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By:
Harrison Maina | |||||||||
| Posted:
Oct,17-2015 16:58:22
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LOWELL, Mass.,__Ben Opara, an African immigrant man in Lowell has declared his candidacy and kick started his campaign to run for the Lowell school committee in the upcoming statewide elections slated to happen onTuesday, November 3rd, 2015.
Opara, a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Lowell and currently the chair of the Immigration Committee in the city is a long time resident of Lowell. The community conscious father of 3 who immigrated to the area from Nigeria 25 years ago, launched his campaign last Thursday at the East End Club on West Fourth Street where several dozen friends, supporters and campaign staff attended. "I am running because I love the city of Lowell. I have benefited so much from the generosity of this system since I moved here 25 years ago. I was taught that if you are the beneficiary of an entity, the right thing to do will be to contribute to the sustenance of that system.You do this by giving back to it and for me, that opportunity has arisen," said Opara while addressing supporters. He said that the School Committee in Lowell is currently very fragile in nature as evidenced by the frequent change of the administrative team led by the school superintendent. "This instability puts the standard of education in our district at risk. In fact, Lawrence Public School district is ranked higher then Lowell Public schools and this points to a problem that we can solve. We can do better." With a slogan of "Teach our Children well", Opara says if elected, his main focus will be to have all stakeholders in the school district, including policy makers, administration, teachers, and the community focus entirely on the children and the quality of education they are receiving. He said that he will vouch for a stronger and uniform curriculum, make the schools safe for all across the board, insist on establishing a sub-committee withing the school committee with the sole purpose of evaluating the school Committee itself on her inner workings and interrelationship within her ranks, visit all the 15 elementary schools in Lowell within his first year to get a first hand understanding of their needs, and relentlessly strive to keep focus on the children. "After all, it is all about them. I respectfully ask for your vote so that we can teach them well," he urged. Popularly known in Lowell as "Mr. Congeniality" Opara said that congeniality itself is a essential tool in establishing trust and understanding, which in themselves, are essential building blocks of unity in the community. "A united community is a strong community, successful in providing for the needs of her citizens both short term and long term." He vowed to use those virtues to lay the groundwork for an effective and functional school committee. During the launching, supporters praised Opara for his courage to run for office again after making his debut in Lowell politics when he unsuccessfully ran for city councilor back in 2009.
"As the first African immigrant to run for office in Lowell back in 2009, Ben learnt a lot. We intend to use what we learn back then to make this campaign more effective. He is a great man and he can do very well for the school committee if elected," said Jeffery Lambert, Opara's campaign treasurer during an interview with Ajabu African News. In addition to serving the community as a member of the Immigration Committee for 6 years before becoming the current chair, Opara also founded of the Nigeria Association of Merrimack Valley. "Mr. Opara has done a lot for the Nigerian, African and local Lowell community for a long time. Now that he has decided to run for the School Committee seat, I urge all of us to come out in large numbers to support him both by votes and with campaign funds," said Rosemary Agbede, the current president of the Nigerian Association and who served as the master of ceremonies at the campaign launch. Agbede said that a bigger event will be held at the same venue on October 29 to bring together more supporters for moral and financial support. During the upcoming election, there will be 12 candidates running for the 6 seats available in the school committee. Among them are 7 candidates from the minorities including Opara and 6 others from the Cambodian community. "It's a very good thing that we have several candidates running for the school committee and other city council seats from the minority communities of color. For a long time, these communities have not been represented in the city leadership yet we have big numbers who contribute immensely to the City's economic and cultural advancement. I hope we can be elected so as to represent the real diversity in the city. We will also have the ability to bring the issues of our communities to the attention of city leadership," Opara told Ajabu Africa News in a post event interview. He added that it would be a powerful force if the African, Cambodian and other immigrant communities in Lowell came out in big numbers to help elect their own into office for the benefit of all. Among other leaders who attended the event was Vesna Nun, a former Lowell city councilor who lost his seat in the 2012 election.
Nun praised Opara for his relentless effort to serve the people of Lowell in the various boards the two have served together in. He also said that he will make another effort to reclaim his seat in the upcoming elections. He urged the immigrant community to come out in big numbers to join the Cambodians and other voters to help him propel him and Opara to the office once again. The 12 candidates running fore the school committe have helped the city avoid a primary since the Charter stipulates 12 as the maximum number of candidates allowed on the ballot. Thus, were the number of candidates to have exceed 12, an automatic primary wuld have been conducted. However, a primary election will be held on October 29 for the city councilor's race as there are 19 candidates running in a race where only 18 candidates are allowed in the ballot--to compete for the 9 seats available for the city councillors. "I urge all Africans and friends to come out in big numbers to vote. At the end of the day, it's voting that matters. If there are no enough votes, then one cannot be elected," said Opara. "But, in the mean time, we need your donation of whatever amount. Please visit our website where you can donate online at: wwwwvote4Opara.org." According to Opara, he needs about 5,000 votes to win the election.There is an estimated population of around 7,000 African immigrants in Lowell according to various unofficial estimates. In Massachusetts, as in most states, all voters in any state or local elections must be US citizens. TheNovember 3rdelections will see hundreds of candidates compete senators, state representatives, mayors, city councilors and various city committee offices. Opara is married to Valerie Opara, who serves as his campaign manager. He also own Duziem Labs, a personal-care manufacturer in Lowell. For more information, call the campaing line at 978-222-9960 or visit:www.Vote4Opara.org | |||||||||
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Source:
Ajabu Africa News
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