Santa Claus is getting ready to return to Haverhill later this month and bringing along some friends from the “Island of Misfit Toys,” the theme of the 61st Annual VFW Santa Parade.

During an appearance on WHAV’s morning show, parade Chairman Daniel Plourde discussed the theme, taken from the 1964 television special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

“Yeah, the parade is coming up. It’s on the 23rd of November, Sunday afternoon at 1 o’clock. We leave from the Bradford Fire Station promptly at 1 and we go down Main Street, cross over the Merrimack River, turn left on Merrimack, turn right at the post office and end at the Boys and Girls Club at the corner of Emerson,” Plourde said.

Planning for the parade started in May and it costs about $50,000 to mount the parade each year—all covered by donations from both corporate sponsors and individual donors. Expenses include hiring the marching bands and other acts. More than 50 entries from high school marching bands across the region, floats from local organizations, antique cars and other performers will pass down the parade route, Plourde said.

“We’re doing very well so far. We have 20 plus floats, over 20 marching groups and about a dozen high school marching bands and other performing acts. So, we are in pretty good shape so far but there is always room for more,” Plourde said.

Floats and marching units set up at the Caleb Dustin Hunking School behind the Bradford Fire Station on the morning of the parade and are judged. Prizes are given in five categories, including Most Parade Spirit and Best Overall Float, Plourde said.

“Especially this year with it being the ‘Island of Misfit Toys,’ I expect to see some very creative things going down the street this year. It should be very entertaining,” Plourde said, noting this year’s theme is apt because the misfit toys debut as part of the Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer animated movie which was released in 1964, the same year the Haverhill Santa Parade was launched.

Plourde said he expects every inch of space along the entire route will be filled with parade goers.

“Everyone has their favorite spots that some of them have been sitting in for generations. It’s always very entertaining for me to drive down Main Street the morning before the parade and see the chairs lined up marking territory,” Plourde said.

Some 50 people have volunteered as parade ambassadors and will be on hand dressed in red coats to assist on the day of the parade. The parade committee will also have its own float to collect donations. Those who wish to contribute before parade day may made donations at HaverhillSantaParade.com.

The parade was established by the late John T. Sullivan when he was commander of Haverhill’s VFW Lorraine Post 29. In addition to Plourde, other members of this year’s parade committee are Sullivan’s son, Thomas J. Sullivan, who serves as vice chair; Jessica Plourde, secretary; and Heather Powers, treasurer.

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Daniel R. Diodati, a fourth generation Hillie, is competing with Veronica A. Rodriguez, also a Haverhill native, to represent Ward 2 on the Haverhill City Council in January. The winner replaces Katrina Hobbs Everett who chose not to run again.

Diodati manages Berkshire Hathaway real estate offices in Haverhill. Rodriquez works for the Lawrence office of the state Department of Children and Families. Each recently appeared on WHAV’s morning show and answered six questions on challenging issues in the city. Here are their answers in the order their names appear on the ballot.

Why do you want to serve on City Council?

“With the skills that I have I really feel like I can contribute and I thought it was time to throw my hat in the ring. The reason is civic engagement being so low, it was time for someone like myself to step up and try to make a difference.” Diodati said.

“I love Haverhill first of all and, lately, it’s been in the news for some of the wrong things. I don’t think you can complain if you don’t try to make a difference so that’s why I want to serve,” Rodriguez said.

There is a perception Haverhill is building too much housing. Do you agree?

“I do think there could be a smarter way to develop residential housing if we really look at homeownership. Homeownership is super, super important in any community,” Diodati said.

“I think that we should fix the places that we have that are abandoned first. I think we need to get more creative because all that housing is going to bring a lot traffic, it is going to bring other problems. So, we need to maybe think outside of the box to help because we do have a housing crisis,” Rodriguez said.

What can the City Council do to promote more affordable housing?

“Between homeownership, development of new construction that is based on owner-occupied projects, mixed in with ADU (accessory dwelling unit) use, I think it is a great start. And, things are in motion to do that. I just hope to simplify things and make it a little bit better,” Diodati said.

