Well, it seems as if the last couple of posts have hit a nerve and not just in Newburyport, MA.

In response to my “under whelmedness” post concerning the Mayor’s pick for Newburyport’s Planning Director, I got an anonymous email from someone who does not know Christopher Ryan and does not “currently work in MA.”

If I had had the “mood watch” checked on my email, it would have given me a 3 hot red pepper warning. Two hot red peppers is “probably offensive” and three is “on fire.”

One angry human being. “Like it or not, it is a well accepted role and responsibility of planners to find common ground between the desires of developers and the needs of a community. Get used to it.”

I rather like Audrey McCarthy’s quote in the Daily News Article, “Planning Head’s Appointment in Limbo,” by Stephanie Chelf, August 9, 2006:

“Councilor Audrey McCarthy said she is willing to support Ryan’s teaching job because it is temporary, but is still undecided on whether to support the appointment.

‘A lot of it has to do with uniqueness of Newburyport’s history – we’re on a fine line of overdevelopment,’ McCarthy said. ‘That’s what I’m hearing from constituents; they want someone who values historic preservation, there is no compromise there.’ ”

Thank you Audrey McCarthy, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport