Young Frankenstein: "What knockers!"Inga: "Oh, Thank you, doctor."
I keep repeating those lines after scanning the itemized list of 76 people that Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski hired, at between $100 and $200 per head, to canvass the streets of Allentown on Election day.
What knockers!
Twenty-six of them come from outside Allentown, from places as far away as Tamaqua. What really caught my attention are the five Easton knockers. One supposedly lives at 11 N. 4th Street. That's the Lafayette Hotel, a well-known Easton dive. The other four list their address as 536 Bushkill Drive. That's Easton's Safe Harbor, a local homeless shelter.
Wow! What knockers!
Three of these Easton knockers have criminal records for minor offenses like public drunkenness. One of them, who keeps getting caught for driving while his license is suspended, was picked up and charged with public drunkenness just six days after the election.
Wow! What knockers!
Now let's say you're the Mayor of Pennsylvania's third largest city, and running for re-election. I could see hiring a few college students to knock on doors. I could see getting a union to help. I could even see going to a temp agency and screening the people who will be representing you. But would you go to a homeless shelter and pull out a few derelicts, with three teeth between them, to knock on doors on election day? Would you hire two people who can't even provide an address? Would you import three canvassers from Tamaqua? Two from Brockton?
Wow! What knockers!
How many of these knockers actually worked on election day? Were they paid by cash or by check? Who recruited them? Were they actually paid the amounts claimed? Or did some of that money go somewhere else?
You can see the names below, and perhaps you know a few. If you do, ask them how much they were paid, and let the rest of us know.
Pawlowski's Knockers
40 comments:
I drove a car to pick people up and drop people up all day. I did not do a head count but around 80 people sounds about right.
HOW MANY OF THE 26 from outside of city possibly voted in ALLENTOWN.
Bernie, you are just sore that there is no $50 table cloth on that list.
As for hiring "day workers" ... no, you wouldn't find 75 college students you would find the people who are that list.
a little over the top here, Bern. Homless people aren't allowed to find day work? should an elected official be "above" hiring the most disadvantaged of us to perform unskilled labor?
Anon 6:14AM: Thank you so much for posting what I came on here to post! SHAME on Bernie for this one.
I agreed with the lack of an itemized list, but the wacks at homeless people as having three teeth and the other comments are just mean-spirited. No republican would have hired them b/c they don't look respectable enough for them. sorry, but if your problem is now that he hired people from outside the city who were homeless, then you have stooped pretty low. just let it go and point out that it was another attempt to duck transparency. the lack of transparency is the issue, not that he hired homeless people. if your problem is that he hired the homeless, you just got really elitist for no reason.
So Bernie, you mention that people who had been paid by the Pawlowski campaign had previous arrest records. You think that their past should be held against them - fair enough.
By that same token, why should we trust a word that you say? You clearly have had numerous ethical breaches in your professional career - doesn't the same line of logic apply to you?
(and NO, I am not the crazy troll Villa's)
What I'm saying are two things.
1) On election day, when a candidate wants to looks his best, he does not achieve that by running out to some homeless shelter to hire drunks to knock on doors. That's incredibly stupid and it's also risky. I called around last night, and know of no other campaign that would do this. I have nothiog against homeless drunks, but they'd be the last people I'd hire to knock on neighborhood doors. Sure, go to a temp agency, but screen these people.
2) Because it sounds so insane to hire hmeless drunks to canvass on election day, I question whether it was done or whether those itemized payments went somewhere else. I would really need to talk to some of these people.
fact check this, by all means, but can we please leave the homeless people out of this? Seriously, hiring homeless people and he still kicked tony phillips' ass. Call all the pundits and political hacks you want, but don't forget that he won the election by a landslide.
focus on the transparency issues, not who he hired (including whether he really hired them or not). it does a better service to democracy, something you always strive to serve.
Jacob, You worked Pawlowski's campaign. You were paid $100 that day, as well as about $500 for "consultant" services. You claim to have driven a car to pick and drop people all day. OK. Here's a few questions.
1) Did you drive to Easton, Brockton, Tamaqua, Bethlehem, Emmaus, Bath or Laurys Station?
2) Did you run over to Easton's Safe Harbor?
3) Was the $100 you received via cash or check?
4) Who paid you?
5) Who paid the others?
6) Why would you pay someone $100 to do work on behalf of a candidate for office on election day, when that person can't even provide an address?
7) Are you aware of any other campaign that does this? I called around all day yuesterday, and most of the people I spoke to agreed that this is pure idiocy. I have nothing against homeless drunks, or giving them a job, but a candidate for elected office wh sends them to people's homes on election day is really taking a chance.
