I talked to a number of people about Jim Stiles’s posting and the fact that Mayor Moak would like to pave over the Waterfront and make the whole thing a parking lot.

The response I get is “No, can’t be. Oh, no, I voted for this guy. I voted for the wrong guy.”

Tom Ryan, the editor of the Undertoad was right. Many people in Newburyport who have lived here for a while have met John Moak, an affable fellow, as the City Clerk, assumed they knew what his politics would be, and felt comfortable voting for him. My recollection is that Tom Ryan pointed out that after the election people would be horrified by Mr. Moak’s politics.

So far Mayor Moak is threatening to fire Newburyport’s Planning Director, Nick Cracknell, who stands up to developers (Jim Roy’s words, see earlier post) and would like to pave over the Waterfront.

I’m sure the response I got was not an aberration. Many people who voted for John Moak will be distressed that they did so. I hope they call and email the new mayor and let him know that they are not happy, that this is not why they voted him into office.

Mayor John Moak can be reached at 978-465-4413. His email address is mayor@cityofnewburyport.com.

Mary Eaton, Newburyport