There's another blogger and we often wonder who is the bigger bastard. I think after this post we can put that question to rest. This weekend there is another event in Allentown, a blues and brew event downtown. One thing is for sure, Mayor Tuerk will be there doing a live video which starts in Spanish. Mayor Tuerk, in all due respect, it's getting tired. Last weekend we had our 12th homicide. Don't know how many shootings, because the bullets are small(9mm) and the docs are good. I understand that part of your job is to rally public spirit, but let's not cultivate delusion. Some Hispanics are flattered by your bi-lingualness, but I suspect that even for many of them it's getting old.
While Hasshan Batts' growing orange shirt brigade might keep some Blacks from complaining out loud, they also know that those shirts can't really keep them safe.
Brand new empty buildings on Hamilton Street are becoming like a Hollywood movie set, a facade with nothing behind them.
It's time to put public safety first and foremost.
What mayor of Allentown did you like? You really just strike me as bitter and mean at times rather than someone that loves and supports the city. I use your blog with my classroom on the type of human being not to be
ReplyDeleteMike isn't the only one who is bitter about the fate of this city? Why shouldn't Mike and the rest of sane not be bitter? A once wonderful place to live and work has been systematically destroyed by the corrupt and self serving leaders that the single minded voters of the city elect and re-elect into public office. If you really want to be bitter check out the performance scores of the ASD...single digits. Shouldn't you be both angry and bitter about that? if not, why not?
DeleteOne more thing, what Mike does is engage critical thinking and speaks truth to power. You as a teacher have labeled this activity as "bitter and mean" to your students. Is the subject you teach "Compliance to Authority 101"? While you lack even the courage to post under your own name, Mike provides an example of good citizenship. He is merely acting as a free people should act if they hope to preserve their liberty, the rule of law, and a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. You clearly don't understand any of this, therefore perhaps your thinking should be used as an example of what is wrong with our public schools and our society in general.
Deletestudents of anon 6:51: Don't bother blogging just to be a cheerleader, the mayors have their own communication directors for that purpose. Stand by your observations, don't be cowardly or anonymous with your opinions.
ReplyDeleteWasn't that Ce-Ce's plan? To end crime and police brutality by sending social workers instead of cops to answer 911 calls. This city is getting what it voted for. They will vote that way again, and again. The voters are the definition of insanity.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like there’s a photo opportunity for the mayor everywhere, except in his office. Tuerk is clueless. Allentown is doomed until we can get a mayor who can stand up to Batts and his henchmen and the NIZ and his (Reilly’s) henchpeople.
ReplyDeleteIt's my understanding that Matt is rarely in his office or attending to the nuts and bolts of mayoral responsibilities. He has left that to underlings.
DeleteI'm not trying to minimize the murders in Allentown this year. It's horrible, and safety should obviously be the priority for any city. However, I just gotta say...the Blues & Brews event downtown is AMAZING. It is so much fun, and the music is top notch. The event starts early - noon, I think - so you can come downtown and enjoy a nice lunch while listening to some tunes. If the weather is good, hubby & I will most certainly be there. Come hang out with us for a bit - we'll buy you a beer!
ReplyDeleteSynergy lounge should have been shut down months ago. Too bad some young person had to lose his life. Some could blame City Council but I’ll refrain.
ReplyDeleteAs an over 20 year resident of A-town I would just like to clarify 2 falsehoods which I see constantly pointed out on this and other blogs as if they were facts. 1. The constant berating of voters of A-town as if every voter desired our current administration instead of less than half. If we had Ranked Choice Voting we may have had Nat Hymen as our Mayor instead of our current mayor due to a previous write-in spoiler. 2. Many of us are not as privileged or lucky enough to either be in a union protected job or have a boss who agrees with our opinions so as not to be fired in our "at will" work state. I guarantee when I retire I will sign my name loud and proud.
ReplyDeleteJust to be clear: No, I am not at all happy with the A-town nor did I vote for our current A-town administration ( And I'm still waiting for the report on the benefits of the Mayor's and the council's Dominican trip brought to our city for my tax dollars spent).
