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July 22, 2022 - U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan hosts at reception at her offices for relocated Ukrainians and their families, and organizations who are able to help them. Trahan greets Thomas, who is American, with his Ukrainian daughter Sonia, 3, wife Lidia, center, and mother-in-law Natalia, left. [Lidia did not want to use their last names.] JULIA MALAKIE/LOWELL SUN

July 22, 2022 - U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan hosts at reception at her offices for relocated Ukrainians and their families, and organizations who are able to help them. Trahan greets Mariem Mazkhar, 23, who was living in Kiev, and her mother Olena Mazkhar, who lived in Zaporizhzhye, Ukraine. JULIA MALAKIE/LOWELL SUN

July 5, 2022 - Lowell 4th of July celebration at LeLacheur Park. Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau talks with Hour Keo and his wife Chheng Eng of Lowell. JULIA MALAKIE/LOWELL SUN

June 4, 2022 - Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau looks on as Lacey Kearns addresses those who gathered for a candlelight vigil outside City Hall on Saturday night. The candlelight vigil was organized by Kearns in memory of her aunt, Brenda LaCombe, of Lowell, who was found murdered in Harvard 40 years ago. Her murder remains unsolved. AARON CURTIS/LOWELL SUN

Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian. Courtesy Middlesex Sheriff's Office

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton speaks at the 11th Annual Veterans Dinner, at Tewksbury Country Club. SUN/Julia Malakie

Dracut Selectman Tony Archinski (Photo courtesy of Tony Archinski)

July 22, 2022 - Hot weather features at spray park in Veterans Memorial Park in Dracut. Spray park has shorter hours due to drought. JULIA MALAKIE/LOWELL SUN

July 22, 2022 - Hot weather features at spray park in Veterans Memorial Park in Dracut. Spray park hours are shorter due to the drought. Cooling off, from left, Jaeda Davis, 7, of Lowell, Jada Shattuck, 4, of Pelham, N.H., and Scarlett Rose, 4, of Bradford. JULIA MALAKIE/LOWELL SUN

May 28, 2020 - New Dracut town manager Ann Vandal, at the gazebo outside Town Hall. (SUN/Julia Malakie)

WORCESTER, MA – JUNE 4-SATURDAY: Lieutenant Governor candidate Kim Driscoll addresses attendees during the state Democratic Convention, June 4, 2022, in Worcester, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

WORCESTER, MA – JUNE 4-SATURDAY: Lieutenant Governor candidate Eric Lesser addresses attendees during the state Democratic Convention, June 4, 2022, in Worcester, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

IN AN age of hyper-electronic connectivity, where people are Zooming, tweeting and texting, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan and Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau are reviving a quaint idea from the 20th century — actually meeting their constituents in person.

Trahan demonstrated her affinity for this old-school version of retail politics when she hosted a reception at her downtown Lowell offices on Friday for Ukrainian families who had fled their country from the Russian invasion.

She eagerly engaged with the crowd, plunging right in to handshaking and face-to-face conversations despite recently recovering from a bout with COVID-19. The congresswoman looked none the worse for wear, and, like a good host, Trahan stood outdoors in the suffocating, almost noon-day heat, saying goodbye to each person as they left the reception.

That kind of personal touch may be what’s needed in our political discourse right now, especially after the long isolation that was necessitated by the pandemic.

Senior Constituent Liaison Jorge Morales Lopez reflected Trahan’s open-arms style when he told the gathering crowd where to find refreshments, and to feel free to tour the 3rd Congressional District offices.

“This is a congressional office,” he said, “but this is the people’s house — this is your home.”

In a recording he made shortly after announcing his 1960 presidential run, then-U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy said that “the old-type political personality is on its way out.”

“My grandfather (John Francis “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, who served as a U.S. representative and mayor of Boston), was a natural politician type,” Kennedy said, as quoted in Smithsonian Magazine. “Loved to go out to dinner. Loved to get up and sing with the crowds. Loved to go down and take the train up and talk to 18 people on the train … the problems are so tough, I don’t think you can be this hail-fellow-well-met.”

He went on to describe how the new medium called “tele-vision” was going to become a bigger part of the politician’s tool kit. Kennedy famously used that technology to devastating effect against his Republican opponent Richard Nixon during the fall presidential debates.

Kennedy also established the live television news conference, holding his first one five days after he took office.

In a pandemic world, besides the electronic-messaging game, which Trahan’s office is excellent at, maybe the Honey Fitz version of human connection is exactly what constituents need right now.

And while you may not find Trahan singing with the crowds, with her powerful brand of retail politics, don’t put it past her, either.

On the city side, Chau is a visible presence in the community. Besides chairing the City Council and School Committee and his involvement with other boards and commissions, the mayor’s duties include attending bread-and-butter events like ribbon-cuttings, outdoor festivals and flag-raisings.

