By Dalia Diaz
There are many other subjects to write about in this Corruption Series but the mayor takes a second shot. On March 1, 2019, Part 4 of this series involved the mayor but things are constantly moving in this city, keeping me busy and trying to pay attention to everything.
The City Council has voted on February 19, 2019, to ask Mayor Dan Rivera to order the purchase of 24 voting machines in time for the upcoming elections. His response was quick denying they were needed. He was also invited to attend the next council meeting to discuss how to best obtain voting machines, which he also declined. He also instructed Budget and Finance Director Marc Iannello not to attend, “because he will have nothing to report on the matter,” according to an email sent to the councilors.
In that email, the mayor continued: “As you know the City’s Election Division is in a legal and operational review with the Secretary of State’s Election Division. We have outside council hired to represent the City in this matter. This process should help us plot the course for making the City’s Elections office better functioning. Once that process is over I will be willing to discuss new equipment for the elections office.
“I however, fear that the City Clerk’s continued focus on the voting machines is to distract the council from the poor work he does in managing his office and his budget, and the equipment he does have. I think that money spent in this environment would be good money spent after bad. We are not in need of new equipment, what we need is better top level management in that department.
Dan Rivera’s comments may be criminal slander and possibly actionable.
Thanks to City Councilor at-Large Ana Levy’s efforts and her connection with personnel at the Secretary of State’s office, she received on loan 10 new voting machines. Lucky for us because 3 voting machines failed during the 2018 State Primary and 9 machines failed during the 2018 State Election. In 2018, the Secretary of State ordered the City of Lowell to correct the problem of machines failing during elections. Our machines are 30 years old and their future performance is unpredictable.
This issue speaks for the validity and honesty of our elections and the mayor thinks that blaming the City Clerk is the answer.
In a statement from City Clerk Bill Maloney says, “The allegation that the City Clerk is using the issue of ‘old voting machines’ to ‘cover up’ poor management is indescribably absurd – it implies ‘self –serving criminal conduct’. If true, it would require a ‘conspiracy’ the magnitude which would include the Election Staff, City Clerk Staff, the LHS Office CEO and Staff [our equipment supplier], and Members of the City Council to manipulate facts and information to help the City Clerk create a ‘diversion’. Seriously – I can’t even imagine what kind of person thinks like this?
“The accusation implies that the City Clerk is manipulating voting machines to cause them to fail or not operate properly. This is a criminal offense in violation of G.L. c. 56, sec. 51 and will be addressed accordingly.”
Even though the mayor doesn’t care about the truthfulness of our election process, the members of the City Council should.
It has been obvious for years that Mayor Rivera is out to get rid of the city clerk at any cost. His budget gets cut every year; he has destroyed the Elections Department with incompetent people hand-picked by him like the Bilingual Elections Coordinator Laura Alvarado who barely speaks English but is married to his protégé Franklin Miguel. No one knows exactly what Franklin does for the $95,000 he earns.
In the City Clerk’s office, he needs 5 employees and is down to just two. Things are not getting done as effectively as they should but the mayor is the hiring authority and will not hire anyone. So, it must be Bill Maloney’s fault!
