There’s a little city in Florida, Port Richie, with less than 3,000 residents that the State has issue an order to dissolve. The reason for such measure is that the mayor and vice mayor are both in jail for corruption, along with other city officials accused of similar behaviors.
This demonstrates that, given the chance, some politicians will not waste an opportunity to malign the city they sworn to protect and rob the citizens who trusted them with their votes.
That got me thinking about the public role in all of this and how Port Richie compares to Lawrence. They are both accepting of what happened and pay no attention to future consequences.
Then, I remember something Thomas Jefferson once said: “The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all.”
Until Lawrencians begin to complain about the abuses we face, things are only going to get worse. Let’s take a look at the death of José Puello Rodriguez as a result of an argument at the Senior Center. There has been absolute silence, not just from the administration but from the witnesses and people who commonly attend on a daily basis. Everyone becomes an accomplice.
Look at the disrespect from Kendrys Vasquez at the City Council meeting when the relatives went trying to get some answers to José’s death. He told them to return for the November 6 meeting to speak at public participation; that they would have an answer by the end of the week and soon after that, once again coward and subservient, lied to them taking a flight to Paris for a week. He doesn’t care!
Look what happens when we bring something to light and fight for what we believe to be right. We complained to the Attorney General about a violation of the Open Meeting Law at the September 17 council meeting clearing the way for the give-away of the easement to the building next door. (You may check last week’s edition describing the reason.) Before the Attorney General could react, the councilors reconsidered their vote, agreed with me that there was a violation and will be starting the process from the beginning. Now we must fight and be attentive to prevent its passage.
If one person can do it, imagine if we ask questions about all the secrecies going on in this city; things like what really happened at the Senior Center or what’s behind the Police Chief’s car accident. If they are not saying anything one way or the other, it’s another secret and we all are paying for it.
Thomas Jefferson was right also when he said, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
