From Outside Allentown

Hi Michael. I'm 31. A financially struggling single mom. I was born and raised here. Grew up in Salisbury, moved to Emmaus at 10 and now living in Lower Macungie. I know this whole area very well. I waitressed and bartended at different places so I know the people and the issues. I've always seen this area as a place that will one day flourish.... I follow the news and can see what is happening around me. ... I feel people not living in Allentown but living in the Lehigh Valley have no say in Allentown... I've lived in all 3 areas and I don't feel rooted. I want to get involved in local politics but which section is the question??... Where do people like me who want to see a change and want to help fit in? Jess

Shown above is the core of a longer note I received yesterday. Like the young woman above, I currently live just beyond Allentown's border, in South Whitehall. Over the years I attended countless Allentown City Council meetings. There are regulars there who have attended the meetings faithfully for decades. I believe that the problems and solutions of Allentown cross the borders into the townships every day. Although non-residents cannot run for elected office, the decisions made there may affect them more significantly than those made at their township meetings.

photo/The Morning Call

Right Time For John Bolton

I fully understand that many liberals have the notion that John Bolton is a warmonger....That is simply misinformation. As I was impressed with Trump's selection of Rex Tillerson in year one,  I consider Bolton another quality appointment.  I believe that in our extreme polarized political climate, any appointment made would be criticized.  However, considering Iran's aggression across the middle east,  Bolton has the necessary background to inspire caution in our adversaries.

Bolton, in addition to being a former United Nations Ambassador, was involved in national security positions with both Bush Administrations. He may well be the most informed candidate on national security issues that Trump could have chosen.

The Allentown School Dilemma

The Allentown School District has projected a $28 million dollar shortfall in the 2018-19 budget. A professional cost cutting firm has recommended various cutback strategies, none of which will help with the educational challenges faced by the district.  A local informed citizen, Lisa Zezoney, suggested on social media;

No disrespect meant here but maybe the people on the school board should have their eyes on their present jobs rather than where they want to position themselves in the city...this deficit is a surprise.

Despite its relative small size and quaintness,  Allentown has the large city urban school problems faced across the country....A poor population in need of better schooling.   The building boom in center city has not translated into significant higher tax revenue for the school district.

This blog has declared Ray O'Connell the new mayor, well before the official decision in early April.  With O'Connell being a former school administrator,  any benefit that can be realized by more cooperation between the district and city is likely.

this blogger attended Jefferson Elementary School shown above

Congratulations To Mayor O'Connell

molovinsky on allentown has declared Ray O'Connell Allentown's new mayor today, Friday March 23rd, at 12:30 pm.   Although the official announcement will not be made until April 6th,  the blog's editorial board has decided to go ahead with our congratulations.

Ray will make an excellent mayor and we look ahead to reporting good things about his administration and positive changes in Allentown.   Once again,  our congratulations.

ADDENDUM: There was some speculation on social media that this post was satire,  it is not! With Roger MacLean apparently not submitting his name,  I am convinced that Ray has the necessary votes with no contention.  I am sincere in my sentiment that Ray will do a good job, and with my congratulations. While other media may report on the next week's interviews as serious deliberation,  I consider the matter closed.

Allentown Voters Are The Peanut Gallery

When I was a small boy, Howdy Doody, although a puppet, was a television star. The live audience in the TV studio was composed of children and was called the Peanut Gallery.  That term has become a metaphor for a group with no real power.   According to an article in the Morning Call the citizens of Allentown can have a say in picking the next mayor.  They can attend the upcoming city council meetings and ask and comment about the applicants for interim mayor. Although the article implies that council will value their opinion,  in reality they are just another Peanut Gallery.

I'm not sure who will be chosen next mayor.  Although the article mentions that the charter may prohibit Roger MacLean from being eligible,  the same charter rule would apply to Ray O'Connell.  My hunch is that acting solicitor Dan McCatrhy's opinion on the charter will be disregarded, and that O'Connell will get the four votes.  If MacLean decides that he likes the view from the fifth floor of city hall, he may fight for the position and get the nod.  If indeed council decides to go outside of their current or immediate former self,  Charlie Thiel will prevail.

Although the Peanut Gallery may hoot, holler and ask questions,  their opinion will not count.

Blogosphere Censorship

Yesterday Bernie O'Hare had a post on Charlie Thiel. In the comment section at 4:20pm, someone essentially stated that Ray O'Connell ran as a write-in to block Hyman, so that he(O'Connell) could replace Pawlowski by appointment, after the conviction. Those who know O'Hare know that when he supports someone, he isn't beyond spinning the obvious, and bashing the opposition. I commented yesterday after Bernie tried to negate the 4:20 comment about O'Connell. When I awoke this morning, I discovered that O'Hare deleted my comment. Like Popeye, I ain't taking that!!!! Bernie and I have gone around on this topic before, and while I will not make my own post on this subject until after the appointment of the interim mayor, I will reprint my deleted comment here today.

Considering how most of the comments on O'Hare's blog are anonymous, you would think that he would allow a signed comment like mine to remain, but apparently not, if it's contrary to the narrative that he is promoting.

Allentown's Rotating Police Chief

As some of you may know, Allentown is once again in the market for a new police chief.  The current one, Glen Dorney, is taking the top position in South Whitehall.  He is probably doing so because although the department is smaller,  a new interim mayor being selected next month could give him the heave ho anyway.

In my opinion the national searches were a disaster.  First we brought in Chief Stephen Kuhn, who turned the department inside out and upside down. Next came Joel Fitzgerald,  whose son ended up suing for violating his civil rights, after he was acquitted for pointing a gun at county detectives.  The young Fitzgerald was represented by Jack McMahon, who would return to Allentown and defend Pawlowski.

I wouldn't mind acting mayor Roger MacLean  appointing a new chief from within, and have the interim mayor appointed next month honor that appointment. MacLean is former chief himself, and spend his career in the department.  No mayor, acting, interim or elected, has ever been better equipped to pick a chief.

ADDENDUM: The first version of this post erroneously stated that Stephen Kuhn was hired by Pawlowski. He was hired by his predecessor,  Roy Afflerbach.

