METHUEN — City Councilor Larry Giordano has missed eight City Council meetings so far this year and Mayor William Manzi, the chairman of the School Committee, missed six School Committee meetings, records show.
With just a few days left before Tuesday's municipal election, The Eagle-Tribune reviewed minutes and video recordings of City Council and School Committee meetings to check on elected officials' attendance. Giordano and Manzi had the worst attendance for their respective boards.
Giordano said he missed one of the meetings because he was on a mission in the Dominican Republic, two because he had mouth surgery and another because he was on his annual family vacation, but he didn't remember why he missed others.
"I could have been sick. Who knows? I really don't keep a log," Giordano, who is up for re-election in the East District, said during an interview yesterday. "I believe I can still do the people's work."
"The duties of the mayor sometimes have you doing other things. That's why we have a vice chair," Manzi said of his record on the School Committee. "They're not missed because I'm not working, they're missed because I have another obligation."
Manzi acknowledged he missed the Oct. 13 School Committee meeting to attend his own campaign fundraiser, which he said "obviously isn't official duties."
"With a campaign schedule that can be tight at some times, it was not avoidable," Manzi said. "Had there been a real requirement that I be there for a key vote, I would have been there."
Manzi said that when he was a city councilor, he wrote the portion of the city charter that makes the mayor the chair of the School Committee. He said he believes the mayor needs to chair the School Committee, but mayors can't always be at the meetings.
Giordano also missed a forum for City Council candidates at Methuen Community Television on Oct. 6. He said that night that he was teaching a karate class and he mistakenly marked in his calendar that the forum was the next night.
City Councilors' attendance between Jan. 1 and the most recent meeting on Oct. 19
Jennifer Kannan: 1 absence
Kenneth Willette Jr.: No absences
Stephen Zanni: No absences
John Cronin Jr.: 2 absences
Philip Lahey Jr.: 1 absence
Larry Giordano: 8 absences
Joseph Leone: No absences
Jeanne Pappalardo: 1 absence
Deborah Quinn: 1 absence
School Committee members' attendance between Jan. 1 and the most recent meeting on Oct. 26
Evan Chaisson: 2 absences
Barbara Grondine: 2 absences
Kenneth Henrick: 2 absences
George Kazanjian: No absences
Mayor William Manzi: 6 absences
Gary Marcoux: 1 absence
Robert Vogler: No absences
Source: Meeting minutes and video recordings.
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