Ed White emerged on the local political scene about two years ago, around the time he attended a forum in NYC, where you pay $thousands of $dollars to rub elbows with the rich and successful, and have your picture taken with them. Although I have been politically active and a blogger for many years, previously I never saw or heard of Mr. White, but he now considers himself an expert on local government. He is also a self proclaimed selfie advocate, taking pictures of himself, everywhere and with everybody.
In the previous and current election cycles, he has been involved with several candidates for local office. While he dislikes being described as a promoter or manager, he refers to himself as a strategist. When he volunteered to mediate between a local cemetery operator and group dedicated to improving deficient conditions there, I didn't approve of his participation, because he was involving a current candidate in the effort. Likewise, when he recently proposed an organization with paid speakers to influence youth, to me it raised some questions.
This past weekend he has called for rejecting Mayor O'Connell's recommendation of Tony Alsleben as police chief, instead calling for a national search. He wrote "and he(Alsleben) lacks the judgment, leadership, vision and public relations skills necessary to be an effective chief". Although Alsleben has been on the force for 19 years, he further faulted him for not moving within the city boundaries after he was appointed interim chief. What the selfie king doesn't factor in, is that during the Pawlowski regime we suffered the disastrous results of two national searches. We ended up with inferior chiefs from out of town, who didn't even know their way around the city. They didn't know the personnel, or the local police assets.
Ed White is entitled to speak out against Tony Alsleben. This post is not a blanket endorsement of Alselben, but rather my appraisal of White... Ed White is involved with candidates whose campaign is based on advocating such changes.
Allentown will not benefit from another national search for a new police chief. Furthermore, it may well be time to examine if the current residency requirements are really benefitting the city.
Ed White's expensive selfie with Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Airlines
Another Carpetbagger putting his nose in local government.Many cities have suffered from bringing in these 'Hot Shot' police administrators only to find their golden resumes didn't apply to the local communities
ReplyDeleteI have a difficult time with this post.
ReplyDeleteI don't know Ed White or what he stands for, but the important issue (as I see it) facing the city is whether the current police chief is up to the task. It's not where private citizens stand on the police chief.
Anyone who has attended a City Council meeting knows that Allentown isn't suffering from an excess of public participation.
I think that posts like this, and subsequent comments attacking a person for being involved, make sure that little will change as far as public participation.
unknown@6:42, Although over the years, their composition changes, there has always been a small group of citizens who attend the meetings on a regular basis. Compared to some other municipalities, the small group is sizable. My issue with Mr. White is two fold... I see an overlay of interests between the candidates that he represents, and his recommendations for the general good. Furthermore, I believe that he lacks some essential institutional knowledge of Allentown.
ReplyDeleteI don't dispute that there is a small group of people who regularly attend council meetings. However, it is extremely small when compared to the population of the city and has been largely ignored by those elected to council. So I guess I'm more likely to see new faces - especially those challenging the status quo - as a sign of hope.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the overlay of interests between the candidates he's representing and his recommendations, I'll assume (for now) that he believes in what the candidates he represents are promoting. If in subsequent elections he were to support contrary positions of a different group of candidates, then he'd obviously be supporting those positions for other reasons. So I'm willing to give him a pass on that for now.
While I agree that a newcomer might not have the same institutional knowledge, I don't think that automatically makes them wrong about an issue. To the issue at hand, the current police chief and a possible replacement, I can see both sides.
I've been in Allentown most of my life, and I agree with you that we've been burned by two national searches for police chiefs. But that doesn't mean that the approach would be wrong if tried again. The Allentown Police Department suffered a massive loss of experience in the last decade and I worry that there isn't someone seasoned enough to serve as chief. That includes the current chief. To paraphrase a great quote, they might not have the experience to know what they don't know.
So a national, or at least regional, search might be unavoidable. Should it be attempted again, I think the focus should be on finding someone willing to serve a specified term; experience with policing a city at least the size of Allentown with less than the optimal number of officers; and a track record of success. Along with getting crime in the city under control, part of their role should be mentor lieutenants, captains and assistant chiefs to take over, and to identify their own successor.
While we're discussing the issue, I'd also like to say something about the residency requirement that you touched on in your original post.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a problem with requiring the police chief and other department heads being required to live in the city. I think it's a good thing for those leading the city to feel the effects (good and bad) of the policies they advocate and implement. I also think that there's value to going to a home at the end of the day and interacting with your neighbors who are also experiencing those same effects, and getting to know them and their concerns.
I would also argue that when examining "if the current residency requirements are really benefitting the city", we haven't really had a residency requirement in a long time. Under Pawlowski, and with the passive approval of council, the residency requirement was routinely ignored for a number of key positions. I don't think the lack of enforcement of the residency requirement has changed much, although it sounds like it might be coming to a decision point for the current chief.
unknown, although I'm tempted to reply point by point to your comments, there are overriding issues. The intention of this post was only an analysis of some recent presentations by Mr. White, not a dissection of the man by me. Also, while you're welcome to comment repeatedly on a post, I prefer to make my point(s) in the post, and leave the comment section for the readers.
ReplyDeleteJust another Democrat Party operative. Hooray. Forward to Progress!
ReplyDeleteMM said:
ReplyDelete"Also, while you're welcome to comment repeatedly on a post, I prefer to make my point(s) in the post, and leave the comment section for the readers."
Understood and I greatly appreciate your blog and the opportunities for discussion, both with you and other readers.
Sometimes we disagree (or agree differently). Sometimes I don't even agree with myself. :) No matter what, I appreciate the different perspectives and that they sometimes challenge or change my thoughts on the issues facing the city.
Keep up the good work.