Lehigh's Failing Grade

Among the many groups of people I have no use for are college professors. Spend your life surrounded by 18 year olds, and you become a Peter Pan. I snickered when I read that Lehigh's Peter Pans want to revoke Donald Trump's honorary degree from 1988.

A faculty spokesperson said the motion isn’t about Trump’s politics,  but his behavior, as well as his sexist, racist and Islamophobic comments.  While most people who have such honorary degrees conferred upon them have no real qualifications,  to then take back a degree 30 years later, after the person achieves the Presidency of The United States?

Despite their denial,  their vote is so awash in politics,  one must question if they themselves deserve the degrees which they have.

The Lehigh Trustees wisely decided against revoking Mr./President Trump's degree.  Enter Bill White, Morning Call Columnist and Lehigh journalism teacher. Bill agrees with the students and late night TV hosts that Donald Trump has character defects. He believes that the trustees don't want to offend their wealthy Republican donors, but doesn't understand the principles beyond that not to revoke the degree.  Bill has forgotten that when Trump was awarded that degree in 1988, he was a real estate expert and Art Of The Deal best seller.  Bill has forgotten that before politics in 2014, Trump was a reality TV star with the Apprentice.  Lehigh charges $66,000 a year to take classes with Bill White,  who displayed no insight beyond the TV hosts he eagerly awaits every night.

Stepchildren Of Allentown's Corruption

Back in the day before the FBI raid on Allentown City Hall,  those interested in corruption in Allentown were pretty much limited to myself and O'Hare.  Missing in action was the Morning Call.  Although they would occasionally use this blog as an unattributed source, they avoided my most controversial exposés.  Among them was my revelations about the Neuweiler Brewery.

Although the FBI and  Justice Department decided to prosecute Pawlowski and Company on nine deals,  I suspect that the menu actually had many more choices.  Among them may have been the current Neuweiler Brewery deal.  When Ruckus Brewing was introduced as an applicant for the Neuweiler Brewery, I wrote about it here, way back in 2013.  My research revealed that Ruckus had no experience at the time in either actual beer brewing or real estate.  What they did have was a business consultant very connected to the administration in Allentown, Mike Fleck.

Although Pawlowski and Fleck were indicted and convicted,  the Allentown Commercial Industrial Development Authority proceeded with handing over the brewery to Ruckus.  Ruckus received numerous deadline extensions on their application, and represented the brewery as a done deal to raise cash. All these irregularities were previously reported on this blog, and ignored by the local press. They are currently permitted to rent out space as is in a building in which the previous owner was arrested and jailed for not correcting code violations.

When shenanigans occur in Allentown,  this blog is often the first source to chronicle the questionable activity.

For the full story on the Neuweiler Brewery, please follow the links provided below. 

Post on Neuweiler Brewery from May 29, 2008

Post on Neuweiler Brewery July 11, 2012

Sequel to July 11, Post (July 16, 2012)

Post on Neuweiler Brewery May 2, 2013

Post on Neuweiler Brewery Jan. 31, 2013

The Neuweiler Brewery, A Pawlowski/Fleck Shenanigan, July 8, 2015

Morning Call Catches Up To Molovinsky On Neuweiler Sept. 30, 2015

Allentown's City Council Broom

There are at least a couple of facebook groups devoted to Allentown politics. It is on these groups where one finds opinions about Allentown from those who care most about local politics, besides just at election time.  Over and over I keep seeing people post that Allentown needs a clean broom sweeping.  Although I wouldn't argue with that notion longterm,  they must remember that city council is picking the next mayor.

Some people are even suggesting that the chosen candidate should ask all the department heads to tender their resignations, and that each person in each position should go through an reevaluation.  In all due respect,  let us keep a working city government. There are buildings to inspect.  There are streets to repair.  There are taxes to collect.

Roger MacLean, the acting mayor, is an experienced administrator.  I expect that whoever gets appointed as interim mayor will also have experience.  There are many competent people working at city hall.

The opinion by acting solicitor Dan McCarthy that O'Connell and MacLean are ineligible to be appointed interim mayor on April 6 seems to be gaining steam,  especially with council retaining McCatrhy at least through that date.  Ironically, Candida Affa has been calling for a new face that isn't tainted for the top spot.  Nobody is more tainted than her,  having been Pawlowski's last diehard supporter. She is throwing the last hand grenade in Pawlowski's behalf.

It is my hope that council and the city avoid a purge mentality, and we can benefit from their existing institutional knowledge.

1962 postcard of Allentown City Hall

Charlie Thiel's New Campaign

In addition to Charlie Thiel submitting his application to city council for interim mayor, he has taken to publicize his bid on social media. Although council has sought applications, the $64 thousand dollar question is whether O'Connell and MacLean are eligible themselves under the charter? While it is common knowledge that O'Connell wants the appointment, the next question centers on MacLean; Does he want to remain mayor beyond the current 30 days? If so, but he and O'Connell are advised that they are ineligible, only then does Charlie's application become viable.  Assuming we reach that point, the vote lies with 7 people, not the public, which Thiel is now reaching out to.

On the subject of the upcoming appointed interim mayor,  I was victimized by a fabrication the other day from Bernie O'Hare in his post promoting Ray O'Connell, and I chose to refrain from setting the record straight.  My reply will have to wait until which time the new mayor is appointed.  Unlike pompous O'Hare,  I have no desires or delusions about being a junior kingmaker.

Among other members of the public who have expressed an interest in the mayor vacancy are Nat Hyman and supposedly Sam Bennett.  Council will start public deliberations on March 26.

Rapper Fabolous, The Aftermath

Sometimes a blogpost has an afterlife, and yesterday's post on the Fabolous concert seems to fit that bill. Feedback on facebook was extensive, and Fabulous himself used his page to explain his short appearance. Seems as if he was restricted to about a 20 minute show, in order to prevent the venue from charging the promoter a surcharge.  He showed grace about his show being shorted, and appreciation for his fans.

My post yesterday was criticized for repeating things reported in The Morning Call,  which referred to the audience as unruly, both inside and outside the arena.  Others found my post racially insensitive, for repeating what they referred to as stereotypes. There was pushback against me using the word riot in my blog title.

