The Elections Department
Last week I wrote about what’s ahead of us for the November elections now that the only person who knows what to do there is leaving. The way it stands is that Lawrence might not be able to hold the final elections so I called Deb O’Malley, the press relations person in the Elections Department at the Secretary of State’s office.
Ms. O’Malley put my mind at ease explaining that by Federal and State law, every city or town is obligated to hold elections and we must find the way. Wilmington City Clerk and two employees from Secretary of State Galvin’s office will be covering both elections days. One of them will be able to repair the new machines in the event they malfunction.
Progress with ADA
I was not able to attend Tuesday’s meeting where they discussed the repairs that the Justice Department requires must be made for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) before the election. This is extremely important for the city and for voters who are having difficulty getting to the polls along with huge fines that we may receive from the State.
Thanks to Councilor Ana Levy who updated me with the main details. Ana, as an architect, represents the city council in these discussions.
According to Councilor Levy, there has been a problem with the ramps that were going to be installed in Valebrook and in Diamond Spring apartments. They will not be installed according to the company hired to do the work because of security and space issues.
They have asked Milagros Puello, the city engineer to call them again and request they send us a letter explaining the reasons. In case the Department of Justice comes this week to verify what they have done so far in order to justify why the ramps have not been done.
The group trusts that with the achievements they have made so far, the State will take it into consideration and they ensure that all violations will be corrected for the November elections.
Time to work; time to leave
We are sorry to see Richard Reyes leaving the Elections Department but we understand that working conditions are pathetic at City Hall. Let’s wish him all the best because he deserves it.
Another employee who left is Rosa Piña from Inspectional Services. Valda Miller, the food inspector has been out on a family leave for months and we have no one doing that work. Everything I hear about that department is unbelievable. The mistreatment and offensive approach from their superiors, including the mayor, makes it unbearable.
The stepping Stone
It may be unimportant and uninteresting work being a receptionist in the Lawrence mayor’s office but it only requires being patient until Danny finds someone to fire placing his new recruit there. Remember, qualifications are not required. In Lawrence, every position becomes “on-the-job-training.”
Going through some old issues of Rumbo, I came across this photo realizing that I skipped it before.
After the ceremony raising the Turkish flag on October 29, 2016, the mayor’s assistant Cassandra Abou-Farah presented a proclamation to the Turkish Consul in Boston Kemal Yuksektepe. On the left of the picture is Kemal Boskurt the library assistant who was fired the following May of 2017 and she replaced him.
Perhaps I should make a list of how often that happened but I don’t think anybody cares.
In Senator John McCain’s last words:
“We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.”
The statement by Sen. McCain is very inspiring and hopefully, many of us will awaken and understand the power of our actions. The worse kind of slavery is that of the mind because when we believe there’s nothing we can do or there’s no possibility that anyone will believe we are on the right, nothing will change. We must try!