By Josh Resnek
Former councilor and mayoral runner-up in the last election Fred Capone demanded Councilor Anthony DiPierro’s immediate resignation Monday night.
“It is a disgrace he (DiPierro) has not been reprimanded. Who do you serve? Yourself or the mayor? Or the residents of this community?” Capone asked the council.
Capone cautioned the councilors if they did nothing “disgruntled residents will absolutely vote you out of office.”
He received a wide round of applause from those who crowded into the packed council chamber.
The council met his words with yawns and a marked and palpable degree of disinterest.
Capone was the last speaker in a dramatic, extended public speaking period that dominated the council meeting for the third meeting in a row.
Capone also asked that the mayor pay back $180,000 in “fraudulent” longevity payments the city paid to him and which the mayor refused to take this year shortly before the city council stripped him of it because his lawyers apparently informed him he’d get in trouble if he took it.
This was all part of a wild west type council meeting that went on for hours Monday night.
Since DiPierro’s racist memes and messaging became public following a Leader Herald report, dozens of speakers have crowded the public speaking portion of the council meetings pleading that he should resign. Articles have appeared in the Boston Globe, and stories have appeared on Channels 7 and 5 and GBH Television.
Capone, Dotti Gomez, a member of the NAACP and six others all issued demands that DiPierro resign during the public speaking period.
Gomez reiterated the NAACP statement demanding DiPierro’s immediate resignation.
Bishop Robert Brown spoke. He did not ask for DiPierro to resign. He read haltingly from a prepared statement asking for understanding and brotherhood as opposed to any punishment for DiPierro.
Bishop Brown revealed little to no emotion until he mentioned himself and those who had questioned that he is controlled by the mayor.
“I am not an employee of the city of Everett. I do not do whatever the mayor tells me to do. I’m not the mayor’s puppet and will never be his puppet,” he said.
What he did not say is that his family has been enhanced by the mayor’s largesse.
He failed to reference the fact that his niece runs the Wellness Center and a son-in-law also works for the city. In both cases, the mayor is the bottom line in that hiring process.
Activist, mother and unsuccessful candidate for councilor at large Guerline Alcy demanded that DiPierro resign.
She was emotional and hard hitting.
“I’m sick of (Blacks and Browns) being treated like dirt by the city.” She glared at the council.
Alcy is Haitian.
The Haitian community has been following the racist charges against DiPierro and the do-nothing attitude and silence of the city council about it.
“You guys have to stop acting like its nothing. We’re tired. We want Anthony DiPierro to resign. We’re tired. We want him to step down…step down. We’re going to keep coming here. Save your name. This is not going to get us anywhere. This is how a white councilor sees Black people. Please step down. The mayor is not able to save you. The mayor didn’t put you in that seat,” Alcy said.
Antonio Maya, the Executive Director of La Communidad, decried DiPierro’s racism.
“This behavior must stop immediately. I call for his resignation. Using the N word as he has cannot take place in a diverse city like Everett. Mr. DiPierro, please don’t ask for a second chance,” he added.
Realtor Sandy Juliano told the council “this isn’t going away.”
She said “it is getting bigger.”
“You must respect voters’ wishes, not the mayor’s. People who care about Everett’s future have had enough. As a body you all need to ask for his resignation.”