Needless to say, I do not determine booking criteria for the PPL Arena. While the Morning Call article might have that effect, this blog does not,  despite my illusions of grandeur.  However, what does occur to me is that those who defend the crowd behavior as normative are doing this genre of music no favor.

photo of Fabulous performing at PPL Arena

Allentown's Hip Hop Rap Riot

According to news sources the hip hop rap concert at PPL arena over the weekend was quite a raucous event.  Audience members were supposedly climbing over the seats to get pricer seats than they paid for.  The headliner was Fabolous.  After the event a street brawl erupted outside at 7th and Hamilton, which resulted in eight arrests, after the Allentown Police called for backup from surrounding police departments.

For a city which wants to make that area a dining destination, perhaps such street theater should be avoided?

The Morning Call actually reviewed the concert as if it was a cultural event.  That's like reviewing the clothing fashions worn by gang shooters.  Anybody who buys and reads newspapers could care less about what the reviewer thought about the performance. The arena is financed with our state taxes, taxes which have to be made up with more taxes.  Why would management rent to an outside promoter and allow such a high risk act?  Were they kowtowing to political correctness?  The paper then ran a subsequent article, outlining five things that went wrong with the show.  There was actually a sixth problem,  they should have never allowed the show in the first place.

photocredit: WFMZ/Channel69

Post Pawlowski Allentown

Living here in Post Pawlowski Allentown, with the drama over,  is more relaxing.  Although Ed Pawlowski was entitled to the best defense his former campaign fund turned defense fund could afford, there was a little too much Jack McMahon for my taste.  McMahon was here previously to defend Pawlowski's police chief's son.

Pawlowski is scheduled to be sentenced in late June.  While I certainly agree that he should be on unsecured bail and is no flight risk,  he is a home risk.  It's a burden to the public to be submitted to his continuing social media presence, where the only remorse expressed is that he cannot continue to lead Allentown forward.

While forced to surrender his fifth floor office at City Hall, Pawlowski continues to hold office on facebook, where both he and his uninformed followers still proclaim that he loves Allentown, and that he revitalized it. They both ignore the facts that the NIZ happen because of others, and that he wanted to ride that confusion out of town, either to Harrisburg or Washington.  The only thing that he can hope now to get from those places is a pardon.

The Rise And Fall Of Ed Pawlowski

I may know a little more about Ed Pawlowski than others, because in 2005 as an independent, I ran against him as the third person on the ticket.  Before working for Afflerbach,  Pawlowski worked at the Alliance For Building Communities,  which is dedicated to low income housing.

As Pawlowski gave the same speech to every city group during that campaign,  he didn't seem terribly insightful to me.  His campaign power point presentation, night after night, actually became painful to endure.  I also noticed that he injected that little half laugh into his replies,  intended to connote sincerity.

After being elected, he practiced cronyism to a level not previously seen in Allentown.  Jobs and positions became anything but merit-based at City Hall.  During a candidate night at the NAACP, he pointed out into the audience and told certain people that they would be hired if he was elected.  Helping him succeed with this pandering was the Morning Call reporter assigned to the election, who never reported on these incidences.  Every article was written to make Pawlowski shine.

Although City Council earlier in 2005 had rejected the concept of a managing director in favor of keeping a strong mayor form of government,  they allowed Pawlowski to hire his own managing director soon after being elected.  This person,  like Pawlowski, was not from Allentown.  They combined the Park and Recreation Departments,  and hired someone with a recreation background from Penn State. The next three park directors all had the identical background.

Pawlowski's resignation speech delivered yesterday afternoon repeated all the misconceptions fostered unto his supporters by both himself and The Morning Call;  It is the notion that Allentown is better off now than before he became mayor.  Certainly there are new buildings on Hamilton Street.  Certainly J.B. Reilly is much better off than before the NIZ, which Pawlowski had nothing do to with, but is Allentown really better off?  I think not.   In yesterday's speech, Pawlowski mentioned that he rejuvenated the parks.  Although he purchased a catalog of plastic playground equipment, the parks are much worse off now. One pool has closed since he became mayor, and another is slated to close. The iconic WPA structures are barely hanging on. Truth be told, the little work done on them is because of my efforts. Besides neglecting our traditional park system, he abused the former small merchants of Hamilton Street. He concentrated all his efforts in center city, ignoring both south and east Allentown. Although he and The Morning Call may like to think that his administration was accomplished, I think that he was one of the worst mayors in Allentown's history.

Students of this blog may realize that although I criticized his park and other policies from the beginning, I never accused him of pay to play. However, after following the trial, there was no doubt that he was guilty as charged. His resignation becomes official at 5:00pm today. Although I don't drink, I'm almost tempted to go to happy hour tonight.

Park Follies And Misappropriations

Over the years this blog and myself have established credibility and expertise on Allentown's traditional park system and the WPA. I must report what I consider to be a major shenanigan by the mayor. $1.3 million dollars was taken to purchase two heavy industrial areas, to supposedly add to the park system. This $million plus dollars was taken from the water/sewage lease, which is being used as the mayor's discretionary fund, instead of the dedicated pension relief,  promised at the time. $950,000.00 was used to buy the parcel at Union and Basin Streets, near the city sewage plant. This is one of the oldest industrial areas in the city, and certainly not needed for more park land. Allentown has not been able to maintain the existing park land, or the features within it. The Fountain Park Pool has been abandoned, and the WPA structures are crumbling. The other just purchased parcel is the old fertilizer plant location,  along Martin Luther King Dr., west of the crumbling Schreibers Bridge. We have an administration with no memory or knowledge of Allentown's past. Anybody who knew what went on at the fertilizer/rendering plant, would not want their grandchildren playing there. The city's rationale for these purchases is to expand the biking paths and connect the parks. That's the folly, and now the misappropriations. Allentown has supposedly allocated money to engineer the repair of the leaning WPA wall in Lehigh Parkway. I know why the wall leans. Years ago, the stone shoulder between the park entrance and wall was blacktoped. As cars and city trucks drive around the curve, pressure is exerted against the wall. That strip of asphalt needs to be removed, and the stone buffer restored. The problem with the engineering study is that it's the third time it has been appropriated. In the last two budgets money was actually budgeted to repair the wall, now the process begins again. What happen to the previous appropriations? Must molovinsky on allentown now also establish expertise in forensic accounting?

reprinted from June 26, 2014

UPDATE JULY2015. The wall collapsed in Lehigh Parkway, closing the traditional entrance to the park.. Over the past several years I had met with two park directors and the city engineer, to no avail, trying to save the wall. Recently, I have reported a problem to the current park director about the Union Terrace WPA structure, that needs immediate attention. The new parcels, rather than connecting the parks,  are connecting the neglect.

