Up until recent years, The Morning Call wrote editorials and endorsed candidates for Mayor. They endorsed Ed Pawlowski for mayor in 2005. They certainly will not be endorsing him in 2017. As a matter of fact, it's becoming increasingly difficult for him to find a friendly word about himself in the paper. Bill White, the Call's remaining columnist, has written that it is time for Ed to go. An article in today's paper , by one of their sports writers, takes him to task for his decision to remove the basketball rims in Andre Reed Park.
As a local political blogger, I find this new attitude by the paper interesting. Although, Bill White has criticized the Ray O'Connell write-in effort, no one at the paper has yet to directly endorse Nat Hyman. In the days of the editorials, the paper claimed a firewall between the editorials and the news. Now, there are no editorials, but the firewall seems to be lowered.
In the primary election with a crowded field, Pawlowski cobbled together a coalition of mostly minority voters. Ray O'Connell doesn't see Pawlowski garnering much more than those 1,700 votes in the general. How the other 5,000 or so votes will divide is the question. Will the plurality go to O'Connell or Hyman, or will the divided vote allow Pawlowski to win once again?
Good lord! Ed got more votes than Ray in the primary and with straight party voting he will surely repeat that this fall. No one who knows what it takes to win a real political campaign is advising him. That is clear.
ReplyDeleteLook for Ed to run a positive campaign like he did in the primary, pressing the flesh and going to every get-together and every business opening he can.
ReplyDeleteWhen Hyman and O'Connell start throwing the mud at Ed, you know who will win.
Ed will throw it back but not at Ray for obvious reasons. He wants "his good friend" Ray in the race. Let's never forget lethargy of the Allentown voters. Ed knows how to get his people to the polls. Hyman will hire people to help, Ray will count on volunteers most of whom have not practical experience in GOTV.
ReplyDelete