Party Above Principle

A Republican member of a local school board yesterday linked to a pension reform site, on a social network. In some strictly blue municipalities, such as Allentown, the only Republicans elected in a decade have been to school boards, and only then because they're crossed registered. As a school board member, this person is well aware that pension reform is by far the most pressing issue in Pennsylvania. Although both chambers of the State House are controlled by Republicans, they managed to avoid the issue, despite Corbett exerting pressure to pass reform. This particular board member even supported the Republican incumbent's unsuccessful opponent in the primary. So, we have a Republican school board member, in a Democratic town, who doesn't support the incumbent State Representative in a neighboring district, but still won't openly endorse an Independent. It is this sort of counterproductive partisanship which has given the voters our current paralyzed Harrisburg.

Building Allentown's Urban Homeowner

Allentown will once again try to induce the middle-class to live downtown. It is not a new experiment; Over forty years ago the Leh family renovated the 400 block of Walnut Street for the same purpose. Of course that was also the goal of the oversized Old Allentown Historic District. The latest plan, being financed by the local corporate heavy hitters, will concentrate on the area north of Linden Street. The plan is modeled on similar programs by Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and U of P in Philadelphia. Those are large urban area's, where gentrification is a natural development. Alan Jennings, although an implementor of such programs, realistically summed it up;  When the target group is the middle-class, that demographic has the means to live in a more suburban area. Again in the real world, Allentown has lost some of it's most committed urbanists because of the school system. I suppose if we're subsidizing the commercial real estate development, we can also pay some middle class looking folks to live and walk around downtown.

Charlie Tuna and Allentown Crime

When Charlie Tuna was introduced in 1961 he looked good, but he didn't taste good. The punch line was Sorry Charlie, and he was rejected for the tuna can. Charlie's still the mascot, but now he's a beloved figure, who helps mom plan an easy dinner. Allentown's fighting it's crime perception problem with additional surveillance cameras. J.B. Reilly is footing most of the bill, and the cameras will also feed into his private security force. An article in the Morning Call says that "If a crime has already occurred, the camera footage becomes an invaluable tool for identifying potential suspects and assisting in locating crucial evidence." There-in lies the problem. Knowing that your mugger will be apprehended isn't much consolation when you're sitting on the curb with your head bleeding. Like the early Charlie Tuna advertisements, visitors don't want a city that looks safe, they want a city that is safe.  Before you apologists foam at the mouth, I believe that Allentown is safe. The new cameras are being sold and installed by Charlie Thiel, who is being groomed as the next mayor.

Editor's Notes: When I read the article on mcall about the surveillance cameras, I immediately thought about Charlie Tuna from the early 1960's. When I wrote the above piece earlier this morning, I had no idea that there was an article in today's paper about canned tuna fish, headlined, Sorry Charlie, just a literary coincidence. Also a coincidence, is any name similarity between Charlie Tuna and Charlie Thiel.  I've known Thiel for years, and believe that Allentown will benefit from any political ambition on his part.

Candidate Molovinsky Banned By NPR

WDIY, the NPR affiliate in Bethlehem, refused to make my interview available by pod-cast on their website. The show, Lehigh Valley Discourse, aired on July 10th, and featured host Alan Jennings interviewing both myself and Bernie O'Hare. To his credit, Alan Jennings has quit the station in protest to the censorship. Who would guess that an NPR station would succumb to political pressure, but then again, it's no accident that there isn't one independent in the State House. With help from your contributions, I will begin buying spots on commercial radio.

Why I'm Running For Office

The headline in today's paper is that the Allentown Police Chief's son was arrested for pointing a gun at two detectives. Knowing nothing about the case, I won't comment on the charge, but wish to discuss two background aspects of the story. Allentown voters in 2001 enthusiastically elected former State Senator Afflerbach as mayor, believing that his experience in Harrisburg would be invaluable to Allentown. His contract with the police department was a complete give away of Allentown's treasury. The retirement component was so lucrative that the entire force subsequently retired. It is because of that reality, and the resulting lack of  experience in the remaining department, that Allentown recently hired an out of towner to lead the police department. Today's article tells us that the new chief's 22 year old son is working for the county Corrections Department. We have a former politician that was so embedded with the unions that Allentown had to lease it's water department to remain solvent. Afflerbach is now officially a lobbyist for hire. We have a new city police chief who was able to secure a local county job for his son. I'm running for office with no allegiance to any special interest or other motives, other than the best policy for the citizens and taxpayers. Are you ready for that sort of representation?

Conduit To Harrisburg

As a local activist and blogger I've heard all the complaints about local government over the years, If only Lehigh County did this, and Harrisburg done that. I've heard all the complaints about the ingrained two party system, What we need is less partisanship and more choices! The rise of Tom Wolf against an incumbent governor is testament to the degree of dissatisfaction with state government. His success has not come cheaply. He spent a record amount of money advertising in the primary. I believe that with your help I can become the first Independent in Harrisburg. I need your contribution to get my message out in an incredibly large district, stretching from Rt. 22 to the Blue Mountain, from Slatington to Bath. Although many of you do not live in the 183rd, I'm still counting on your help. Decisions made in Harrisburg affect all residents, regardless of which district you reside. My efforts will be for best policy, regardless of any political party considerations. Contributions can be made through the paypal button on the sidebar.

The Franking Queen

Julie Harhart appears to be abusing her franking privilege by sending one mailing after another, at taxpayer expense, to the residents of the 183rd District. Franking privilege refers to free postage for official mailings by elected officials. When an elected official starts sending several pieces every month prior to an election, the privilege is being abused. In addition to the current frequency of Harhart's mailings, they're being sent to neighborhoods which are still officially in other districts until mid December, when the new redistricting map officially begins.