List of candidates registered to run
On page 5, you will see the list of candidates who have picked up papers to run for office this year. Please be sure that in the next few weeks, the list will grow; some will take the papers home and do nothing, and others will realize that collecting signatures and never turning them in is too much work. The serious ones will have formed a committee, and a system established to get going.
Some will have to start by clarifying why they live in Andover and are interested in straightening out the City of Lawrence. Such is the case of Nilson Rosario, candidate for City Councilor at-Large.
I always say that when I write or say something, it’s because I did my homework, not repeating what others say like a parrot. After checking many sources, I found that he is a teacher in Lowell and has had many addresses in this city. I wonder why he wrote that address in Andover, and the employees in the Elections Department didn’t question him or ask him to show proof of residency.
An online search shows that he works as the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Teacher at Butler Middle School in Lowell and lives in North Andover (not Andover). However, his business is located at 447 Essex St, downtown Lawrence.
Mail voting and Voting ID
The topic of Voting Identification has been discussed in Lawrence since the turn of this century. In August 2003, the Lawrence City Council approved the Voter ID home-rule petition, and in the picture, you can see Councilor Marie Gosselin, Mayor Michael Sullivan, and Lawrencian Dottie Incropera delivering it to Steve James, State House Clerk. I was part of the committee and took the picture. On our website, you can read the story published in Rumbo on the September 1, 2003, edition.
Our State Representatives refused to deliver it to the State House, so we had to do it. However, the home-rule petition died right there because they declined to bring it to the floor to discuss it.
Lawrence City Council has been discussing allowing voting by mail and the Voting ID issue in several recent meetings. I must say that Councilor at-large Councilor Ana Levy has been fiercely insisting on both issues since September 2023. Judging by the way she’s blocked, I doubt she will have much success.
A good example is what happened at the last meeting. Councilor Levy placed on the agenda making a street one-way, but Council President Jeovanny Rodriguez removed it because it could affect his ability to enter and exit his home. The purpose of putting it on the agenda is to discuss it and authorize a feasibility study. He said he would have the study done, but so far, he has not ordered it.
Ana was vehemently opposed to mail voting. After all the problems and scandals during the last elections, we need more clarity and transparency than ever. She’s not proposing to leave anyone without voting. She explained to the councilors that we still have absentee voting, which I believe is highly abused.
We also have voting at City Hall almost two weeks before Election Day (including a Saturday), but the councilors didn’t support her, and mail voting was favorably voted for. They like having dubious, problem-ridden elections.
Ana suggested making changes to the envelope, such as adding the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number next to their name and, if someone else is helping the voter fill out the ballot, including their name, address, and the last four numbers of their Social Security on the envelope. The council rejected all of Councilor Levy’s suggestions.
Every time the subjects come up, the conversations are extensive, particularly from Councilor Wendy Luzón, who asked for information as to how it could be implemented (yet to be decided) and who will benefit from it. She was very curious about asking for identification at voting time. Perhaps she wants to start preparing her strategy to disrupt the elections early.
In the end, Luzón voted in the negative. I have no idea how Councilor Levy will continue this fight.
You must remember that during the last elections, Wendy Luzón was videotaped after one o’clock in the morning destroying Vladimir Acevedo’s signs when he ran for the council in District A.
As we know, Fidelina Santiago won her current term, although she and Jennifer Lopez were indicted for stealing ballots from mailboxes. The videos in the Commonwealth’s possession proved they were guilty of taking the votes.
Removing mail from someone else’s mailbox is considered a crime, specifically “mail theft,” and it is a federal offense under US law. It is illegal to take, steal, or destroy mail that is not addressed to you, and depending on the severity of the offense, it can result in fines and potential jail time.
You can find this outlined under the Federal Statute: Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1708.
While I have not attended the hearings in Salem District Court, I have been checking the Docket numbers for both, and I am surprised that the charges have been reduced to Misdemeanor and Conspiracy.
They are scheduled for sentencing on May 8, 2025. If Fidelina is found guilty, even if she gets Probation, she is assumed to have to resign from the City Council. If not, there will be another scandal!
Minutes of the meetings
At every council meeting or sub-committee meeting, they approved minutes of previous assemblies, so they do exist. Why is it so difficult to post them on their respective websites? That goes for all the different boards.
It appears as if I am the only one complaining about that and it’s not a big deal to them. But it is! I need to check for accuracy the decisions made by those bodies whenever I’m writing a story. I’ve always said that when I write or say something, it’s because I can prove what I’m saying.
Today’s politics
I cannot finish this column without mentioning the awful and unjustifiable behavior of Mayor Brian DePeña at the Central Fire Station. I’m saddened by his lack of control whenever I think about it.
He should have known Juan “Manny” Gonzalez would be there and plan for it. He could have asked Chief Moriarty to make some arrangements and avoid what happened. Manny is a perfect gentleman and does not deserve that embarrassment.
We are only beginning the campaign season.
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