More and more I am beginning to hear people say, “I’ve gone and talked to Mayor Moak and he doesn’t listen.” These are progressive people that voted for our mayor.

Intelligent, progressive people who really pay attention to local Newburyport politics, voted for Mayor John Moak, and apparently when they go talk to the mayor about things that really matter to them, what I hear is that our mayor is not listening. I find this very disturbing.

Why these good folks voted for Mayor Moak, I don’t know. Because I feel Tom Ryan, the editor of the Undertoad, nails it when he describes Mayor John Moak as a “good old boy.”

So, wake up everybody, if you are a “progressive” and have a certain ideas about the direction in which you feel Newburyport should go (and believe me, a lot of these ideas are shared by many of the “old boys” as well, because they too have a reverence for Newburyport’s integrity,) we as a city could be in deep trouble.

And what happens in Newburyport, Massachusetts when administrations don’t listen?

Well, what has happened in the past is a lot of very angry citizens groups form. And believe you me, citizens groups are very effective. And the citizens groups go over the top of Newburyport’s Mayor and the Newburyport’s City Council and go to their state representative and Senator John Kerry and Senator Ted Kennedy, because that’s the only way they can be heard.

And let me tell you, that’s pretty embarrassing for the Mayor of Newburyport, Massachusetts. But if Mayor John Moak doesn’t start paying attention, valuing and taking into account all of his constituents, that’s exactly what is going to happen. All hell is going to break loose.

We are a very feisty community and we are not afraid to fight for what we believe is the best course for Newburyport, because often our local politicians don’t have a clue. Historic downtown Newburyport and historic High Street were saved by citizens, not by local politicians. And yes, I am comparing Mayor John Moak’s administration to other deaf administrations that could have caused irreversible damage to the City of Newburyport if it wasn’t for the people of Newburyport who saved the day.

Mary Eaton, Newburyport