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The
Genuine Vs. The Counterfeit
Lawrence School Committeeman Peter
Larocque
(07/03/07)
 For the past several Lawrence
School Committee meetings, during the public
participation portion of the meeting, we, the citizens of
Lawrence, have been exhorted by School Commit-tee Member
James Vittorioso, not to be fooled at the next election.
I couldn’t agree more. I would like to take a moment
and respectfully add the following to his exhortation to
help the won-derful citizens of Lawrence not to be
fooled.
At Lawrence’s next election, there will be two types
of candidates. I have affection-ately called them the
genuine and the counterfeit candidates along with their
supporters. Both will be running for City Council as well
as School Committee.
The counterfeit candidates will be like wolves in
sheep’s clothing. They will be the ones who will
tell you that life as we know it is coming to an end! But
do not worry, they are here to save us from all the
corruption that plagues Lawrence.
Furthermore, some of the counterfeit candidates will be
in the race for payback reasons. They believe that they
have been wronged and want to get back at those who
wronged them. To accomplish this they will try to use the
voters to keep the politics of hatred and bitterness
along with un-forgiveness alive and well in Lawrence.
Wonderful examples for our children, don‘t you
think?
I believe that there is too much hatred in Lawrence
politics. It’s okay to disagree and to have debates
and discussions, but for some the spirit of hatred holds
them hostage. For example, some are still upset over the
location and purpose of the new Lawrence High School
campus. Others would even go to the extent of hoping that
our new High School fails just so that they can say,
“I told you so,” to the administration! You can
tell this just by listening to the tone of their voices
or by reading their written word.
They would do themselves, along with everybody else, a
lot of good if they would just let the hatred go!
Another characteristic of the counterfeit candidate is
the fact that they have not been seen at school committee
meetings or city council meetings because they only come
out during election season. But somehow, someway, they
have what we, the citizens of Lawrence, need to make it
through the dark days ahead.
Soon we will begin to see them around and they will be
the ones complaining very loudly yet offering no real
answers. They will use words like “We must be
proactive”. But they, themselves, haven’t been
active at all except to be negative.
On the other hand, the genuine candidates are easy to
identify because they are here and working! They are the
ones who have been showing up and are willing to give
back to the city without any self-serving ambition. The
genuine candidates put love for God, family and country
first! They believe that in order to receive respect, it
must be earned! The genuine candidates are here to serve,
not to be served! They are the ones who promote unity and
community involvement in a positive manner. The genuine
does not need to be told to show up, just where to show
up! They also say what they mean and mean what they say.
Finally, the genuine candidates do not proclaim that they
have all the answers, but are willing to roll up their
sleeves, work hard and are not afraid to bring people
together to help to get the answers.
The citizens of Lawrence must realize that, in order for
the counterfeit candidates to be successful, they have to
really look and sound genuine, and only those who have
been paying attention will be able to separate the two.
So my dear fellow citizens of Lawrence, do not be fooled
at election time. By September, if you look really close,
you should be able to separate the genuine from the
counterfeit candidates. All Lawrence can ask of its
citizens is that they choose wisely!
Peter Larocque is a member of the Lawrence School
Committee, 255 Essex St. Lawrence, MA 01842. He was
elected by the Lawrence City Council to fill the
unexpired term of Amy McGovern. You can email him at plarocque@lawrence.k12.ma.us
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The July 2007 Edition of
the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
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