For the record
Elections are over and half of the population in Lawrence is disappointed with the results but no one has come up with an explanation of what has gone on during the past four years the way Rev. Ralph Galen has done in the two letters that we publish on pages 18 and 19 in this edition.
Many are recovering from the shock of having lost this election by such a small margin. There were many so sure that nothing could go wrong that didn’t even bother to go out to vote. The local radio station said mid afternoon that William Lantigua was leading by 800 votes and later on Univision announced the difference in his favor to be 2,000. No one knows where the information came from but it was a long way from being accurate.
Our reason for publishing those letters now is because we have been bombarded by negative, destructive messages against Lantigua and we heard little of his achievements or his form of governing. The attacks have been so vile by the media based on rumors because he has not been accused of wrongdoings as they have suggested. These letters are so well-written, so thoughtful, while full of advice for Dan Rivera that we believe there will be people interested in reading them.
Rivera knows he has a tough job ahead of him and I am not the best person to advise him and he has people for that. I just hope that his good intentions toward the city are not derailed by the greed of some. We saw it happening during the Michael Sullivan administration when his lack of supervision resulted in the Information Technology Department stealing almost $10 million and Mark Andrews raided every account with a balance at City Hall. Mike is a decent, well-intended man but he trusted everyone and played too much golf.
What scares me is not what Danny will do but what he won’t do. He is convinced that Lawrence’s ills can be cured with more police officers and is not paying attention to anything else. I am concerned about the people he will be bringing back to his administration, particularly if they already have a track record here.