Mayor Carlo DeMaria’s most recent mayoral victory last Tuesday came as close to a defeat as all his other victories combined. Landslide Carlo, as some have called him in the election aftermath, scored 210 votes more than his challenger, Councilor Fred Capone.
For Capone, it is a bitter defeat having come so close and yet being so far away.
There is some talk that as many as 75-100 out of towners, that is, residents of other cities and towns, who voted in Everett in last week’s election.
This, obviously, is problematic, as voter fraud is problematic and what’s worse, it is a federal offense..
Whether or not anyone in law enforcement cares about the mayor and his apparent excesses and voter fraud or possible fraud in real estate transactions remains to be seen.
Law enforcement should take notice of the mayor’s election night remarks where he used the platform to threaten those who were not with him.
If his words are not about retaliation coming, well, we don’t know what is.
DeMaria’s victory is hollow because he is hollow.
As he moves forward unimpeded into this new term beginning in January, we can expect him to act with boundaries to exact revenge on those who he perceives were not with him.
Election Night confirmed that the Carlo DeMaria city hall circus and merry go round will continue unabated.
We believe this will not be good for the city.
We believe many individuals just trying to be left alone will possibly be hurt.
We believe the mayor’s penchant for unwritten deals with developers or with alleged real estate partners is very risky business for a sitting mayor presiding over so much new real estate development.
We do not expect he will be plotting a new administration while vacationing in Aruba.
He will likely be creating a list of those who need to be fired or to be hurt because they were not with him in the election.
The Leader Herald remains undaunted by such speculation. We will continue to report the news.
We will not do the mayor’s bidding as others are paid to do in the local media.
We will remain independent, unshackled and undaunted by the mayor’s threats, and determined to do what we can to cast a light on possible wrongdoing at city hall.
Capone’s almost winning wasn’t enough.
The mayor has won his victory.
Too bad he used this victorious moment to promise others about retaliation.
Let us repeat his Election Night promise: “I raised a lot of money and I’m going to go after a lot of people.”
We believe this says it all about the mayor and how he is approaching the future.