Special Board of Aldermen 02-19-2019 Page 2
So | just want to say that | miss him, | know others miss him very deeply as well and | do have something, |
think now is maybe the appropriate time. | wanted to give Gloria a key to the City so if you could come up,
I’d love to present that to you.
President Wilshire
I'd like to recognize Donnalee Lozeau if she wouldn’t mind coming forward. There is a mic right there.
Donnalee Lozeau
Well what a strange way to have to come back, you know | wish we were here instead celebrating with
Brian and not about Brian. But when | heard that there was recognition for tonight | just wanted to be part
of it. | first met Brian when he was running for Alderman in my Ward, he was my Ward Alderman. And then
we would bump into each other in the hallways because our kids went to school together so parent’s night,
| almost always saw him. And | remember Brian for much of the same things that the Mayor was saying
and all of you.
Madam President you served with him for a long time around this horseshoe, a few people, you know Brian
used to be the soothing elixir between former President Bolton and myself at our monthly meetings which
wasn’t an easy job for anybody. But that was the thing about Brian. He had this way about him where he
could know what was coming and find a way to get through it to get done what needed to be done. And |
probably called Gloria more times than she wants to tell anybody looking for Brian to say — Ok here’s what |
am thinking, what do you think? And | appreciated that he was kind enough to be candid without being
rude or hurtful in what he would say or advise.
Probably my favorite Brian McCarthy story is around Pennichuck Water. As you know Brian was dedicated
to that for a very long time and many approaches had been taken to try to figure out how to make that
happen. Brian was really great about talking to us about how to move the ball forward, but was happy to
step back when it needed to be done a different way, encouraging and that sort of thing. But! won’t ever
forget that we signed the Pennichuck Agreement in the Mayor’s Office right after the Veteran’s Day Parade.
And seeing Brian and his expression, | have this great photograph of the group of us that were there
signing it, passing around the same pen, you know as corny as it sounds and then a great shot. And Brian
said to me — This day for always will be one of the best days.
And that was the other part about Brian is that he shared success with everybody. He didn’t need to be the
guy that made it happen, he was happy behind the scenes, if he had to be in front of the scenes, you know
he would do that too. As his family knows in talking about him and what he could do, he got an awful lot
done in a short period of time. | mean 25 years feels like a long time, but when you look back about what
happened in that period of time for the City, it’s really quite extraordinary. | like to say all of us, particularly
elected officials, you meet all kinds of people in your life and some people you learn what not to be like
from, some you learn to strive to be like and others are just kind of that glue that holds things together. And
Brian was that kind of guy, he was smart, thoughtful, kind; | used to say — You are a good government guy
and when | retire and start a new party called the Good Government Party, you are one of my first calls.
And then I’d say to him — But sometimes politically you are a little too clever for your own good. And he got
great fun out of that, didn’t he.
But anyway so thank you for extending to me an opportunity to share some of my thoughts about President
McCarthy. To me he will always be President McCarthy for my time with him. Thank you and like the rest
of you, you miss him but people like that, they are just never far from your thoughts and that is what keeps
him with us. So thanks again.
