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Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse Friday (Aug. 15) participated in an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session with readers on Reddit, a social networking and news-sharing website.
((PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK PAGE))
HOLYOKE -- At the end of a long day, he puts his head on the pillow and falls asleep pretty quickly.
That was Mayor Alex B. Morse's response Friday (Aug. 15) to a reader on the social networking and news-sharing website Reddit about how he deals with the Heather G. Egan controversy.
Morse fielded dozens of serious and silly questions in an "Ask Me Anything" forum on reddit.com, discussing the race for governor, how he got into politics, the city's commitment to environmentally friendly energy, the sharp-elbowed politics played here, handsome robots, Comcast and whether he likes Matt Damon.
"Yes, I'm a big fan of Matt Damon, loved him in Good Will Hunting, and I'll leave it at that," Morse said.
He was asked if he chugged beer. He doesn't.
And in true "all-politics-is-local" fashion, in response to a reader asking if Morse would rather fight a handsome robot or a pair of delivery guys from a local Dominoes Pizza, Morse said:
"A pair of delivery guys from local Dominoes, although I probably wouldn't be ordering Dominoes when we have Italian Friendly Pizza, or Capri, Pizza D Action, etc."
Egan had been head of the Law Department for slightly more than a year when she resigned April 29 for what Morse said were personal reasons.
It was later learned Egan was paid $45,000 in an exit agreement that featured Egan and Morse agreeing to maintain confidentiality.
Critics say Morse was wrong to deprive taxpayers of an answer about how their money was spent in this case. Morse has said he made a decision in the Egan case he felt was in the city's best interest.
A reader identified as inmycity10 wrote:
"We all know the you told the former solicitor to do something illegal, she (refused), you fired her and she was going to sue. How can you sleep at night?":
Morse replied:
"I walk to my bedroom, crawl into bed, put my head on my pillow, and usually fall asleep pretty quickly, especially after a long day. Then I wake up the next day just as excited to continue working hard on behalf of the City!"
Morse said later he enjoyed the Reddit discussion.
"I loved it. I look forward to doing it again. It's an innovative way to communicate and I like embracing new mechanisms to increase transparency," Morse said.
Morse addressed the Egan issue again, and others -- including some that were funny and strange -- in a sampling here: