Corruption, broken promises, revenge and retaliation against Dominicans; conflicts of interests and political appointments.
By Jose Alfonso Garcia
The so-called “honeymoon” or the famous “One Hundred Days Truce“ for some newly minted sycophants, it seems to be normal in Lawrence lately. This period is often used by elected officials to lay the groundwork for what could be the profile of their administrations. In Lawrence this time, full of tenderness and understanding from the City Council seems to be running out for Mayor Rivera, at least among the people who did not support him and some of his allies who have not received what they expected.
If what we have experienced so far in Lawrence is a prelude to what the illustrious Mayor of Lawrence, Dan Rivera and his successful team hired from his best friends and political allies (what the mayor used to criticize in the past), then it is very possible that in a few months, we can hear the reactions of a hopeless community. You would see people down the streets, some of them smiling, others crying, but the majority will be dancing to the rhythm of bachata, merengue, salsa and even some quebraditas in front of the City Hall, asking Mayor Rivera to fulfill his campaign promises.
Still ringing in the ears of voters, especially those in the north side of the city, is the humble and conciliatory tone of a submissive and elusive candidate named Dan Rivera, while flying the flag of unity and progress for all in the campaign trail. But like any other traditional politician, demagogue from birth, Rivera was carrying on his back a sack full of empty promises for the people of Lawrence: “More jobs for the people of Lawrence,” “More Cops,” “No more petty feelings among us,” “There is only one Lawrence: our Lawrence,” “No more scandals,” “I’ll stop crime in our streets,” “Unity, unity, unity for all.”
Now, less than three months after being sworn in as mayor, we are awakening from the political lethargy and the aftermath left by hatred and evil. Dan Rivera is not even a shadow of what his promised to be during the campaign. It seems that while his lips uttered those magic words for progress and unity, his mind was flying high around Washington, DC.
CORRUPTION
- Long before being sworn in as mayor, Dan Rivera accepted thousands of dollars in campaign donations from companies doing business with the city. Although covered by creating three different political committees to accommodate campaign reports, this constitutes a serious conflict of interest. The Massachusetts Election Campaign Laws allow mayors to use such donations in unlimited amounts to pay only for the debts of the campaign, but prohibit the use of these funds for new events. Dan Rivera received more than $126,000 after November 5, 2013, and his campaign debts were only $5,000. This type of conflict with campaign funds is not only unethical, but may also jeopardize the best interests of the taxpayers.
- In just 80 days as mayor, Dan Rivera has fired more than thirty- three (33) municipal employees. Twenty-seven (27) of these workers, coincidentally, turned out to be Latinos, Dominicans and supporters of former Mayor William Lantigua, but yes, all citizens of the United States. These layoffs of fathers of Lawrence were made in violation of the labor laws of this country. And last but not least, as a mockery of the Hispanic people. Mayor Rivera is filling these jobs with less qualified people, who do not pay their taxes in Lawrence, many of them without any work experience. The strange thing about all this is that, by pure coincidence or political revenge, every one of these new employees are friends of the mayor, were in his political campaign, or are followers of his faithful ally Marcos Devers, whom he seems to be paying back for the political favor for having betrayed his constituency.
- As part of this mockery, Dan Rivera is also hiring back those city employees who were involved in fraudulent activities for which they were fired by the previous administration. These employees were fired for violating the trust of those who pay taxes. The primary mission of a mayor in the poorest city in the state of Massachusetts should be to look after the people’s resources and not throw them cheerfully out the window at 200 Common Street.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
- The Eagle-Tribune, the same newspaper that publicized those wrongdoings as “scandals” in their sinister attacks against former Mayor William Lantigua, finally has begun publishing reports on the conflicts of interests of Rivera’s Administration. From the more than $100,000 he received from companies holding contracts with the city, to the Torrisi family and his lobbying for funds for Rivera’s campaign.
What was criticized and considered as fraud, corruption and political scandals, just three months ago, are now normal and ordinary in the day to day operation in our City Hall. LONG LIFE TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!
[relatedkingpro]
