Letter: Remember to vote; choose Fiorentini

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October 21, 2009

Remember to vote; choose Fiorentini

To the editor:

I would like to remind people that the local mayoral election is November 3 and for those people who were on vacation and did not see my last letter to the editor about whom I voted for in the primary, it was our crrent mayor, James Fiorentini, to also be Haverhill's next mayor.

Mayor Fiorentini has made a lot of Progress for Haverhill. Mayor Fiorentini is a leader and not a follower.

I ask you kindly to vote for Mayor James J. Fiorentini on November 3.

I would also like to see some change on the Haverhill City Council. Please consider your votes for Anastasia Papaefthemiou and Sven Amirian.

For School Committee, I support Joe Bevilacqua and Paul Magloicchetti.

Theodoro A. Vasiliou

Haverhill

Mayor, school board have failed our kids

To the editor:

The Haverhill School Committee is not working for the benefit of our students. It is understandable, in these difficult economic conditions that emotions can rise and disagreements can occur; however, recent tiffs concerning principal em-ails on budget cuts, utility bills going unpaid, $300,000 deferral, and not knowing how many teachers are working are beyond understainding. Now we discover our students are not even provided with up-to-date textbooks!

In 2006, examiners from the state of Massachusetts reviewed the School Department and School Committee to report on progress toward meeting the MCAS test score improvements. Their written report also remarked, back then, that "Parents expressed the need for a school committee whose members were focused on improving the schools, rather than bogged down with internal dissension, embarrassing public squabbles, and local political strife."

As mayor, Mr. Fiorentini is the president of the School Committee. It is expected that under his leadership the School Committee should work toward the success of the children of Haverhill and the chairman should not allow the committee to conduct itself in a dysfunctional manner. The recent MCAS scores are an unfortunate reminder of these failings: the School Committee is responsible and its chairman must bear significant responsibility for the lack of progress Haverhill has endured with public education.

This spring, the School Department needed to save $300,000 during this fiscal year to prevent lay-offs. Teachers did not agree to an unpaid day off but will likely agree to defer a day's pay to next year. This is not savings; rather it is meeting this year's commitments by borrowing from next year's budget. Then, according to an Eagle-Tribune article of May 3 it was revealed that the School Committee could not determine how many teachers work in the Haverhill School System. The mayor stated he has been saying for years that schools have not been cutting. Therefore, as chairman, he needs to take responsibility for being part of the problem.

It seems nothing has changed since 2006, except that the School Committee's actions and behavior are beyond understandable and the committee needs better leadership more now than ever.

Instead of letting the agenda fail with the same old players, it makes sense to have a leader who understands education is a community effort and one that works to build collaboration amongst all stakeholders.

Real concern for education in Haverhill suggests the approach of John Michitson as mayor and careful consideration of each School Committee candidate.

John Nolan

Bradford

Fiorentini works hard for city

To the editor:

In the next years, we need a mayor who is willing to work night and day to get Haverhill through this fiscal crisis and the budget cuts imposed on us by the state.

We have that mayor in Jim Fiorentini.

I remember when he first took office, an article in the papers from former Mayor Jim Waldron said that no one had ever worked harder than Jim Fiorentini. I drive by City Hall often, and it isn't unusual to see Jim Fiorentini's car still there late at night, or on Saturdays or even Sundays. It isn't unusual to see Jim around the city, checking constituent problems or just meeting with people.

Jim Fiorentini's hard work has really paid off, with millions of dollars of investment in our city.

I truly believe that in these tough economic times, the upcoming election is a great opportunity to stand by a man who has put his heart and soul into helping Haverhill reach its full potential.

Jim Fiorentini's work ethic is exactly what our city needs at this time.

I'll be sticking with the proven leader, Jim Fiorentini, and encourage other Haverhill voters to do the same.

Susan M. Goecke

Haverhill

Support Amirian for council

To the editor:

I am writing in support of the candidacy and campaign of Sven Amirian for election to the Haverhill City Council.

I have known Sven all of his life. I am proud of him, and I'm thankful for our city that he has chosen to live and work in Haverhill.

He is an intelligent, hard-working and compassionate person who cares about our city. He needs our votes if he is to be given the opportunity to work for us.

We need more individuals like Sven who care about our city and who will work for us. Let us care enough to get out to vote for those who care about us. Sven is one person who will work for us. Thank you.

Robert Pothier

Haverhill

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