Samuel Polo Pierre for Lawrence

The Plan

Five commitments you can count

Not slogans — specific things an at-large councilor can actually deliver, with a way to measure each one.

Clean Streets

Trash picked up on time. Dumpers fined. Rats gone.

Calles Limpias

A clean block is the most basic promise a city makes. Lawrence already has a special state law that lets the city fine illegal dumpers up to $10,000. The problem isn't the law — it's enforcement and follow-through.

1Quarterly public Council review of the trash hauler's performance — missed pickups, response times, and penalties actually charged under the contract.
2Cameras and enforcement at the ten worst illegal-dumping hot spots, using the city's existing $5,000–$10,000 dumping fines.
3A rat-abatement program tied to code enforcement, so a building with a rodent problem gets inspected, not just sprayed.
4311 response times published by district every month, so every neighborhood can see whether it is being served equally.

How we'll measure it

Fewer missed-pickup complaints each quarter, dumping fines actually collected, and 311 times that look the same in every district.

Safe Blocks

Kids safe at dismissal. Real community policing. Trust between families and police.

Barrios Seguros

In August 2026 three young men were shot next to Lawrence High at dismissal time. Every parent in this city felt it. Safety is not a Dominican issue, a Puerto Rican issue or a Haitian issue — it is a Lawrence issue.

1Safe-passage staffing near Lawrence High and South Lawrence East at dismissal — funded in the budget, not left to chance.
2Protect and grow youth summer jobs and late-night recreation in the budget; these are the first things cut and the last things we should lose.
3Back the Police Chief on recruitment and retention while insisting on public transparency: staffing levels, response times and complaint outcomes reported to the Council.
4Keep the police practice of not sharing immigration information in minor or traffic matters — victims and witnesses must be able to call the police without fear, or none of us are safe.

How we'll measure it

Zero unstaffed dismissals at the two high-school campuses, youth programs funded every summer, and police staffing and response data posted publicly.

Honest Government

Every dollar online. Real oversight. Elections everyone can trust.

Gobierno Honesto

Lawrence has lived through ballot theft, indictments and state takeovers. The Council is the people's check on City Hall — it approves the budget, confirms department heads and sets election rules. Samuel will use those powers, whoever the mayor is.

1Post the full city budget and an open checkbook online — every vendor payment searchable by anyone, in English and Spanish.
2No more budgets passing by default. The Council must vote the budget line by line within the 45 days the charter gives it.
3Take the Council's confirmation and audit role seriously: public hearings for department heads and an independent audit of federal relief and opioid-settlement spending.
4A clear, secure voting plan: restore mail-in voting with safeguards — signature checks, no third-party bulk drop-offs, and protections for seniors in housing complexes. Voters should not lose access because of one person's crime.

How we'll measure it

Budget voted on time every year, checkbook live online, and a mail-voting ordinance with safeguards on the books before the 2029 election.

Housing Stability

Fair treatment for renters. Respect for the small owner. Absentee landlords held to the code.

Vivienda Estable

Rents in Lawrence run around $2,000 a month against a median household income of about $60,000. Roughly seven in ten households rent — and many of their landlords are neighbors who live downstairs in the same two- or three-decker. Stability has to work for both.

1Proactive inspections of absentee-owned buildings with repeat code violations — the worst 100 buildings first, results public.
2A tenant-landlord mediation and eviction-prevention fund, so a one-month emergency doesn't become a homeless family.
3Repair and weatherization help for owner-occupants who keep their units affordable — the small owners who hold this city together.
4Fast, honest permitting so homeowners and small builders can add units legally instead of giving up or building illegally.

How we'll measure it

Code cases on the worst 100 buildings opened and closed publicly, families kept in their homes through the prevention fund, and permit times cut in half.

Every Generation

Seniors who are safe and served. Kids with somewhere to go. Schools coming home to Lawrence.

Todas las Generaciones

Lawrence is one of the youngest cities in Massachusetts and home to thousands of seniors who built it. A councilor for all of Lawrence has to show up for both — and push to bring our schools back under local control after fifteen years of state receivership.

1Protect senior-center hours, transportation and meals in every budget, and push for safety and anti-fraud protections in senior housing complexes.
2Library and park hours that match when families actually use them — evenings and weekends — with the funding to back it.
3Use the Council's voice to demand a published timeline for ending school receivership and real local input in the 2027 superintendent search.
4A standing youth council that reports to the City Council twice a year, so young people's priorities are heard before the budget is written, not after.

How we'll measure it

No senior-service cuts in any budget Samuel votes on, library and park hours expanded, and a public receivership-exit timeline on paper.

What an At-Large Councilor can — and can't — do

Can

→Vote on the city budget (the Council can cut or reduce items, but cannot add spending)
→Pass city ordinances and approve borrowing
→Confirm or reject the mayor's department-head appointments
→Set local election rules and hold public hearings
→Represent the whole city, not one district

Can't

—Run city departments day to day — that is the mayor's job
—Add money the mayor didn't propose
—Control the public schools while they remain under state receivership
—Change federal immigration law

Samuel will only promise what the seat can deliver. That is the point.