Enough is enough! No more suppression of the voting rights of Lawrence residents.
Wake up resident of Lawrence. Your turn is at this very moment. Get on the ball and report it.
Tell councilors and legislators in Boston not to deny you your right to vote for the next mayor.
By José A. Ayala
What is the matter?
Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera is stepping down after Governor Charlie Baker nominated him and he was confirmed as president of Mass Development. Everyone at Lawrence is super happy about this great achievement for him, his family, the Latino community, and the residents of Massachusetts.
And now what will happen to Rivera’s chair?
Simple and unfortunate. Some councilors propose to take away our right to elect a new mayor as the law says. They are taking refuge in the pandemic and the expense of holding a special election.
We had a primary election in September between Markey and Kennedy, and then we held presidential and congressional elections, and yes: all in the middle of the pandemic! And elections were held because some of these councilors had no other option because they were state and national elections.
The City Charter (the City Charter) requires that within the next 90 days from when the mayor officially leaves office, Lawrence voters must elect a new mayor through a special election. The winner would complete the remaining term of the outgoing mayor
(See screenshots of what the Massachusetts Constitution and the Lawrence City Charter say about the Home Rule Petition law and the election of an interim mayor.)
This is a full translation of what the Lawrence Charter says in its paragraph (b), section 4.11 (Vacancy in Mayor’s Office):
“𝐒𝐢 𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐮é𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐭é𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐞, 𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐫á 𝐢𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢ó𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐣𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐚 𝐂𝐢𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐝, 𝐲 𝐞, 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐫á 𝐮𝐧𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐞. 𝐒𝐢 𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐣𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐚 𝐂𝐢𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞 𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐝í𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚 𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢ó𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨, 𝐞𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐣𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫á 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐚 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐢ó𝐧 𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐢ó𝐧 𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐣𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐨 𝐀𝐥𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐞 I𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐨, 𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫á 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐣𝐚𝐥 “.
The councilors’ plan has two stages, but achieving it is up to you and our legislators.
Stage 1: Hear the official announcement from Mayor Dan Rivera about his departure. Then select the councilman of District C, Kendrys Vásquez, as interim mayor, not for 90 days as the law says, but until January 2022.
Stage 2: Use as “messengers and promoters” of this idea the Lawrence delegation: Senator Barry Finegold and Representatives of Lawrence Frank Morán and Marcos Devers with the support of other local legislators to present and push their approval on behalf of Lawrence residents a “Home Rule Petition” to ensure that a special election for an interim mayor does not take place but is selected by councilors, not for 90 days, but until January 2022.
I could not find any case where the Home Rule Petition law was used by a Massachusetts city to impede the right of the people to choose and be elected. This is one of the ultimate rights protected by the Constitution and no local ordinance or state law can contradict the Constitution.
Not only would it be anti-democratic but they would be abusing the use of the Home Rule Authority that the Massachusetts Constitution grants to cities and towns since it was amended in 1966.
What the proponents of this plan intend to do, perhaps unwittingly, is to abuse his power as a councilor and show impressive callousness precisely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And what is annoying is that they know that the resident is unable to attend the meeting on Tuesday, December 15, due to the sanitary restrictions imposed by the City and the State. Tuesday’s meeting will be between them, but virtually. This is good! Truth?
Preventing Lawrence residents from selecting who to lead them violates a decades-long tradition; violates the councilors’ oath on their commitment to taxpayers and voters, and their promise to abide by and enforce the ordinances of the City Charter and the laws of Massachusetts.
The councilors who push this proposal want to make a suit tailored to the person they want to leave in the position of mayor. This is a subtle way disguised as legality to once again suppress the right of immigrant communities like Lawrence to their right to the free exercise of democracy through the election of their authorities.
What can you do to claim your right to elect the Mayor of Lawrence?
Councilors need to hear from you and all of your Lawrence friends and family. Let them know that despite the pandemic, you only want a councilor as mayor for a maximum of 90 days and then vote for the mayor you want, not the one imposed on you, which is a violation of your ability to choose your authorities . It’s your right. Defend it!
These are the councilors from Lawrence. Call or write them. If they don’t take your call, keep trying and leave them messages. They’ve already removed their numbers and emails from the City’s website. Anyway, these are the numbers I have from them. Do not be surprised if they also cut off the phone to close all communication possibilities for your rights.
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