To the surprise of friends and voters, Jackie Mármol, City Council at-Large candidate said that her name will not appear in the November 5th ballot.
Residents who have known Jackie for many years were looking forward to having her in the Council. She is one of the better informed people in Lawrence because she can be seen at most council and sub-committee meetings.
Jackie has a history of involvement with city issues having been a member of the Parent-Teacher Organization at the Oliver School since 2005, serving four years as its president. She attends all school committee meetings and speaks both English and Spanish.
When asked the reasons why she decided to run in the first place, Jackie said it was her interest in serving the city in a capacity for which she was qualified. Her knowledge about city and school issues inspired her to sign up.
“All my life I have practiced the best interest in maintaining in my heart and in my decisions the service according to the best interests for my country the United States of America. Likewise, I am concerned about the quality of where I live, which motivated me to make the decision to serve for 18 years in the armed forces with pride and passion. These years they taught me the discipline of working as a team and the courage to give my best every moment and knowing when everyone’s good is more important than what I think suits me.”
And she continued, “I see that most people don’t seem to care. With the Museum Square Garage problem, I have participated in many meetings and perhaps five tenants have been there,” she stated. “There’s so much work to be done and I believe there’s strength in unity.”
So why the attitude change?
“I also learned that every decision in life must be based on good and wise strategies taken as a team and especially in a disciplined way, paying close attention to the person that one understands is the person or leader who is in charge of representing the best interests of our community. For this reason, I have made the decision to withdraw my aspirations for the nomination to the city council at this time.”
Jackie expects to throw her support behind Richard Russell, candidate at-Large and another fellow veteran who has as much interest and knowledge about the needs in this city as she does.
Jackie Mármol spent 18 years in the Army (1981-1999) and has worked in Homeland Security and as a corrections officer. The city will be missing a great asset.