“We do have a housing trust but there’s no money in it. I think maybe if some of these new developments, we should maybe make them pay into that so we do have some funds so we can think of some projects we can do for affordable housing,” Rodriguez said.

The death of Francis P. Gigliotti II while in police custody and the death of Officer Katelyn M. Tully have left the public looking for answers, especially in light of changes at the top of the police department. Do you think the public has the right to know more and how quickly and what types of information do you think is properly withheld?

“Just to have a little bit more transparency in the process and how it is messaged to the public whether it be through an actually press conference, not necessarily through just making social media posts, etc. If there is no news to report, then report that there is no news to report,” Diodati said.

“I think they did a good job informing the public. They put it out there right away. I do think that out of respect for her family, the cause of death and those types of things should be kept private just out of respect. I think they should be transparent. The public is what put them in. We pay for their jobs so we definitely need to know what’s going on. We need to know,” Rodriguez said.

Do you believe residential property taxes are too low, too high or about right?

“Too high. Because mindset is everything to me. And I do think we act upon on our thoughts. As long as we are controlling in our head that taxes are too high, we are going to work to keep them as low as possible,” Diodati said.

“When I am paying them, I think they are too high but when I compare them to other cities, they’re not so high.” Rodriguez said.

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In one of only three contested ward city council tests this year in Haverhill, Oliver Aguilo, a city engineer with Lawrence and 20-year resident of Haverhill, is taking on incumbent Michael S. McGonagle, a Haverhill native, to represent Ward 6 on Haverhill’s City Council. McGonagle owns a real estate company.

Both candidates appeared on WHAV’s morning show and answered a series of questions about issues facing the city. Here are their answers in the order the candidates appear on the ballot.

Why are you running for City Council?

“Well, this would be my ninth term and I’ve done a lot of good things, I believe, and I would like to continue working for the people of Haverhill,” McGonagle said.

“As a city engineer, I notice a lot of things that are really bad in the city that need to be addressed right away. That’s what I am running for,” Aguilo said.

Is Haverhill building too much housing?

“I believe that if we build more, we get more tax revenue. You increase the tax base,” McGonagle said.

“We need to grow with the city. If we are going to build more houses, we need to make sure we have enough water for everyone,” Aguilo said.

What can the City Council do to promote more affordable housing?

“We passed a nice project last night (Oct. 28) at the City Council meeting of four units in a place where there was run-down garage over in the Bradford area. That’s the type of development we need so people can have homeownership,” McGonagle said.

“If we have more houses, then probably prices will go down,” Aguilo said.

The death of Francis P. Gigliotti II while in police custody and the death of Officer Katelyn M. Tully have left the public looking for answers, especially in light of changes at the top of the police department. Do you think the public has the right to know more and how quickly and what types of information do you think is properly withheld?

“I do believe that the public deserves to know. The families deserve to know. The reputation of the Haverhill Police Department needs to be cleared if there is a cloud hanging over it, and I believe that’s what the mayor has done by making these changes at the top,” McGonagle said.

“I think the public has the right to know everything that is going on. The only thing that I think the police department has to cover is any information related to the investigation. If it is going to interfere with the investigation, it has to be private. Other than that, it has to be public to every resident,” Aguilo said.

Do you think residential property taxes are too low, too high or just right?

“About right. And if you want an explanation, I can go there. I just think Haverhill is one of the most affordable towns or cities in the Merrimack Valley. With all we have to offer we’re a good place to be,” McGonagle said.

“There are lot of families struggling right now. It is a bad situation right now. Economically, a lot of people are struggling and I am one of those persons having trouble with the economy,” Aguilo said.

What city departments would be your top candidates for cuts?

“The budget is pretty substantial, over $200 million. And you have to look at line item by line item. I couldn’t just tell you, ‘Hey, this is something we’re going to cut’”, McGonagle said.

“Right now I don’t really have an answer to that question right now,” Aguilo said.

The final day to vote in Haverhill’s general election is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To check on a poll location, residents may visit the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office online.

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