Color Me Surprised!

Wow. Never would have bet money on this one. Thanks to Brad_in_MA for a bit of good news...

Lantigua concedes in Lawrence mayor's race

LAWRENCE — Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua has conceded the city's contested mayor's race to City Councilor Daniel Rivera.

Lantigua congratulated the fellow Democrat on the win and said it was time to give Rivera a chance to lead. Lantigua made the statement Monday evening in Spanish on a local Spanish-language radio station.

I never thought Lantigua would willingly concede. I assumed that he would have kept manufacturing votes recounting until he won. Given his corrupt reign, I would have bet that the only thing getting him out of office was going to be State Police frog-marching him out. I wonder if someone got to Lantigua with some damning evidence and told him he could quietly slip away, or be marched out like a Speaker of the House...

I was going to comb through the news reports to bring you tidbits about Lawrence's former mayor, but it's already been done here. In a nutshell, he has appointed his wife and girlfriend to city jobs, he has been accused of campaign finance violations, his supporters have beat up his detractors, associates of his have been arrested for their dealings with the city; basically, he's Lawrence's answer to the fictional Boss Hogg of Hazzard County. Only more corrupt.

Good luck in your new endeavor, Willie - I hope it involves making license plates...

That is all.