June 28, 2001
A Mass Exodus
Six of nine municipal councilors say they will not seek re-election
Amesbury News - By JOEL BECK

Nobody said that the life of a municipal councilor was an easy one. Just ask the six Amesbury councilors who have come to the conclusion that another two-year term won’t be in the cards come election time in November. Two-thirds of Amesbury's Municipal Council will not seek re-election to their positions, with most of them saying the responsibilities that go with the job are far too stressful and time consuming.

Two weeks ago, Council President Al B. Sears announced he would not seek re-election, citing a concern with high blood pressure and a desire to dedicate more time to his family and career.

This week, District 3 Councilor Tracey Brown, District 5 Councilor Debra Dow, District 6 Councilor Roger Deschenes and Councilor At Large Thomas Iacobucci all announced they will finish their terms as councilors, but will not run again in November.

Councilor At Large Joseph Faro, a former council president, also indicated that he is strongly leaning toward not seeking re-election. Of the six, Faro was the only one who left a door open for a possible change of heart in the next few weeks, but ultimately said he feels his time is up.

" I’m going to keep it open, but I probably will not run, " Faro said. " I’m going to be 68 years old in August, and I think I’ve given my time. I’ve had a great time, I accomplished what I wanted to do, and now it’s time for some of the younger folks to take over. "

All but two of the outgoing councilors have served on the Municipal Council since the town charter changed to a city government in 1996. Councilors Sears, Faro, Iacobucci and Dow have all served since the beginning while councilors Brown and Deschenes will each step down after having served one two-year term.

For Brown, making the decision to run again was not an easy one, but one she said she needed to do simply because the enormous commitment and countless hours that go into being a municipal councilor are more than her schedule can allow.

" I found that I was spending so much time trying to make things better, " Brown said. " I learned a lot and it was wonderful, but I said, now I need to focus on my life … I feel that in the role of the municipal councilor, it needs more time than I can adequately give it. "

Iacobucci, Dow and Deschenes all said that being new parents factored prominently into their decision not to remain on the council. All three have children under the age of 18 months with Iacobucci’s first child being born just last week. They all agreed that adding the responsibilities of parenthood on top of a full-time job and council duties would have been next to impossible.

" There was definitely a motivation that I have a baby and that I would like to spend more nights with her, " Dow said. " It takes a lot of time away from the family. "

Deschenes, a lifelong Amesbury resident, said being a parent is the sole reason he will not be on the council next year.
" I’m not a good multi-tasker, " Deschenes said. " I just knew that I wouldn’t be able to be the kind of father I want to be and be a good municipal councilor at the same time.

" Council work, as important as it is, has a way of interrupting life, Deschenes added. " I think it’s also very difficult for spouses and family members … If family obligations were not an issue … and nobody else (decided to run), I would run again. "

Iacobucci, whose political career in Amesbury dates back 17 years to when he was a senior in high school and was elected Town Meeting representative, echoed his fellow councilors’ sentiments. None of them, however, said that they would completely disappear from Amesbury's political scene.

" Realizing over the last couple of months that I (was going to be a father) certainly helped me to say ‘No way, I’m not going to do this, " Iacobucci said. " We could easily spend 30 to 40 hours a week as a council. Even when you’re home, you can’t spend quality time with your family, because you’re on the phone, talking to people or reading through agendas.

" We’re not retiring to Florida, " Iacobucci added. " We’re still going to be active and involved in our own way. We’ll just channel our energy into other places."

Iacobucci said he plans to remain active in the Amesbury Improvement Association and hopes to keep people informed as the Webmaster for http://www.amesburyissues.org/.

All of the councilors said they felt a certain sense of obligation to the community to at least run for a seat on the council again, but in the end, they felt the burden would have been too great. Brown said she did not want to see the race turn into a popularity contest, just so she could see if a re-election meant that people thought she was doing a good job.

" I can’t run because I feel responsible, " Brown said. " I can’t run just to see if everyone will elect me again. That’s an ego thing; those are not reasons to run.

" This decision wasn’t made based on public sentiment, " she said. " This decision was made because where my life is at and where my energies need to focus, coupled with my sense of frustration over (Amesbury's fiscal status). "

Iacobucci, Dow, Deschenes and Brown agreed the ever-growing gap that exists between the council and Mayor Nicholas Costello’s administration contributed to their decision not to run again. They maintain that the lack of prudent financial information provided by the administration as well as a well-thought-out agenda has led to Amesbury’s tax rate increase in each of the last two years. With what they see as fairly bleak future, they saw a need to take a step back.

" Financially, I think of Nick (Costello) as an unsafe car, " said Dow. " And I think of the Municipal Council as his crash test dummies, and I want to get out of the car. "
 
Frustrations
Brown said she will leave feeling disappointed that the council could not work closely with the mayor’s office and begin to lay the groundwork for a financially healthy community. Instead, she said, the past year and a half has been filled with bitter emotions and few positive results.

" There’s been a lot of finger pointing with the administration, " Brown said. " The gap between the administration and the Municipal Council not only did not get bridged, but quite frankly I think has widened tremendously in the last 18 months.

" I expected there to be challenges, I expected there to be issues to face, " she said. " I guess my expectation was that there would be more cohesiveness and bridging of the gaps, and I haven’t seen that."

Given the controversial state of the town’s financial scene recently with a high tax rate and the approval of several expensive projects in town, some of the outgoing councilors say they expect to receive some degree of heat for leaving at such a crucial time. At the same time, Dow believes residents will be able see the scenario from the councilors’ side.

" I think a lot of people share our frustration, and I think that they will fully understand why we’re not running, " Dow said.
Dow, Brown and Iacobucci have arguable been the most fiscally conservative of the nine municipal councilors and have each taken stands on projects such as the $1.5 million athletic fields at Woodsom Farm, the $25 million high school renovation and the $2 million Landry Stadium rehabilitation. Brown said one of her only regrets on leaving the council is that she feels Amesbury is no more financially secure than it was when she was first elected. Although she said she does not regret the stand she took on any issues, she said she wished that these emotional topics could have been settled without leaving the town and often times, the council divided.

" I just wish it didn’t become such a battleground, " Brown said. " I wish that we could have disagreed without becoming disagreeable. "