There was no Lowell City Council meeting this week so I will return to my biographical sketches of the mayors of Lowell. This is the fourth installment which covers the second group of mayors who served under the Plan E form of government from1984 to the present.

For those who missed the first installment of this series, it was published on my website, richardhowe.com, on June 14, 2026. The second installment was published on June 28, 2026. The third installment appeared on July 12, 2026.

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Brian Martin was mayor in 1984-85. A star athlete at Lowell High School and UMass Amherst, Brian began his professional career as a teacher and coach at Greater Lowell Vocational High School. He was elected to the Lowell City council in 1981 and was elected mayor in January 1984 at age 33, making him the youngest mayor in the city’s history to that point. He served on the city council until 1988 when he became assistant city manager and then city manager. In 2000, he left City Hall to work for the Lowell Lock Monsters hockey team. In 2005, he became Athletic Director at Lowell High and in 2013 became Lowell High’s Head of School until his retirement in 2017.

Robert B. Kennedy was mayor in 1986-87. He was born in Lowell on February 6, 1940, and graduated from Lowell High, Bentley University, and Lowell Technological Institute (now UMass Lowell). He worked for Trans World Airlines, American Airlines, Vespa of America, and New England LNG Corporation. He served on the Lowell City Council for three stretches: from 1971 to 1975; from 1981 to 1985; and from 1988 to 1990. He was elected mayor on January 6, 1986, on the first ballot by a five to four vote. He also served as a state representative from 1975 to 1979 and as a governor’s councilor from 1989 to 1995. For ten years before his retirement, he was the executive director of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA). He died on May 1, 2018, at age 78, and is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Tewksbury. He was honored by the LRTA, which named its new bus terminal the Robert B. Kennedy Bus Transfer Center.

Tarsy Poulios was mayor in 1992-93. He was born in Lowell on May 13, 1926, to Greek immigrant parents. He graduated from Lowell High in 1943 and served in the US Army in the Pacific during World War II. After the war he worked in textile mills and at the Boston Navy Yard. In 1951, he became a letter carrier with the US Postal Service, a position he held until his retirement in 1984. He became a neighborhood activist with the Acre Model Neighborhood Organization (AMNO) and was on the city of Lowell Board of Appeals for 12 years. He was elected to the Lowell City council in 1987 and served until 1995. He was elected mayor on January 6, 1992, on the second ballot. He died on December 13, 2010, at age 84. He is buried in Westlawn Cemetery. The city of Lowell dedicated the street leading from Adams Street to the Murkland School after him as Tarsy Poulios Way.

Edward “Bud” Caulfield was mayor in 1996-97, and in 2008-09. He was born in Billerica, but his family moved to Lowell when he was a teenager. He began work at Raytheon immediately after high school and remained there until his retirement decades later. He was extremely active in the Little League and the Highland Players performance troupe. He was elected to the Lowell City Council in 1987 and served continuously until 2011 when he did not seek reelection. On January 2, 1996, he was elected mayor on the first ballot by a five to four vote. On January 7, 2008, he was elected mayor unanimously on the first ballot.

Eileen Donoghue was mayor in 1998-99, and in 2000-2001. She was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, graduated from UMass Amherst, and moved to Lowell while attending Suffolk University Law School. She worked as a federal public defender and then established her own law practice. She was elected to the Lowell City Council in 1995 and served until 2007 when she ran for US Congress. She was elected to consecutive terms as mayor in 1998 and 2000. In 2012, she was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate and served there until 2018 when she was hired to be Lowell City Manager. She held that position until 2022.

Rita M. Mercier was mayor in 2002-03. She was born and raised in Lowell, and together with her late husband raised four children in the city. She was elected to the Lowell City Council in 1995 and has been reelected in every election since. In 2002, she was elected as mayor, the third woman to hold that office in Lowell. In 2004, she began working for the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department where she remains employed. She continues serving on the Lowell City Council.

Armand P. Mercier was mayor in 2004-05. He was born in Lowell on November 8, 1933, and graduated from St. Joseph High School. For most of his life, he operated a real estate office in the Pawtucketville neighborhood. Prior to being elected to the city council in 1997, he served as a commissioner and then as executive director of the Lowell Housing Authority. He also served as the executive director of the Lowell Historical Preservation Commission. He was elected to the city council four times, serving from 1998 to 2008. He died on January 13, 2012, at age 78. He is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Chelmsford. The Lowell Housing Authority dedicated its community building on Salem Street after him as the Armand P. Mercier Multi Service Center.

William F. Martin Jr. was mayor in 2002-03. He was born and raised in Lowell and graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and Boston College Law School. After working at a Boston law firm for several years, he returned to Lowell to open his own legal practice which he continues to this day. He was elected to the Lowell City Council in 1999 and was continuously reelected until 2015 when he did not seek reelection. In January 2006, he was elected mayor. He continues to live and work in Lowell.

