By Pedro Payano
I have never approved of mayors interfering with City Council elections in order to secure a majority that will serve them blindly. I did not approve of this when William Lantigua was mayor and I do not approve of it now. However, this is exactly what the current mayor, Danny Rivera, intends to do: To prevent the reelection of City Council President, Modesto Maldonado, at all costs. This is unacceptable. I wholeheartedly reject this political maneuvering.
Danny has not understood that those who elected him did not vote for him, rather against Lantigua. This is particularly evident when you consider that Rivera won by only 80 votes and that many voters did not go to the polls because they felt Lantigua’s election was a sure thing.
Rather than healing old wounds and attempting to unite the city in an intelligent and diplomatic manner, Rivera antagonized the former mayor’s followers. He preferred to focus on firing them. This is not the American way.
As soon as Danny won the election, I cautioned him that he had to act wisely and not fire people just because they opposed him in the elections. Rather, he should meet with them and say: “The elections are over; give me a chance to show you that your misgivings about me were misplaced. Help me move this city forward.” I assured him that if he did this, a great number of the opposition would join him and the rest would be rendered harmless. But my advice fell on deaf ears.
Danny has now got it into his head that he needs to control the City Council; in particular, he wants to keep Modesto Maldonado from being reelected. When I supported Rivera’s candidacy for mayor, I never imagined he would engage in this kind of politics. I thought Rivera was going to make a difference in the way public affairs are conducted, but it seems I was mistaken. I am very disappointed. He has shown that he is not a statesman. He has mistaken the political role of a mayor with that of the executive officer (CEO) of a company, which are two very different functions. He is incapable of sitting down with the opposition to seek common goals. Even worse, he has not been able to sit down with the City Council President and reach a compromise. A statesman has to be able to work with people. The Founding Fathers of this nation knew what it meant to compromise. It’s how they ratified the US Constitution.
Danny knows perfectly well why we have three branches of government: Executive, legislative, and judicial. Each branch contributes to the system of checks and balances by watching over the other two. Why, then, is Danny so obsessed with controlling the legislative branch? Can he possibly believe that this is good for democracy?
Mr. Mayor, I have my own differences with Councilman Maldonado, but that does not prevent me from recognizing many of his virtues. I find him to be honest and well-intentioned. He truly cares for the people of his city. I believe that he works in the best interest of the City. He demands respect for the City Charter. He is accessible, a tireless public servant, and a faithful defender of the rule of law, just like you, Mr. Mayor.
I believe that politicians, despite their faults, can make progress if they listen to good advice and put it into practice. That is, they can, in time, correct their course. I hope our Mayor will allow the city council elections to take their own course without his interference.
Everyone vote for Modesto Maldonado on November 3rd!
