PAYING ATTENTION!

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If You Want More Representation Get Involved

The Justice Department and the Lawrence City Council are currently considering a proposal which would eliminate the three At-Large Lawrence City Council seats. At-Large Councilors are elected city wide in contrast to district councilors who are elected in each of the six neighborhood districts.

We are in this predicament because the last City Council folded under pressure from The Justice Department. Instead of going to court to defend our city charter and take a stand against those who say it is a racist charter, they agreed to change the structure of our city Government without a fight to make it easier for Hispanics to get elected to office. Under this agreement with the Justice Department we have already restructured our School Committee to be elected by district instead of at large. Now they want to do away with at Large Councilors because the argument is that Hispanics can’t get elected city wide due to racism. Perhaps they have forgotten that Ralph Carrero was elected three times city wide to the School Committee. Maybe they have forgotten Marcos Devers won a city wide At Large Council seat two years ago. Or maybe, just maybe they haven’t forgotten at all.

As it stands now, every citizen in Lawrence has four city councilors they can call on to discuss their concerns about city services. We have a district Councilor and three At-Large councilors. Under some of the proposed plans put together by or being advocated by Hispanic activists, Hispanic districts would have three councilors and White districts would have only two. Tell me this is fair!

This move to change our charter has nothing to do with fairness and it really has nothing to do with correcting past wrongs. Willie Lantigua spoke at the redistricting meeting on Sunday and told the ordinance committee what it’s really about. "This is about power and control," he said. He certainly has that right! It is about power and control. It’s also about taking short cuts to seize that power without going through the growing pains an increased participation over a period of time like previous immigrant groups.

According to the census, the majority of Lawrence residence are Hispanic. But only 15% of the registered voters in Lawrence are Hispanic. If you do not register to vote and actively get involved in city government you can expect to have less representation than those who do get involved. Trying to change the city charter as a short cut to increase the number of Hispanics who are elected in Lawrence only takes away the incentive to get involved by Hispanic Lawrencians.

I don’t buy the argument that only Hispanic elected officials represent Hispanics in government. Elected officials represent everyone who votes. If you are Hispanic and want more of a voice in your government go out and vote. Get involved. Call your district and At-Large councilors when you have a concern. That’s the American way. And it’s the only way your government officials are going to take you seriously.