10:31 - Obviously, not everyone voted for the current administration. I don't take the "berating" as being geared towards ALL voters, but instead towards the democrat majority that determines the outcome of elections.
DeleteAs I review the 2021 democrat primary election for Mayor, it was a four-way race between Tuerk, Ray O'Connell, Julio Guridy, and Ce-Ce Gerlach. I mean, sheesh, which one of them is the good choice that would have produced a better outcome if we had ranked-choice voting? They're all bad choices.
That said, the democrat primary is the de facto election since democrats hold a 4:1 registration edge.
My recollection in the 2017 Hyman race is that he ran as a Republican to make it a two-person race in the General Election. When O'Connell lost in the primary to Pawlowski, O'Connell jumped in as a write-in to make sure democrat voters could vote against Pawlowski but wouldn't have to vote for a Republican (even though Hyman was a lifelong democrat prior to running for Mayor).
O'Connell lost again but was still able to keep enough democrat votes from Hyman. Pawlowski squeaked by and stayed in office, which is exactly what Hyman told democrat voters would happen if they voted for O'Connell. So I'm not believing ranked-choice or any other system would have produced a different result. Democrat voters had their chance for a competent, non-criminal mayor (in Hyman) and took a pass on that option.
So yes, I (and others) do blame democrat voters for their choices in the city.
MM - If I could expand on the money being funneled to Batts, it's not just the City that's doing that. The Allentown School District announced a few weeks ago that they too would be shoveling some cash in Batts' direction. The ASD also announced they'd be "partnering" with the da Vinci Center and shoveling money their way as well.
DeleteWhat do those three decisions have in common?
I don't think anyone at the city or the ASD even THOUGHT to quantify how the spending was to be evaluated. As if by just spending the money the problems would be solved.
For example, was the Batts money from the city tied to the reduction of any meaningful crime statistic (like murders, shootings, etc.)? Was the Batts and da Vinci money from the ASD tied in any way to improvements in student test scores in the district?
Of course not! So when that happens, what we really have is a failure of leadership, both at City Hall and the ASD.
But why should we expect anything different? The last thing the mayor, city council or the ASD School Board is the people holding THEM accountable. So we certainly can't expect them to demand it from others.
I think the speeches in Spanish are less about actually connecting with the Hispanic community in the city, and more about making his fellow "progressives" believe that he's making a connection to that group.
ReplyDeleteAs you note the act has gotten very tired and stale, particularly when compared to the actual results on the ground.
My 2 cents worth:
ReplyDelete1. Just by not inflicting catastrophic damage to the City, Mayor Tuerk is pretty solid considering recent history (Afflerbach!) and some of the alternative candidates (Gerlach!!). I think Mayor Tuerk does a nice job of representing the City. He comes across as intelligent and capable.
2. I too am tired of him clinging to his 25% Latino ethnicity like some Hollywood celebrity trying to absolve his white guilt while convincing the City's Latinos that he's one of them; He's not and the whole charade is tiresome.
3. I love Blues, Brews & BBQs, its a great festival. I love the music, the beer, the food and the exciting vibe. Almost like a 2023 version of Super Sunday. I'm into it.
As a longtime resident of the East Side, shame on the mayor for once again speaking of this corner of Allentown on Monday in a way that will only cause deeper divide. The inadequate provision of public services has been a long-standing issue here, from police patrols to public pools. When people speak of the forgotten East Side, it's because of an urban inequality where development and focus of our city government has been centered anywhere but here for many years and though many administrations.
ReplyDeleteI had high hopes for the leadership capabilities of Mayor Tuerk but his focus remains on so many superficial endeavors and endless cheerleading during times when the city has needed a real and serious leader to address real and serious issues. There is no single facet of our city that doesn’t require maintenance and relationship building, and Mayor Tuerk has used the East Side as a punching bag to his talking points and rolled his eyes while doing so. He jumped from the ceremonial "ground breaking" of the Irving Pool to a spot where a young man was murdered and couldn't be bothered to actually remember the names of the victims lost to violence in this city.
Mr. Mayor, you got my vote in your first run for office. I certainly won't make the same mistake again.