Nashua alderman’s rental not cause for concern
The best thing about Ward 4 Alderman Arthur Craffey’s living arrangement in which he rents an apartment from the husband of Nashua Mayor Donnalee Lozeau is that everyone is aware of it.
Craffey has been renting the Chestnut Street dwelling from David Lozeau since April. Neither Craffey nor the mayor will say how much he’s paying in rent, but both agree that it’s in line with market rates that he might pay if he were renting elsewhere in the city.
It’s an unusual arrangement, to be sure – City Clerk Paul Bergeron said he’s never heard of it before – but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it.
In fact, assuming Craffey is paying a market price for rent, it appears to fall well short of any sort of conflict of interest.
That said, we also think it’s best that it’s out in the open, if only to prevent any kind of whispering campaign.
Stephen Bennett, the city attorney, has verified that the rental agreement doesn’t violate any city ordinances, and even one of the mayor’s most frequent critics is OK with the arrangement.
“It does not raise concerns with me,” Alderman-At-Large Barbara Pressly said. “I knew about it, and I’m comfortable with it.”
Board of Aldermen President Brian McCarthy probably characterized it best when he said, “It’s sort of filed in the category of ‘It’s a small world.’ ”
“It shouldn’t matter where I live,” Craffey said. “I vote what’s good for the people of Ward 4, and I vote for what’s good for the city.”
What does matter is that Craffey and Lozeau both addressed the matter head-on and other members of the board know about the arrangement. Those factors serve to render it a non-issue as a public policy concern.
But city officials also missed an opportunity to be proactively transparent. The issue would have been better handled with a simple public announcement at an aldermen’s meeting back in April. It might have been a little awkward, perhaps, but it would have sent an encouraging message that city officials are willing to initiate even potentially delicate discussions, rather than waiting to respond to queries after the fact.