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See me explain how to compete with a well funded campaign (Pawlowski's most successful economic development - his campaign!)

Blue Light Special?

According to a letter published on another blog the City is looking for volunteers to man the monitors connected to the blue lights flashing all over town.

The letter was sent by the City to crime watch groups, so I guess it makes sense that they might want to watch crime, but I think maybe the City misinterpreted the idea of crime watch.

The question now is who is monitoring them currently? When do we, the taxpayers, get to hear results of all those flashing lights and cameras? When do we get a report on effectiveness backed up with facts?

Who from the City will address the questions "What happened to areas not monitored, or at least graced with blue flashing lights? Has crime moved? Are new areas now targeted by criminals?"

I wrote about this in my refutation to Pawlowski's website spins. Read it here.

Refuting Pawlowski's campaign web assertions

I offer this point by point refutation of Pawlowski's assertions voiced on his web page. If you believe Allentown is in good shape, and better than when Pawlowski took office, you might as well skip this. If you believe borrowed money is a surplus, skip this. If you believe that you can make a statement true by repeating it often enough, especially with a power point to back it up, you can skip this.

More one-sided information sharing

I responded to a BLOG by Bryan Kleiner, reviewing Pawlowski's meetup with Youth.
"I would be happy to give a balance to the Mayor's address. There is another side,but so far, Muhlenberg has not responded to my offers to speak or appear. It is always good to hear both sides of an issue" I wrote. We'll see if they really want information, or this is just another Pawlowski ploy supported by his cronies at Muhlenberg to twist his politics with the appearance of open communication. So far, Muhlenberg Democrats have not responded to my offer to appear before them after they booted me off campus in violation of my civil rights and after they endorsed Pawlowski without offering me an opportunity to address their group.

updates on news

Two articles in blogs caught my attention today.
http://blogs.mcall.com/allentown/2009/04/a-silent-endorsement.html

endorsements

crime

In the first, Mcall reporter Renshaw claims “Most people expect Pawlowski to breeze through the primary”. By what source he feels confident in making this assessment, I am unsure. In my door to door and general appearances throughout the City, I have observed that most people would vote for anyone except Pawlowski. He is not well liked by the average voter. I have had a tremendous response to my candidacy. I advised Renshaw to be careful in his generalizations, or back them up with facts. I also point out that I would expect politically active people to be endorsing Pawlowski, because he is well know for his retaliatory behavior. I point out that I expect that even those who have allowed their name to be used, to protect their positions, will still vote for me in the election. Many endorsements he has are not even voters in Allentown. I'll take my endorsements at the polls, where they count the most.

In the other blog, LVCI, I took issue with his attempt at putting a positive spin on Pawlowski's blatant denial of the extent of drug and gang involvement in City crime. LVCI suggested that perhaps Pawlowski is afraid of retaliation (isn't that ironic!) and so is downplaying, publicly, the extent of the gang influence, to protect himself and his family. In my post I point out that it is Pawlowski's job to be up front and public against crime and criminals, including gangs. I also suggest the proper way this might occur, and note that lying to the public is not one of the ethical options. Either he is out of touch, or Pawlowski is lying, either of which is good reason to vote for me, Nepon, in the coming primary.

people post campaign signs out of fear

"At Medina's -- where a Pawlowski campaign sign hung in the window -- the bar's owner insisted that the fighting happened outside the bar. When told about the mayor's comments, the owner angrily said he couldn't control the people who frequent his place. He declined to give his name." reported The Morning Call in an article about a shooting at 10th & Hamilton that began in a bar at 10th & Linden.

It seems clear to me that this bar owner is no friend of Palowski, and must have felt pressure to post a Pawlowski sign. Now the poor guy must decide if his anger at Pawlowski's publicly stated intent to close him down is a bigger threat than the implied threat of failure to display a Pawlowski sign and the certain actions that might follow from the City enforcement apparatus.

I suppose that seeing Pawlowski campaign signs in places like this are actually good for my campaign.