UPDATE MARCH 8, 2018: Local news sources are reporting that Mayor Pawlowski is expected to resign today.  If this welcome news will have a positive effect on the park system remains to be seen. A potential mayoral contender told me that if he were in charge, I'd be working for the park department, planning WPA renovations.  I never asked for a job, nor do I want one.  However, when I did ask City Council to appoint me as a volunteer liaison on WPA matters,  I was met with silence.  A park employee told me that there is significant money in the new budget for WPA repairs.  Again, that is nothing new. How it will be appropriated remains to be seen.  There is one thing for sure;  Whoever the new mayor might be,  whatever the park budget might be,  my advocacy for the WPA structures will continue.

Storm Over Allentown

With the pending heavy snow today,  City Council has postponed tonight's meeting which might have approved Tom Muller as Managing Director.  More importantly,  Pawlowski's appearance in front of the judge on Friday has also been called off.  There was speculation that Pawlowski might have resigned as mayor at that appearance,  depending on what demands were imposed by the court.

After speaking to several city employees in the last couple days,  I can tell you that these storm related postponements are salt on the city's wounds.  Morale has bottomed out and is only going lower.  The word paralysis was used.   I do not mean to imply that the snow will be not be plowed, or other essential services not performed.  Rather, strategic planning is on hold, with no one at the top to give the go ahead.

While Pawlowski may still receive some personal empathy from a few former supporters,  everybody has requested that he resign from office.   HIs continued refusal to do so illustrates how truly superficial is his regard for Allentown.  

1983 record snow storm in Allentown, Morning Call photo

Pawlowski As A Charlatan

Since Pawlowski's conviction last Thursday I have read numerous articles where people,  even a juror, think that his only fault and mistake was running for Governor and Senator.  If not for needing huge sums of contributions for those campaigns,  he would have remained the savior of Allentown.  While some of these people are under-informed, others are misinformed, and some are actually part of Allentown's ethical problem. Worse, even an article by a Morning Call reporter repeats this nonsense; Allentown residents thought so highly of Pawlowski that last year,... They re-elected him to a fourth term. He only won because it was a three way race, with his support coming from the most uninformed of the voters.

The extensive new construction in Allentown is the result a unique state incentive plan called the NIZ.  While it is occurring in Allentown because of State Senator Pat Browne,  Pawlowski had little more to do with it than you or me.  Because he is mayor,  he was allowed to cut the ribbons,  and claim credit for the new construction,  but it was a gross distortion of the truth.  He did however  hope to capitalize on that distortion and get elected to higher office as a result of the confusion.

Using distortion and confusion comes naturally to Pawlowski.  He never had respect for a level playing field,  and always was willing to step on people to achieve his objectives.  Those who think that his faith based work was sincere,  should remember Jim and Tammy Baker.  Before he had bigger targets to leverage,  he played the small fries off each other.  Over his first few years he took the Hamilton Street cleaning contract away from one small fry to give it to a bigger small fry, who could influence more potential voters. Over the years his fries got bigger, but he remained a small time charlatan. Perhaps the saddest part of the trial was seeing people humiliate themselves by saying that they contributed to Pawlowski because they thought that he would make a good governor or senator.  They didn't have much choice, either humiliate themselves or confess to bribery.

The Pawlowski Aftermath

It was interesting reading the comments on facebook and elsewhere Friday morning. Proclamations of a new day and fresh start, especially by local current politicians, are amusing. I don't know one who wasn't in bed with Pawlowski at one time or another over the years. I don't know one who didn't benefit by those ties. Pawlowski specialized in developing the ties that bind. I was also amused by his sycophants who expressed sympathy to his wife; Lisa Pawlowski was very much part of the insider loop, and exerted herself against his opponents throughout his reign.

Gotta love State Representatives Schlossberg and Schweyer chiming in about moving forward from this painful chapter. They must have forgotten all the yes votes they gave Pawlowski when they served on city council.

Although I appreciated blogger Bernie O'Hare's acknowledgment that this blog first educated him about Pawlowski, I  disagree with him about Bill White occasionally questioning the mayor's motives. Bill White was silent until the FBI raided city hall in 2015.  As a columnist, he had the leeway to question the administration throughout the years. The paper's blatant promotion of the NIZ has been a journalistic compromise. The Morning Call building was included in the NIZ, even though it stood alone across the street from the district. Not only does the paper turn a blind eye toward their obvious  conflict of interest,  but Bill White actually referred to me as misguided in my criticism of the district.

Now that Pawlowski's resignation is inevitable, former supporters are climbing over each other, purporting to be reformers. Ironically, the charter rules may preclude the two most eager candidates, O'Connell and MacLean, from being eligible.  Although Nat Hyman is interested in gauging the temperature, I know back-channel that certain council members have no appetite for that idea. Charlie Thiel may well end up the default candidate, if O'Connell and MacLean are indeed blocked by the city charter.

I would hope that whoever is appointed will come to somewhat resent this blog.  Otherwise, I may not be properly fulfilling its mission.

Welcome to Molovinsky On Allentown. This blog is produced every weekday to illuminate local politics and history.  I am an independent monitor and an occasional activist.  The blog is loyal only to issues, not elected officials. Your comments are welcome and your readership is appreciated.

above photo from The Morning Call

A Window On Pawlowski

By now most followers of Allentown politics know that Ed Pawlowski was found guilty of almost all charges late Thursday afternoon.  Although I'm very mindful of my privacy,  today I will reveal a personal experience with Ed Pawlowski. I make this revelation not to dwell on my reputation, but as a window on his character. Although his sycophants and others may think that his only fault was his political  ambition,  they are mistaken.  Over the years numerous people were bullied by Pawlowski.  Most of them didn't have the voice to speak out.

