Aug 6, 2015
Allentown City Council Minutes, August 5, 2015
When the most civil comments to the dais came from yours truly, you know that it was a raucous meeting. Back in the day of most of my battles with council, Dave Howells was president. Last night Ray O'Connell asked Rich Fegley to sit down about eight times, which is exactly seven more times than he would have gotten from Howells. Back in those days, it would have been a paddy wagon night. Council even got reprimanded by one of it's own, Jeanette Eicenwald. The main accusation last night was that council was a rubber stamp, which is something that nobody can deny. Over the recent years, I had explained to council, on several issues, that they are occasionally expected to vote no; That they were supposed to use their power of appropriation as a negotiating tool. Pawlowski's reputation for reprisal must not be exaggerated, he had transformed council into a simple approval stamp. You will be able to find and read comments by most of the speakers on other media sites. To me, the most entertaining barbs came from Chris Cocca, who wondered how the candidates endorsed by Citizens for A Better Allentown would now shed that association. I recently did a post about the scarlet P/F (Pawlowski and Fleck). Perhaps, those most guilty of Pawlowski's influence have graduated on to Harrisburg, Schlossberg and Schweyer. It's beyond time for Pawlowski to resign.
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I'd have to respectfully disagree.
ReplyDeleteI would argue several current members are every bit as pathetic as The Boy Represenatives.
Certainly agree about Pawlowski resigning. If he had any true concern for that city and its citizens, he would acknowledge times are troubled, Allentown's image and spirit heavily damaged, and despite being not guilty of any wrongdoing, HE has become too much a distraction. In the interest of getting Allentown on with the healing process, HE has decided to step aside.
ReplyDeleteTHIS is what a real leader, and honorable person would offer to do.
When ultimately determined harmless and clean, he can gallantly rise again from the ashes. See how this works? TWO chances for crowds to cheer anew!
Fred Windish
Amazed at the lame attempts at cheerleading that still go on.
ReplyDeleteFred Windish is correct.
I don't think Pawlowski will resign until he gets something for resigning as part of a plea bargain. Also, he has two kids to raise - he needs to keep his income and his health insurance. It wouldn't look very good if one of the targets on the FBI list offered him a job right now.
ReplyDeletePawlowski won't resign.
ReplyDeleteBesides his inflated ego, he can't leave without at least getting some sort of backroom agreement with Council on who will replace him. He (and some on Council) can't run the risk of having someone from the outside being chosen as Mayor and digging up more dirt from within City Hall.
Right now Pawlowski is able to control (through the Solicitor he hired) how much cooperating the City will actually do with the FBI while pretending to "fully cooperate with the investigation". Once he leaves, he loses that control and all bets are off.
Naturally, Pawlowski's first choice will be to remain there himself (since who else can he truly trust to keep even more from coming out). But if residents are able to ratchet up the pressure for him to leave, he won't go without the successor deal in place.
The Mayor need the job. Politics is all he knows.
ReplyDeleteHe won't be going anywhere until he has played every last single card in his rapidly diminishing hand.
Riley is very very unhappy with the Miricle that is Allentown at the moment, but the bleeding is going to continue for quite some time yet.
Surely Pat Browns wife could use an able go-getter assistant over at her shop.
ReplyDeleteFirst Lady Lisa Pawlowski has the qualifications in spades!
Bingo, problem solved.
I see perp walks in the near future. A couple people will share the shame.
ReplyDeleteI think this entire tragic opera is moving at the speed of light and rapidly reaching a crescendo i think the appointment of Houlihan as outside counsel for the city signals the city is ready to turn over the documents and let the chips fall where they may. That will put a lot of pressure on the mayor, who is seeing NIZ development slowing tremendously on its way to a grinding halt when council passes the contract review procedure shortly, and has been relegated to handing out Popsicles in the park, in a terrible bind and something is going to break the week of August 16. There is very little to bargain about anymore. Five years in prison now is much better than twenty later, especially if he feels he can pocket much of his $2 million campaign warchest and cut a sweet deal.
ReplyDeleterobert@1:50, i disagree, not about pawlowski's fate (i have no opinion on that), but on the effect on the NIZ. i see pawlowski's indiscretions and the NIZ, and it forward movement, as separate entities. the NIZ is essentially a state program, independent of the city. i can believe that pawlowski and fleck, seeing the hundreds of $millions being spent, may have wanted a little taste for themselves, on direct city controlled situations. i believe now that pawlowski has become a distraction from the NIZ's parade, and that it's barons would like to see him gone.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure the FBI is casting a net big enough to capture everyone's suspicious characters.. I keep reading about more and more indiscretions every morning! There's no way more than a handful of persons is actually indicted. This is more about incompetence, lazy, careless behavior, and a local media keeping its eyes shut for years. Slimy behavior isn't yet a crime, is it? Certainly not in Washington, D.C.
ReplyDeleteFred Windish
fred@2:35, i agree that the FBI investigation must have a limited focus, as opposed to on going scrutiny. i also wonder, with the grand jury being in philadelphia, what is their threshold for corruption there? i suspect it's pretty high.
ReplyDeleteKeep your eye on the ball, ladies and gentlemen.
ReplyDeleteThe Fleck Tapes are an incredibly rich mother load of material. The Mayor, his wife, the City Managing Director and other local actors including the Boy Represenatives are in serious hot water.
Those tapes will end more than a few careers and sent some folks off to Camp Fed.
MM said:
ReplyDelete"... with the grand jury being in Philadelphia, what is their threshold for corruption there? I suspect it's pretty high."
I believe the President of Reading's City Council just went down for an $1,800 transaction, so I don't think the Grand Jury's threshold is really that high at all. And he's looking at 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Given the numbers I've seen on Pawlowski campaign reports, I think anyone remotely linked to this should be sweating bullets.
Edwin may take the Boy Rrpresenatives down
ReplyDeletewith him, just for spite, plus he's going to have to throw a few bodies under the bus to shorten his sentence and to keep his wife out of jail.
Let me be clear, I say this in all seriousness.
@5:45, i have a confession, i have a hard time with anonymous comments such yours here and at 4:09. do you have a source beyond mine, or what is publicly known? that's a rhetoric question, no answer really requested. although the pawlowski's will not be inviting me to any cookouts, and although they have defamed in public, there is little chance that any charge will involve his wife. she is not a public official or candidate, and not susceptible to the kinds of charges normally playing out in these types of investigations. this is a moderated blog, which attempts to limit comments to those which contribute to understanding the topic. although not all comments will appear, all readership is appreciated.
ReplyDeleteShe signed off on the checks.
ReplyDeleteShe has a fiduciary responsibility.
"Follow the money."
......or perhaps you think the FBI won't squeeze family members to get a plea?
ReplyDelete@7:49, she is treasurer of his senate campaign. IF pawlowski granted some concession for a donation to that campaign, depositing the check in itself would not make her culpable.
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason the G-Men came calling at the Pawlowski residence.
ReplyDeleteFrom entirely my own impeccable sources,
I'm prepared to suggest the "First Lady" wears the pants in that family, as you Americans say.