Valley Patriot Editorial ~ April, 2011
When will the people of Lawrence say “enough is enough” and start a recall petition against Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua?
In the year and a half Lantigua has been mayor, he has not only laid off cops and firefighters but has publicly attacked them at every turn, calling them criminals, racists, lazy and incompetent.
His actions and his rhetoric have not only put the people of Lawrence in danger but those public safety officials charged with protecting them (and him) as well.
Now, Lantigua is lashing out against the Lawrence Police because they would not give him preferential treatment as the alleged victim of a crime. He’s mad because they treated him like they would treat anyone else filing a similar report. Lantigua claims that a man tried to run him down while he was on Common Street. But he didn’t call 911 and report the incident right away. He waited a whole day before personally going to the police department with a lawyer, demanding that he be given top priority over the real crimes being committed in the city.
And when the license plate number Lantigua gave the cops turned out to be a plate that the registry has never issued, he cried “conspiracy” and again attacked the Lawrence Police.
We believe that the time has come for Lawrence voters to start the process of removing Mayor Lantigua and electing a mayor who supports public safety. Lawrence needs a mayor who cares more about protecting the people of Lawrence and the lives of law enforcement officers, than protecting the criminals on the streets and in city hall.