“It must be difficult to let go of something so beautiful.”
– The hotel manager in Pretty Woman.
That is the perfect quote to express my feelings. For the past 29 years, Rumbo has been my pride and joy – a real accomplishment.
No, I will not give you the song and dance of “serving my community” or doing it for the “common good.” Rumbo was a for-profit business and not a charitable institution. We never pretended to be anything else.
Soon, the public discovered we were here to highlight the good things happening in our city, particularly with our young people who need mentors and good role models, while praising those who volunteered for the task.
We had an opportunity to educate people with basic knowledge (or none) of how laws work. Rumbo offered a variety of means to inform the public about local laws and regulations.
At election time, there was coverage of who the candidates were and details of what they stood for, yet it is common on Election Day to hear people calling the radio station asking, “Is voting day today?” Certain people prefer remaining ignorant.
As time went by, we learned about internal politics, and it was an ugly discovery: candidates would promise the moon to win and, once in office, turn into a different person, all of them!
This year, politics have reached a new low. The City Council comprises mostly members with personal interests, like President Jeovanny Rodriguez and Vice President Stephany Infante, who have become the president’s pitbull so he can run his mayoral campaign. She is highly disrespectful to people during council meetings, particularly belittling employees when they cannot respond the way she deserves.
Jeovanny violates the City Charter being fully aware of doing it, such as the section requiring the background check within 30 days on the potential chief of police. We learned about that from him yet, he overlooked to follow through.
Incompetent individuals who add cero to any conversation, like Celina Reyes and Fidelina Santiago, who can barely speak English. Fidelina was found guilty of a federal offense of stealing ballots from mailboxes during the last elections. She should have resigned immediately, or the council canceled her after announcing the guilty verdict.
Mayor Brian DePeña has been giving money to businesspeople hand over fist, and I have not been able to find out if he already gave Wendy Luzón the $32,000 she owes the State on meals taxes. Rest assured that he will (if he has not yet) because she votes the right way. Wendy also has the habit of ripping political signs from other candidates and has been caught doing it on video.
Gregory Delrosario, who votes depending on how the wind blows, once told me his vote would not mean anything when there is a majority voting in favor.
My only hope was Marc Laplante; I do not know what happened to him lately. He is too quiet and votes with the majority. He is not the fighter he used to be.
The problem is that residents keep electing the same people into office. They do not have enough information or interest to make better choices.
But do not believe that the mayor is running the city. Brian is highly influenced by uneducated people with special interests, who are his closest allies and advisors. Members of his administration may advise him one way, and then he turns around and listens to others under some menial excuse. I have seen that repeatedly!
State Representative Estela Reyes is a staple in Brian’s office, making big decisions. There you have a city councilor who became a millionaire buying city properties like the house on Haverhill St., next to the Oliver School, assessed for $1’400,000. The roof had collapsed, so she put in a new one and siding, patiently waiting for the right time to sell it. The structure is not finished inside and has no electricity or occupational permits.
Rumor has it that the mayor will pay her what she wants, razed it and make additional parking spaces for the school.
Meanwhile, he has given massive pay increases to specific employees, earning well over $100,000. I see abuses like Attorney Richard Rodriguez, director of the Americans with Disabilities Act under the Lawrence Commission on Disability, who received a minor increase in pay under the condition of having to do extra work for the attorney’s office, bringing the total to $67,000. Don’t they know that this was a State-mandated position and he should not be required to do extra city work?
The proof that people are not paying attention to the real important things happening in the city is that the Lawrence Redevelopment Authority (LRA) is forcing the city via the city council to give up several city-owned properties to sell them. I have been following the suspicious actions of director Octavien Spanner for the past couple of years and nobody seems to care.
The LRA is selling properties that don’t belong to them. Companies went through the trouble of sending RFPs and doing presentations of their plans for specific properties. One of those lucky ones was Rafael “Danilito” Guzmán who acquired the Merrimack Paper land worth 3 million dollars. We all know that he ran a big fundraising for the mayor with big donors in attendance.
Spanner likes to show off spending money and believes he doesn’t have to answer anyone. He rendered a Management Report covering expenses from January through October 31, 2024, with no receipts. He spent thousands of dollars at HOME Depot and AMAZON and no one knows for what.
It also shows a $5,000 check to Pedro Tejada for reimbursement for training and education related to the LRA goals, but nobody knew that training was available and no one else has taken it. Also, that was not approved by the board.
I became suspicious when I noticed that Octavien paid $3 at Dunkin. He uses the LRA credit card as his personal one. The worst part is that no one cares.
I am exhausted from seeing all this around me, but I never thought I would fall on that web. On May 1st, I described how the mayor begged me to be on the committee to select the new police chief, and what happened, only to see my integrity in danger.
Rumbo has been my passion. Alberto and I take great pride in what we accomplished in these 29 years, but dealing with people who don’t listen to reason and prefer being exploited by politicians is exhausting.
For that reason, this is Rumbo’s last edition. I quit!
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