Chris Tyll for State Senate (Maine)

I learned today from a buddy who I served with in Iraq in 2006-07 that one of our platoon leaders, Chris Tyll, recently launched a bid for a State Senate seat in Maine.

I was thrilled to hear it.

I was at Chris' command at Little Creek (sort of Norfolk, sort of Virginia Beach) and first met him in 2005. I was the N2 (that's the Intel Officer) of the Task Unit that deployed with his platoon to Fallujah in October 2006.

Suffice to say, we got to know each other much more closely then. As the mentor of a group of Iraqi Policemen (IP) who essentially became the Fallujah SWAT Team, Chris trained and operated with his fellow SEALs and the Iraqis, day-in and day-out for several months. Meanwhile, he put a tremendous amount of trust in me, which was unusual because I was an Ensign (he was an O-3) and, more importantly, I was a non-SEAL attached to his unit in a support role. He trusted me enough to let me *hold my own* in town with the Marines and the IPs. This, in turn, let me carry out my job in a completely different, better way than I could have if I had been tethered and chained to the FOB. His guys came out way better for it, I came away with a ton of confidence that I carried with me right into the Army (...if only all the people cracking those 'Navy guy' jokes had any idea!), and more than a few ne'er-do-wells were swept off the battlefield at the same time that the Sunni tribe-inspired "Anbar Awakening" was taking hold across the Euphrates River Valley.

I haven't kept in touch with Chris much since I PCS'd from that command in March 2008, but I know he moved to Portland, bought a pizza place (Pat's Pizza) and is very active in veterans' causes in the Portland area. This may not seem relevant in the bigger context, but I'll also note that he was a Surface Warfare Officer who deployed twice (I believe on the Valley Forge and the Princeton) before going to BUD/S and becoming a SEAL. That experience, plus his USNA and NAPS time, means he can relate to veterans all across the spectrum of experience and Military Occupational Specialties. It probably didn't hurt that he was born in a place called 'Bad Axe.' Seriously.

Chris' leadership had a big impact on my military career, and, by extension, my life. He took a risk by placing me in a somewhat atypical role, and the impact of that decision isn't lost on me. I have no doubt he would make an excellent State Senator for Maine, and wish him the best of luck in the process.

Steady Mobbin'

As I woke up early this morning to feed the little one, I jumped back into bed planning to drift right back to sleep. On a whim, however, I grabbed my phone and started scanning some of the day's headlines. When a headline about a "Cash Mob" in Malden caught my eye, I clicked, thinking, "Hey, didn't we just have one of those here?"

Sure enough, Lowell got some great coverage in this article. The author, Kathleen Pierce, notes that a cash mob earlier this week descended upon Humanity and Mambo Grill. Owner Franky Descoteaux, is on record referring to the "strong sense that the community was supporting you through the effort. It was a great blessing." She experienced a 15-20 percent sales spike during the cash mob.

Interestingly, the article mentions at the end how the guy who hatched the idea had no idea how it would go, and were really just hoping that "a single person would show up." The neat thing is that once a movement gains enough steam to get coverage like this in the Globe, it will attract more participants. Like any trend, it just needs a big enough tailwind to really take off initially...and sometimes, people are drawn to it just because lots of other people are drawn to it.

My unsolicited $0.02 to the folks running the Lowell Cash Mob is to just make sure they're done often enough to buoy people's interest, but that they're *rare* enough to remain special. I'm not sure what the magical periodicity would be on this, but my hunch is once a month.

If you're curious about when the next one might pop up in Lowell, follow @LowellCashMob on Twitter. (That's how the Mayor's Office got tipped off, btw).

The Sisters We Hardly Know

Today, Mayor Murphy was telling me about one of the many ideas on his mind -- reviving the relationship between Lowell and the Sister Cities that have formally been designated as such over the course of Lowell's history. In most cases, the relationships have lain more or less dormant for years.

Just a couple hours later, a sizable delegation from CAMOLA

(Cameroonians of Lowell Association) dropped in during the

Mayor's Office Hours (4-6 Weds., 3-5 Fri...come as you are, no appointment needed).

The major issue on their minds was a restoration of Lowell's Sister City relationship with Bamenda, Cameroon. No surprise -- Mayor Murphy wants to take the initial steps on this via social media. We learned from the CAMOLA leaders that many people in Bamenda are plugged in to things like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Lowell has several other Sister City relationships, all of which can be used for mutual benefit. As the Cameroonian-Americans in the office reminded us today, the relationship between Lowell and Bamenda should not be seen as one in which Lowell acts as a benefactor or charity FOR Bamenda, but instead one in which Lowell and Bamenda help each other, serving as mutual benefactors.