Question: Why did anyone bother to work at all for Pawlowski on election day?
Scott Armstrong
"fact check this, by all means, but can we please leave the homeless people out of this?"
I am trying to fact check this. The use of homeless drunks is very much a part of this story. I find this tactic incredibly irresponsible, especially in a city w/ Allentown's crime problem. In fact, it is so irresponsible that I don't believe it happened.
I'm researching these names and addresses and the results are getting interesting. You see, this is obviously the work of Mike Fleck so it's bound to be illegal, inaccurate or unethical.
i hope you have a great story in this b/c if you can demonstrate even one instance in which the person listed on the expense report didn't get paid to do the work claimed in the report, then this will just solidify the issues of dishonesty coming from pawlowski.
And scott makes a point: why did anybody have to be on the street? this was a sealed deal.
I think you are onto something here. A little unnecessary roughness on the unfortunate, though I have been called out for a personal foul here myself on occasion.
S.A.'s question is really dead on: Why would you spend that kind of money on a race you were going to win even if you stayed in bed all day?
The end justified the means here. Ed was re-elected and Allentown is safe and prosperous for another four years.
That's about right 10:47
Long Live King Ed
Bernie,
I drove people from a staging location in Allentown to Allentown neighborhoods and provided people out canvassing with materials when they ran out and lunch and water.
I did some work on Ed's campaign in August and September till I had a family issue.
I can verify there were about 80 people and they were paid, because I was in line with them when we were paid.
All other questions should probably be addressed to the campaign.
All I can say is there were 80 people, they worked, they were paid. It wasn't a "slush" fund.
Approiximately 75% of the addresses listed in Lehigh County are rental units. A minimum of 12 names from Lehigh County list single family dwellings owned by a person(s) with a different last name. 443 Liberty Street is an owner-occupied single family dwelling owned by Josephina Morales and reported as an address by Aaliyah Sinclair, Peter Sinclair, Harold Tillman and Yadira Morales. 4 of the campaign workers listed Allentown Housing Authority addresses. At least 4 or 5 of the Lehigh County addresses listed are not legal addresses listed on the county web site.
There is an interesting story here somewhere. Maybe its all legitimate, but I have a hard time envisioning a person going around handing out $8,000 in cash to primarily inner city transients, displaced coal belters and people from a homeless shelter in Easton to do campaign work for an obvious landslide election in Allentown. I'd love to interview a couple of the "employees" and find out how this was all organized.
Jacob, These are listed as election day canvassers. In fact, you are lsited as one of them. So I'm a bit confused. If you did no work on election day, why were you paid $100 for canvassing that day?
Yiou answered only my first two questions. You and I both know that "transparent" Ed will not answer them, so why don't you?
Who paid you that $100? Was it cash or check? Who paid the others? Was it cash or check?
Jeremy Reiferson is a local ACORN spokesman. His involvement could help put together some peices of the puzzle. Sounded like an ACORN activity from the get go to me.
ACORN is a criminal enterprise, in my opinion as guranteed by the US Constitution
(for the time being)
Bernie,
I worked election day, I drove the canvassers out to the locations in Allentown they were canvassing. The campaign paid me and others at the end of the day. All other questions are probably best directed towards the Mayor's campaign.
Anon 1:50, Thanks for the informative research. It is much appreciated.
"All other questions are probably best directed towards the Mayor's campaign."
Jacob, You know, as well as I do, that I will never get answers from the Pawlowski camp. So we know you were paid at the end of the day. Cash or check?
I'm going to write what no one else wants to say. This looks like Fleck grabbed Acorn voter files from all over the Lehigh Valley and filled in names. He used names of people that you could not track down unless you go to the gates of Hell, but threw a few legitimate ones in to spread the doubt.
That is what this looks like.
I have twenty dollars I will put down on the table right now that if you gave them thirty days they could nnot track down ten of the people listed on this report.
What a crock.
WHERE IS THE MORNING CALL ON THIS STORY. GLAD L.V. RAMBLINGS IS FILLING THE VOID. THANKS BERNIE.
Chris Casey, Like you, I am very suspicious about the people and the sums paid. That's why I'd like Jacob to tell us whether he was paid by cash or check.
Bernie,
I'm sorry for the delay in answering your question, but I had to check my bank statement for that day to figure out how I was paid. I deposit checks right after I get them in the ATM, since I don't have a check deposit for that day or week in the amount, I'm going to assume I was paid in cash. I signed a form when I showed up for work that day, and I signed something when I left to do my duties for the local party in watching the polling location at a church on Ott Street for observing the vote counting.
