>>Valley Patriot>> |
David Where-iss-He? Ask Harry Potter!
Valley Patriot in Greece When North Andover Selectman Jim Xenakis got married last month, he and his new wife Michelle announced they would be going to Greece for their honeymoon. As Xenakis was chatting with family and friends during the July 4th celebration on the North Andover Common, someone asked him how he was going to get through the very long plane ride. “One thing for sure,” Xenakis said, not realizing a Valley Patriot reporter was nearby, “I am bringing The Valley Patriot with me so I can do the crossword puzzle!” We hope Mr. Xenakis shared his copy with other passengers on his way to the islands. Lantigua Supports Gay Programs for Children It was puzzling to see Lawrence State Rep. Willie Lantigua supporting a measure to spend $350,000 of your state tax money on programs for “gay and lesbian youth.” Lantigua, who has always touted himself as a social conservative, voted to stop Governor Romney from reducing funding for sexually-based programs for children. At a time when money is being cut for services to senior citizens in nursing homes, children’s services and free giveaway programs (which Lantigua loves to support), I hope his constituents ask him at election time why he voted for gay children's programs instead of being financially responsible and fighting for that money to go to much more needed services. Hennessy to run for State Rep Methuen
Council President Michael Hennessy is not running for
reelection this year because he has his sights set a Not Just a Pretty Face
Friendship Aside... Lawrence School Committeeman Jorge Gonzalez, a strong ally of Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy, has often been tagged with the reputation of being a puppet for the superintendent. So it came as quite a shock when Gonzalez (who is running for City Council in District “C”) told The Valley Patriot that if Wilfredo Laboy is convicted of assault and battery against fellow board member Amy McGovern, he would fire the superintendent. Gonzalez is a close personal friend of Laboy, has defended him in contract talks and during contentious School Committee meetings. “He is my friend and I think he is a good superintendent, but if he is convicted I would have to vote to fire him, of course,” he said in an exclusive interview last week. I guess Gonzalez is not quite the puppet his detractors have labeled him to be. Repaving South Broadway Lawrence Mayor Mike Sullivan held a press conference last week to announce a new construction project to repave South Broadway from the Andover line near Julie & Wendy’s convenience store to the falls bridge. The repaving project will begin on August 15th (tax amnesty day in Massachusetts, if you are keeping score at home) and will take about three weeks to complete, according to Lawrence DPW Director Frank McCann. Mayor Sullivan estimates that the project will cost between $570,000 and $600,000 and will be paid for with Chapter 90 money. Chapter 90 is the state road improvement fund for cities and towns; it is not a loan and does not have to be repaid to the state. Lawrence City Councilor Gil Frechette (District “E”) said that the sidewalks on South Broadway will be in compliance with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), complete with lowered curbing for wheel chairs. The repaving project was originally listed in the capital improvement plan for the city, but Sullivan said that none of the city's capital improvement money will have to be used. Who is Running for Office? The deadline for candidates to submit nomination papers to the city election department has come and gone. There are nine open seats on the Lawrence City Council, three are elected citywide or At-Large and six are elected by neighborhood districts. There are also six open seats on the Lawrence School Committee. Each seat up for grabs is elected by district, as well. There is also a mayor’s race this year; the mayor sits as chairman of the School Committee. Here is a list of candidates who will appear on the September primary ballot. GET INVOLVED! Contact the candidates running in your area; ask them where they stand on the issues. Volunteer to help the ones who will most effectively fight for your issues and interests. Incumbents are denoted below with an asterisk. Candidates for Mayor (Vote for One) *Michael
Sullivan –8 Burlington St. (681-8200) Council
At-Large (Vote for 3) Council
District “A” (Vote for One) Council
District “B” (Vote for One) Council
District “C” (Vote for One) Council
District “D” (Vote for One) Council
District “E” (Vote for One) Council
District “F” (Vote for One) School
Committee District “A” (Vote for One) School
Committee District “B” (Vote for One) School
Committee District “C” (Vote for One) School
Committee District “D” (Vote for One) School
Committee District “E” (Vote for One) School
Committee District “F” (Vote for One) Technical
School Committee (Vote for Three) *Send your questions
comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com |
North Andover State Representative David
Torrisi may not have time to attend annual town meetings,
local press conferences at Lucent, Lawrence City Council,
neighborhood meetings, or important votes at the State
House. But last month David (Where-is-he?) Torrisi made
time for something really, really important. Torrisi, who
has no children, spent an entire evening at Borders Book
Store at the Loop in Methuen with hundreds of other Harry
Potter Fans vying for the very first copy of “The
Half Blood Prince” at midnight. For the record,
Torrisi was unsuccessful in his quest to be first in line
for the book. That honor went to Lawrence teen Antony
Batis who drew cheers from the crowd as he walked away
from the counter reading page one. Who knows, maybe Batis
will run against Torrisi in a few years and they can
debate the morality of Dumbledore! 
little higher. Hennessy is gearing up to
run for state representative next year with the
expectation (delusion?) that State Representative Arthur
Broadhurst will be stepping down. Hennessy is a retired
firefighter, serves on the city’s retirement board
and is an At-Large City Councilor until January 2nd of
2006 when a new council takes office. Also eyeing the
state rep. race is City Councilor Linda Campbell. For the
record, State Representative Broadhurst has said that
this is most likely his last term at the State House. But
then again, he has been saying that since his first term.
Patricia Sanchez is running for School
Committee in District “C” and she is not just
another pretty face (though, to me that is much more
important than anything else). An independent
businesswoman who is a well-educated professional,
Sanchez is also the girlfriend of City Councilor Israel
Reyes. Political observers have speculated that Reyes is
trying to stack the deck on the Committee, but anyone who
has a brief conversation with Sanchez will quickly
realize that she has her own ideas and issues. One thing
for sure, she will make sitting through long School
Committee meetings much more enjoyable.