The Mayor’s Secretary through the years

March 18, 2012 by DickH Posted in History, Lowell, City Council 5 Comments

Greg Page in June 2011 while on leave from Afghanistan

Congratulations to Greg Page on his selection as the new Secretary to Lowell Mayor Patrick Murphy. I first met Greg back when he was a Navy Intelligence Lieutenant stationed at the submarine base in Groton, Connecticut after serving a tour with Special Operations troops in Iraq. Of all the places in New England where he could have put down a stake and purchased a home, he chose Lowell, a decision that always made be feel good about living here in the city. Greg has been totally dedicated to Lowell since he moved to the community. And with Greg already having served combat tours in both Iraq with the US Navy and in Afghanistan with the Massachusetts Army National Guard, no one can question his dedication to our Commonwealth and our country.

The current transition in the office of Mayor’s Secretary got me thinking about Lowell political history. Here’s a list of Lowell’s mayors since 1966 with their respective Secretaries, as far as I can recall. I’m hoping that our readership’s collective memory can help fill in the blanks in this historical record:

1966-67 – Edward Early – Victor Forsley
1968-69 – Robert Maguire – Gerry Moore
1970-71 – Richard Howe – Robert Healy/John Hayes
1972-73 – Ellen Sampson – Emily Themelis
1974-75 – Armand LeMay – Linda Mellon
1976-77 – Leo Farley – Brian McDonald
1978-79 – Raymond Rourke – Marty Meehan
1980-81 – Robert Maguire – Jim Moriarty
1982-83 – Brendan Fleming – Louise Riordan
1984-85 – Brian Martin – Patti Sepe
1986-87 – Robert Kennedy – Mark Provost
1988-89 – Richard Howe – Mark Provost
1990-91 – Richard Howe – Joe McNamee
1992-93 – Tarsy Poulios – John Kenney
1994-95 – Richard Howe – Bill Kelly
1996-97 – Bud Caulfield – Bll Kelly
1998-99 – Eileen Donoghue – Diane Bujnowski
2000-01 – Eileen Donoghue – Diane Bujnowski
2002-03 – Rita Mercier – Diane Bujnowski
2004-05 – Armand Mercier – Diane Bujnowski
2006-07 – Bill Martin – Diane Bujnowski
2008-09 – Bud Caulfield – Diane Bujnowski
2010-11 – Jim Milinazzo – Diane Bujnowski
2012-13 – Patrick Murphy – Greg Page

UPDATE: Thanks to the readers who helped fill in the blanks. The new names are in italics.

5 Responses to The Mayor’s Secretary through the years

  1. Marie says:

    *Louise Riordan was Brendan Fleming’s Secretary… her father was John Meehan’s secretary in 1910-1911. She had Mayor Meehan’s portrait hanging on “her wall.”
    *Was Jimmy Moriarty Bob Maguire’s secretary in his second term (1980-81)?

  2. Tom Bomil says:

    Ellen Sampson/Emily Themelis. Leo Farley/Brian McDonald Bob Maguires 1st term Gerry Moore 2nd term Jimmy Moriarity

  5. Jen Myers says:

    I remember when I was doing research on the mayors, I came across an article about Mayor Sampson hiring Emily Themelis. A big deal was made about the mayor hiring a woman for the post.