Opposition to Home Rule Petition 

Opposition to Home Rule Petition 

By Richard Rodriguez, Esq.

I am writing to express my strong support that a Special Election should be held to elect the next Mayor and oppose the Proposed Home Rule Petition to suspend the provision of Chapter 4.11. Proponents’ argument that no Special Election should be held because it is cost prohibited lacks merit. Mayor Daniel Rivera with pride in his 2019 Budget Proposal asserted the budget is balanced… without the use of one-time funds, operating surpluses in eight of the 10 fiscal years, large reduction in property tax, … and most important the multiple years of $14-$16.5 million free cash reserves. As such, the Special Election can be funded through the Free Cash Reserves.

Richard Reyes with over ten years working for the Election Department and in a management position was the best choice for appointment as the Acting City Clerk. Related to having a Special Election, Reyes will be able to hit the ground running. He has been involved in so many elections (local, state and federal) and there is nothing but positive things to say about him. Therefore, Reyes is competent to run the Special Election and with the support of the Secretary of State, it would not be an unfair burden for him to spearhead this upcoming Special Election with a positive outcome.

Pandemic-related issues are a concern in Lawrence. However, it is noteworthy here is a list of newspaper articles and press conferences held in which the titles include Lawrence receives funds to fight the pandemic. Also in the recent budget vote taxes were raised by the 2.5% bracket. With the tax increase and grants awarded to Lawrence earmarked for Pandemic-related issues, the Special Election can be held without affecting services related to this worldwide health crisis.

While it is true COVID-19 is something to cause serious alarm, The City of Lawrence despite this health crisis recently held elections in September and November of 2020 and did an impeccable job following CDC’s Guidelines. Exercising their fundamental and constitutional right to vote in Lawrence 23,367 voters came out to vote during the November General Election of 2016. This data was almost similar to the last presidential election in which 24,537 Lawrence residents came out to vote.

Suspending a Special Election is undemocratic. The voters in the City of Lawrence, not a few individuals, should have the right to elect the next Mayor as the Charter mandates. The United States is fighting wars in other countries so they can have the right to vote and have a democratic society. The Iraq War has cost the U.S. nearly $2 Trillion (Government Executive, February 4, 2020). What should also be taken into consideration is that Lawrence is one of the jurisdictions in the United States that has been subject to the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This is the reason why there is a Spanish Coordinator in the Election Department in Lawrence, which is one of the jurisdictions encompassed by Section 203 bilingual elections requirement.

I had the privilege to serve a decade in the New York Army National Guard. In the past, I attended a Welcome Home event in which many of my former cohorts returned home from Iraq. With excitement, I was happy to see many of my past cohorts but depressed some of them were included in more than 801,000 people who have died as a direct result of the warfighting for democracy (Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University).

In conclusion, I oppose the Proposed Home Rule Petition to suspend following the provision of Chapter 4.11. The next Mayor should be elected taken into account the One Man, One Vote Principle. It is undemocratic for nine individuals to elect the next Mayor. The Citizens of Lawrence should not be denied their fundamental and constitutional right to elect the next Mayor, a right we fought so hard and die to gain.