In 2005, as an independent and the third candidate on the ballot for mayor, I debated Pawlowski and Heydt at the WFMZ studio. After the debate,  an audience member told me that Lisa Pawlowski was telling audience members that I was a slumlord.  Not hearing it myself, I let it drop.  In the beginning of 2008, I conducted a series of SPEAK OUT meetings at an intercity church.  A Morning Call reporter told me after the meeting that when she called Pawlowski for comment,  he told her that I was just a slumlord.  The reality was that I operated buildings between 4th and 12th Streets for decades, without one code violation or tenant complaint. There was absolutely no basis for the untrue slander by Pawlowski, other than a flaw in his character.  At the end of 2008 he repeated the falsehood, but this time in front of me and others outside the city council chamber.  I asked him how he would feel if I told people that he was a corrupt politician?

Over the years this blog has not concerned itself explicitly with the  contributions and corresponding favors which convicted Pawlowski yesterday.  My concern has been the consequences and policies, which have compromised our assets, such as the park system.  My concern is with the unlevel playing field for small business owners.  A comment last night stated that Bernie(O'Hare) and I have been vindicated.  Pawlowski will be gone soon,  but many people who cooperated with him remain, along with the policies they implemented.

The Transfiguration Of Ed Pawlowski

After I read in the paper that Ed Pawlowski's defense attorney asked the jury to send him(Ed) back to the people who so love him and the city he has saved, I realized that Pawlowski must be holy, because he surely didn't save Allentown in a civic sense. Although Jack McMahon tried to convince the jury that Ed was responsible for the NIZ and its new construction, in reality that was a arrangement between Pat Browne and J.B. Reilly. Although it happen on Ed's watch, his only part was to cut a few ribbons. However, both the out-of towners and low information types do think that Pawlowski was responsible, because the true NIZ story is hard to grasp.

Pawlowski was hoping to use this confusion as his ticket to ride out of town, either to Harrisburg or Washington. As it turns out, he will probably get his ticket, but not to where he had hoped.

deity image from Bernie O'Hare's Ramblings

The Corruption Of Allentown Pennsylvania

Whether Mayor Edwin Pswlowski is convicted or not, nobody can have any doubt about the corruption this city has experienced over the last decade. Every contract was negotiated not for the taxpayer's sake, but rather the position of the mayor. These distorted criterion infected every department. Those who follow this blog realize that while both local politics and history are my topics of choice, the park system is my passion.

Although the Cedar Beach Pool contract was investigated as corrupt, it was not the only questionable decision made by the park department under Pawlowski. First and foremost,  two new parcels should have never been purchased; This is the land by Basin Street, and the former fertilizer plant land along Martin Luther King Drive. The existing park system has been neglected since Pawlowski was elected in 2005, with the iconic WPA Stone Structures literally crumbling.

If the administration and city council had taken suggestions made on this blog to heart, the entrance wall of Lehigh Parkway would have never collapsed. I do not possess unique insight, but rather the simple understanding that Allentown has a magnificent park system which needs only to be maintained.

blogger surveying  entrance road wall after it collapsed in Lehigh Parkway

From Homeless To School Director

This is my second post on Ce-Ce Gerlach; The first was this summer, when I covered her block party fundraiser to buy uniforms for the students. Yesterday, I decided to sit down with Ce-Ce and learn more about someone in Allentown's future. She has been instrumental in attempting to share Allentown's good fortune from the arena's NIZ, with the city's less fortunate inter-city residents. Ce-Ce talks their language; She lived in her car for six months, about five years ago. Only 27 years old, she has emerged as a spokeswoman and advocate for Allentown's silent majority. Coming from the poor side of the tracks in Washington D.C., she knows first hand how little of opportunity can spill over from affluence, to a nearby population mired in the poverty cycle. In addition to being a leader on the coalition for community benefit from the NIZ, and the school board, she is on the city's Human Relations Board. She's open to more responsibilities, and even elected offices, in her mission to improve lives in downtown Allentown.
photocredit:Harry Fisher/The Morning Call

above reprinted from December of 2013


UPDATE: February 27,2018   Ed Pawlowski has blocked Ce-Ce's appointment to the Park and Recreation Commission.  In doing so he has further insured that she will be recognized as a reform candidate, and succeed in her quest for City Council in 2019.

Grasping For The Peanut Gallery

When I was a boy the audience at the Howdy Doody Show, comprised of children, was called the Peanut Gallery.  Later that phrase became a metaphor for an unsophisticated group. Wikipedia states that A peanut gallery was, in the days of vaudeville, a nickname for the cheapest and ostensibly rowdiest seats in the theater, the occupants of which were often known to heckle the performers.  Although the defense for Mayor Ed Pawlowski has rested,  Ed keeps reaching out to the local social media groups. Even this past weekend he was putting up links to headlines by his defense attorney that professed his innocence. He is still trying to campaign to his sycophants and assorted sickos.

 I am conscious of the fact that I have written about this phenomena several times already, but I find it fascinating. It reminds me of the disgraced television pastors who suddenly find G-d again.  I believe that Ed may become such a preacher upon his release from prison.

Pawlowski A Trained Liar

I didn't attend the mayor's testimony, but I can hear his lies.  I can hear the little insincere laugh that he injects to punuate his fibs. I can hear him saying that he had no idea about all the the corruption occurring on his behalf, behind his innocent back.

I can imagine the hours that he was coached by McMahon for this performance.  Although he needed McMahon's coaching for the specific legal defense,  he already had the lying down to a science.  In 2005 I attended 31 campaign performances by his liarship; He is good at it.  Credit McMahon for knowing a natural born liar when he meets one.  It was for this reason that McMahon was so anxious to get Pawlowski on the stand.  It was for this reason that one reporter even described Pawlowski's testimony as jovial.  He actually enjoys lying.

Early Thursday morning Pawlowski posted the link shown above that he was horrified by play to pay claims to his facebook page.  Next week we'll probably learn if the jury believes him.

