Yesterday, I told you that congressional wannabe Sam Bennett called someone close to her a few days ago, begging for money. And an anonymous commenter claimed her funding had been cut.
The Morning Call has just learned that Bennett's POM salary has been cut in half while an "independent consultant" studies whether one-third of a nonprofit budget should be paid to just one person.
That should take about three seconds.
Clarification: POM's funding is still intact. It is Bennett's salary that has been cut in half, which makes my headline a little misleading. I apologize for any confusion.
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
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Thursday, July 12, 2007
38 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
Does this mean we all have to listen to Joe Long bitch about the Morning Call editorial staff's "Pro-Dent Slant" some more?
ReplyDeleteI do not think that POM's funding has been cut. The article states that Bennett requested the salary reduction and the Board of Directors granted her request, while an independant consultant reviews the salary and the procedures used to arrive at the salary.
ReplyDeleteBeth Dem, You're right. In the rush to circulate this info, I said "funding" when I should have said "salary." I'll do a quick clarification.
ReplyDeleteWell, I should have said the funding has not been cut, YET!
ReplyDeleteI am sure that it will be soon.
The damage has already been done. I will not vote for someone who demonstrates such disregard for public money.
ReplyDeleteLet's remember what this program is all about: rewarding people with rakes for taking care of their property. Reason? To motivate others to do the same! I suppose others won't be motivated until they see their neighbors getting a rake, a plaque and a banquet. It'd be comical if our tax dollars weren't paying for this joke.
There are countless better ways for our tax dollars to be spent. Even at half the salary, this program isn't worth it.
Are their any other small non-profit organizations that pay most off their budgets to a CEO or Executive Director. It would be interesting to look at other non-profits to see where they stack up. May non-profits pay a good portion to executives in salary, benefits, and overhead. So those all need to be looked at.
ReplyDeleteBernie you have brought this to light which is good to talk about and debate, but the fact that Pat Brown is talking about this is highly suspect since Brown and Dent share a campaign manager and both have R's after their names.
Once again the MC screws someone for no reason other then to sell papers
ReplyDeleteAnon 3:22 said, "Once again the MC screws someone for no reason other then to sell papers . . .
ReplyDeleteNo. Sam did that all by herself by accepting a salary that ate up most of her organization's budget.
This isn't a partisan issue.
Too little reform and too late. Sam won't be able to save her sinking ship with this latest stunt.
ReplyDeletelehighvalleyhousewife sayd, "This isn't a partisan issue.
ReplyDeleteAre you saying that this would have been investigated and printed in the newspaper if she weren't in politics?
Anon, I think her drawing a full-time salary while running for Congress is part of the story, but I think it'd be a story regardless of her party.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Housewife. It would have been a story no matter what.
ReplyDeleteBut you are right about Browne, I have a nice picture of him and another state rep handing embezzler Marge Szulborski a hefty check. It was to a Township, and not a non profit (Is there really a difference? LOL!) Browne has baggage, he's just being proactive before getting nailed for it.
then theres shelly brown and the 59 dollar tickets to see a dog act
ReplyDeleteFirst posted in unintended blog but, as we say, "two blogs are better than one".....
ReplyDeletesure, yea, Bennett "asked" to please have her salary cut in half, just to be fair to all!
you believe that and I have a bridge for sale! please contact our agent...NC D Chair Joe Long for details. Also, when she wins the Congressional seat, she will also "ask" her entire salary and any perks be halved! Anybody need a bridge? larry@kisslinger.com
Larry K is right. Bernardo the old 'Independent Consultant' is in the same catagory as 'Blue Ribbon Committee' or forming a 'Special Committee' to review a topic. It's an old Republican Corporate and political trick that Dem's have taken too like ducks to water. The decision has already been made this is all for the sell. When a pol either doesn't want to make a tough decision or wants cover for something they already want to do, these committees get formed. It's all BS. I know you will disagree because Stoffa does this. But it's not about Stoffa besides it's not his fault he's worked for and with Repub's it's an easy habit to form. But this isn't about him it's about Bennet. Let's start laying out the odd's on the result.
ReplyDeleteThe Consultant will say everything was on the up and up but it could have been handled better. He/She will recommend a lower salary, Sam will graciously agree and life will go on.
Bennett requested the salary reduction? You didn't put that in your post, Bernie. Why's that?
ReplyDeleteAll I can say, is that for a waste of money, it's probably going to expand into other cities very quickly.
Anon 10:30, The pupose of that post was to show there was some validity in what I had been hearing by linking to The Morning Call story that provides more details. And yes, this is at Bennett's request. It's called damage control. If she failed to request it, it would have happened sooner or later. I don't consider it a sign of magnamnity in her part.
ReplyDeleteAnon 6:44, Last time I checked, Shelly Brown was the highest paidd exec director in this area that I could find.
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:59,
ReplyDeleteDude, Actually, I do agree with you. I've told you that before. With some exceptions, I detest the committee approach to a problem, especially when quick action is needed. I'm not sure that is a government or democratic characteristic. I see both sides do it way too much.
Bernie O'Hare said...at 10:43 PM
ReplyDeleteAnon 6:44, Last time I checked, Shelly Brown was the highest paid exec director in this area that I could find...
larry@kisslinger.com says: maybe you should do some research? Last I heard Musikfest Jeff Parks makes more money than most officials, public, non-profit "or" private in entire Lehigh Valley and he cares didly squat nothing about local folks. Parks had many early "local"
support sponsors and ditched most of them for MONEY. go figure?