CHALLENGE TO A DEBATE

I would like to debate Ed Pawlowski. NO ONE HAS ASKED HIM THE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ASKED, IN A PUBLIC SETTING. If anyone knows any organization that would sponsor a primary debate, let me know. I'll make myself available. Ed, name the time and place!

Don't forget to read my FAQ to learn about my positions and ideas.

update for Wednesday, April 15

Taxes all paid. Flu affecting family. Had everyone together (well almost everyone, and almost together) for the holiday weekend, so we shared it around.

The news of note was the closing of the new Gym, which is covered in a few other blogs, including The Morning Call. Basically, the guy offered a $99 fee, and collected quite a few, then disappeared in the dead of the holiday weekend. While not specifically the administration's problem, it is emblematic of what the future might hold. A going business moved out, and was replaced by a similar enterprise that took the money and ran. Hamilton Street is becoming a place for scams, because real businesses don't succeed. I guess he figured he made as much as he was going to make, right up front, and staying in business would just deplete his earnings.

On another front, tomorrow the Mayor is having a press conference to name another member to the Landlord Hall of Shame. Given the obviously horrid condition of the Municipal Golf Course Building that Brewworks is intending to occupy in replacement of the hot dog cart (it has taken months to bring it into code compliance) I am surprised that the City has not nominated itself.

I wonder how the City's property came to be in this position? Didn't it get regularly inspected? Do any city properties get inspected? How about redevelopment properties? What about all the alphabet soup organizations the City set up to own these properties it takes? Looked at objectively, might not the City be its own worst property owner?

It seems to me that we need to clean up our own act before pointing fingers.

Best wishes for Michael Donovan

I send my best wishes to Mike, who was assaulted at a local park defending the peace and quiet. The story broke in The Morning Call, and is now probably everywhere. Mike is out of the hospital and back in life, and being philosophical. I hope he does not suffer any complications, but he does report broken face bones. Anyone knowing someone who owns a yellow go kart should let the police know.

Golf Course Follies, continued......

Today, The Morning Call's QCD published the Mayor's response to the charge that his handpicked, under questionable circumstances purveyor of fine golf course food was being treated more generously than the previous tenant. In essence, he said that the City had not done it's part to ready the facility. Okay, so Brew Works, couldn't open because the City was incompetent. Why couldn't we get the work done? If the work were done, would the Brew Works have been able to open? How much would it have cost if we outsourced the work? How much rent would we have received, or penalty?

I am not sure that the Mayor's answer actually makes it better or clearer. Why did we let a contract that we couldn't uphold our end on? How did the building the city owns get so bad that it needed so much work to get brought up to code? Pawlowski has raided buildings and booted tenants for less. What goes on here? Don't we hold ourselves up to the same standard as the taxpayers?

FAQ – Dick’s Mayoral Candidacy

1. Why are you running?

Because I am concerned that the City is facing a crisis and is ill prepared for it. No one is looking ahead and planning for the future; instead we are playing catch-up with the present. We are investing huge amounts of money in the downtown to favor businesses, but are not investing in the community, the people and neighborhoods that would support any businesses.

2. What is the difference between you and Pawlowski?

Well, although we look somewhat similar, we come from radically different backgrounds. I would say that the biggest difference between us is my contention that we need to develop the city by promoting its strengths - Pawlowski believes we need to bring business to downtown. But really, my ability to think and plan strategically, and my facility at coming up with new and unique ideas are what should be the reason to elect me. We need someone capable of finding creative solutions to our challenges.

3. What will you change?

I will reorganize the way we run the city. For example, there are myriad overlaps between public safety, and community development, yet they are hardly aligned. I do not believe we can arrest our way out of crime. I believe that only a properly functioning community of neighborhoods can drive out crime. We need to make a clear declaration of what we choose as goals for the city, and then evaluate all our spending on how it drives us toward those goals. We need to decide if programs currently funded are actually helping us reach those goals. It seems that now, the current administration merely sees if the programs are operating, but does not evaluate their efficacy at realizing our over-arching goals. Within the City government itself, we do not have incentives for saving in departments, because any saving is immediately turned over to the general fund, and also incorporated into the expectations for the following year. There is no gain for doing a better fiscal job, so the attitude seems to be, “why bother?” This promotes a lack of interest in doing a better job. The City needs to function cohesively to effectively move us toward the future.

