Reardon’s Mismanagement is Bad for Newburyport
Opinion PieceThe Townie is an opinion website. The views expressed in this piece belong solely to the author, and do not represent those held by The Townie.
I summarize a bit of what other credible writers have reported about Sean Reardon’s unsuitability to govern in Newburyport.
In overview, Reardon has hampered the mission of our Parks System, defamed library volunteers, disrespected the City Council, and made City Hall an unpleasant place to work. And that’s without my describing the financial waste, and mismanagement mentioned by others₁, nor his reported use of public money to bolster his campaign.
Why would you even think of voting for such a (nite)Mayor?
Parks System
He fired Parks Director Lisë Reid (Editor’s note: the author is Reid’s father), thus undermining the many projects she had underway, and for which he now takes credit. This self-serving act led Reid to file a lawsuit against him. After waiting some years, Reid’s hearing was finally scheduled for September 2025. But one must wonder how it could be that, suddenly and mysteriously, the hearing has now been postponed until after the election?₂
His mismanagement of the Parks System prompted one Summer visitor to remark: “What’s happened to your parks?! They used to be so great.”
Library Volunteers
Reardon was found, by an independent investigation, to have played a direct role in defaming library volunteers after the unjust suspension of their program in June 2023.
City Council
Our City Councilors have been excluded from talks on the Kmart housing and Waterfront West projects.
The Council refused to renew the contract of HR Director, Donna Drelick. Instead of accepting their decision, Reardon spit in their face, and sought to appoint Drelick as indefinite interim HR Director.
City Hall
City Clerks Richard Jones and Kathleen Sullivan expressed serious concerns about how issues of disrespect, poor communication, and interference have affected the work of their office. Their comments underscore a difficult working environment at City Hall under Reardon.
Council discussions and community commentary also frame the mayor’s approach as contributing to an unpleasant workplace atmosphere.
Is he all bad? Of course not. In fact, one patient tells me he’s a nice guy (in some other context). Alas, that doesn’t shine through in his role as Mayor.
Am I the only one to whom these actions seem remarkably similar to the infantile, narcissistic, borderline personality behavior of he-who-must-not-be-named in Washington? We do not need that kind of “leadership” in our Newburyport government.
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Footnotes
₁ Woodworth, Ghlee, THE DAILY NEWS Wednesday, October 15, 2025
₂ Reid, Lisë, Personal Communication