Pawlowski's Press Pass

For someone of Polish descent, when it comes to the press, Pawlowski has the luck of the Irish. In his first campaign back in 2005, the Morning Call reporter thought he was the best thing since white bread. In 2009, his opponent was a case study in self-destruction. Since 2005, the city beat has been served by a succession of reporters, all of which have been new to Allentown. The current one, Emily Opilo, has been here about six months. She writes, When he took office seven years ago, Pawlowski said he promised to build a better Allentown, and Monday he said he had delivered on that promise. As an independent candidate for mayor in 2005, I sat next to Pawlowski on the campaign podium dozens of times; I can tell you what he really said. His campaign at that time was a promise to fix the pension problem, which would be created by the new police contract. He has failed completely in that promise, and now proposes to sell our water system as an act of desperation. Opilo's article today on Pawlowski's third campaign for mayor states that opposition is based on a fear that rates will increase, that's incorrect. Opposition is based on the fact that providing water is a primary city function, related to all the other city departments, and the park system. There is a contract between the city and it's citizens. The city provides service, and the citizens provide taxes and civility. Under Pawlowski, the contract has been broken. The city wishes out of the service, and civility has been replaced by crime and frustration. Although Pawlowski and The Morning Call refer to that enormous hole in the ground as a Transformation,  in reality it's a diversion from our real problems. As a candidate in 2005, I told it like it was; As a blogger in 2013, I will continue that tradition.