He is, what is called in the spiritual disciplines like yoga and meditation, “present.”

Chau wants to be even more present. Last week, he announced that he is convening a small-business roundtable series designed to “engage Lowell’s business community.”

In an unusual first-person styled press release, Chau wrote that, “I am scheduling a series of roundtable discussions that will help introduce small business owners to city services. These discussions are done with the goal of understanding all concerns and hearing from all voices.”

He referenced the impact COVID-19 has had on Lowell’s small-business community.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted many aspects of life for city residents, including small business owners,” Chau wrote. “The first three sessions will focus on businesses owned by Asian American, Hispanic and Latino, Caribbean and African Americans. Many more discussions are in the works including with women, LGBTQ and veteran owned businesses.”

Chau invited small business owners to join the discussions, and to contact the Mayor’s Office at 978-674-4040.

In person, face-to-face meetings with Lowell’s mayor. A U.S. representative with a personal touch.

After more than two years of COVID-19, perhaps we’re all going back to the future — and it feels right on time.

SPEAKING OF Trahan, last week she secured House passage of nearly $13.6 million for economic development and infrastructure projects across the 3rd Congressional District. The items were approved by the House of Representatives as part of annual government funding legislation.

In a Wednesday statement, Trahan said such projects are among her top priorities, and “passage of these much-needed federal investments gets them one step closer to the communities and organizations working to improve people’s lives here in our district.”

More than half of the funding — $7.5 million, to be precise — would come right to Greater Lowell. That includes $3 million for the renovation of Lowell’s Cawley Stadium, $3 million to support Community Teamwork Inc.’s efforts to provide emergency housing for families and $1.5 million to help Dracut cap its landfill and allow the site to be used for another purpose. Other big ticket items include $2.1 million to support the redevelopment of Lawrence’s East Island neighborhood and $2 million for the Fitchburg Theater Block development project.

Trahan also noted the House is expected to pass additional funding allocations for projects in the district in the coming weeks.

As for what’s already been approved by the House, the ball is now in the Senate’s court.

“I’m grateful to each of our partners who have been vital in this process, and I look forward to working with them and our Senators to get them across the finish line,” Trahan’s statement concluded.

JUNE 16 was a sad day for Bostonians and an even sadder one for Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian.

Before the Celtics’ loss to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, Koutoujian made a bet with San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, who Koutoujian knows through Major County Sheriffs of America. The wager? The sheriff from the losing city must wear the winning team’s jersey and post a photo on social media.

In Game 6, Koutoujian’s fate was sealed.

On June 20, Miyamoto’s office posted a video of Koutoujian putting on the “gold-blooded” jersey and appearing on Lowell’s WCAP. And while Koutoujian seemed unhappy — shaking his head in dismay — the video deemed him a “good sport.”

But the bet was for a larger cause, and it wasn’t just reputations on the line. Koutoujian made a $500 donation to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell, which Miyamoto matched at his city’s Boys & Girls Club.

The Boys & Girls Club of America is a national organization with local chapters that provide after-school programming for children to develop social and life skills in a safe environment.

It was the first time in nearly 60 years that Boston and San Francisco have faced off in the NBA Finals

“Golden State and the Bay State are leaders on and off the court. Sheriff Miyamoto and I, as well as our staffs, have partnered through MCSA to improve our agencies and the crucial work of sheriffs. However, this week we are rivals,” Koutoujian said before Game 6. “I have no doubt that Sheriff Miyamoto will be donning Celtics green come next week as we hang banner 18 in the Garden.”

That didn’t age too well.

Nevertheless, children here and across the coast benefited from the playful rivalry in the end.

“I’ve already bought a blue and gold DubNation sweatshirt for Sheriff Koutoujian,” Miyamoto said prior to the championship. “I respect him and admire the work he’s done for his community but at the end of this series, we are hopeful that the trophy will stay in the Bay … the San Francisco Bay.”

U.S. REP. Seth Moulton, D-6th, of Salem, announced Monday he has raised more than $1.5 million for nearly 60 Democrats running at the federal level.

In an effort to support reproductive freedom, voting rights, climate change solutions, “sensible gun reforms” and other progressive legislation, Moulton said it’s important to elect leaders who will advocate for those causes after the November election.

“We need to be aggressive about electing additional patriotic Democrats to Congress,” Moulton said. “I’m proud of the work Serve America is doing to hold and expand our majority with the highest-quality service-oriented candidates.”

Moulton founded Serve America PAC, which works to financially support veterans, “service-driven candidates” and those running at all levels of public office, according to a press release. In total, Moulton has raised $1,591,089 for 59 candidates this election cycle.

That money comes from several of Moulton’s “political entities,” such as Moulton for Congress, the Moulton Leadership Fund, Serve America PAC-Restricted and the Serve America Victory Fund.