I wanted to make sure I gave you the right answer before I gave you an answer.
Since I saw around the number of people there that day, and I remember people in line to sign in and fill out a form at the beginning and to sign something at the end of the day, I think Mr. Casey's accusations are off base and border on libel. As he is making accusations before any evidence of said accusations.
As you know Bernie, I'm a strong supporter of Ed Pawlowski, and I was a strong Barack Obama supporter who has spoken up over several issues the past couple of months, so if I thought Ed was doing something wrong. I'd speak out on it.
Jacob, I believe you are being truthful, but now that we know this is cash, all kinds of questions arise. How do I know that these people were actually paid the amount claimed? Let's assume 70 people were paid. Someone could still have walked of with a nice chunk of change.
I am slowly going thru the process od checking each name, and what I am learning is incredible.
Bernie,
We were all paid together at the end of the night. There was a line, we signed something, and we were paid. I'm assuming if someone got less money, there would have been problems at the staging location. I don't recall any.
Don't begrudge you for looking into this.
I just remember dropping people off in neighborhoods, driving door hangers around Allentown to people, dropping off lunches, getting water to people and getting people to bathrooms, and knocking on doors the last two hours for the final push. I than was at the church on Ott street till 9:30.
All I can say is that the people I drove and worked with on the south side of Allentown were working all day on hanging door knockers than knocking on doors reminding people to vote.
BTW anything you find out about the Jacob Oberholtzer character is patently untrue. Just want to say that in advance.
Jacob, I am researching every name. What i am learning about them is very disconcerting. I believe some of these people were never paid at all, enabling the paymaster or someone else tro line his pockets. I aldo believe that mayor Pawlowski acted very irresponsibly in sending these people out into neighborhoods. I will expand on this when I finish my research.
Jacob, who was the paymaster.
It's this kind of thing that really irks me and makes all of us feel that all politics is dirty and there is no hope.
That feeling sucks.
The Banker
I see Jacob threw the Libel card.
Go look up the definition, dimwit, and try to read your own response. You can't get your own answer straight. Come back and change it a few more times.
I told you what it LOOKED LIKE.
Jacob, you are telling us you drove these people around and didn't even ask many of them their names?
This looks bad. Fleck has a public track record that he can't deny, and it goes back a few years.
Fleck was in charge of the Pawlowski campaign, who do you think should be questioned about these strange hires?
If you and your ilk can't stand the spotlight, get out of it. There are many people who are tired of dirty politics and politicians.
I know exactly what your defense will be, that these homeless were hired as part of the life Church outreach to give them a hand.
Politics and religion, two things are founders did not want mixing.
When Republicans do it, Democrats scream, but when Pawlowski does it, well gee, that's just hunky dory.
Good job on this story, O'Hare. Very interesting.
Casey, save your outrage. It rings hollow. It doesn't sound like Jacob did anything wrong. He was paid to do a job, not pay the people or keep the paper work. The pawlowski campaign got caught being less than transparent with its campaign spending and then appears to have quickly tried to cover their tracks. Your claim that it "appears" Fleck pulled the Acorn files is qualified enough that you won't get slapped around for libel but it falls into a reckless history that you have of launching charges through inuendo and then quickly backing off of it when you are wrong or claiming that you were right all along when something does materialize. It is your MO. Sometimes you are right, sometimes you are wrong. Just spear us the watchdog posturing.
Bernie, you, good sir, are a watchdog and I can't wait to see what you dig up.
Anon 9;45,
Ooh, I'm quaking in my combat boots. Anytime someone points out an opinion that some disagree with, there are nutsies out here who scream libel. I am not outraged at all, hell I'm laughing about this. In the grand scheme of things this is pissing in the wind.
Everyone knows I disagree with Bernie more than I agree with him, but I respect his opinion.
You want outrage?
Tell you what, I would like for Fleckie to explain how he sleeps at night after the way he gouged a Statehouse candidate out of tens of thousands of dollars back in 2006. Where's your outrage over someone who had to beg John Karoly, no less, to bail him out of a jam when the candidate threatened legal action?
Some of you spend far too much time fighting meaningless battles you don't have to worry about winning. I'll be impressed when you step up and take one on that means something.
The way Archie Follweler was ripped off by Mike Fleck was thoroughly revealed, both here and at Chris Casey's LVPoliblog. It very likely cost him the election to a state house seat in 2006.
Incidentally, I will have another post about Pawlowski's knockers next week.
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