An Editorial in The Morning Call, click on Photograph
City Council's Waterloo: In the past year Mayor Pawlowski has ushered two major
agendas through City Council with long term obligations, the Arena Project and the Trash To Energy contract. Both projects were controversial, had opponents, but didn't demonstrate that City Council can assert itself as an independently minded body of city government. Although both those projects involved enormous sums of money and outside interests, the mayor is once again at the door of City Council, with yet another monumental project. His newest plan, to lease the water and sewer systems for 50 years, will have unprecedented consequences. Three generations of Allentonians will experience both rate increases, and likely, less responsive service. Although Pawlowski can summon a few supporters to endorse his plan, opposition is widespread, from practically everybody who has a water meter in their basement. The plan would transfer some city workers to a private company, and result in disruptive bumping and reorganization of both street and park workers. If City Council cannot protect such a primary municipal service as water, existing since 1905, for whom do they serve? If City Council yet once again accommodates the mayor, their complicity this time will have repercussions. Each new increased water bill will remind the voters of this betrayal. For a primarily young City Council, with political ambitions of their own, they will gamble their future career with this vote. One Councilman, Michael Schlossberg, who is going to Harrisburg unopposed as a State Representative, is resigning early from Council
to evade this damaging baggage. Another, Peter Schweyer, also wanted to run for State Representative, but was sidelined by the district mapping controversy. Supposedly, both Schweyer and Guridy would also like to run for Mayor in the future. A "Yes" vote on the water scheme could well be their Waterloo. The water bill will remind the voters, four times each year, for the next 50 years, that City Council elected to be nothing more than a rubber stamp.
Well written editorial.
ReplyDeleteI only hope you're correct and there is a political consequence for those who are destroying our city. That hasn't happened in recent memory.
To that end, I would remind your readers of the name of one of those who are apparently backing the water scheme - Julio Guridy. He was also one of the original council members who voted for the outrageous pension deal and he is up for re-election next year.
The voters already passed up oopportunies to hold him accountable in 2005 & 2009. Let's hope they don't miss the opportunity to throw him out with the others next year.
The economic destruction has been the main objective of the mayors agenda befor he became mayor. He helpped in drafting the pension problem no he is telling he is going to fix it by selling the biggest revnue generator the city owns. This will be the straw that breaks the camel back for allentown.
ReplyDeleteWith all the wallstreet sales people hired to appointments by the mayor we are lead to believe that allentown has a future? There was no future for wallstreet wiz bernie madoff just as the mayor ed ps only future will be in his pockets as he leaves this city he has single handedly destroyed by piece it out.
Wall St sales people?????
ReplyDeleteThis whole water deal could be stopped,given the number of people opposed to it. With some sharp, talented, politically astute leadership it could be defeated at the City Council level.
Unfortunately the opposition is sorely lacking in sharp,talented,politically astute leadership.
Watch them pack the house after its too late. They can all watch Council vote as their ship sinks beneath the waves.
Look for the various opposition players to be as effective as they were in stopping Trash for Cash.
First city hall said no problem opening the arena next fall. Now, according to news reports, because of bond issues, the city must reveal it can't open the site until a year later. First, $80M project, then $200M, then $225, now, what?
ReplyDeleteWhat to believe?
years ago the city sold parking violations off to what is now the parking authority. Who prospers from that deal?Ask anyone that resides in center city they'll say not us.So as history repeats itself we lifetime Allentonians take yet another hit to our quality of life with another part of our beloved city go up for sale to the highest bidder!So go feed the parking meter raise your water glass and wave good-by.But we will have ice hockey!
ReplyDeleteThe Mayor is a good God fearing Christian man who lives by his principles. I choose to trust in him.
ReplyDelete@2:32, i print your comment only as an example of the many types of comments that i no longer publish. comments should pertain to a proposed policy, and your opinion of it's effect on the residents of allentown. an official's particular spirituality, or lack of it, i don't find to be an appropriate factor.
ReplyDeleteMM -- Does it matter if the Mayor has an event scheduled as part of Allentown's 250 Anniversary Celebration, the Peace and Prosperity Celebration( $2.50 at the door) devoted to "Transformational Evangelicalism". Maybe that doesn't set off any alarm bells for you sir, but others might find it important to investigate this event promoting praying to Jesus on every street in town.
ReplyDelete@9:43, i hadn't heard of it until your comment. i had to search through the 250th celebration site to find it. it appears that it will be held at symphony hall, one night, sept. 27, not on every street corner
ReplyDeleteThe goal of the group speaking is to recruit volunteers to adopt every street in a given town then publicly pray to Jesus Christ on those streets to drive violence, sin, and the devil away, as they have done at their home base, Newark, NJ.
ReplyDeleteThe group, Transformational Evangelicalism, is part of the Dominion Movement whose goal is a United States with Christian government at every level. But don't take my word for it.
Hey pussy putz, what happened to the 6 comments that were at you're MC OpEd piece? POOF. Oh well.
ReplyDelete@11:49, if they're no longer there, i can only assume that you flagged them, now please go back to the villa hate blog.
ReplyDelete