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Tom
Duggan's Notebook
(03/06/07)
Councilor
DiMarca: His Own Worst Enemy
You would think someone with such an obvious conflict of
interest in the Frank McCann/DPW matter in Lawrence like
Councilor Nunzio DiMarca that he would be flying below
the radar screen to let someone else take the lead in
defending Frank McCann. But you would be wrong. Councilor
DiMarca just cant resist taking positions on issues
he knows nothing about just to look like he knows
something. DiMarca, who recently got a job for an
immediately family member in the DPW (and is making deals
to get jobs for other friends and family members), is
either too clueless to understand the severity of his
conflict or he just doesnt care. And its not
like he hasnt been warned. Last month The
Valley Patriot was sent a copy of a letter that was
mailed to the Ethics Commission complaining that DiMarca
was abusing his authority and trying to trade votes for
jobs. But even after we posted the story on The Valley
Patriot website, DiMarca continued to publicly attack
Mayor Sullivan and even had a family member (who works
for McCann) speak at the meeting to defend him. It is
this kind of self-serving behavior that reminds the
voters why they threw DiMarca out of office in 2003 and
will most likely lead to yet another defeat this coming
November. At the pace he is going, he will be lucky (VERY
lucky) to even win the primary, never mind get reelected.
And thats too bad because six months ago he was
paced for an easy reelection win, but his constant
appearances on the radio and his self-serving behavior
have all but guaranteed that DiMarca will now be in big
trouble come election day. And he only has himself to
blame.
Why Does an Elected Official Need to File
an FOIR?
You might think that North Andover is taking its cues
from Lawrence these days when it comes to hiding public
documents from elected officials. Recently, School Committeeman Chuck Ormsby
requested copies of the Middle School grading for the
last three years and the administration simply refuses to
hand them over. So now, a duly elected member of
town government has to file a Freedom of Information
request to get copies of the Middle School grading and
there is no guarantee he will ever get them.
The Middle School is on a quarterly grading system and
Ormsby was only provided with the first quarter results
for this year. His concern is that grades are being
inflated and wants to review them so that the School
Committee can monitor its policy on grade
inflation. Maybe, once Al Perry is gone, it will be
easier to get this type of information. All I can say is:
Thank God Mr. OConnor is only the
acting superintendent or we would have anther
Harry Harutunian on our hands.
Joe Smith Signs Tax Pledge, Smedile Refuses
(Huh?)
She may be a registered Republican, but Selectman
Rosemary Smedile has not voted that way over the last few
years. She has even refused to sign the North Andover
Taxpayers Association Taxpayer Pledge not to
raise taxes if she is reelected this month. Candidate Joe
Edward Smith, on the other hand, DID sign the pledge
promising not to support overrides or tax hikes. So let
me see if I have this right ... Joe Smith, the Democrat
in the race, promises NOT to raise taxes or support
overrides, but the Republican Rosemary Smedile REFUSES to
make that promise? WOW! We know Rosemary Smedile as a
hard working selectman and we admire her for some of the
work she has done in the past, but when it comes to
raising the tax bills in town, I will take my chances
with Joe Smith
again!
Roger
Twomey & Dave Moynihan At-Large?
With at least two of the three at-large city councilors
(Nilka Alvarez and Nunzio DiMarca) in trouble with
Lawrence voters for the upcoming municipal election, at
least two very credible candidates are gearing up to
replace them. Word on the inside has it that former DPW
foreman Dave Moynihan and former licensing chairman Roger
Twomey are ready to throw their hats into the at-large
ring. Even if both Alvarez and DiMarca were wildly
popular with the voters this year (which they are clearly
not), they would be facing an uphill battle with both
Twomey and Moynihan in the race. And given that Alvarez
and DiMarca are quite vulnerable (and incapable of
raising the money they need to mount a viable reelection
campaign), this looks like a blood bath before the first
ballot is even cast. We dont even know how many
other candidates will jump into the race, but Twomey and
Moynihan are the undisputed front runners the minute they
pull nomination papers. Just imagine, city councilors
Roger Twomey and Dave Moynihan! What a difference that
would make on the tone of the City Council; who knows,
maybe we will even get a new council president!
Pro-Override Forces Back Allen Anti-Override
Forces Support Stewart
The North Andover
School Committee race being held on March 27th is going
to come down to three candidates (two being polar
opposites) vying for one open seat being vacated by Al
Perry (YEAH!) Running on the TUFF we need
overrides platform is Christine Allen and running
on the no override side is former Selectman
Donald Stewart. The third candidate is invisible and
nobody knows if he is still the race. But, not to worry,
no matter which side of the override issue you happen to
stand on, there is a candidate for you to support. Allen
seems to have gotten a head start as her signs and
supporters have been hard at work for months trying to
get the school spending advocate elected while Stewart
took a much more laid-back approach. That is, until two
weeks ago when Stewarts campaign exploded into high
gear and signs began popping up all over town. No doubt
the late start is going to hurt Stewart and the head
start Allen got will inflate some of her numbers, but
this one could be a horse race depending on voter
turnout.
Poverty Pimps Bill Taxpayers for Party at
Sals
Ah, you have to love Bill Traynor and his poverty pimps
at Lawrence Community Works. They love the poor people of
Lawrence so much that they held a party at Sals
Riverwalk last year and now they are billing the city of
Lawrence for more than $4,000, including hotel
accommodations for their guest speaker, the room service,
the food, the advertising in The Eagle~Tribune and other
amenities. Heres the funny part: all of the
reimbursement receipts they submitted to the city for
payment were from out-of-town businesses. Funny, huh? I
guess practicing what you preach (helping Lawrence
businesses, fighting for the little people, etc.) is not
part of the mission statement at LCW. What I find most
hilarious about all of this is how The Eagle~Tribune
castigated Methuens Chief Solomon for submitting
reimbursement receipts for a pretzel and cheese whiz, yet
no word from the Trib about the abuse of public funds for
Poverty Pimp Central to throw a party (which I am
assuming you, the general public, did not get the benefit
of attending).
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The March 2007 Edition
of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
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