The first week of this year has been very busy as well as complicated. We do not speak for ourselves, but for the organizers of the different events that took place in the valley. Three mayors, two reelected and one newly elected, being sworn in together with their cabinets, which by all means needs attention to detail and of course, coverage. We take our hats off to everyone involved in the organization of the different events.
On January 2, William Maloney, Clerk of the City of Lawrence took an oath to the members of the new City Council as well as the new members of the School Committee and the Vocational School, in the small space of the City Council Chambers where the meetings are held. Three pews were not large enough to accommodate the members of each legislative body, to the point that Councilor Marc Laplante decided to sit in the only available place, the one designated for a disabled person.
The decision of the re-elected Mayor of Lawrence, Daniel Rivera to do by himself, left us with the same impression of his first oath four years ago. He wants all the attention for himself and that the council means nothing to him. They are there because the constitutional charter of the city requires it, but he does not have to count on them to do and undo anything. In any case, he knows that he will have their support as he had until now.
In his second inaugural speech, Rivera, after describing the disaster he said he inherited from the previous administration, boasted of having closed 2017 with a surplus of $14 million. That sincerely fills us with satisfaction, but he forgot to mention about the situation he had when he took the helm of the city the first time.
He, Rivera, did not take command with a deficit of $24.5 million. He did not have to layoff police, firemen, and DPW employees for lack of money. How much we would have liked to see how CEO Rivera would have faced that situation!
He, Rivera, took over after all those policemen, firefighters and DPW employees had been called back to their jobs with their wages restored, with $18 million surplus in the Water Department and $7 million surplus in the annual operating budget.
However, he, Rivera, suspended 30 employees, who were qualified to fill their positions – some before being sworn in for political differences, to replace them with personnel lacking the necessary credentials. Many of these cases ended up in court, costing the city thousands of dollars in legal and compensation expenses.
One thing we’ve noticed that maybe you did not, happened at the swearing-in ceremony, compared to the previous one. The first time, with great fanfare, he was sworn in by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Niki Tsongas.
This time, Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has presidential aspirations, was conspicuously absent. Only Congresswoman Niki Tsongas came but she is already retired and has nothing to lose, and Governor Charlie Baker, who was scheduled to take part, did not appear. Maybe he used the storm as excuse? Is our mayor losing popularity?
We do not believe it. We know that justice is still on his side, judging by the presence of Attorney General Maura Healey and Judge Salim Rodriguez Tabit among the dignitaries invited to his oath.
We know that the people of Lawrence have nothing good to look forward to in this second term. Only promises. Their biggest wish was for him to sign off on the Residency Law, judging by the overwhelming majority that voted for it, and which Rivera refused to sign after announcing that if it is was presented 100 times, 100 times he would veto it.
