Eight Massachusetts Mayors Throw in the Towel [PHIL-OSOPHY]

In a few words, they've had it!

Eight Massachusetts mayors have made it known that they're hanging it up. And who can blame them? Some are sick of the impacts of COVID-19, others are stepping aside to work in other jobs and one has a term limit ceiling.

These leaders represent nearly 20 percent of all the mayors in the Commonwealth, and I'm willing to bet the predominance of the other 80 percent think of moving on to gentler and greener pastures, now and then.

A good friend of mine recently lost in a very close election, and he was feeling shattered and distraught. I let a couple of weeks pass before we had a subjective evaluation meeting of what went right and what could use improvement or elimination. He became totally flabbergasted when I told him to count his blessings for having lost the race.

I told him, since last March, voters, in general, are feeling melancholic and disappointed. Between COVID, no school, and trying to make ends meet, the public is fed up. With that kind of negative energy around, governing becomes onerous, and for a newcomer, it would be overwhelming. The daily and nightly complaints are nonstop, discourteous, ignorant, uncivil and foul-mouthed, and that's during normal times.

It's a thankless job and at best you satisfy only half the people. So why would anyone in their right mind want to run for politics in these times? Because politics has been and will be the driving force in the world. Politics affects everything, and public servants, who understand what good government is about, can and do make a difference in the lives of others. That was the other half of our meeting.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.