By Josh Resnek
When you go to the polls in November and you are handed a ballot and fill it out, you won’t find the mayor’s name on the ballot…or will you?
The mayor and one of his relatives and a number of his strongest supporters, who do whatever he asks whenever he asks, are running a number of local campaigns to insure voter transfer for the mayor.
What is that?
Voter transfer is the mayor making it known which candidates he and his cohorts favor, and working to deliver as many votes as they can to get his slate elected.
The mayor doesn’t have a slate, you say? Oh yes he does.
He isn’t running.
His name isn’t on the ballot.
Yes it is.
Councilor Anthony DiPierro is running the voters transfer operation for his cousin the mayor.
He is a very able and hard working soldier for the mayor.
To what end?
We can’t be sure except to say he wants out of his councilor’s seat. He would likely take a city position offered to him by the mayor in return for all his hard work and loyalty.
DiPierro works at his tasks everyday and into the night.
He places signs. He scouts the field. He studies the strategies of candidates trying to win without the mayor, and he makes use of resources given to him by the mayor and others who seek to strengthen the vice grip the mayor has on city hall and the city council, and to a lesser extent, the school committee.
Some claim that DiPierro mailed out the anti-Mike Marchese piece that was mailed throughout the city before the at-large primary. Others claim it was the mayor himself who ordered it sent out but who didn’t do it himself. Still others claim it was the rep or any number of supporters of the mayor who would like to see Marchese go down.
The Ward 6 McLaughlin – Lattanzi contest is an ongoing battlefield for DiPierro and by default, for Mclaughlin.
McLaughlin, the Ward 6 incumbent, is not only running against Lattanzi.
He is, in fact, running against the mayor’s “machine.”
That machine is mainly, largely, almost exclusively DiPierro.
He has been accompanying Lattanzi all over the city.
The first time out businessman is seeking a councilor’s seat to satisfy his best friend the mayor who persuaded him to run.
At times, the mayor, DiPierro, Lattanzi and others go from door to door soliciting votes for the newcomer.
Will those votes transfer as is the hope?
McLaughlin is taking the high road, campaigning vigorously, door knocking all over the city, just putting his head down and trying to get out the vote.
Many claim it is a difficult thing, the mayor and his slaves attempting to cause voters to vote for someone they do not know like Lattanzi.
Others claim voter transfer doesn’t work, that the mayor’s support for a slate does not necessarily produce victories for those aligned with him. Gerly Adrien, seeking an at-large seat, who just scored well in the primary, is not backed by the mayor or DiPierro.
The in-power folks are not inclined to aid her in capturing a seat.
The status quo political field fears her entry into the politics of city hall. The mayor doesn’t want a single new voice to challenge his almost dictatorial rule of the council.
This is why the mayor and his cohorts have put up a write in candidate to challenge first timer Jerry Le for a council seat.
In this instance, the mayor chose one of his tenants and the head of the Everett Housing Authority to take s stab at the impossible – a sticker campaign against Le.
And finally, there are the alleged repeated efforts by the mayor who failed to find a candidate willing to mount a campaign against Councilor Fred Capone.
Capone is perceived by the mayor as a potential mayoral candidate the next time around.
The effort was to get rid of him in this upcoming municipal election so the mayor gets a free ride in two years.
Whether you think so or not, the mayor is on the ballot in November. Will his efforts translate into wins for his slate or not?