Voters in the East End of Methuen have a choice between three candidates for two open district seats on the council.
TOM CIULLA is from Everett and very active in the Democrat party. He is finishing up his first term on the city council representing the East End.
Ciulla says that constituent services are his number one priority and isn’t impressed with flashy grandstanding by some of his fellow councilors.
“I’m a regular guy,” Ciulla says. “I don’t get involved with the inside baseball stuff. I’m here for my constituents. I am here to lower taxes and vote against excessive spending.”
“I am very proud that I voted to replace City Solicitor Peter McQuillan with Attorney Richard D’Agostino, and I was really disgusted by the way some of my fellow councilors behaved during all that. Imagine, you had a fired city solicitor texting members of the council at an open meeting, telling them what to say, and nobody ever got to the bottom of it? Everything was swept under the rug. I called for a full investigation and the council preferred to look the other way because it was an election year.”
“If I am re-elected I will continue to speak out on issues like the solicitor, and I will keep my pledge to root out corruption and be a watchdog for the taxpayer’s money.
RON MARSAN – Also a first term city councilor running for re-election, Ron Marsan is very low key and says his conservative approach to city government is an asset to the East End of Methuen.
Marsan said his number one priority is to stop taxes from rising in Methuen and create a business friendly environment to attract more companies to the city.
“I’m running for re-election because think I can still be an asset on the council and help my city. I am not looking for anything. I’m not doing this as part of any agenda.”
“I have kept my word to fight for lower real estate taxes. I feel we need to work more toward a balanced budget for the city. We need to strive for that. I was on the high school building construction committee and it’s very important that we keep the project on schedule, on time, and on budget.”
Asked about his relationship with Mayor Zanni, Marsan said, “We don’t get along all the time but we treat each other with respect. We conduct business together, you have to work with people and get the city’s business done. The mayor has made the effort to work with me, and he does. I respect that. It’s not always pleasant, but its business and we have respect for each other.”
TOM FIRTH is a former member of the Methuen School Committee and is also very conservative. He has worked on dozens of campaigns and has been on several boards over the past few decades.