Valley Patriot Questions Tsongas, Governor Patrick on Spending By: Tom Duggan – January, 2010 LINK: How Some of Your Money Was Spent Deval Patrick: As the senator said, we have had to close a multi-billion dollar budget gap in the last few years, nine billion dollars, actually over the last 18 months and we have […]
Blanchette Pats himself on the back while purposely trying to create budget deficit, state takeover By: Tom Duggan, December, 2009 Under the leadership of Council President Patrick Blanchette, the Lawrence City Council spent the last two years taking “symbolic” budget votes, blaming the Sullivan administration for their own inaction, and refusing to pass […]
PAYING ATTENTION with Tom Duggan – November, 2009 Few people can really understand the magnitude of the changes that are about to occur in the City of Lawrence with the election of State Representative Willie Lantigua (da chief). Not only did Willie win an overwhelming victory on Election Day, but almost every one of […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL November, 2009 In last month’s race for the Mayor’s office in Lawrence, Willie Lantigua (da chief) defeated David Abdoo. While we have some serious reservations about Lantigua’s ability to manage the city of Lawrence, as well as the character of those insiders he has surrounded himself with, today is a new day. The election is […]
By: Tom Duggan – October, 2009 ELECTION EDITION Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan is finishing his final term because the city charter limits the mayor’s job to two, four year terms. Sullivan defeated Isabel Melendez in 2001 and Marcos Devers in 2005. Ironically Willie Lantigua endorsed and supported Isabel Melendez in ’01 but flipped in ’05 […]
By: Tom Duggan – October, 2009 Only half of the ten candidates running for mayor in Lawrence filed their campaign finances reports with Lawrence City clerk Billy Maloney by the September 15th deadline before the primary. By state law, candidates for all municipal offices must record and file a detailed accounting of all money raised and spent on […]
By: Tom Duggan – September, 2009 There are ten candidates running to replace Lawrence Mayor Mike Sullivan in the September 22nd city primary elections. The top two candidates will face a runoff election on November 3rd. Here is a snapshot of each candidate. David Abdoo Abdoo is the District “E” city councilor representing South […]
By: Tom Duggan – July, 2009 An investigation by the Massachusetts office of Campaign and Political Finance may not have issued their report yet on which elected officials benefited from campaign material printed in the Lawrence Public Schools I’m gong to tell you who they right now. At least three members of the Lawrence School Committee (Morris, Larocque and Mejia) benefited from literature printed […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL Look up in the sky! It’s a bird … It’s a plane … May, 2009 No … it’s Representive David Torrisi (DNorth Andover) coming to rescue the beleaguered taxpayers and business owners of the Merrimack Valley. Joining Rep. Torrisi, in voting against an increase in the state sales tax from 5% to 6.25% was Representative. Linda […]
Israel Reyes at the center of lawsuit over allegations on May Street By: Paula Porten December, 2008 Former Lawrence City Councilor and candidate for Mayor, Israel Reyes, is wrangled in a lawsuit involving May Street Partners, LLC, Reyes Group, Inc. and several properties on May Street in Lawrence. May Street Partners owns the […]
By:Tom Duggan – October, 2007 District “A” – Council president survives … barely Lawrence city council president Patrick Blanchette rightly brags that his family name has been on the ballot in the Prospect Hill section of Lawrence for more than 25 years. However, the embattled District “A” councilor nearly lost his seat on […]
Our Missing State Legislators When Northern Essex Needed Them PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN By Tom Duggan – July, 2006 Every two years the voters of Lawrence have to endure the platitudes of politicians like Barry Finegold, Dave (Where-is-HE) Torrisi and State Senator Sue Tucker crowing about how they are “friends of higher education.” […]
By: Tom Duggan – June, 2006 It was the usual circus at last nights meeting of the Lawrence City Council’s Housing Committee as Councilor Nilka Alvarez, (who is supposed to chair the meeting), completely lost control, allowing the meeting to degenerate into name calling, accusations of racism, a spate of misinformation, and a […]
PAYING ATTENTION! WITH TOM DUGGAN By: Tom Duggan – June, 2006 Every year people who work for “non profit” organizations like Lawrence Community Works make their fortunes crowding into Lawrence’s council chambers, whining about how badly “they” need more of your tax dollars to build and secure housing for the “poor” people of Lawrence. Yet, […]
RED CROSS NIGHTMARE Winner of the New England Press Association Award for General News Excellence Tom Duggan -June, 2006 Flood victims from Lawrence, North Andover and Methuen who were staying at the Red Cross shelter in Methuen during the immediate aftermath of last month’s flood say that they were treated so badly by the National […]