Page 2 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2020 2020: The Year of COVID R By Christopher Roberson avaged by the vicious onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a year that cast Everett – and the rest of the country – into the vast abyss of the unknown. January It started out like any other year, as the City Council appointed Ward 5 Councillor Rosa DiFlorio as its new president. In addition, Stephanie Martins, Jimmy Tri Li and Gerly Adrien were sworn in as new councillors. Samantha Lambert, Dana Murray and Cynthia Sarnie were sworn in as new School Committee members while Thomas Abruzzese was reappointed as chairman. On January 27, the City Council voted 9-1 to elevate Provisional Fire Chief Anthony Carli to permanent fi re chief. Prior to the vote, Assistant City Solicitor Keith Slattery quelled rumors about Carli allegedly having an unfair advantage and being overly involved in the process of selecting a permanent chief. “Chief Carli only had an administrative role,” said Slattery. “You have a valid and legal process.” Firefi ghter Craig Hardy, president of Everett Firefi ghters Local 143, said prior promotions to chief were made based on the score of the written exam. This was the fi rst time that Everett used the Civil Service Assessment Center. Hardy said the city never communicated with the union despite being legally obligated to do so. “They broke the law; we were never involved in the process,” he said. However, in a follow up interview, City Solicitor Colleen Mejia said that in May 2018 the city notifi ed the union of its intention Ward 5 Councillor Rosa DiFlorio was chosen as the new City Council president during the inauguration ceremonies on January 6. to use the Assessment Center. She also said the fi re chief is not a union member. “The chief’s position is exempt from the union,” said Mejia. DiFlorio said the City Council cannot engage in labor-related confl icts. “We are not here to get involved in labor negotiations,” she said. “We are here to protect the taxpayers.” Ward 3 Councillor Anthony DiPierro said there was no reason for further delay and called for a vote. “To me, this just seems like a lot of in-house back-andforth,” he said. “I think the gentleman should be made the chief.” February Having withstood years of political torment, Mayor Carlo DeMaria was fi nally able to lay some legal matters to rest as untruths during a three-and-a-halfhour City Council meeting on February 24. The discussion was in response to concerns raised by Councillor-at-Large Michael Marchese regarding DeMaria’s campaign fi nance expenses. “For the past six years, I’ve endured Councilman Marchese’s (Advocate photo by Christopher Roberson) attacks on social media and in the newspaper,” said DeMaria. “This is a game being played.” Although he reportedly shared Marchese’s sentiments, Ward 6 Councillor Michael McLaughlin remained silent throughout the discussion. Attorney A. John Pappalardo, counsel for DeMaria since 2016, said his client signed a proffer agreement, which allowed him to speak with federal offi - cials about issues pertaining to the land which is now home to Encore Boston Harbor. However, Pappalardo said that by doing so, DeMaria was falsely portrayed as a “snitch and FBI informant.” “People who are innocent of wrongdoing will talk; they will sign a proff er agreement,” said Pappalardo. “If it wasn’t true, he would’ve been indicted; he didn’t hide behind the Fifth Amendment.” Ward 1 Councillor Fred Capone, a seasoned attorney in his own right, asked why the U.S. Attorney’s Office would want to speak with DeMaria. He also 2020 | SEE PAGE 3
3 Publizr Home