Almost 25,000 people made individual donations to those entities, many of which were small in quantity, according to the press release. While funding and distributing that sum to other candidates, Moulton has about $950,000 cash on hand for his own campaign.

In the 6th Congressional District, Moulton represents the majority of Essex County and parts of Middlesex County, including Billerica and Tewksbury.

Moulton recently made headlines after championing a national suicide hotline, which was was instituted last Saturday. Moulton, alongside Republican Ohio Rep. Chris Stewart, filed legislation to create the free mental health crisis hotline: 988.

DRACUT SELECTMAN Tony Archinski might have been justified recently in wondering who was trying to send him a message. His name had disappeared from the town’s website. He was not listed as either a selectman or a member of the Open Space Committee.

Under the Board of Selectmen, Jennifer Kopcinski appeared twice — first as clerk of the committee and then as a member. Perhaps, it was just confusion caused by the last two syllables of their surnames.

Under the Open Space Committee listing, not only was Archinski’s name missing but also that of Chairperson Karen Merrill.

But all is well — by the end of this past week, their names had been restored.

THE ONGOING drought in the Merrimack Valley may curtail the fun for children of all ages in Dracut. The splash pad at Veterans Memorial Park may be shut down if the hot, dry weather continues much longer.

At the recent meeting of the Board of Selectmen, member Heather Santiago Hutchings asked whether the drought was affecting the splash pad. Town Manager Ann Vandal replied, “Sort of.” The two-word answer drew some chuckles.

But Vandal then continued, “I’ll go out on the edge here and say it should be shut down. But (DPW Director) Ed Patenaude and I agreed we will do what we can to keep it going because of the heat. But if it comes to a point where we have to, we will shut it down.”

Right now, the splash pad is open from noon to 4 p.m.

Veterans Park came up at another point in the meeting, too. The town spent $100,000 two years ago to improve drainage at the park.

“There is a need to focus on Veterans Park as far as maintenance is concerned. We just don’t have enough people to put at that park to keep everything up to date, “ Vandal said.

Ongoing problems include sandblasting the iron fencing around the monuments, repairing frost heaves and installing lighting in areas that are currently without. Litter, of course, is a constant issue.

THE FORMATION of a new super PAC to support Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll’s campaign for lieutenant governor drew condemnation Wednesday from one of Driscoll’s main election rivals — state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow — over the expected support from a wealthy real estate investor and GOP donor, the State House News Service reported.

The Leadership for Mass super PAC, chaired by former legislator and Braintree Mayor Joe Sullivan, filed paperwork Wednesday to get involved in the three-way primary for lieutenant governor with just seven weeks until Election Day. Super PACs can accept unlimited donations, but are prohibited from coordinating directly with a campaign.

The Boston Globe first reported on the efforts and the likelihood that Leadership for Mass will be backed by Christopher Collins, the co-founder of the real estate investment company First Atlantic LLC and major donor to national Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He also donated more than $50,000 to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, and has given to prominent state Democrats like U.S. Rep. Trahan, Attorney General Maura Healey  and attorney general candidate Andrea Campbell.

“The financial backer of this Super PAC has a long history of funding right-wing U.S. Senators and Governors who are eliminating reproductive rights, blocking common-sense gun safety laws, and setting us back decades in our effort to fight climate change. This type of interference has no place in Massachusetts. Our Commonwealth deserves a Lieutenant Governor untainted by right wing special interests,” Lesser said in a statement.

An organizer with the new super PAC confirmed that Collins supports Driscoll’s campaign and is expected to contribute, though how much remains to be seen. Keyser Public Strategies, led by one of Gov. Charlie Baker’s senior political advisors Will Keyser and and his wife Eileen O’Connor, will be the lead consultant to the super PAC.

Sullivan, who worked closely with Driscoll as a metro mayor for 12 years, called Driscoll a “transformational leader who improves the lives of the people of Salem, and is a terrific partner and sounding board to her fellow Mayors.”

“As Lt. Governor, she will bring her proven brand of leadership and experience to the entire Commonwealth and will be a great partner to Maura Healey,” Sullivan said in a statement.

Lesser told supporters last week that he was filming a television ad on Friday and preparing to go on air soon as mail-in ballot applications have begun arriving at voters homes. At the end of June, the Longmeadow Democrat had nearly $1.1 million in his campaign account to Driscoll’s $276,341. The third Democrat in the race — state Rep. Tami Gouveia, D-Acton — reported just $55,414 in cash on hand, but recently received an infusion of public financing dollars that would more than double the size of her bank account.

This week’s Column was prepared by reporters Melanie Gilbert in Lowell; Cameron Morsberger in Middlesex County and the 6th Congressional District; Prudence Brighton in Dracut; Matt Murphy of State House News Service; and Enterprise Editor Alana Melanson.

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