4. Specifically, how will the Nepon administration function?

First of all, I will be accessible. I will attend Council meetings, and work with transparency instead of secrecy. I am a collaborative leader, not a lone wolf. I think we can get better ideas and better buy-in to new concepts by working together. I do not have all the answers, but I do have the ability to make the important decisions after hearing various alternatives.

5. What differences will we see when you become Mayor?

The most noticeable change will be a concentration on results that citizens can see and feel. I will change the direction of our housing program from creating more affordable housing to making life more enjoyable for those already living here. To do that we need to address what are the biggest quality of life issues. By creating and empowering the neighborhoods, we can and will reduce the opportunity and occurrence of crime and gangs. I will personally, with my cabinet, visit any neighborhood that requests it. I will introduce myself to any ‘problem’ residencies and make it clear that we are all about good neighborhoods. When I worked for Lowe’s, we were told that if we suspected a customer was actually trying to rip us off, we were to offer excellent customer service. That idea translates well into community development. By offering ‘excellent customer service’ to our community we can encourage those who flourish in the dark to move on to other locales. That is the best we can do. We haven’t the resources to cure crime, but we do have the resources to move crime out. A further change will be a result of appointments to the Parking Authority. I believe that we need to provide more parking options in the inner city. The lack of available parking combined with the increased enforcement feels like a regressive tax. Creating some neighborhood parking, by taking down blighted, unoccupied buildings and converting those to attractive, landscaped ground lots, would go a long way toward relieving some of the stress of downtown living as well as stop engendering disrespect for authority. While it may take time to address the proliferation of multifamily housing in neighborhoods not designed to support them, we can go a lot farther toward mitigating the problems that arise from the crowding.

6. What new ideas do you have for the City?

I would like to see us concentrate on being at the leading edge of the growing trend for city living in sustainable communities. We have the basis for a number of community conversions, taking existing neighborhoods and converting them to walkable, liveable sustainable communities through innovative change such as closing through streets and creating cul-de-sacs, encouraging small ‘bodega’ style markets and neighborhood schools. Many of these neighborhoods currently have small scale industry. We can create a place where you can live and work, shop and play without the need for using a car on a regular basis. Through creative use of pooling resources, we can fund the transformation and encourage growth in real estate prices through limited availability, and then replicate the concept in more places. Another idea I have is to create a new government center that is both energy efficient, as well as large enough to centralize our government functions. Through discussions with funding sources, it appears we can actually save money while increasing efficiency. By disposing of current real estate holdings, which uses would be combined in the new structure, we would return some property to the tax roles, eliminate a lot of duplication of equipment and services, and utilize an underutilized property centrally located in the City.

7. How can Allentown benefit from the traffic produced by the Sands Casino in neighboring Bethlehem?

At present, there is no good reason for people who come to the Sands to visit Allentown. The America on Wheels Museum is a start, but not enough to justify the trip for most people. Development of the riverfront may be a good idea, but will take quite some time. I would like to reverse the equation. What can Allentown do that will drive traffic and dollars to Allentown merchants, whose customers may decide to visit the Casino while they are in the area? The answer is that we need to establish a unique identity for the City that will attract people from a greater distance than just a circle around the planned casino. We need to think bigger than ‘just below the Poconos’ and ‘above Philadelphia.’ I have conceived of a plan to establish our city as the best of what it is, to promote what we have. Why can’t we be the one city on the east coast that celebrates its varied Latino population? We could be the place to come to sample offerings from Latin Culture, including food and music, as well as art and education. This has been done, for example, in Miami, where at one time the Cuban population was blamed for all the ills, but is now the economic engine driving the South Beach area’s rebirth. There is no place on the East Coast known for its Latin culture. There is a large market and no one serving it. Allentown’s future is not its past. We will never have a Hess’s and a Leh’s and a Zollinger’s. But we can have a flourishing future by stressing what we do have, celebrating it and investing in it.