The revival of the Sister City relationships is one of several initiatives that will spring from the Mayor's Office over the coming weeks and months -- not as a charity or a 'feel-good' story for the groups that will be directly involved, but instead as a source of mutual education and enrichment.

Every Public Figure's Dilemma

With a whopping one week under my belt now about life as a quasi-public figure, at least in a hyper-local sense, here's one thing I've found: You have to walk a fine line about what you do, or don't respond to.

If you follow the Stephanopoulos/Carville line of thinking from 1992, encapsulated by the chapter in Hardball titled "Leave No Shot Unanswered," you respond to everything. By doing so, you're *in the ring* but you also open yourself up to charges of being thin-skinned, irritable, soft, petty, etc.

If you ignore whatever *it* is, you stay out of the fray, and avoid the risk of dragging *it* out even further, but you also must accept the fact that "history's first draft" got it wrong, and your non-response will be seen by some as tacit acknowledgement.

This all popped up for me based on something printed in the Lowell Sun's The Column.

There was a quote printed there, purportedly from me, that was not a misquote, or a quote taken out of context, or a misunderstanding, or an I-thought-it-was-off-the-record, or whatever other such thing that public figures often say when quotes show up that put them in an unflattering light.

It was fiction. I had one 30-second phone call with a single staffer from a single office (you can guess it if you like one-in-four odds). That person said "This person cannot do such-and-such" and I replied, "Okay, I understand...thanks." Bear in mind, this happened on my first day on the job. During the first morning.

I didn't have to pick this battle, or write this post -- I saw online that Cliff Krieger and Kad Barma did the fighting for me. I also saw that Jack Mitchell took the time to point out that Tom Golden and I were laughing about it yesterday afternoon at Dom Polski.

The reason I'm not more upset, though, is that the supposed "quote" didn't go after something truly personal like character or integrity. Instead, it made me sound either like a bumbling Jarhead or the next coming of H.R. Haldeman.

If you want a real scandal, I'll throw all the clues on the table: I went to the ONLY River Hawks game that I saw the entire season and walked away with the full enchilada for the next season -- season tix to the Pavilion, a VIP suite for a game, and some badass gear. I was then offered a job that presented a perfect opportunity for myriad reasons, even though I didn't even know it existed until the offer came -- expecting only pad thai on the way in. Then I went to the Water Festival fundraiser, bought a raffle ticket, and took the Khmer tapestry. The next day, stopping in at CNAG only expecting to stay long enough to say hi to Jack, Bob, and Ann Marie (no relation), came away a couple hours later with three straight raffle prizes worth a few hundy.

If it sounds like I'm counting the cards, or weighting the dice, or paying the White Sox not to win the Series, those would all be more plausible than the idea that I'm going to screw up the chain of command and forget protocol and process along the way.

And besides, that might make for a more fun story.

LDNA Summary, 26MAR

Tonight, the Lowell Downtown Neighborhood Association met at LTC.

7:05 p.m. Meeting begins. All current Officers are re-elected to positions, which will be for a two-year duration (Kathleen Marcin - President; Stephen Green, Vice-President; Greg Page - Treasurer; Adam Jensen - Secretary).

Kathleen introduces Greg Page and asks him to discuss initiatives coming from the Office of the Mayor. Discussion includes mayor's office hours (4-6 p.m. Weds, 3-5 p.m. Fri), @LowellMayor Twitter account, coming Public Service Announcement campaign about city ordinances (designed so that people don't learn about ordinances AS they're being fined/punished), and a UML/Middlesex/LHS service learning requirement hub (more details coming down the road on that one, stay tuned).

7:18 p.m. Andy Jacobsen, owner of Brew'd Awakenings (61 Market) spoke to the group about "Busk Stops." Busk Stops are used in several cities in Canada and in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. All they really are designated areas in which buskers, or live musicians, can perform. The idea is to pick spots around downtown during which musicians can play between the hours of 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. daily. Musicians would be able to put out a coin basket or guitar case and collect donations or sell CDs. They would not, however, be able to solicit or harass. No amplification would be allowed. Performers would not be allowed to use profanity or threatening language. Busk Stops would be marked with signs...in fact, that's the only cost of a busk stop. They would help bring life to downtown. At the beginning, they would probably not be used...it might take a little while for the idea to take hold. There would be 4 busk stops spread across downtown. They would possibly not be used during the Folk Festival. There is no scheduling or arrangement associated with busk stops. The general rule is that any musician can play for up to an hour (although they could play longer if no one is waiting). Andy's next step is to meet with several of the CCs to *pitch* the idea, explain how it would work, and answer their questions one-on-one. Several cities in TN use busk stops as part of what they call the "Main Street Program." KMM points out that we've always talked about "needing more people on the street...we need that critical mass."

