Elected Mayor in EP Long Overdue

One has to wonder about the recent selection of Paul Lemont by the City Council as city manager.  Given the circumstances over the past few years it defies any sort of "good government" logic one could dream up.  

In questioning the council's decision, without getting into complex detail, we know that he served as the city manager for 14 years leading up to the financial mess we've been suffering through. Lemont also was easily defeated in the 2008 At-Large council race by a candidate with a spiky personality.

If your asking yourself how any of this make sense, I'll save you the time and effort.  For the average hard-working city resident it makes no sense at all.  But you can rest assured that for the four members of the  council that voted to appoint him, it makes perfect political sense, which is the way it's always been.  

The bottom line is that the council-manager form of government here in East Providence is broken beyond most peoples comprehension.  The landscape of political influence has changed over the last 30 years and those who navigate that influence have adeptly learned how to exploit the council-manager system. 

Simply put, I would much rather trust the good citizens of The City of East Providence to elect our leader.  Collectively they made a fair decision in 2008, that a hand full of council people just thumbed their nose at.  

At the end of the day, I think we ALL need to take the responsibility for how our city government is run....good, bad or indifferent.  Let's elect a Mayor so that we can all have a hand it what goes on here. The time has come.