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 […]
PAYING ATTENTION! With TOM DUGGAN By; Tom Duggan – September, April, 2007 Did anyone else notice in the Alabama Eagle~Tribune’s story on Ethics among elected officials on Sunday quoted Lawrence Council President Patrick Blanchette without mentioning that he had his city council office renovated out of the DPW budget, all the while he was […]
By: Robert O’Koniewski, Esq. – September, 2007 On the threshold of Labor Day weekend as the unofficial close of summer approached, many of us were enjoying the last throes of warm weather, or preparing our children for the new school year, or just plain wondering “Where did it all go?” In Lawrence, however, […]
By: Tom Duggan (09/05/07) An ethics complaint has been filed against Lawrence City Councilor Nunzio DiMarca for a trip he admittedly took to Italy last spring. DiMarca’s plane fare and expenses were all paid for by a local businessman whom he openly lobbied for at the city council table and behind the scenes with other elected […]
By; Tom Duggan May, 2007 When Lawrence resident David Camasso was being interrogated by members of the Lawrence City Council last month, one issue was repeatedly brought up for Camasso to address: If hired as comptroller, would Camasso bow down to political pressure when it came to approving expenditures he believed were excessive, illegal […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN By Tom Duggan – August 8, 2006 It was chaos last night at the Lawrence City Council’s Ordinance Committee meeting as chairman Nick Kolofoles lost control, sparred with fellow councilors, and refused to allow them to make motions that were contrary to his own stated agenda. At issue was […]
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 […]
By: Tom Duggan – March 2006 While suburban cities and towns like North Andover are cutting their teaching staff and eliminating art and music programs due to lack of funding, Wilfredo Laboy and the Lawrence School Committee have chosen to use state education dollars for out of state travel conferences (to the tune of $4,000) […]
EDITORIAL When the average voter goes to the polls during local elections, he is usually not thinking of party politics. During local races, average voters look at individual candidates and cast a vote based upon which man or woman can serve their community better. A candidate’s party affiliation rarely comes to play during local races. […]
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 […]
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 […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL March, 2005 Little more than a year ago, The Valley Patriot was just an idea. That idea was to provide an alternative voice for Merrimack Valley newsmakers and community leaders who were frustrated by the lack of adequate local coverage in other media outlets. We wanted to publish a newspaper that was different. […]
By: Tom Duggan – February, 2005 LAWRENCE – After years of complaining about Lawrence residents not being considered for top positions at City Hall, City Councilors rejected lifelong Lawrence resident David Camasso by a vote of 5-4 to be the city’s new Comptroller. Nearly two dozen city residents and community activists turned out […]
By: Lawrence City Council President, Patrick Blanchette – December 2004 Unfortunately the City of Lawrence is dealing with tough financial problems this year. When I was first elected to the Lawrence City Council (over five years ago,) the annual operating budget was roughly $170 million, with a contingency reserve account of $3 million. The […]