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Marcos
Devers is No Pushover
 City
Council President Marcos Devers may be many
things, but a pushover is not one of them. Yet,
somehow he finds himself fighting that image in
political circles and it's simply unfair. Despite
what his critics say, Devers is a solid favorite
to win reelection in November...and that's a good
thing, no matter what Willie Lantigua thinks.
Sure I've had my differences with Devers on
policy and budgetary issues. I still do. We've
also had serious differences of opinion on race
baiting and the motives of people who oppose the
new high school location in South Lawrence.
But at least those differences can be discussed
openly at a Council meeting. At least Devers
doesn't hide behind the gavel when things aren't
going his way. At least Devers has the courage to
take an unpopular vote and then take the public
criticism afterward.
I cite as only one example, his vote not to fire
CLVS director David Howshan when the majority
opinion in the community was that Howshan had to
go. (I also shared that opinion.)
Knowing that he would be lambasted the next day
on English and Spanish language radio stations,
Devers voted not to fire Howshan, giving his
political detractors a platform to attack him. He
could have caved to the pressure and voted
against his own conviction but he didn't. He also
fought for voter ID at a time when members of his
political base were rabidly against it.
Hardly the actions of a pushover.
So, where has this "pushover" thing
come from? I would say it's lack of proper
perspective by his colleagues and detractors.
Free
Speech in Lawrence
After sitting
through two years of heavy handed censorship
under former Council President Frank Kivell,
Devers decided to give every Councilor (and
members of the public) unprecedented latitude to
speak their minds. Even at the expense of being
publicly attacked himself or angering his
colleagues.
As the result of his deep respect for free speech
(something most politicians only pay lip service
to) City Council meetings drag on and on as
Councilors abuse the free reign Devers has given
them. They rant and rave, repeat themselves on
many issues and reiterate the words of other
Councilors.
It's a sore spot for many who wish that Devers
would cut off debate when Councilors start to
repeat themselves or make no sense. But it's not
the President's weakness or inability to stand up
to people which results in long meetings and
public frustration, it is his strength.
Surely it's harder to show restraint while
sitting through hours of ridiculous monologues
which are all too common since Devers took over
the Council. It would be much easier to make his
colleagues happy and shut off certain Councilors
who never seem to get it. It would be easier for
Devers to refuse to recognize people who are
assuredly going to contribute nothing to the
discussion, yet take an hour to do it.
Just compare the leadership style of President
Devers to that of, say… Wilfredo Laboy and
(his soon to be employee) Suzanne Piscitello.
Piscitello and Laboy refused to allow certain
members of the public to speak during public
participation because she (ie Laboy) doesn't like
what those American citizens have to say.
Apparently, Laboy, Piscitello and the pushovers
on the School Committee who sit by silently,
believe that American citizens give up their
constitutional rights when they take a job
working for the Lawrence School Department.
The real pushovers in Lawrence are Noah Shannon,
Jorge Gonzalez, Pedro Arce and the rest of the
School Committee who are afraid to stand up to
Piscitello and Laboy. The real pushovers are
those committee members who do nothing as the
rights of citizens to speak are trampled upon.
Regardless of the problems Devers' leadership
style has caused, this new found freedom in
Lawrence city government has produced more
positive effects than negative. It has produced
more open and honest debate on issues. I will
cite one glaring example;
Allowing
Dissent
Because of Devers patience and openness,
Councilor Mike Sweeney was allowed to give an
hour-long presentation one evening on the zoning
restrictions of lot sizes. He came complete with
graphs and statistics in order to dispel the
"myths being perpetuated by another
Councilor who has called this a racial
issue."
The Councilor whom Sweeney was referring to was
none other than Council President Devers. Through
the entire presentation Devers sat attentively as
Sweeney picked apart his argument and showed the
public why he thought he was right and Devers was
wrong. Never once did Devers interrupt him even
though it was his positions being challenged.
That kind of openness and public conflict would
have never happen at a School Committee meeting.
It surely wouldn't have happened under the
previous Council president. But
it happened under Devers who did not change his
mind or give in to the mounting pressure in the
audience.
The fact is, despite some inconsistencies on a
few key issues, President Devers has opened up
the floodgates of communication on the Council
and in city hall. His leadership on free speech
issues has proven that the more people are
allowed to vent their frustrations and speak
their minds the better chance there is to arrive
at the truth.
It also gives the public confidence that nothing
is being swept under the rug or that deals are
being made over Council votes. For the first time
in years it is almost impossible to predict how
each Councilor will vote on an issue before it is
brought up for discussion.
Devers knows this and cherishes it as a badge of
honor. Whatever his faults may be as the Council
President, being a pushover is not one of them.
He stood up to the Mayor on the budget, he
opposed the strong-arm tactics of the Justice
Department, and he has angered his own core
supporters with his independence.
When you weigh the downside of Devers leadership
style against the benefits of free speech
stimulating truth to be told (sometimes at the
expense of the president's position) you start to
see why Lawrence is far better off with Marcos
Devers on the Council than we are without him. I
only hope that the voters see that on Election
Day.
Related Stories
about Marcos Devers
What the Next
Mayor can Learn from Marcos Devers!
Good Morning Lawrence
City Council...This is Your Wakeup Call
Senior Citizen Assistance
(excerpt)
There is no reason why senior citizens should
have to pay so much in city taxes, permits,
licenses and other city fees. These are people
who have paid taxes all their lives and are stuck
on a fixed income. Though a tax break for seniors
will result in decreased revenue for the city, I
believe it is one of those things that cannot be
looked at with a cost-benefit frame of mind. The
Senior Center is in need of more staff. Senior
citizens are in need of transportation and it is
our obligation as a community to provide whatever
services they need. As interim Mayor, Marcos
Devers gave the senior center a janitor that was
badly needed. Mayor Dowling had continually
denied this expense in her budgets. Shortly after
Devers left office as interim mayor the janitor
was removed. The senior center is one of those
entities in the city that has to be given a top
priority in the city budget. Even more
importantly, the number of Hispanic senior
citizens is rising rapidly with very little
consideration being given to their needs in the
budget. Mayor Sullivan needs to sit down with
Barney Riley and objectively look at how
inadequate the staffing and funding is for
Lawrence seniors.
Year 2000 Report
Card...How would you rate your elected officials?
Leaders We Deserve!
(excerpt)
None of the fundamental principals of our city
government are respected or followed by our
‘leaders’. That is, unless it is
convenient or it benefits them. That’s when
you’ll see Frank Kivell whining that
“the charter is our bible” as he waves
it in the air for dramatic effect. Don’t let
him fool you, your free speech is only important
if he agrees with you. Our officials have such
little respect for your right to speak that Marcos
Devers had to fight for public
participation at a sub-committees
meeting. This is just as much your fault for
letting city leaders get away with this laziness.
Council to Hear from
Public on Voter ID
Voting Lists Destroyed on Heels
of Justice Department Investigation
Council President Marcos
Devers Announces His Reelection Campaign
COUNCIL VOTES TO
INVESTIGATES MAYOR CONSULTANT CONTRACTS
Find the Money for CLVS
Investigation
Dowling Seeks Revenge
Over Essem Controversy
City Councilor Marcos Devers called the
move by Dowling a "political
persecution"
Lawrence City
Council At Large Debate (Part 2)
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