8. What can we do with the Government we have to make it work better? Recognizing that because of our size, we have many forms of expertise in-house that are unattainable by surrounding municipalities, we could offer our services, for hire to those neighbors, decreasing our costs to support those services locally. Some of this could be through public/private partnerships which we can create with local businesses, some through private agreements. Much as we market our water and sewer services, we could be marketing other services.

9. What about our parks?

Our parks need to be supported for the quality of life issues that they afford us. But we also need to look at the latest ideas in environmental policy to see what we can do to use our parks to help us in our quest for a sustainable future. We should be encouraging not only recreational uses, but also environmental protection. We should evaluate our habit of mowing regularly, and closely. We should look to reestablish native species in place of other species imported to the area for aesthetics. We should look toward neighborhood parks for planting of community vegetable gardens, not just playgrounds.

10. What else should we know about you?

I had my first encounter with Allentown’s city government after I bought my first house at 9^th & Walnut Street and decided to convert it into a storefront for a bookstore. I discovered the world of zoning and building and electrical codes (and inspectors.) I also discovered that the property, while surrounded by businesses, was not zoned for business. I did not just get the zoning changed for me, through a variance, but successfully fought to have the area rezoned to reflect its actual character and nature. When I moved to New Jersey to take advantage of an opportunity to develop a 60 acre tract, and raise my kids in the country setting, I volunteered for the planning board as an alternate. I also joined my first Volunteer Fire Department. On my return to Allentown, I became active in the arts community as well as the school community. I served as a board member at the Open Space Gallery on Hamilton Street, and the Theatre Outlet, then on N 9^th Street. I volunteered for Mayfair. I rose to a leadership position in all of my volunteer activities. Eventually, after working for the school district as a strategic planner, I wanted to have some of my ideas enacted. I became a candidate, was elected and became a member of the School District of the City of Allentown’s Board of Directors. As a School Board Director, I was provided entry to state and national committees. Because of my involvement and passion for the City of Allentown, the City was designated as a Best Community by then-Vice President Al Gore through his Reinventing Government initiative. (to be continued)

tag -- you're it

Anyone notice the increase in tags all over town, especially the West End? I guess the flashing blue lights have proven effective. They have relocated the disrespect for the city to cover the whole town. They didn't even require a KOZ or anything; they are contributing this art freely, on their own, at their own expense, so I guess we should be grateful.

a lie from Muhlenberg College

in their last week's Muhlenberg Weeklym in an article titled:

College Democrats elect new board; Endorse Mayor Ed Pawlowski

Jillian Bevacqua

Issue date: 3/19/09

it states that "The new board led the group in their first course of action: a vote which resulted in the endorsement of the campaign to re-elect Mayor Ed Pawlowski for a second term in office. Pawlowski, who has a single challenger, former school board member Dick Nepon, won over the support of the group through his consistent work with the College Democrats over the past four years as well as his willingness to seek student input on certain local issues. Nepon, on the other hand, did not fill out the College Democrats' endorsement questionnaire. " (italics mine, see the entire article below)


In response I wrote to the editor of the Weekly: "This is less than honest. Perhaps, if the group had done a few things, like offering me the endorsement questionnaire, I might have filled it out. My name is listed in the phone book. I live only a few blocks off campus.

Of course, endorsing a candidate before the ballot petitions are filed is not the wisest decision for a political entity to make, and be considered as constituting a real endorsement. I did not file my Petition until the final day, March 10. Therefore, I was not a candidate until March 10, and even then, until a week had passed without a successful challenge. So, this endorsement looks like nothing more than political shenanigans, depriving the Muhlenberg College Dems from the ability to make a reasoned choice. Beside which, Shanker knew perfectly well that I was getting my ballot signatures and intending to run against the Mayor. He was motivated by his partisan job responsibilities with the Pawlowski organization, and co-opted the Muhlenberg Dems into a badly chosen endorsement.

