Lawrence Greens Win Big Victory Against Multi-National Corporation
Lawrence Water System to Remain Under Public Control
In what can only be described as a huge victory for the community of
Lawrence, it was just announced that the Lawrence Greens seven-month
campaign to prevent the takeover of the water system by United Water /
French Suez, was successful. In a stunning turnaround, the mayor and the
City Council have decided to listen to the will of the community and
terminate any attempts to privatize the water delivery system. This means
that Lawrence’s water system will remain publicly controlled and operated.
After going into Executive Session on Tuesday, July 22nd, the City Council
voted to terminate its relationship with United Water and to begin an
attempt at breach of contract proceedings and reclaiming some of the
millions sent to United Water as part of the privatization process. This was
a huge affirmation for Lawrence Greens and the organization they formed
called “Hands Off Our Water!, (which grew to include over ninety people,
including three city councilors) who worked tirelessly over the last seven
months to stop the corporate giveaway that two mayoral administrations had
pushed for.
Leading the campaign were former Green Party staff people, Rose Gonzalez and
Jonathan Leavitt, who offered the following comments,
“We knew that privatization was a mistake, but we didn’t know if our fellow
residents or our elected city councilors would take the time to see both the
short term and long-term danger in the privatization/globalization of our
water system.
We knew the reality that twenty years from now there would be wars being
fought over water. We knew that many of us believe that “water is a basic
human need, and therefore a right, and should not be treated as a
commodity’. But we didn’t know if the community and the city council would
agree with us.
We knew that what oil is in today’s geopolitical framework, water will soon
become. The World Bank has predicted that by 2025, 2/3 of the world’s
population will run short of fresh drinking water. The bottom line is that
corporations want a piece of both the $82 billion dollar U.S. market and the
$400 billion dollar market worldwide. And we knew that to gain access to
these markets, corporations would do whatever it takes, including lying,
cheating, and/or “stealing”.
We didn’t know if our community would choose public control over the
corporate model advocated by leadership in both the Anglo and Latino
community, both (R)epublican and (D)emocratic parties. We didn’t know if the
community would ally itself with the market forces that have driven the gap
between the rich and the poor to historical levels and left most of the
country (and the world) feeling powerless and beholden to the corporate
model.”
Those advocating the corporate model wanted the residents of Lawrence to
turn a blind eye to the history of successful water delivery here in the
community (while simultaneously turning a blind eye to the destructive
history of corporate economics that has ruined our environment, our sense of
community, our democracy, and the lives of hundreds of millions of the
worlds citizens)
Simply put, Lawrence residents did not allow themselves to be tricked into
buying what the “snake oil salesman was selling”. We are proud of what
residents of this city did and we hope it will serve as a model to other
communities facing off against this corporate machinery. Our thanks go out
to everyone who supported “Hands Off Our Water!” here in Lawrence.
The Lawrence Greens have been an active green local since the early ‘90’s.
To celebrate the victory and to help raise funds for the Massachusetts
Anti-Corporate Clearinghouse, who worked alongside then on the campaign
there will be a benefit on September 12, at Adam’s Café (225 Essex St. in
Lawrence). Ticket’s are $50 and will include a delicious meal and live Latin
Jazz. A cash bar will also be available. Please call ahead for tickets to
978-683-3967 or via e-mail <info@stopcorporatecontrol.org
