The Reading Post accepts Letters to the Editor. All letters must be signed. The Reading Post reserves the right to edit or not publish any letters received. Letters do not represent the views or opinions of the Post. editor@thereadingpost.com
Dear Reading Residents,
I am one of the 2200+ people who signed the recall petition. I am also one of the 912 people who subsequently had their signatures challenged by Vanessa Alvarado. Ms. Alvarado wasted the Town Counsel’s time and $35,000 of taxpayer funds when she withdrew her 912 objections to the signatures on the very day of the Board of Registrars’ hearing. In the weeks prior, she had the Town Clerk and the Board of Registrars wasting their time and resources reviewing contested signatures that they had already verified.
Ms. Alvarado’s claims of false signatures ignited a storm of protests for those she targeted. Town Counsel received over 500 emails from people asserting that “it was, in fact, my signature” on the petition. She knew full well that signatures from prominent Reading volunteers are easily accessible at Town Hall. Anyone who served on any board pulled papers for any volunteer position, or elected to Town Meeting all have their signatures on town documents that are available online. She literally squandered everyone’s time and money. Is this the person you want in charge of making decisions for our town?
The argument that her recall will discourage anyone from volunteering is a false narrative. Volunteers who follow the rules and don’t rewrite or twist their meaning will continue to offer their services to the town. If anything, the behavior of Ms. Alvarado has done exactly the opposite of discouraging people.
I did not vote for Ms. Alvarado, but I did follow her leadership closely the first few months. I was impressed with some of the things she was doing. Her newsletters? Really helpful. They proved to be extremely helpful when one revisits them and examines what she indicated on HER timeline during the ratification process. How ironic to see that she didn’t even follow it.
Reading voters! We need to turn this sinking ship around. We need someone who can steer us back to what is best for our town. Vote FOR THE RECALL to once again lead us in the right direction and make decisions that are productive. I’m happy to return to the discussions of potholes, speed limits and Bagel World traffic. It’s time to focus on the real business of running our town.
Alicia Williams
Marla Lane
fortherecall.com
