The following is a letter to the editor from Kris Lokere. To submit your own letter, e-mail the editor at andrewsylvia@westfordtemplate.com
Tuesday is Election Day and I will be voting for Dennis Galvin for 2nd Middlesex State Representative. Dennis is a man of great personal integrity and it is integrity and honesty that is needed on Beacon Hill. He will not be afraid to speak out against the ethical or criminal misconduct of his peers or House leadership.
Three recent House speakers, Flaherty, Finneran and DiMasi, resigned their position when convicted of federal charges. Whether or not wrongdoing is suspected of the current speaker is still under investigation. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said, “Public service and elected office is not a right or an entitlement—it is a privilege that comes with the public’s expectation of truthfulness and honesty” (FBI, 2014). She went on to call Beacon Hill a “culture of corruption.” This year’s Probation Department scandal, trading votes for jobs, makes one wonder if the Beacon Hill culture can ever change.
A culture of corruption is blamed on one-party rule, where transparency and open debate is stifled. In an atmosphere of dominance by one-party leadership, even the voices of junior House Representatives are repressed by a fear of a loss of favoritism. It is not enough to be silent on matters of ethics.
Dennis Galvin has the conviction to speak out against unethical and criminal actions and has proven it numerous times by his letters to the editor on House behavior. Join me and vote for Dennis Galvin for 2nd Middlesex Representative on November 4th.
Kris Lokere
FBI,. (2014). Former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Lobbyist Convicted on Corruption Charges. Retrieved 2 November 2014, from http://www.fbi.gov/boston/press-releases/2011/former-speaker-of-the-massachusetts-house-of-representatives-and-lobbyist-convicted-on-corruption-charges
