Written by: Dan Shibilia
There’s a question that comes up every election cycle in Methuen, usually whispered at first and then asked more loudly when the candidate list drops:
“Why don’t we have more new people running?”
The easy answers are the lazy ones.
… People are apathetic.
… People don’t care.
… People are comfortable complaining from the sidelines.
The real answer is simpler … and uglier.
Running for office in Methuen kind of sucks.
That’s not cynicism. That’s not bitterness. That’s lived experience. And until we’re honest about why good, capable, normal people look at local politics, or really any political position, and say “absolutely not”, this city is going to keep recycling the same names, the same dynamics, and eventually, the same mistakes.
Let’s Start With the Basics: It’s Expensive
Reality #1
Local politics isn’t cheap. Not even close.
Most people can’t self-fund a ca.paign, especially not one that’s competitive. That means asking for donations. Repeatedly. Awkwardly. From friends, coworkers, acquaintances, people you barely know, and people who suddenly expect access because they wrote a check.
If you don’t ask for money, you lose.
If you do ask for money, you’re “bought.”
There is no winning that argument.
And unlike higher-level politics, there’s no fundraising machine behind you. No consultants lining up. No donor networks handed down. You build it from scratch, or you don’t build it at all. Except for those of us who have been accepted into one of the political elite and now have old Methuen’s backing.
For a lot of people, that’s the first off-ramp.
Reality #2
Then You Become Everyone’s Punching Bag
Once you put your name on the ballot, something changes.
You stop being a neighbor, a parent, a volunteer, or a professional and start being a target.
No matter what you say, someone will twist it.
No matter what you do, someone will assume the worst.
No matter what you don’t do, someone will insist you’re hiding something.
Ok, I know this is legitimately true for some but not all.
You will be labeled as someone’s puppet and often before you’ve even met the person you’re supposedly controlled by. Then a shocking number of people will believe it without asking a single follow-up question.
Methuen has a loud, committed segment of the population that can say almost anything, even things that are completely fabricated, and those claims will spread because they were said confidently, loudly, or by someone familiar.
Facts don’t travel nearly as fast as accusations.
Corrections barely travel at all.
That reality alone scares off a lot of smart people.
Reality #3
Truth Is Optional. Loyalty Is Not.
Everyone will tell you the same thing when you get involved: “Don’t engage the crazy” and " stay off of social media.”
Sometimes that advice is right. Sometimes it’s cowardly. Sometimes it’s necessary for survival.
But here’s the brutal truth: engaging or not doesn’t actually change the outcome. Nobody is having their mind changed anymore. It's just not how our world works now.
In Methuen, people often decide what they believe based on who told them first… not on what’s true, not on what’s documented, and not on what can be proven or disproven.
Friends protect friends.
Alliances matter more than accuracy.
And once a story fits someone’s worldview, it becomes immune to facts or criticism.
That environment doesn’t just punish elected officials, it actively discourages new ones. Think about it … why step into a system where the rules despite being literally codified, aren’t evenly applied, and can change depending on who you upset?
Reality #4
The Time Commitment No One Warns You About
Even when you strip away the politics, the work itself is brutal… if you do it right.
Take the school committee as an example. Over the last two years, that meant:
Meetings during the workday
Routinely leaving work early for 3:00 or 3:30 meetings at the high school or Branch Street
Random phone calls
Never-ending emails
Emergency issues that don’t respect your calendar
Hours spent reading packets, contracts, policies, budgets, and reports
That last part matters, because here’s another uncomfortable truth: Not everyone does the prep.
Some people skim.
Some people wing it.
Some people rely on others to do the work.
If you actually care about doing the job well, the time commitment explodes and it collides directly with your career, your family, and your sanity.
For a lot of working parents and professionals, it’s simply not sustainable. The day time commitments and demand for flexibility are the reason you see a lot of self employed candidates, real estate agents, and others that have they ability to manage their schedules to this magnitude.