If college students are going to make adult decisions, they really should act like adults, and make truly informed decisions.

Additionally, your new Co-President arranged to have my constitutional rights violated, having me removed from an open campus by security because of his trumped up concern over “liability”. He then hid behind an off-the record letter to me in which he made himself look childish in trying to explain it away, instead of taking responsibility for a poor choice of action.

I hope that the education at Muhlenberg is better than this club’s actions, and its President, demonstrate, or you are all in trouble.

I did offer to come to meet the Dems on campus, but have had no response from your new leadership. Running from people you have offended is very much the Pawlowski way of doing business. It is a shame that the College Dems are being denied an opportunity to make a real choice. How about offering to sponsor a debate between Ed and me?

On Mon., Mar. 9 the College Democrats elected a new board to lead the group. Former Co-Presidents Adrian Shanker and Jon Rosenau had a successful and exciting three years leading the group, especially with the recent historical Presidential Election season. The College Democrats elected Steve Motschwiller '12 as their new President and re-elected Allyson Margolis '11 to her current role as Vice President.

The new board led the group in their first course of action: a vote which resulted in the endorsement of the campaign to re-elect Mayor Ed Pawlowski for a second term in office. Pawlowski, who has a single challenger, former school board member Dick Nepon, won over the support of the group through his consistent work with the College Democrats over the past four years as well as his willingness to seek student input on certain local issues. Nepon, on the other hand, did not fill out the College Democrats' endorsement questionnaire.

"We are proud to endorse Mayor Ed Pawlowski in his quest for a second term," Motschwiller stated. "Throughout the past year, we have seen the Mayor directly work with Muhlenberg students on a number of different issues and we know that he is the right person for Allentown." In addition, the College Democrats have issued endorsements for Mike D'Amore and Mike Schlossberg to the Allentown City Council.

Muhlenberg College as an institution does not endorse political candidates or parties. Student organizations, however, are allowed to make partisan endorsements. The College Democrats are recognized as a student organization at the College and therefore serve as a vital force in local Democratic politics. The College Democrats hold a substantive voting block in the West End of Allentown, as nearly a quarter of the Student Body are locally registered as Democrats. This was clearly demonstrated by an 85% student voter turnout in the 2008 General Election which was recorded by the College Democrats."

A small but important victory

At tonight's City Council meeting, they tabled a motion to pass an ordinance for a long awaited personnel policy manual for City workers. This was a definite victory for me. I have been critical of a couple of lines in the City's AIMs ( sort of a personnel guide), and actually resident in the City's Charter. Under the guise of ethics, and the subheading of political activity, it purports to say that employees of the City cannot actively campaign for a city position, even running for a position themself. I have challenged not only the literal interpretation of this, but also its constitutionality. The actual language is unclear, and the terms are nowhere defined. Further, this clause has been ignored in the past quite a few times. Apparently, only the Ethics Board has a vote on defining it, and they only define if asked in writing. Even the City's Counsel wouldn't touch this one.

Council first tried to alter the words, or remove the offending clause, or the whole section on Conflicts of Interest, and eventually just decided to table the whole Personnel Manual. It was rumored, and council members were concerned, that the passing of this ordinance would immediately allow the Mayor to separate me from my job. Council was concerned, and seemed to establish their belief that no matter what they did, I would be grandfathered in to the pre policy days, despite the existence of the same language in the City's AIM and its charter. Apparently by changing the proposed text in the manual, they would make the case for it being changed in the original charter and the Aim regulation. With no clear way to alter the words, or delete just a few, or something they elected to postpone the whole deal.

This means I can keep my job, even after I win the Primary! This is good news!

Thank you, Council, for taking the time to think, and to protect me from a Mayor who would love to destroy me.