Lawrence Residents Launch Campaign To Recall Mayor

LAWRENCE (CBS) -- A campaign is underway in the city of Lawrence to try to recall Mayor William Lantigua, and the news of an investigation targeting his administration has given the organizers new courage.

"I keep on doing what I'm doing because I love this city," said Reverend Edwin Rodriguez, who started the process of collecting signatures a month ago, but admits it was slow going because of fear of retaliation.

"Some people said, 'Don't do that, that's no good, something could happen in the city,'" said Rodriguez.

But he believes that's the problem, that little has happened in Lawrence since Lantigua came to office as the state's first Latino mayor, bringing with him the hopes of many including Rodriguez who voted for him.

WBZ-TV's Beth Germano reports.

"I voted for him, my wife voted for him, my children all voted for him, he got eight votes from us because I had high hopes," he said. He claims there's little that's positive coming out of city hall, and charges Lantigua is governing by intimidation, saying he's been threatened himself.

"I have received calls saying, 'We know who you are, we know where you live, we know where your family lives,'" he said.

The campaign needs 5,232 certified signatures for the recall to be successful. Rodriguez believes he'll have 2,000 beyond that, but it hasn't been easy with volunteers going door to door with voting lists.

"When we say, 'Could you sign for me?' they shake. 'I would like to sign, I want him out, but I'm afraid,'" he says people reply.

The news of a reported FBI probe into whether Lantigua is using his office for personal gain has now helped the recall effort, according to Rodriguez. But the mayor has denied any wrongdoing.

"I'm standing before you today and saying that there is no corruption in my administration," he told reporters over the weekend when news of the investigation first broke. Still the campaign is preparing fliers for citywide leafleting, and has gotten dozens of hits of support on Facebook.

"We have laws, we have justice, we cannot be afraid," said Rodriguez.

He'll likely submit the signatures for verification next week. If enough are approved they'll be submitted to the city council. If the mayor does not resign within five days, a special election could be called.