Wrong Decision, Wrong Reporter At Allentown City Council

In a council vote headed  by Daryl Hendricks,  Tom Muller was rejected to start serving as Managing Director.  He correctly told council, “The mayor is across the street all the time right now and someone needs to be tending the shop,”  Although Hendricks stated that he would favor the appointment after the trial, Muller stated that he would have to re-evaluate his offer to serve. I know that Hendricks' dissenting vote wasn't unexpected, but Muller thought that he would be appointed by a 6 to 1 margin. I believe that Allentown may have lost the option of an experienced administrator for a political reason, nothing unusual for this city.

This meeting was covered by Daryl Nerl, now a freelancer for the Morning Call.  Nerl was Pawlowski's first and last supporter. As the full time Allentown beat reporter for the paper in 2005, his coverage of that election was notably biased for Pawlowski. When Mike Fleck closed his office and fled Allentown, Nerl was in his employ promoting Pawlowski.  His assignment to cover Pawlowski related news is ill-advised, nothing unusual for this paper.

photocredit: WFMZ-TV/ 69 News

Rumble In South Whitehall

In real estate no good deed goes unpunished. The farm on the corner of Cedar Crest Blvd. and Walbert Avenue watched the surrounding area develop into houses, a shopping plaza and office park. Now that the owners finally want to develop their parcel, the neighbors are in an uproar. When the municipal building was too small to hold a public meeting on the topic, it was switched to a school auditorium. The protestors have the usual complaints about traffic congestion and overcrowded schools. As a property rights advocate, I believe that the owners have the same rights to develop their land as did all the adjoining complainers. The topic of proper local government is what brings us to this post.

According to The Morning Call, an elected township commissioner told the large crowd that he agrees with them that the project, as designed, would be too much of an imposition on the township. I believe that his crowd pandering had a political motivation, and he was acting improperly as a legislator. Furthermore, as a political gesture he stated that the entire township should have been invited,  rather than just the adjoining neighbors. Understand that he appoints the planning commission and the zoners, who have jurisdiction over such matters. That public meeting was not the place for his opinion, although in South Whitehall the commissioners do have the final say.

There is however another topic on which he could properly express himself. The voters of South Whitehall voted to preserve Wehr's Dam. He and his fellow commissioners have been absolutely silent on their intentions and plans about the dam, and are allowing the Wildlands Conservancy to lobby the state for condemnation.

Small local government at its worse.

For reasons unknown to me, some comments recently submitted to posts have been going into the blog's spam folder, rather than being published.  I apologize if your comment(s) hasn't appeared. 

CastleRock

CastleRock took place in the cavernous Dorney Park dance-hall, Castle Garden. The "Garden" was built in the early 20's and hosted all the famous big bands of that era. By the late fifties it was called CastleRock. The Philadelphia recording stars, such as Frankie Avalon and Freddy Cannon would routinely perform. By my teenage era, in the early mid 60's, it was mostly disc jockeys. The Park was free, no admission. Pay to park, and maybe a buck or so for the dance-hall.







By then the nightclub tables shown in the photograph were gone, and sitting was around the sides. There were no shootings, and rowdiness was restricted to sneaking on a ride without buying a ticket. The dance-hall overlooked the lake, it was destroyed by a fire on Thanksgiving in 1985.

Reprinted from January 2013

Pawlowski Supporters

The above screen grab is a recent example of Pawlowski support taken from an Allentown facebook group.  I have redacted the author's name, because this post is about Pawlowski supporters in general, regardless of their particular motivation.

Are most Pawlowski supporters uninformed, while others even contrary and disingenuous?  While I also have previously referred to many as unethical,  in truth why would I care about which conditions afflict this group?  The problem unfortunately is that they might sooner than later determine Allentown's leadership. Although it took essentially a three way race to re-elect Pawlowski this time, clearly a third of the voters went with him, despite the indictment.

From facebook and other social media, we learn that most of his supporters are both low information and low expectation types.  Pawlowski himself keeps posting any link that suggests he might be less than completely guilty.  Which choir he is attempting to preach to continues to baffle me.

Truth be told I'm not optimistic about Allentown's political future.  Within the last decade a perfect storm of political opportunism and indifference has apparently drowned the city.

Issues With The NRA

I'm a supporter of the 2nd Amendment. Although that is a right which I defend, as an engaged citizen I appreciate living in a society of laws. There are rights and laws, and we can all live within them. I do not blindly consider every regulation as a curtailment of my rights, or as a slippery slope which will erode them, as does the NRA.  I can exercise my rights in a responsible manner, without purposefully provoking those who feel differently about this issue.

Each November the NRA sends its current and former members a card telling them whom they should vote for in their district, to protect their 2nd Amendment rights. Although their member magazine often features hunting rifles, the organization must also think of their members as sheep, who should only care about one issue. As Americans we should guard our right to own firearms,  but never tolerate being told how to vote.

I support Americans For Responsible Solutions, the group started by Mark Kelly and  Gabby Giffords.  They both value their right to own a fireman,  but appreciate the need for greater controls against irresponsible ownership.

Shown above is a 38 special, gifted upon Frank Sinatra by the Miami Beach Police & Firemen's Association.  

Fools For Pawlowski

In yesterday's post I wrote about tiptoeing through the Pawlowski minefield. We will see a parade of character witnesses testify that their contributions were made because of Pawlowski's leadership and accomplishments, not to gain the work which they received.  What else can they say and not incriminate themselves? Pawlowski's attorney, Jack McMahon, organized the parade,  composed of some of Allentown's most prestigious attorneys.  The downside for them is that everybody knows that Pawlowski was at best just a self-serving opportunist. Those who testify they felt that Pawlowski moved Allentown forward know full well that he was only the ribbon cutter for the NIZ, not the engine behind it. Those who say that they thought he was governor or senator material only erode their credibility even farther.  It is their hope that the trial end soon, and that their testimony be forgotten; For the most part it will be.

photocredit: The Morning Call

Tiptoeing Through Pawlowski's Minefield

If the witnesses who haven't pleaded guilty seem to hem and haw about what expectations they had for their contributions or services to Pawlowski,  understand that they do not want to openly admit that they participated in a pay to play scheme.  Although they may be offered immunity from prosecution,  they still have their careers to consider.  Some may be attorneys, and others may even have their own political plans.  Their objective is to get into and out of the federal courthouse with as little damage to their own reputation as possible.  If their evasive answers result in Pawlowski being acquitted, in their mind that's better than sacrificing their own future.

