Lehigh Valley's Political Malaise

Last night I attended the Candidate's Meet and Greet, hosted by the Northampton Chapter of The League Of Women Voters. Between the media not giving this event proper publicity, and the public malaise, it was sparsely attended. That didn't stop local representatives Steve Samuelson and Bob Freeman from giving a long stump speech, as if on auto-robot. These well pressed suits are on their 9th term, unopposed. Some people wonder if they might be wasting their vote on an independent. In this valley, it would be the most meaningful vote they could cast.

North Of Route 22

If you have a family member or friend who lives north of 22, south of the Blue Mountain, and between Slatington and Bath, chances are that they live in the 183rd District. Please do both of us a favor, and tell them to vote Molovinsky-Independent next Tuesday. There's no party members knocking on doors for me, but there's a real opportunity for some change in Harrisburg. The 10 term Republican incumbent only concentrates on getting re-elected.  The Democrat simply needs a job. The former will bring nothing new to the table, the latter  has nothing at all to bring to the table.  This blog is an archive on my community activism for many years, and my application for election. Please reach out to your friends and family on my behalf. We have the right stuff to be uniquely issue orientated and elect an independent to Harrisburg, instead of the usual partisan agendas. Thank you.

Political Low Hanging Fruit

If it's kissing a baby or encouraging seniors to vote for them with absentee ballots, both our young and old are only props and pawns for the established political machine. Recently, I have been reporting on the machination at Luther Crest, where Ryan Mackenzie 134th, attempted to pass the baton to Julie Harhart 183rd, putting that facility in violation of it's 501C charter. If the residents of a premiere continuing care facility like Luther Crest are victimized and manipulated by incomplete voter information, despite explicit IRS rules pertaining to non-profit institutions, what shenanigans occur  at the lesser regarded nursing homes? Who protects the seniors from the very politicians who are supposed to represent them? In the ideal world, it would be the custodians of these nursing homes, who would make sure that the residents are given full information about their cherished voting options. In the real world, the managers of these nursing homes acquiesce to the influence of the career politicians. As I write this post, I am also filling out formal complaints about this one incident of election suppression which was visited upon Luther Crest by the hubris of the incumbents. Although there will be no remedy for the Luther Crest residents within the eight days until the election, perhaps my action will help some nursing home residents next year have full access to their voting options. Our elderly take their right to vote very seriously, so should their caretakers.

The Hubris Of Harrisburg

Our representatives in Harrisburg have not been doing a good job of guarding against arrogance, in addition to the their poor performance as legislators. When Ryan MacKenzie allowed Julie Harhart to attend the Senior Expo at Luther Crest on September 19th, he knowingly put Luther Crest in jeopardy regarding their tax-exempt political requirements. Ryan knew that the Luther Crest residents would find Harhart on the ballot come November 4th, not himself. As if redistricting and gerrymandering isn't egregious enough, they thought that they could pass the crown with no consequence. The regulations clearly state that all candidates for an upcoming election must be present, or subsequently invited. Between Mackenzie having no opponent for his election, and Harhart running for her 11th term, they think that they own those seats in Harrisburg. The seats belong to the people, and should be occupied by those who don't take that privilege for granted.

Elder Issues In Lehigh Valley

Over forty years ago, I did a series of photographs that were used by PBS39 for a program entitled Accent On Aging. Now, over four decades later, it pains me to still see elder issues in our communities. The Lehigh Valley Commissioners have cut the budget funds which were intended to modernize Cedarbrook. This modernization is necessary for several reasons. First and foremost, it would make Cedarbrook competitive in the rehabilitation field, which in turn would enhance it's economic viability. Secondly, it would indicate a commitment by the Commissioners, which is in serious doubt.

In nursing home options, the opposite of the county's Cedarbrook might be the exclusive Luther Crest in South Whitehall. As I posted yesterday, I have been denied entry as a candidate, despite Julie Harhart's appearance there five weeks ago. I'll let that post serve as a discussion place for the legal and political issues, but will make an observation here about Luther Crest. I was somewhat shocked that generally there are only two events on their monthly calendar, and that management would be deciding what information is made available for the residents, who are a former Who's Who of the valley business world.
photocredit:molovinsky

Political Gate-keeping At Luther Crest

Although the residents of South Whitehall's Luther Crest are politically sophisticated, this year is particularly confusing. After having been part of the 134th state house district for over 20 years, this year for the first time residents will be voting for the 183rd representative, although they're still currently represented by Ryan MacKenzie of the 134th. Ryan, being a good Republican, had Julie Harhart, the 183rd incumbent, at Luther Crest's Senior Expo last month. Needless to say, both Republicans knew that they were attempting to pass the mantle with soft campaigning. As the independent candidate I have been unsuccessfully trying to gain access to the Luther Crest community room since early Monday morning. I believe that the residents of this exclusive community would not be happy to know that information about all their upcoming voting options is being stopped at the door by management.

UPDATE: Under IRS rules pertaining to non-profits and political candidates, because Julie Harhart appeared there in September, and she's not the state representative for Luther Crest, but an active candidate to be the state representative for Luther Crest,  I must now also be permitted equal access.

Vanilla or Chocolate, The Sad Lack of Political Choice

Yesterday, some fella came on to my campaign site, Mr. Molovinsky Goes To Harrisburg, and asked why I'm any different than the Republican. I replied that it was a strange question, considering that recently the former chair of the Republican party accused me of having Democratic positions. Within another two questions, it was very apparent that this visitor to my site was in fact a junior political operative cadet. After a visit to his page revealed a picture of Tom Wolf as his cover photo,  operative in training pants was dispatched. The trainee then reported the results of his mission to Terri Powells' Campaign page. Another pack member then congratulated her on being the only candidate in the debate who answered all the questions.

The Morning Call article on the debate accurately reported that I questioned several of the questions. The article made it less clear that after my editorials, I did in fact answer every question. In the case of the student loan question, I replied that there are different colleges available with a large range of  tuitions. I feel that if one contracts a loan, or a mortgage, it is an obligation that should be met. Furthermore, honoring those obligations is educational in itself.

It's sad that the political machine is Pennsylvania is spending a 100 $million dollars to give most voters only two choices for each position. That wouldn't be much of an ice cream parlor, regardless of how fancy it might be. It's my honor to give the voters of the 183rd District a real choice.

CORRECTION: In the majority of the State Representative races, 6 out of 11, there are no choices, the incumbents are unopposed.

Molovinsky WPA Mini Tour

Many long time readers know that several years I started a group whose mission is to help preserve the WPA structures in the Allentown Park System. Consequently, I led two tours of Lehigh Parkway, in conjunction with Friends Of The Allentown Parks. This coming Saturday, October 25th, again in conjunction with Friends, I will be directing college volunteers to help clear some structures. While there, between 9 and 11-am, I'll be glad to conduct a mini tour of several sites. We will be meeting at the Robin Hood parking lot at 9:00-am, and concentrating on that side of the creek.