Mayor of Santo Domingo Johnny Ventura announced he was firing 550 people that receive pay checks from the municipality but play no role. But PRD alderman have "alerted" the city mayor that they "worked for the win of the party and now can’t be sent to the streets". Hoy newspaper editorialized, "Poor country. Here the government has to employ political activists. The fact that they should work for the community that pays them, and do not do so, is the least important." The new mayor said that the tight financial situation of the city hall forced him to release the politically-appointed personnel. The city hall has had extraordinary expenditures due to Hurricane Georges. Johnny Ventura was the PRD candidate in the 16 August 1998 municipal elections.
