Lynn mayoral candidate speaks out on crime in city

LYNN – Mayoral candidate David M. Rohnstock spoke out Wednesday against crime in the city, vowing to tackle the problem head-on if elected in November. He also made clear his strong support for charter schools and the need to reduce property taxes.Rohnstock, 50, moved to the city two years ago when he purchased a condominium at 285 Lynn Shore Drive, formerly known as The Breakers apartments. He lived in Gloucester for 12 years before moving to Lynn.The private financial investment counselor said the city’s mayor must run Lynn more like a business. According to Rohnstock, “Government should be run by people with a business background instead of life-long career bureaucrats. There needs to be more fiscal responsibility at City Hall.”Rohnstock, a bachelor born in Brighton, whose childhood was spent in Wellesley and later Billerica, said the costly refurbishment of the auditorium at City Hall supposedly was completed to lure lucrative forms of entertainment. However, while entertainers have come and gone, the city has seen little financial benefit, he said.”This has been a money-losing venture,” he said, also taking aim at the local Parking Commission that last year reaped $1.2 million in revenue but returned only a small fraction to the city treasury.The candidate asked rhetorically, “What gives?”Lynn needs a more efficient operation where there is transparency and accountability,” he said.Rohnstock harbors unbridled opinions about using convicted criminals for public service. “The Essex County Department of Corrections has agreed to let my administration have a boatload of non-violent, low-risk inmates volunteer to pick up litter, exterminate rats, paint city property and help janitors after school,” he said. “The result would be many desperately needed projects getting accomplished and a reduction in property taxes.”On crime, Rohnstock said it worsens each year in Lynn. “This will stop,” he vowed. “If we ask ourselves, ‘What is the purpose of government?’ perhaps No. 1 on that list is the protection of its citizens. I have consulted with my attorneys and have been assured that no statutes or anyone’s civil rights would be violated when we implement a screening policy for people moving in the city. Landlords will be required to submit an application to City Hall for all prospective tenants. Those deemed undesirable, such as career criminals or gang members, would not be permitted to reside in Lynn.”Rohnstock said his legal advisers contend that anyone living in low-income housing who commits a crime can be legally evicted. “This would also apply to juvenile delinquents,” he said. “The reduction in crime as a consequence of this action will be enormous and contribute to more high-caliber residents. This is one of several steps that will be taken to combat lawlessness.”The candidate, whose family includes four sisters described as stay-at-home moms and a brother, Richard Rohnstock, on the Billerica police force, attended public high schools in Wellesley and Billerica and also attended UMass-Lowell for three years, majoring in economics but not completing the requirements for a bachelor’s degree.”Lynn has some of the worst-performing public schools in the state of Massachusetts,” he said. “Many of these children do not even know their state capitals. If you ask the typical high school student, ‘Who was Ernest Hemingway?’ the likely response might be, ‘Dude, like, was he a rap star?’ Under the Rohnstock administration there would be a substantial increase in the number of children enrolled in a charter school.”Rohnstock, who describes himself as a businessman, a stocks and bonds trader and hedge fund investments manager, said children who attend charter schools “compete with some of the state’s top private schools and score significantly higher on the MCAS than children relegated to the public school system.”As he put it, “You cannot find a parent who is not ecstatic about their child attending a charter school. The only people on p