James Milinazzo was mayor in 2010-11. He was born in Lowell and graduated from Lowell High School. In the 1980s, he served as the city’s director of planning and development and then as the executive director of the Lowell Development and Financial Corporation. He also was executive director of the Lowell Housing Authority. He was elected to the Lowell City Council in 2003 and was elected mayor in January 2010. He did not seek reelection to the council in 2019. He continues to live in Lowell.

Patrick O. Murphy was mayor in 2012-13. He was born in Lowell in 1982. He graduated from Phillips Academy and attended Tufts University and Trinity College, Dublin. While working as a stone mason, he ran for Congress in 2007 as an independent. He was elected to the Lowell City Council in 2009 and reelected in 2011. On January 3, 2012, he was elected mayor in a five to four vote. He was 29 years old, making him the youngest mayor in Lowell’s history. He did not seek reelection in 2013 but moved with his family to Vermont where he works as a state transportation official.

Rodney Elliott was mayor in 2014-15. He was born in Lowell in 1960 and received his education at Plymouth State University, Suffolk University and the Catholic University of America. He previously worked as a Lowell city planner and then as a legislative aide to State Senator Phil Shea. Later he worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency. He was elected to the Lowell City council in 1997 and held that office until January 2022. On January 6, 2014, he was elected mayor on the first ballot. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2022 and was reelected in 2024. He continues to hold that office although he is not seeking reelection in 2026.

Edward J. Kennedy Jr. was mayor in 2016-17. He was born on March 24, 1951, and was educated at Boston University and Framingham State University. He worked as a probation officer and then as a commercial real estate appraiser. He was first elected to the Lowell City Council in 1978 and served until 1985. He served as a Middlesex County Commissioner from 1992 through 1996. He returned to the city council in 2011 and was elected mayor on January 6, 2016. He was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in 2018 and served there until his death on October 1, 2025, at age 74. He is buried in St. Patrick Cemetery.

William “Bill” Samaras was mayor in 2018-19. He was born in Lowell and graduated from Lowell High School. He received degrees from Boston University, Salem State University and Northeastern University. He worked as a classroom teacher and an administrator until becoming Headmaster of Lowell High School in 1991, a position he held until his retirement in 2010. He was elected to the Lowell City Council in 2013. On January 2, 2018, he was elected mayor on the first ballot by a five to four vote. He continued to serve on the city council until 2022. He remains active in Lowell, serving as a commissioner on the Lowell Housing Authority and in several other community service roles.

John Leahy was mayor in 2020-21. He was born and raised in Lowell and operated a painting business in the city. He was elected to the Lowell School Committee in 2001 and served on that body until 2011 when he was elected to the city council. He was elected mayor on January 6, 2020, on the first ballot by a seven to two vote. He continued to be reelected to the city council but resigned in July 2024 to become deputy facilities director for the Lowell Public Schools, a position he continues to hold.

Sokhary Chau was mayor in 2022-23. He was born in Cambodia but came to the United States at a young age with his widowed mother and siblings after living in a Thai refugee camp for several years. He attended the Lowell Public Schools, Phillips Academy and Macalester College. He was elected to the Lowell City Council in 2019. On January 3, 2022, he was unanimously elected mayor on the first ballot, making him the first Cambodian mayor of Lowell and in the United States. He continues serving on the city council and is currently a candidate for state representative.

Daniel P. Rourke was mayor in 2024-25. He was born and raised in Lowell and graduated from University of Massachusetts Lowell. He works for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as the Assistant Chief Probation Officer at the Lowell District Court. He was elected to the Lowell City Council in 2013. On January 2, 2024, he was elected mayor by a nine to two vote (the council had expanded to eleven members in 2022). He continues to serve on the city council.

Erik R. Gitschier has served as mayor since January 5, 2026. He was born and raised in Lowell, graduating from Greater Lowell Technical High School and UMass Lowell. Professionally, he has worked for several municipalities in a variety of operational positions. He was elected to the Greater Lowell Technical High School Committee in 2011 and to the Lowell City Council in 2022. He was elected mayor on January 5, 2026, and continues to serve in that office.

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This week in my Seen & Heard column, I commented on an article suggesting the voters of Massachusetts might repeal their earlier vote to legalize marijuana; I reviewed the book “The Reshaping of Everyday Life: 1790-1840”; I commented on an article about the death of a Boston city planner who was struck while riding her bicycle; I commented on an article about the Canadian wild fire smoke that turned our sky yellow; and I noted the obituary of the actor Sam Neill.