A problem for Allentown going forward is the people who supported him this last November.  Although most of them are not policy makers,  some have their own ambitions for elected office.  Imagine the ethics they would bring to the table?

photocredit: The Morning Call

Pawlowski's Theft Of Service

If Ed Pawlowski ends up convicted of pay to play in his federal  case remains to be seen.  Since the investigation of his corruption by the FBI began in 2013 or so,  the law has changed.  In a case called McDonnell vs. United States,  the Supreme Court ruled that a specific favor for a specified contribution must be linked and documented.  So,  although I cannot predict the trial's outcome,  I do know that he stole honest services from the taxpayers of Allentown.

From court testimony we learn that most contracts given out in Allentown were decided not by what was best value for the city,  but by which vendor would contribute to Pawlowski's campaigns.  Unfortunately,  the consequences are even worse;  Because Pawlowski was mayor for three full terms,  this corruption impacted almost every department's integrity.

Hopefully, when Pawlowski is finally gone,  Allentown can begin to clean this culture of corruption from city hall.

photo from Morning Call video

Survivors Of The Pawlowski Era

While Celeste Dee's current website heralds her experience as a campaign strategist, there is no mention that she got the experience working for Mike Fleck's H Street Strategies.  H Street promoted Pawlowski and his stable of yes men and women. In light of the Pawlowski trial, and Fleck's guilty plea,  her omission is understandable.  She testified that she was well aware that city vendors were being burped for campaign contributions.

Candida Affa went with Celeste and her spinoff agency; She was perhaps the last member of City Council to cut ties with Pawlowski.  Celeste will be able to survive and prosper in Allentown's Democratic world;  She is treasurer of the local party.

The Pawlowski era and lack of ethics so permeated local politics that there are no players that were not tainted by it.

photo of Celeste Dee in front of Federal Courthouse by WFMZ Channel 69 News

Pawlowski's Defense In Action

Although Molovinsky On Allentown's mission is to provide informed commentary rather than being another reportage site,  I felt it might be useful to witness Pawlowski's famed defense attorney in action.  I observed his cross examination of Matt McTish.  While the prosecutor seemed meek and barely audible,  McMahon was strong and commanding.  He produced an email that McTish sent his lobbyist,  Jennifer Mann, complaining that his contributions to Pawlowski were not being productive.  To use McMahon's words,  there was no bang for McTish's buck, nor quid pro quo established.   He made McTish confirm that contributions to various politicians were a common business expense for his engineering firm.  Furthermore, he revealed that McTish additionally paid Mann $60,000 a year to assist him in securing business, with both government and private sectors.

McMahon had succeeded in taking a prosecution witness and scoring  points for the defense.   When Pawlowski left the courtroom for a recess,  he was clearly pleased with his attorney's performance.

Let me clarify that this snippet involves only one cross examination,  in what will prove to be a long complex trial.

court rendering from earlier in the trial by The Morning Call

Lanta's Snow Hysteria

Yesterday's snow wasn't expected to slow down the earth's rotation.  Never the less,  Lanta put in effect their Snow Emergency Routes.  Standing outside in the cold for a bus isn't the picnic Lanta thinks.  On their website they state that you can access information free of charge on your iPhone.   Nice of them to make the information free,  and of of course we must assume that everybody has an iPhone,  even those low income bus riders.

What would motivate them to implement snow detour routes for less than 2" of snow? Perhaps they have a special position for such decisions,  and he/she feels less useless by declaring the emergency routing.

At the end of the day, or I should say the beginning, it's quite a kick in the teeth to wait for a bus not coming. 

Pushing Pawlowski Back

I grew on Liberator Avenue. Liberator and Catalina Avenues, and Coronado Street, were named for Vultee-Consolidated WW2 planes, and are next to the airport built as part of the war effort. Vultee Street was built to connect the hangers with the Mack 5C plant, which was given over to Vultee-Consolidated for plane part manufacturing during the war. Vultee Street was the runway, and Lehigh Street would be closed off if a plane was landing. Today, this small airport now known as Queen City, has been under relentless threat by Mayor Ed Pawlowski, now a member of the Lehigh Valley Airport Authority. This past Tuesday, fellow board members started pushing back against Pawlowski.

"You're not the mayor of the Lehigh Valley International Airport." board member Frank Kovacs to Pawlowski

The board voted to build a new taxiway, indicating there's not much consensus to sell the airport, which has been Pawlowski's objective. Pawlowski wants to add to Allentown's real estate glut, for a short sighted tax gain. Matt Assad, from The Morning Call, wrote an excellent article explaining the arguments to both sell and keep Queen City. He also provides quotes of the tense discussion between board members and Pawlowski. This blogger is not surprised by Pawlowski's position, but questions Don Cunningham's judgement in appointing him to the Authority.

 reprinted from April of 2012

ADDENDUM FEBRUARY 7, 2018: My pushback against Pawlowski started in 2006. In 2007 when I started this blog, he and his enablers were still being defended as good for Allentown, even by fellow bloggers. This blog is fact based. I have no politicians whom I support. I am loyal only to issues, not elected officials.

Under Pawlowski's Bus

Although it's reprehensible, one can understand Pawlowski's Philadelphia mouthpiece throwing the mayor's former associates under the bus. But apparently that's not enough for Mayor Ed, he reprints that line on facebook himself.

 Now here's the problem, Pawlowki is still mayor of Allentown.

He is in essence telling all city employees that they could also become a sacrificial lamb when needed.  He is apparently more concerned with his reputation on facebook than the operation of the city.  Although   his supporters are limited to the uninformed,  the contrary and the unethical,  and the election is over, he is still more concerned with them than the operation of the city.

Credit city managers and workers for anything being done right in Allentown.  The mayor's office is worse than empty, it's actually working against morale.