7:44 p.m. Stephen Greene talks about the coming Spring Cleanup. With Earth Day coming on Sunday, 22APR, the downtown planned cleanup is slated for Sat, 21APR (rain date is 28APR). Most likely rally point is Mack Plaza at 0900.

7:48 p.m. License Commission. Next meeting is this Thursday for the Big Fortunato Summit (BFS). Several LPD officers will speak at the BFS. After that, the next License Commission meeting will be held on 12APR at 6:30 p.m.

7:52 p.m. Issues surrounding the Major's-to-the-Dub building move. Folks on Middle Street could be affected negatively by the noise.

8:01 p.m. Stephen Greene announces that on the second Saturday of the month, e-waste can be brought to the Prince Spaghetti factory.

8:20 p.m. Meeting adjourns.

Recognizing Good Government

Today's WSJ ran a great article highlighting the work of Rhode Island's Democratic State Treasurer, Gina Raimondi, who has worked against powerful union interests to prevent Rhode Island's pension liability from ruining the state.

Some highlights:

"The new law shifts all workers from defined-benefit pensions into hybrid plans, which include a modest annuity and a defined-contribution component. It also increases the retirement age to 67 from 62 for all workers and suspends cost-of-living adjustments for retirees until the pension system, which is only about 50% funded, reaches a more healthy state."

"Because there has been little legislative or public support for raising taxes, the Ocean State has been cutting public services to pay its pension bills."

"Soon after she set to work on fixing the state's pension system, flouting the advice of her Democratic colleagues. 'Candidly, most people in my political circle told me not to do it because it is politically challenging and it's kind of the third rail,' she says. 'So most political advice I got was: Don't own the issue. Stay away from the issue. Put it on someone else.'"

It was great to read the article -- not just to learn about what she did but HOW she did it...she reached out to the unions and criss-crossed the state (okay well in RI that part's not hard) to explain why it was important.

The article hits upon the theme that you can't *just* jack up your property taxes endlessly. The problem with that is that people have the freedom to move. Central Falls, RI learned that the hard way -- when more residents then leave, a vicious circle is created by the decline in city revenue.

The second theme that it hits upon is a personal favorite -- preventing the system from falling off a cliff should NOT be seen as being anti-government or anti-government employees. In fact, it should be seen as the complete opposite: by saving the system from imploding, you're protecting the livelihoods and the retirements of the very people whose hard work keeps it running.

The Mayor's Open Door (Press Release)

Lowell, MA, March 20, 2012 – Mayor Patrick Murphy has formally announced that he will hold Office Hours in the Office of the Mayor in City Hall. During two designated time periods each week – 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays – Lowellians will be able to meet with the Mayor on a drop-in basis to discuss whatever issues, concerns, or ideas are on their minds. No appointments are necessary.

The announcement of formal Office Hours fits with one of Mayor Murphy’s primary objectives during his tenure as Lowell’s Mayor – increasing citizens’ direct access to government.

“Too often, citizens feel disengaged from government, even at the municipal level, because of a distance they perceive between themselves and the people making the decisions,” Murphy said. “By announcing regular blocks of time during which I can be accessible, I hope to break down that perceived barrier. There are people in this city who have lived and worked here for years, but have never been inside this office, which is really their office,” he added.

Mayor Murphy will also hold “Virtual Office Hours” the first Monday of each month from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. During that time period, Mayor Murphy will be signed on to his Facebook page, available to chat, respond to Wall Posts, or Facebook messages in real time. Mayor Murphy’s first Virtual Office Hours will be held on Monday, April 2nd.

Direct meetings with the Mayor are not limited to the Office Hour blocks of time of Wednesdays and Fridays. Any resident who would like to meet with Mayor Murphy, but cannot do so during those times because of work, family, or other commitments, can reach out to directly to the Office of the Mayor to schedule a more convenient time. To schedule a meeting with Mayor Murphy, please contact Greg Page at (978) 674-1551 or e-mail gpage@lowellma.gov.