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Representative or Mayor? |
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By Pedro
Payano
pnpayano@aol.com
The statement by the State Representative William Lantigua
(also mayor-elect in Lawrence), in regard of keeping his
present position at the State level and the elected position
of Mayor of the City of Lawrence, has created such a
controversy, that any way you look at it, it does not favor
the City of Lawrence. The Eagle-Tribune in one of its
editorials considered him as someone who can’t be trusted
since in September of 2009, Mr. Lantigua promised the voters
that he was going to be a full-time mayor giving up his State
Representative seat. After he was elected, he went back on
that promise. Such accusation in a democratic society is very
serious because it lessens one of the main characteristics
that distinguish the person – integrity. This country is not
the same as some Latin-American countries where the integrity
of the rulers do not mean anything to the constituency.
Mr. Lantigua should not forget that perception becomes
reality. From now on he is giving motives to the press to
question, and even to disqualify him. Inevitably that could
create serious problems to his future administration.
The press is well-known as the fourth power and that is not by
accident, but sometimes, and unfortunately the information is
manipulated, and that information creates the opportunity for
voters to ultimately determine the government. But it seems to
be that Mr. Lantigua and many of his followers feel so
self-confident with their triumph, that they don’t see the
possibilities that those who voted for him could change their
minds based upon the comments of the press. That could be a
grave mistake. I have heard from some of Mr. Lantigua’s
followers expressing their discontent with his decision.
Slowly, this decision will have a negative effect, as soon as
the people come to the realization and understanding of the
magnitude of this bankrupt state in which we find the City of
Lawrence.
Some of Mr. Lantigua’s followers have indicated that there is
no need to be worried, because, “the majority of the Latino
population of the City of Lawrence does not read any
newspapers.” Perhaps, this could be true for some, but we
can’t forget that there are many listeners of the Spanish
newscasts. There are certainly other means for the residents
to be informed. Also, rumors that can cause a lot of damage
will spread around. But, let’s suppose, that the press can’t
influence the majority of the Lawrence constituency but, what
about the people that live in other communities? We should not
forget that the city depends on a minimum of 70% of financial
support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. If this
negative publicity becomes a norm, how would this be able to
influence the government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
to develop an opinion of asking of more control over Lawrence?
This debate should be focused specifically, in how Mayor-elect
Lantigua’s decision could affect the image of the City of
Lawrence, and not on his ability to maintain the two jobs. It
doesn’t matter about the arguments being used to justify it,
since the opposition will have its own arguments to reject it.
Ultimately, it will all depend from the angle that we want to
interpret it: excellence or mediocrity.
Therefore, we should not do comparisons out of context. The
part-time on weekends of Mary Claire and the weekly meeting of
Patricia Dowling in Boston (both former mayors), were
situations that have no parallel or analogy with the decision
made by our Mayor-elect Lantigua. Even so, those two mayors
received the criticism from the public opinion. As a
consequence, the theme of the campaign in the election of the
2001 was the search for a full-time mayor.
It does not have any validity to maintain the representation
as justification to move the agenda of Lawrence forward, since
the state code of ethics would be able to impede his ‘good
intentions’ when it stipulates the following: “No chosen
official or appointed can vote or act in matters that be
inside the environment of the agency of which is employed or
on which such employee has official responsibility.”
The worse thing that Mr. Lantigua can do is to use the racial
card to challenge the English-speaking press, like some of his
followers have declared on the radio. The best thing that he
can do is hire a professional in public relations to help him
maintain good relations with the press.
Finally, this problem does not contribute to seek solutions to
the serious problems by which the City of Lawrence finds
itself at this crossroad. For that reason, Mayor-elect Mr.
William Lantigua should resign immediately as a State
Representative.
I expect to be certain about what some of Mr. Lantigua’s
followers have expressed about him: “He has not realized his
responsibility yet. After the first month, he will understand
that he should not maintain the two jobs.” |
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