By; Michael R. Sweeney – October, 2005 A moment of clarity. After all is said and done that is what election results, whether a primary or final, provides to those seeking public office and to the people who support them. Some candidates grow under that light and some crumble. This past primary night in […]
By: Tom Duggan – September 2005 LAWRENCE – Lawrence School Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy is increasingly coming under fire by candidates for both mayor and school committee, as the city elections in November draw near. Embroiled in public scandal over the alleged assault on School Committeeman Amy McGovern, Laboy has become the subject of controversy […]
Paul Murano – June, 2005 Let’s face it, next to Red Sox baseball, politics is the preferred sport of many in this area. But if you think about it, a baseball season and a campaign season have many parallels. They both start their spring training in February, one in Florida and the other in […]
June, 2005 Lawrence State Representative Willie Lantigua has betrayed the Latino people of Lawrence. He has been playing a dangerous game of race baiting and making racial slurs for far too long, and it is about time someone called him to task for his shenanigans. Lantigua has deliberately misinformed his Dominican constituency about Licensing […]
By: Tom Duggan – April 04, 2005 Just as I reported after the November Presidential election (which was a bittersweet moment), I was again blessed with the same feelings and emotions following this week’s North Andover town elections. Why, you ask? Well, in November I was thrilled with George Bush’s victory, the defeat of […]
Ted Tripp, North Andover Taxpayers Association – April, 2005 That’s a fair question to ask. Just as recently as three years ago, North Andover voters showed up in huge numbers to overwhelmingly reject a $4 million tax increase by means of a Proposition 2 ½ Override. The School Committee, the Finance Committee and […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN Tom Duggan It’s always cute when a local politician adopts a catchy slogan to help shore up the image of his campaign. And while most voters rightly dismiss these slogans as meaningless rhetoric, one campaign slogan from this year’s North Andover town election begs to be discussed. Political […]
By: Jim Rurak, Former Mayor of Haverhill January, 2005 Haverhill’s history seesaws between big plans to promote its urban economy and extaordinary commitments to preserve its rural assets. Unlike Lowell and Lawrence whose land area is completely built up, Haverhill’s urban core makes up only a fraction of its total area. The rest is made up of […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN Tom Duggan – November, 2004 Massachusetts State Representative Barbara L’Italien should be ashamed of herself. She has not only taken a public stand against two of the Catholic Church’s teachings, abortion and gay marriage, (she favors both) the liberal legislator was seen on election day verbally attacking and […]
Tom Duggan – 2004 WAKEFIELD – Lt. Governor Kerry Murphy Healey called for the resignation of Senator John Kerry yesterday before a packed room of Republican supporters at the Sheraton in Wakefield. Introducing former EPA Secretary (and former New Jersey Governor) Christie Todd Whitman to the group of GOP loyalists, Healey said that Kerry […]
(on Loan from Tom Duggan’s Private Archive) Text of Marcos Devers’ Speech 01/02/2004 Good evening: Mr. Mayor, City Councilors, current and past authorities, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight we are saying farewell to two years of great achievements performed by the City Council that served during the term 2002-2004. Councilors Alvarez-Rodriguez, Blanchette, Dimarca, Frechette, Gosselin, Kolofoles, […]
Vote Latino Campaign still Sore Spot with Some By: Tom Duggan – January 2, 2004 Lawrence – District “A” (Prospect Hill) Councilor Patrick Blanchette was elected president of the Lawrence City Council Friday night after the swearing in of all new city officials. Blanchette faced opposition from Carlos Matos, a newcomer, who was nominated […]
By: Tom Duggan – December 3, 2003 (originally published on tommyduggan.com) LAWRENCE – After two successful years of reforming the City Council presidency and reshaping the decorum at Council meetings, Lawrence City Council President, Marcos Devers says he is taking himself out of the running for the spot in January and stepping aside “to […]
By: Tom Duggan – November 18, 2003 (on Loan from Tom Duggan’s Private Records – Published originally on tommyduggan.com) According to some current and soon-to-be City Councilors there is a move afoot to replace Council President, Marcos Devers in January with Council Vice-President Patrick Blanchette. Some on the Council have complained that President Devers created […]
Of Our Expose on Planning Board Member Israel Reyes Part 11 PAYING ATTENTION! WITH TOM DUGGAN Before there was a Valley Patriot (established in 2004) there was tommyduggan.com, a blog before there were blogs, a news webpage before there were news webpages. Long before there was an Eagle Tribune web page or a boston.com there […]