The preliminary elections passed and we have all seen the results. Again, Lawrence’s voters have faced Mayor Daniel Rivera and former Mayor William Lantigua.
As we all know, by his own decision after losing his chair, former Mayor Lantigua retired to his native Dominican Republic with the intention of giving space to the new mayor to carry out his administration. Lantigua has said it many times; we are not the ones saying it.
Although absent from Lawrence, Lantigua always kept in touch with members of his base who informed him about the achievements as well as the follies of the current administration, and urged him to return.
While locally the attacks on him continued, whether he had stolen millions and that he was living in a luxurious villa in the Dominican Republic. Two of his best friends who visited him more than once verified the reality of it. On the contrary, he was living very humbly.
Meanwhile, a young man, a stranger in the Lawrence political arena, very close to the Lantigua administration, launched his candidacy under the motto “We Want a Change”. Little by little, his character, his manner of speaking without stirring as he answered captious questions, which perhaps irritated other candidates, he had the ability to elaborate on the subject without answering it, and all very passively.
In addition to Jorge Jaime, the author of “We Want a Change”, Mayor Rivera, Modesto Maldonado and William Green were already promoting their candidacies.
Finally, Lantigua arrived, only to find that his closest friends, those who had always worked in his previous campaigns were already committed to others. Everyone told him, “You came too late; you do not have a chance.”
Apparently, this warning was the spur that Lantigua needed. He found himself alone with no money starting a race against a candidate who had already raised approximately $200,000 in his re-election and a city divided among 8 candidates. From the outset, when announcing his candidacy he said that he was running for first or second place and if he did not make it, he would help any of the candidates to overthrow Rivera. Quite arrogant, as he was called by many.
Well, he accomplished what only he believed! He still has another major battle: the final election. He has received the endorsement of Modesto Maldonado and most of his followers as well as William Green.
Jorge Jaime, Paul Mallett, Néstor DeJesús and Rubén Nieves now have the floor.
