The question in tomorrow's election is, will Tuerk's pandering pay him a dividend? Will all those flag raisings buy him another term? Unfortunately for Tuerk, he probably won't know the answer until November. Even if he wins the primary tomorrow, he may still face Zucal in the general election, if Zucal gets enough Republican write-in votes.
Tuerk says that Zucal can't have it both ways, he can't be both a Democrat and a Republican. Zucal says he is an Allentonian, first and foremost. Allentown's minority-majority communities are maturing. They're less faltered by the pandering and more concerned with the quality of their lives. Nobody is fooled by these new initiatives just announced last week by the Tuerk administration.
You took the thought right out of my head with your headline!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could be as optimistic as you about Allentown's minority-majority community.
ReplyDeleteanon@1:39: I'll concede that Tuerk never stops trying to sell himself as the first Latino mayor...How much that community buys and values that premise remains to be seen.
DeleteMost of the Hispanics and Latinos in my area are very aware of the blatant tokenism of the Tuerk campaign. He knocks on the door, speaks Spanish, makes them all kinds of promises and disappears.
DeleteMy neighbor has refused to register to vote since Tuerk took office because he runs around pretending to represent their culture and people. They see right through it and these folks know they are treated like nothing more than a campaign agenda.
Look no further than the shameful fact that the city's first ever "Fiesta" was purposely aligned for the closing days of the mayor's primary campaign so he could show up, take a bunch of pictures and slap them on his social media with the "Allentown is for everybody" or "beating heart of the Lehigh Valley" slogan. It's enough to make you want to roll your eyes so hard they get stuck in the back of your head --- or start playing primary bingo tomorrow with Matt's favorite useless and perfunctory phrases.
I don't love the idea of voting for Ed Zucal, but I like it more than four more years of Matt Tuerk.
Symbolically, I will leave my city council votes blank because I believe we should wipe out any candidate with questionable affiliations and campaign finance reports and start over.
Zucal could file as an independent candidate for the general election and be on the ballot. He cannot as a Republican, as. Republicans have to go through the primary process.
ReplyDeleteIf Zucal chooses the Independent canidate route he has to gather a certain number of signatures from registered voters of any party and submit them along with an affidavit of candidacy and pay a filing fee.
As there is no Republican canidate, Zucal would then be able to compete with Turek on equal terms on the ballot and not rely on write-in votes. He could not accept any money or official support from the Lehigh County Republican Committee either.
Brent Moll’s comment about Zucal being able to run as an independent is not correct. Pennsylvania has a “sore loser” law that prevents a candidate who is unsuccessful in the Primary to later file and run as an independent.
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of Primary rules, there is nothing to prevent Zucal (or any Allentown resident) from seeking write-in votes in the Primary. The Primary process restricts who can vote (only registered Democrats or registered Republicans) but it does not restrict who they can vote for. It is common practice for a candidate of one party to seek write-in votes in the other party’s Primary if they did not field a candidate.
Yes, you are correct.
DeletePennsylvania has a "sore loser" law, also known as a "restriction against defeated primary candidates". This law prevents a candidate who loses in a primary election from appearing on the ballot in the subsequent general election for the same office as an independent candidate or as a candidate for another party.
This means that Mr Zucal really needs to get out the vote of registered Democrats for the primary election tomorrrow.
It's not impossible to win an election as a write-in candidate, but the odds are long.
There is no “Lehigh Valley Health Partners”, it is Pool Trust behind the festival/voter rally. The same outfit that is behind Promise Neighborhoods. The straw that stirs the drink.
ReplyDeleteWake up.
The Poole Trust is a non-profit.
DeleteShouldn’t that prevent them from being involved in politics?
If they’re skirting the rules with thinly- disguised political rallies using intermediaries then they should be reported to the IRS.
Perhaps you haven’t noticed. In American politics today, there is virtually no punishment for misbehavior.
DeleteBack on topic, incidents like the recent one in Macungie can be expected to rise in every community. Seriously, is anyone seriously concerned about being caught breaking the law, what with the Courts being so politicized?
It was a community festival, not a political rally. I did see the Republicans signing up voters though.There was more political activity at the St. Patrick Day parade than this event of music, food and drink.
DeleteAt 7:08
DeletePool knows how to put their finger on the scale. There’s plenty of plausible deniability built in. They are pros at influencing policy and politics. Pool IS the Lehigh Valley Health Partners, and Promise Neighborhoods. Do 10 minutes of research.
The Boy Mayor has the establishment $$$ behind him.
anon@8:46: It was pure politics, at city expense...complete with Tuerk on the stage waving Caribbean flags and speaking Spanish. On the same note, Promise Neighborhoods is having their Open House today, Tuerk will surely be there also.
DeleteTuerk is most likely going to win tomorrow. I spent a lot of time yesterday at the fiesta on Hamilton asking questions of people and overwhelmingly the same message was received. It seemed a large majority of the people I talk to were voting for Tuerk.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Tuerk is going to win the primary. He has a more personable character and better disposition.
ReplyDeleteVoters don’t really pay attention to the 4 or 5 people that are out there slandering his name and attacking him at every chance they can get.
@10:47
DeleteYes, Mayor Hipsters wins Allentown’ s most popular with your team.
Got it.
The Fiesta was a political event. And sorry but 1/3 of attendees dont live in Allentown. 1/3 wont vote. Last 1/3. Will split the votes. I feel bad for poor people being used by Tuerk for votes. Ask if he cared when he raised your trash prices. Or wanted a 10% tax raise. Get ready he has to raise taxes this year.
ReplyDeleteHey Mike there was shooting last night outside Strange Brew on Emaus Ave last night. That wasn't in the news??? Wonder why.
This can go to November if Zucal gets the write in votes tmr. If Tuerk gets the Republican right in votes and wins democrats side. It is over. Hence why Tuerk has asked some Republicans to write him in. The most votes should win regardless of party affiliation.
I
If Pee Wee would get a Republican Write-in after his shenanigans during the Trump Rally I would be concerned that maybe the world might actually be coming to an end. Besides, I thought he said Mr. Zucal was being hypocritical for doing that. I guess it's only hypocritical if someone else does it.
DeleteNo further comments referring to Tuerk as Pee Wee will be hosted on this post, or any future posts.
DeleteMight be off topic, but just saw that the Parknership announced $75,000 for an outdoor basketball court at Stevens Park.
ReplyDeleteThe announcement comes just in time for election day, and coincidentally includes a quote from Mayor Tuerk.
Still, $75,000 seems kind of steep for an outdoor basketball court.
Nice at the 11th hour, you decided to censor the childish name calling. I will offer one more disdainful comment often made by critics, that of the photo opts and the flag raising.
ReplyDeleteDuring his time in office, Tuerk has visited more organizations, checked in with schools, shelters, churches, ste and national events. He hasn't sat in his office waiting for people to come to him. He is seen all over . The mocking critisms haven't deterred him from giving his all. He has positioned Allentown to a better visibility and recognition of its residents.
I didn’t know Matt Tuerk reads this blog? That was a great response Matt
Deleteanon@5:20: If you would see the comments I don't print, you would have more appreciation of my fairness. I've always welcomed comments with an opposing point of view. City Hall for the last 18 years has been lucky that there is only one of me.
DeleteThe office of the Mayor requires management abilities. Meeting, greeting, kissing babies, flag raisings, pressing some flesh, etc. are all great performative activities but aren’t a substitute for any of the qualities that make for a successful chief executive.
ReplyDeleteRunning the third largest municipality in the Commonwealth is not the same as being a host on a Reality Television Show.
mj adams