Reality #5
Politics Is a Full-Contact Sport (Whether You Like It or Not)
There’s a fantasy version of local politics where everyone shows up in good faith, debates respectfully, and leaves their egos at the door.
Methuen does not live in that universe.
This is a full-contact sport.
You will be hit.
You will be misquoted.
You will be blamed for things you didn’t cause.
You will be expected to absorb abuse quietly because “that’s just how it is.”
And if you push back?
You’re thin-skinned.
You’re unprofessional.
You’re the problem.
That double standard wears people down fast. Especially when it is pushed by other elected officials hellbent on virtue signaling while loosely (if at all) working within the realm of reality.
Reality #6
The Double-Edged Sword of Accountability
Here’s where it gets complicated.
On one hand, we absolutely need pressure on elected officials. Public scrutiny matters. Engagement matters. Silence is how self-serving behavior flourishes. Just look at the last 30+ years in Methuen. We didn't end up here by accident.
On the other hand, there’s a difference between accountability and constant hostility.
When every decision is met with bad-faith attacks, when every vote becomes a loyalty test, when every official is treated as corrupt by default, the only people willing to run are:
Those who crave the fight
Those who already have power
Those who don’t care what anyone thinks (fairly certain this is where I fit in)
That is not a healthy pipeline.
We don’t need fewer questions.
We need better ones, asked by people who actually want the system to work for all residents.
Reality #7
The Mayor’s Job: Not a Prize, a Burden
The mayor’s position deserves special mention, because it’s often misunderstood.
Yes, the salary is around $125,000. However, that's relatively new since it has been $80,000 a year until very recently.
No, it is not “easy money.”
The Mayor is the CEO of a roughly $180 million annual enterprise. That’s a mid-cap company by any reasonable standard, with:
EmployeeS
Labor contracts
Infrastructure
Public safety
Legal exposure
Political pressure
Emergency response responsibilities
It’s a 24/7, 365-day role.
Snowstorms.
Flooding.
Fires.
Labor disputes.
Scandals.
And so, so much more.
Crises big and small.
There are late nights. There are endless meetings. There is no true “off” switch.
That’s not an accident. That’s why most of Methuen’s mayors have been older, people later in their careers, with fewer professional trade-offs left to make.
Younger candidates aren’t absent because they don’t care.
They’re absent because the math doesn’t work in many circumstances.
… Why This Should Worry You
If the barriers to entry stay this high, Methuen doesn’t just risk stagnation… it risks regression.
When fewer people run:
Competition disappears
Accountability weakens
Power consolidates
Bad habits return
And Methuen has been down that road before.
You don’t have to squint very hard to remember darker chapters when backroom behavior thrived because no one was watching closely enough, asking loudly enough, or pushing hard enough.
History doesn’t repeat itself automatically.
It repeats when people stop paying attention.
If You Don’t Want to Run, You Still Have a Job
It may be the job that matters most.
Not everyone should run for office.
Not everyone can.
Not everyone wants to.
That’s okay.
But disengagement isn’t neutral. It has consequences.
You can and SHOULD:
Show up to meetings
Read agendas
Ask informed questions
Email elected officials (and demand written responses because writing can't be later denied)
Call out nonsense when you see it
Support people who are trying to do the work honestly. Civic participation doesn’t start at the ballot, it starts with attention. If good people opt out entirely, the vacuum will be filled. It always is.
The bottom line is that politics in Methuen isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s expensive, time-consuming, emotionally draining, and often thankless. It will test your patience, your reputation, and your tolerance for nonsense.
But it also matters.
If we want better leadership, we need to stop chewing up the people willing to step forward. If we want accountability, we need to apply pressure without poisoning the well. And if we don’t want to relive past failures, we need more eyes, more voices, and more engagement… not less.
Running for office may suck.
A city where no one wants to run sucks a lot more.
(How long before someone comments on this story saying this is me poisoning the well and calling me hypocrite?)
Well written! And 💯 agree