>>Valley Patriot>> |
Lanen v. Caggiano After a very
respectable showing in the North Andover Selectman’s
race, fiscally conservative Police Office Danny As you might recall, Lanen is the North Andover Police Officer who opposed the Prop 2½ Override for the new police station and has been causing liberals like Caggiano more than a few headaches over the past year. This is definitely going to be an entertaining race. Huster Rejected by Voters AGAIN!
The year after being fired by the voters for being dishonest about a school override and the financial state of the school system, Huster ran again the following year but was defeated by Dr. Chuck Ormsby. Last month she took the Triple Crown of political losses by running for the third year in a row and, as predicted, lost for the third year in a row. This time she was defeated by two unelected challengers. Thus, it was
more than entertaining this year when Huster ran around
town touting her slogan, “Values We Can Trust”,
as if lying about overrides, trying to stop School
Committee meetings from being televised and holding
executive sessions without keeping adequate records for
the public to inspect, are actually indications of
“Values We Can Trust.” One thing you can
“trust”, is that Huster still doesn’t get
it, and will try once again to be relevant by running for
School Committee (losing for a record fourth time in a
row) against Dr. Chuck Ormsby next year. According to the Eagle-Tribune, the North Andover Building Commissioner is on “vacation”. The fact is, he is on a temporary leave of absence. According to our sources in town hall, he allegedly made threatening remarks about Assistant Town Manager Ray Santilli. Elected officials who are aware of the alleged threat are refusing to talk about specifics, but some admit that the age and health of the Building Commissioner are being taken into consideration and a retirement package will be offered in the near future. Stay tuned as this case continues to develop. Chief vs. Chief Prior to a recent Rotary Club meeting, North Andover Police Chief Richard Stanley asked if he could speak to the group and ask for their support for the new police station. He was initially granted permission, but when Fire Chief Bill Dolan found out about it, he reportedly resigned from the Rotary Club in protest. The Rotary subsequently withdrew its invitation to Stanley in order to get Dolan to reconsider his resignation, but Dolan would not return. I guess this explains why the idea of a joint police and fire station always draws laughter any time it is suggested to town officials. Andrea’s Cell Phone Bill It has been reported by one of the Spanish language “newspapers” that Lawrence DPW worker Andrea Traficante has been abusing her cell phone for personal use. With no proof whatsoever, Ms. Traficante was vilified in what seemed to be a series of personal vendetta pieces backed only by speculation and innuendo by the editors of said paper. I'd like to blow a kiss to Andrea for helping us to clear up the rumors about the phone. Although not legally obligated to do so, Andrea Traficante voluntarily provided The Valley Patriot with six months of her cell phone records. After reviewing the bills, I can tell you that there is really nothing at all unusual to report. Anyone But Lenny!
Driscoll admitted he barely campaigned and said he knew “almost nobody” in town. When asked on Election Day why they voted for Driscoll, the answer most given by town voters was: “Because he’s not Lenny Degnan!” If you are keeping score at home, Degnan is now 0 for 3 in Lawrence and North Andover elections ... that is after being defeated in the Lawrence Mayor’s race several years ago. It is really telling when you are rejected by voters in two communities. For me, however, it’s just pure entertainment! Matos vs. Marcos Some who speculate on the trends of Lawrence voters have been talking about possible confusion on the November ballot when Councilor Marcos Devers and Councilor Carlos Matos both appear on the ballot for Mayor. As the story goes, Devers is known as MARCOS and Carlos Matos is known as MATOS - which might cause some of the masses who support Devers to check off Matos by accident. What’s a confused Lawrence voter to do? I asked a
group of voters recently if this speculation had any
credence and was told quite emphatically by one voter,
“We know Marcos Devers. He’s the one who
supported Lawrence resident Dave Camasso for City
Comptroller...the other guy voted no!” I guess the
voters are a little bit smarter than the pundits think
they are. *Send your questions
comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com |
Lanen is positioned perfectly to take on
tax-and-spend liberal (and co-chair of the North Andover
Democrat Town Committee) Mark Caggiano in next
year’s Selectman’s race. Of course, the last
nail in Caggiano’s coffin would be for Lanen to
become a Republican, ensuring the support of a
conservative block and the Town Republican Committee. 
Three up and three down for Diane Huster.
After being bounced off the School Committee by an
unknown candidate three years ago, Huster has been
desperate to become relevant again in town politics. 
Does it get any better than this? Jack
Driscoll, a virtual unknown in North Andover Town
politics, beat Lawrence’s Lenny Degnan for the North
Andover Technical School Committee.