Abel Cano’s appointment
There are times when we must question who’s advising Mayor Brian DePeña. It appears he’s been making wrong decisions and working backward.
This week, he issued the one-sentence letter posted here, sent to the personnel director as if it was an executive decision. This letter announces that Abel Cano is now the new Director of Emergency Management.
It’s my understanding that it was only forwarded to the members of the city council and not to the press. It is to be assumed that one of the council members sent it to one of their contacts on social media because that’s how I found it.
Now, let me get back to why I said the mayor is working backward.
It is my understanding that the city adopted an ordinance a few years ago for the creation of this department or office but nothing has been finalized. I will be gathering more information this week.
Right now, all I can say is that the council has not even discussed the salary for said position, just like no one has interviewed Mr. Cano to find out about his qualifications for this new task.
Something else that was not done was having the courtesy to speak with Fire Chief Brian Moriarty to let him know that this responsibility would be taken from him.
“This is the second time the mayor did that to me,” Chief Moriarty told me, with the first time being when it was rumored that it was going to be given to William Castro.
Upon contacting the State, I received the list of all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts describing who handles the Emergency Management duties. It is usually the police chief or the fire chief but, overwhelmingly, it is assigned to the fire chiefs since they are trained to manage emergencies and deal with more than fires. Part of their training and education has to do with the way to treat substances, chemicals, explosives, etc.
Nobody knows how the councilors are going to react when they are ready to discuss it because there is a process to all this: The position must be created with the requirements in education and experience (which has been done) and then assigned a salary (yet to be decided).
Then, it must be posted, and applicants interviewed to select the best qualified. That has not happened!
Why is Brian doing this? Who’s advising him? He’s always saying that he is all about transparency and he wants the council involved in everything, so I asked why he ruffled feathers by doing it this way.
“There are many situations in the city that require to be handled by the person in that position,” Mayor DePeña told me. “The Fire Chief is not always available to drop everything whether it’s a snow emergency or flooding.”
The mayor is aware that Cano doesn’t have the certifications right now but he’s willing to start working on that immediately. “His best qualification is that he is a good police officer, no one has anything negative to say about him, and he’s a totally honest man,” he added.
Contrary to rumors about Estela Reyes influencing that decision he said, “Estela has nothing that I need from her. She’s no longer a city councilor and that’s when the rumors started.”
Regarding not following the process I outlined above, Brian said, “It needed to be done and when I tried it before, the city council tabled it, so I did it.”
Police Chief job posting
In an unprecedented move, Mayor DePeña posted the position of police chief while changing William Castro’s title to “Provisional” instead of “Acting.” That means that he doesn’t have to go before the city council to request an extension to his 90-day appointment.
John Bernard of the Police Union immediately sent a message to the membership stating the following:
“The Executive Board highly encourages every union member and also every police officer to apply for the Police Chief position. As everyone in the department meets the qualifications to be the Chief. Since there are no actual qualifications listed. Also because everyone in the department is more qualified than someone who has never been a police officer.”
Boston – pledge of alliance
The Boston City Council takes their swearing-in ceremony very seriously. When it was discovered that Tania Fernandes Anderson had remained silent during the Pledge of Alliance, it generated a scandal and I found it logical to compare their reaction to that of Lawrence’s investigation.
City officials wasted no time in telling the media that Ms. Fernandes Anderson will not be permitted to function as a councilor until that duty is fulfilled. Two days later, she had to be sworn in for a second time and signed the oath book.
In Lawrence, we have someone openly cheating during the daytime by stealing ballots from mailboxes and she is now able to make rules affecting all of us as a city councilor and nobody talks about it. There’s total silence and politics run at the usual pace.
Is it because our laws are different? I’m willing to bet that it’s because no one cares. No one wants to talk about it and even the busybodies of Facebook forgot about the issue. A city with no morals!
No wonder we keep getting trampled on by politicians.
Attention art lovers
Lawrence General Hospital is completing some renovations in the Emergency Center, and they have two large walls where they would love to feature the work of a local artist.
Specifically, the hospital is interested in artists who would be willing to paint a mural – but is also open to ideas about rotating art displays, etc. If this is of interest to any of you, please let them know. Contact Christina at Christina.wolf@lawrencegeneral.org
Bad examples everywhere
Last week, while going to Walgreens on Haverhill St., Methuen, noticed two Spanish-speaking ladies leaving the store and behind them a man who spoke only English.
When the women started cleaning out their purses of used tissues and throwing them on the pavement, the man told them why they didn’t put them in the trash can nearby. They responded with a barrage of improprieties including “mind your own business” along with cuss words in Spanish that fortunately, he didn’t understand.
The man chose to continue to his vehicle while the two women got into a black Escalade.
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