Allentown's Lost Innocence

A posting like above appeared on an Allentown facebook discussion group this past weekend.  Forty two people liked the message, among them a newly elected member of the Allentown School Board. I suppose that these people belong to several groups, none of which is good for Allentown. In the first group you have the totally uninformed. They are probably the least destructive grouping, and likely do not even vote. Secondly, you have the contrarians. There will always be people like them,  and they seem to love facebook groups.  The last group is what scares me the most for Allentown. They know that he abused the system, yet still admire him for it. They know that in order to profess his innocence, he is impugning the reputation of his subordinates, who only followed his directions. Although a few of the nine who pleaded guilty are indeed co-conspirators to his plots, most were sucked in by a greedy and ambitious boss.

Although Pawlowski might be found not guilty because the prosecution cannot reach the current burden of proof, he surely is not innocent. Although I do not care about Pawlowski's future, I do hope that those members of the third group come to realize that government shouldn't be about what you can get out of it for yourself. My hope is probably naive. Greed has become part of large urban politics, and Allentown seems to have lost its innocence.

Fly In Allentown's Soup

If I saw a shrink for my frustration about Allentown, I would have to be in therapy all day. If I took sedatives, I wouldn't be able to stand up, instead I run for office and blog. Pawlowski announced his plan to restore the city on Friday; continuously inspect every inanimate object in Allentown. This professional advise came from a former Philadelphia housing guru, of course a fly in the soup is that Philadelphia is the corruption and murder capital of the world. Allentown's Rental Inspection Law failed to upgrade the city; while you end up legitimizing slumlords with certificates of occupation, you cannot legislate pride of ownership. Many local conscientious owners sold out rather than submit to the bureaucracy, increasing the frequency of inspections will again backfire. Although Pawlowski (and Cunningham) campaigned about their grand plans and communication skills, neither even knew the Allentown School System was going to demand reassessment; It's time for the taxpayers and citizens to reassess who they elected.

reprinted from November of 2007

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2, 2018:  Apparently when it comes to corruption, Philadelphia didn't have anything over us after all.  During the course of the trial this week, it was reported that Pawlowski used some Allentown inspectors as his personal goon squad,  rewarding donors and penalizing those that didn't pony up.  A number of years ago several landlords complained on this blog that they were indeed mistreated by the inspection program.  In my limited exposure to inspectors they have been professional.  I'm sure the testimony this week is not pleasant for that department's personnel.  They will however continue doing their job,  and move beyond the stigma of the Pawlowski scandal.

A Salty Tale In Allentown

The prediction of light snow early Tuesday morning proved to be correct.  By Wednesday morning the streets were white, however it wasn't snow, but salt.   For a city which just enacted a stormwater fee, largely because of salt runoff,  you would think that a more prudent use of salt would be in order.

Despite the federal mandate to clean stormwater running into the streams,  I have doubt that anything significant will be changed for many years.  Understand that the city was under federal mandate for over a decade to correct the leaking sanitary sewers which actually contaminate the Little Lehigh with feces during storms.  The city didn't do anything, and now the Lehigh County Authority has inherited that mandate.  Those who complained that the Stormwater Fee was actually a backdoor tax increase were correct.

photocredit:Rich Schultz/The Morning Call

If Pawlowski Is Acquitted

If Pawlowski is acquitted,  Allentown will be the outlander for the next four years.  While the prosecutor could fail to convince a jury, beyond a reasonable doubt, that his exploitation of the city bid system rose to a level necessary for conviction,  everybody now knows that city hall was essentially corrupt.  Regardless of the trial outcome, neither he or Allentown would be considered innocent.

Although Pawlowski would be personally insufferable,  his effectiveness as a leader would be completely neutralized. Nobody on City Council, or other local governments, would want to be seen as his ally.  He would spend the next four years preaching to his small congregation of deniers about his innocence.  Those invested here could only hope that the current caretakers in place are left to run the city with little interference by him.  The mayoral campaigning for 2021 would begin in earnest immediately.

Ce-Ce Rocks The Block

Ce-Ce Gerlach rocked South 16th Street this afternoon with a block party to raise funds for school uniforms. The block was packed with people enjoying several carnival attractions, music and food. From all reports, the new Allentown school uniform policy seems to have gotten off to a good start, but one issue is the cost of the  clothes.  With a large, low income student body, this can become a family hardship.  I'm sure Ce-Ce's organizing abilities  will help with this problem.  I've had a couple of conservations with Ce-Ce this past month, and I believe she will be a factor in Allentown's future.

To donate to the school uniform fund, make check payable to RCDC, 144 N. 9th St. Allentown, Pa. 18101.   Write Uniforms on memo line.

above reprinted from September 7, 2013

UPDATE January 30,2018: Last evening I attended an early kickoff for Ce-Ce's campaign for Allentown City Council in 2019.  I've known Ce-Ce for years, and am glad to see her again offering her time and energy to Allentown.  In this sorry time we need people with her sincerity and integrity.

In regards to this sorry time,  it's my understanding that the prosecution against Pawlowski had a strong showing in court yesterday. Numerous witnesses, including former city employees, described bid rigging and a pay to play culture. Supposedly, the defense attorney seemed exasperated, and Pawlowski himself somewhat forlorn.

Pawlowski's Campaign Soliciting

Ed Pawlowski published the above post last Thursday, the fourth day of his federal trial for corruption. I don't know if he has unshakable faith in his defense attorney, or if he is plain nuts. But at any rate, this post is about a contributor to his senate campaign. A week or so before the FBI raid at city hall, Pawlowski phoned a Democrat I know and hit him up for a contribution to his senate campaign.  This fellow sent in his check shortly before the raid. I bumped into him a few days later, and when I asked him for his opinion about the raid, he told me about his contribution. Trial notes  indicate that Pawlowski knew what was coming down the pike, and was actually soliciting contributions at that time for his upcoming defense, not a senate race.  I think that such deception speaks of his character.

Although Pawlowski is sitting in court every day, all day,  his early morning facebook posts imply that he is still involved in running the city.  I suppose that they are directed at his current supporters who voted for him last November;  Truth isn't an important  point with them.