The letter (The Town Line, January 2, 2025) portraying Somerville as a ship cast into chaos after a “mutiny” overlooks some critical truths. There was no mutiny. There was a vote – and the so-called “captain” wasn’t tossed overboard; he was removed by the will of the people. He didn’t even choose to stand on the ballot. Instead, he opted for a last-minute, clandestine write-in campaign – one seemingly aimed less at public service and more at undermining a fellow Somerville resident who had the integrity to run openly and transparently.
Let’s not rewrite history.
The chaos we now face wasn’t born in recent months but was the product of years of miscommunication, deflection, and carefully cultivated confusion. Under the former officeholder’s watch, Somerville was not led – it was slowly destabilized, and left in a financially precarious position that the current administration is now working diligently to correct.
To romanticize his time in office as a noble command at sea is misleading. If anything, the town’s former “captain” was more of a ship’s biscuit – dry, hard, and ultimately a liability in any true storm.
As residents look toward future leadership, we should not confuse experience with effectiveness, nor deception with strategy. What Somerville needs now is not a return to quiet dysfunction, but a commitment to honest, capable governance.
Michael Cox Somerville Resident
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