Chief Roy P. Vasque’s confirmation
Although we all know his confirmation was a done deal, I was pleased to see that the city councilors asked questions relevant to present conditions in the city. Being promoted from within gives him an advantage that outsiders would not have because he knows what worries us like crime and prostitution.
With regard to where our police officers live, his response was that the majority live in Lawrence. Well, I checked on that and found that the total of law enforcement officers is 146; 59 live in Lawrence (including new recruits); 18 live in New Hampshire; and the rest lives in different cities within Massachusetts. While I was at it, I also found that 50 are Latinos and 96 are non-Latinos.
Those living in New Hampshire are in violation of State laws that clearly state that police officers cannot live out of state. The ones living in Massachusetts, the laws also say they cannot be more than 15 miles from the city limits. I have written in the past about officers living in NH, half-hour away from here and having a fake Lawrence address.
Stop the superintendent hiring
There are four letters from members of our State delegation and a member of the School Committee on page 8 asking for the suspension of the superintendent search. Their only complaint is that the process has not been clean and fair. The reasons given are vague but I managed to find some details that make me support that effort.
We were led to believe that this Lawrence Alliance Board was formed by independent thinkers who could come to decide what’s best for our children. We certainly did not expect people connected financially to the city or the school department but that is the case which makes it a huge conflict of interests. They are:
Jessica Andors, Executive Director of Lawrence Community Works is one of the members. Her agency has been providing services to the School Department for several years, right inside the classrooms.
Noemí Custodia-Lora works for Northern Essex Community College. NECC has had a close relationship with the school department and has been involved in classroom instruction for years earning a lot of money for the services they provide
The president of the Alliance, John R. Connolly, is the Co-Founder and Executive Director at 1647 and his non-profit company created ENLACE_Lawrence at Lawrence High School, one of their partner schools.
His own webpage www.1647families.org mentions that Lawrencian Glennys Sanchez is 1647’s Director of Research. “Glennys is responsible for leading 1647’s research initiatives and overseeing the organization’s internal evaluation processes. Her work includes participating in the National Family Engagement Fellowship convened by the Flamboyan Foundation in D.C., implementing landscape assessments with partner schools, and tracking the impact of home visiting and other family engagement practices at our partner schools.”
These people stand to make millions from the school department and they are charged with selecting the person who will make it possible because she will be the one signing their contracts.
Returning the favor
Last year I wrote about four Department of Public Works employees who had been doing extensive work in Mayor Rivera’s home prior to selling it. One of them was Juan Tejeda who was recently promoted to Acting Foreman of Parks supervising four other employees.
The interesting part is that these four DPW employees working under him have filed harassment complaints and one is sexual in nature. How do you think they are going to be treated? Is it possible to work in harmony within that group?
Also, that promotion was done bypassing Greg Morris who is a special loader operator and Tom Fritchy who operates the graffiti truck. He is performing other duties because they have no chemicals for the truck.
These acting positions are supposed to be short-lived while the job is posted and someone is hired permanently but we know that sometimes they remain in those places for years. Need I mention former City Engineer Theodoro Rosario?
