see them as they grow up and have more of an understanding of what this is, to see them gain an interest in that. And one thing I hope that they take away from this is to understand the importance of city government and hopefully that they will become civically engaged and active participants in this city’s democracy, but I know that they’ve had to make sacrifices as well, so to Addy, Sean, and Riley, I appreciate you allowing me to do this and it will be nice to spend a little bit more time, particularly on Tuesday nights, with the family.

So again, I just want to say that it has been a real privilege and honor and again, to each and every person that I had the opportunity to serve with, it has been a real honor. I feel that the city is in great hands moving forward between this administration and this Council, and that includes Councilor-elect Descoteaux who will be a new member of this Council in the next year and I know brings a great experience as well to this Council that will be invaluable, I think, to residents, and I have great confidence that this Council will do great things for the city in the years moving forward.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak, Mr. Mayor, and thank you for the opportunity to serve with you.

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There have been occasions when a Councilor has served consecutive terms as Mayor, but they have been rare. Tuesday was likely the last Council meeting that Sokhary Chau will preside over as Mayor of Lowell. (We’ll know that for sure on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, when the incoming Council takes the oath of office and elects a Mayor).

Chau will return to the floor of the Council to represent the Lower Highlands District. He made some parting remarks as well. He thanked his fellow Councilors and his family. He also singled out Jay Linnehan and Howard Amidon of Greater Lowell Community Foundation; Phil Sisson of Middlesex Community College; and Julie Chen of UMass Lowell. He also thanked for their community involvement and charitable fundraising, CTI; Salvation Army; Strongwater Farm in Tewksbury; Sun Santa; and the MRT.

Mayor Chau closed by thanking his assistant, Erastus Mwangi.

The full Council meeting may be seen on the YouTube channel of Lowell Telecommunications Corp. Councilor Drinkwater begins his remarks at 2:25:40 of the recording; Mayor Chau begins at 2:24:00.

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Speaking of YouTube, please check out “Lowell recites A Visit from St. Nicholas”, a 2012 mashup of 56 people from Lowell each speaking a line of the famous poem  by Clement Clarke Moore.

Merry Christmas!