The Truth by City Councilor Steve Camara

SAVE THE DATE/TIME
Friday, 2/27/09 @ 3:30pm on WSAR 1480am

In the interest of TRUTH, I ask you to tune in on Friday, 2/27/09 @ 3:30pm on WSAR 1480am when I will be a guest of Mike Herren's Talk Show. Some of you know me well and others hardly at all. I want you to know me better. As I consider my political future and as I recognize that my possible candidacy for higher office is perceived by some to be a threat to the status quo, I want to assure you that I am willing and able to move forward and do what I can to change the political climate of our City to allow it to move in a direction that will be better for all who live, work and visit here.

Mike Herren announced on Wednesday that he had "Breaking News" which turned out to be that he "uncovered" "public information" that exposes my "hypocrisy" concerning 64 Durfee Street, The Durfee College of Technology Building, which is in the process of being sold to Peabody Properties for a development that most, if not all, of us opposed. The short of it is that Mike Herren has discovered that I own residential property which houses people and some of these people are "subsidized". I have stated that three (3) of my twenty-seven (27) Downtown (Pine and Purchase Street) apartments [approximately ten percent (10%)] have Section 8 certificates. Mike claims I have many more people with "subsidies". Moreover, Mike claims that because I received CDA loans and grants to reconstruct/rehabilitate/restore two (2) of my houses (286-292 Pine Street and 214-216 Purchase Street) that these loans constitute "subsidized tenancies".

This is the beginning of what will be continuing attacks on my character and integrity to assure I will not be a candidate for higher office. It is an attempt to silence my advocacy for the kind of development that will create a better Downtown and Lower Highlands neighborhood. My properties provide decent and affordable housing for people of varying income levels, integrated into the neighborhood rather than "warehoused" in a single building.

The facts are simple. Since 1979, I have purchased five (5) properties and I have spent a whole lot of money buying and reconstructing these properties to improve the character and integrity of a neighborhood that was on the verge of both physical and social decay. Earlier this decade, I spent approximately one million dollars ($1,000,000) to buy and reconstruct two (2) of my houses, creating nine (9) units, three (3) of which are handicapped-accessible and all of which are de-leaded and asbestos-free. Also, I was required to provide a sprinkler system, a fire-prevention requirement of the building and fire codes for multi-family houses of four (4) or more units (286-292 Pine Street is a six (6) unit building). Approximately six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) was a CDA low-interest (3 or 4%) loan with a small grant [approx. seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000)] for creating handicapped-accessible housing and de-leading the units. This money is available to any property owner who can demonstrate that the investment will enhance the neighborhood in which the property is located. The balance, approximately four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000.00), came from other personal sources, mostly equity accounts from my other properties.

Clearly, this million dollar investment is significant for a six-family house and a three-family house; however, I chose to undertake this for several reasons including my desire to "bring back" these houses from the verge of decay and to protect the investment I had made in my other houses that are abutters to and surround these two (2) houses. Assuredly, if I sold these two (2) houses I doubt that I would recoup my purchase price and reconstruction investment at this time. However, I know that I share with other investors of historical properties the desire and the satisfaction of "saving" a piece of history and the hope that someday there will be a return on the investment.

If you want more information, please feel free to question me. If you do listen to the program and are inclined to call (the "talk show" number is 508-673-1480) and your participation is appreciated.

Mike Herren is presenting the effort we put into the 64 Durfee Street issue as a means to attack personally The Fiolas, Alan Amaral, John Almeida, Nick Christ, Dave Raymondo and the integrity of the "power structure" of Fall River. My focus is to develop a new "power structure" that is both democratic and visionary.

Finally, while I understand that some of you feel that the WSAR talk shows should be ignored, I know that all forms of media and other forms of outreach must be used in order to advance support from the public for both causes and candidacies.

Steve Camara

WSAR Spin - Rent Control ?!

According to WSAR/Mike Herren today (listen here) the 64 Durfee Building is not going to be subsidized housing, it is rent controlled housing, which is absolutely false. A few points on this:

1. Rent Control in Massachusetts was ended by a 1994 statewide referendum. (Although cities may pass by-laws allowing it as in the case of Lakeville where the General court finds that, a serious public emergency exists with respect to the housing of a substantial number of citizens in the which emergency has been created by excessive, abnormally high and unwarranted rental increases imposed by some owners of manufactured housing communities)
2. Even if we had rent control in Fall River, the construct of rent control limits the amount rent is allowed to be raised as opposed to the 64 Durfee plan by Peabody which has Peabody taking low income tax credits because they will be housing government subsidized residents.

That being said do we need more subsidized housing? If so, does it need to be at 64 Durfee? Are we willing to throw away the only available nexus between downtown and the waterfront by turning it into low income housing for $200,000?

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Update for Anon 22:04

"Do You Know Who I Am"

Prior to the Keri Rodrigues story breaking in the Herald News, I was listening to Mike "Hurricane" Herren on WSAR recount his attempt at investigative reporting. He told his listeners that he went to the Regatta the day before to investigate the shooting that occurred early Saturday morning. He indicated that the Regatta is a dump, that the management is horrible, and the owner was uncooperative with Hurricane.

Manny, the even-keeled sounding owner of Tony's Shipwreck (the restaurant at the Regatta) called into the show to respectfully defend the Regatta and to address Herren's confrontational behavior towards the Regatta owner. According to Manny, Herren and the Regatta owner exchanged heated words and Herren said, "Do you know who I am?"

Fast forward to the Herald News article about Keri Rodrigues later that night: regarding Mike Herren -“He kept asking me if I knew who he was, and he was screaming at me,” said Rodrigues.

So to all of you out there who might be asked by Mike Herren if you know who he is (because apparently that is his modus operandi)...be prepared and memorize the picture immediately below so you can stroke his ego and avoid a fight by answering correctly.



Mike Herren
High School Basketball star 20 years ago






Not to be confused with:




Al Bundy
Scored 4 touchdowns in 1 game in high school football decades ago

Correia on WSAR today

And in another puff interview by Mike "Hurricane" Herren on wsar today, Mayor Bob Correia made my day with his ignorant blabber.

In a discussion of CSO stormwater fees, with an example Bob offered of businesses that were previously paying $2,000 a year now having to pay $27,000 a year, Bob was nonchalant about the increase. Hurricane asked Bob if he had gotten any complaints from businesses about this increase and Bob said, "Only a few business owners have been opposed to it but the biggest ones that are getting hit the hardest have said 'I don't like it but it's fair' and they are shutting up about it"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where is the runoff revenue going to come from when he runs all of the businesses out of town?