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The old guard returns: Veteran politicians battle again for Statehouse seat

Eagle-Tribune - 8/12/2018

Aug. 12--LAWRENCE -- The 2013 and 2016 elections were hailed as transitional events in Lawrence politics, when the torch was passed to a new generation of Latino leadership educated in the United States, steeped in its political traditions and rooted in its liberal values.

"The political factions that Marcos Devers and William Lantigua represented had underpinnings in what you see in our countries of origin," Juana Matias said days after she burst from obscurity in 2016 to defeat Devers, a former city councilor and mayor more than twice her age who was seeking a fourth term representing Lawrence in the Statehouse. "I think we have these new young professionals who are bicultural, who are bilingual, who understand the way American politics works and are going to be able to contribute a lot more because of that understanding."

A similar sentiment was echoed at the time by Zoila Gomez, an immigration lawyer who three years before had managed Daniel Rivera's campaign in another generational battle, when Rivera narrowly defeated Lantigua's bid for a second term as mayor in a race that received statewide attention.

"The time for the Lantiguas and Devers is over and we need to transition to a younger generation, educated here in the United States, who identify both with the Anglo community and the diverse community of Lawrence, with the Latino population, like Danny and Juana," Gomez said, referring to Rivera and Matias. "The change started when Rivera won (in 2013). We're moving away from the type of politician who identifies themselves with the way of doing politics in Latin America. We're moving away from that and learning how to do politics the way we do it here in the United States."

Or maybe not.

Predictions of the demise of the rival factions that make up the city's old guard were premature, at least in the 16th Essex District. The district is the only one of Lawrence's three districts fully contained in the city, making whoever represents it the city's most critical voice on Beacon Hill because his or her loyalties are not shared with neighboring municipalities.

On Sept. 4, voters in the district will see two familiar names on the ballot, when former mayor and state Rep. Lantigua and former mayor and state Rep. Devers will meet again to try to regain the House seat each has held before.

In all, Lantigua and Devers have run for office in Lawrence a total of 25 times since 1999, including against each other for the House seat in 2006 and 2008 in contests that Lantigua won, and in 2014 in a contest for the seat that Devers won. The two also ran for mayor in 2009, when Lantigua won both the preliminary and general elections, and in 2013, when Lantigua won the preliminary election but lost to Rivera in the general.

Both men come to this race fresh off recent losses, suggesting voters' weariness with the never-ending cycle of Devers and Lantigua. Since losing the mayor's office to Rivera in 2013, Lantigua has lost comeback attempts for mayor and the Statehouse. Devers held off Lantigua's last challenge for the House seat in 2014, causing Lantigua to retire to the Dominican Republic for three years before returning to run for mayor again. Two years later, Devers lost the seat to Matias, who is giving it up after just one term to run for Congress.

On Thursday, two years after she predicted that Devers' defeat would herald a new generation of leadership in Lawrence, Gomez attended a fundraiser for him under a tent in the driveway at Rivera's Mount Vernon home. Hot dogs were served, along with a dose of political reality.

"Marcos is better than Willie," Gomez said about why she was there. "Nobody else is running."

Matias has not publicly supported either Devers or Lantigua, a choice that either way could alienate a sizable block of voters in a city that is critical to her congressional bid. She declined to comment on the choice on Friday.

"I'm focused on making sure I'm reaching out to voters of the 3rd Congressional District," she said. "I can't speculate on what's happening in other races."

Rivera and Devers forged what has become an unbreakable alliance in 2013, when Devers provided critical support to Rivera's longshot campaign to unseat Mayor Lantigua. At the hot dog fundraiser he hosted Wednesday evening, Rivera put his arm around Devers and said he wouldn't be mayor without him. In a race Rivera won by just 81 votes out of more than 15,000 cast, the statement was not an exaggeration.

"Elections are about who's on the ballot," Rivera said Friday about the upcoming Devers vs. Lantigua contest. "Who's on the ballot (on Sept. 4) are these two people. I think Marcos will do a great job. Willie's going to set us back 15 years."

Devers and Lantigua did not directly answer a question about whether the two might have stepped aside this year rather than put themselves on the ballot for what will be a combined total of 25 times.

"I think to be young is important," Devers, 67, said. "To be in your 20s, 30s, is good. The person is young, energetic, whatever. But also experience through the years is important. So it's a balance. We need people with experience, people who know how to do the job. Experience. Knowledge. Academic background. How to prepare a bill. To make the right judgment."

"All I can tell you is that I feel I have the support of the people of the great city of Lawrence," said Lantigua, 63. "I respect the philosophy of new leadership, having young people elected to office. I'm supporting that. All along, I've helped younger people get elected to office. That's what democracy is. But in the end, the voters of the great city of Lawrence will pick a candidate."

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