Larry, You may be right. I'll check it out on Guidestar over the weekend. Shelly's well over $100k and I can't recall what Parks gets.
ReplyDeleteSo BO, whats your take on how this thing will turn out. I gave you my take. Oh, and by the way that's 'Sir Dude'
ReplyDeleteTo Anonn 10:30
Unfortunately this is the age of wacky uptown-downtown projects. Some seem OK some are a joke. Unfortunately in this who you know world, just because something goes statewide doesn't make it great. I saw 'SICKO' and am still shaking my head over the entire health care fiasco in this country. So when gooofy programs like this come along and with that salary, taking tax $$$ we need for essential services I get a bit tense. No offense 10:30, just my mentally unbalanced opinion.
SIR DUDE
lehighvalleyhousewife,
ReplyDeleteYou are nuts to think this is not a partisan issue. Take the blinders off or step back for a moment and quit being a hack. I've never met Sam Bennett nor do I care to. But if Sam Bennett were a Republican I wonder if you would be so critical?
Sir Dude,
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree with you insofar as what the "independent consultant" will advise. Bennett will graciously accept the pay cut, and i doubt serioously that the funding itself will be pulled.
But she will have to take a leave of absence from POM very soon or other questions will arise concerning her using POM for political purposes. And her political career is over. She just doesn't know it.
Anon 1:11,
ReplyDeleteLVHW can take care of herself. From what I've read of her comments on many issues, she is a well-reasoned and left of center thinker. She's no hack. I believe that any paper who discovered that a congressional candidate was being paid a salary that is 1/3 the budget of a publicly-funded nonprofit that hands out rakes, would be excoriated. The political party doesn't matter. And it certainly doesn't matter to me. For example, I find it ironic that Senator Browne, of all people, is getting all holier than thou. He's one of the people who arranged for her to have a grant. Before handing her $10k, he should have asked a few questions. Both parties are pretty bad when you come right down to it.
Anon 1:11 asked, "if Sam Bennett were a Republican I wonder if you would be so critical?"
ReplyDeleteYes.
lvhw,
ReplyDeleteThen I'm looking forward to seeing which Republican you're going to blast as it pertains to using tax money inappropriatly. You could blast the heck out of coutless R's in our Lehigh Valley area, but I haven't seen you do that.
You gotta love the blogosphere. Just a few weeks ago, Bernie Kieklak called me a f--g bleeding heart liberal, and now you're assuming I'm a Republican simply because I'm criticizing a Democratic congressional candidate.
ReplyDeleteI try not to judge people based on his/her political party. We've got good and bad in both parties. Personally, I think Sam's shown exceptionally poor judgement and I hope that the Dems can find a better candidate to challenge Dent next year.
larry@kisslinger.com says: maybe you should do some research? Last I heard Musikfest Jeff Parks makes more money than most officials, public, non-profit "or" private in entire Lehigh Valley and he cares didly squat nothing about local folks. Parks had many early "local"
ReplyDeletesupport sponsors and ditched most of them for MONEY. go figure?
Larry couldn't get any freebies from jeff, is that why he nailed him???
POM's funding is still intact. It is Bennett's salary that has been cut in half, which makes my headline a little misleading. I apologize for any confusion.
ReplyDeleteAll your headlines are misleading. That is what lawyers do. Sorry about that, you're not a lawyer. You mislead your clients too.
Anon 12:42,
ReplyDeleteYes, my headline was a bit misleading, and I added a clarification to my post as soon as BethDem pointed it out.
Once I've post something, I don't change it, but will instead make corrections if someone points out I've got something wrong.
Yes, I am a drunken ex-lawyer
whose license was suspended 22 years ago. You got me. What you probably don't realize is that I don't hide my past from anyone. And since I've started this blog, it is brought up whenever I get under someone's skin. So you're not exactly dropping a startling observation on anyone here.
But I'm not running for congress. Bennett, who is running for congress, is a misleading opportunist who has ensured Dent's victory. He couldn't have asked for a better candidate. Taking shots at me won't change that. You just don't realize that. You don't like the message so you want to kill the messenger, whether it's the MC or me. But that message is still out there.
I can't wait to see her next trick.
Bernie, at 1:16 you said that Sam's political career is over.
ReplyDeleteWhat political career? You mean, losing one race after another? She can always do that, provided she finds a day job.
Mind you, I like Mrs. Bennett personally. Many of the posts defending her are mine. But still, being a perennial candidate does not equal a career.
let me put it this way
ReplyDelete"no one can stop Sam from losing races."
Why even have POM? It is just a waste of taxpayer money. Why is someone paid $110,000 a year for something local communities can and should do for free with their own volunteers. It sounds to me like the POM was a job created for a political "favor"
ReplyDeleteGotta believe someone in the Democratic hierarchy is thinking " Oh, Lord, this women is not going to work. She will be violently attacked by the media if she presents herself for scrutiny as we get closer to elections".
ReplyDeleteanon. 1:46 am,
ReplyDeleteWhat makes you think they pay that close attention. Look at the past few elections. Not a good track record vetting candidates.
Bernie O'Hare said...
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:42,
(Yes, my headline was a bit misleading, and I added a clarification to my post as soon as BethDem pointed it out.
Once I've post something, I don't change it, but will instead make corrections if someone points out I've got something wrong.)
A bit misleading, aka, only a little pregnant. Misleading is misleading, and stretching the truth is a bit misleading. It's lying. When are you going to start telling the truth Bernie?
You're going to have tyo try a bit harder than that. It was obvious to anyone who looked at my link or who actually read the post that it was Bennett's salary, and not her funding, that was halved. As soon as my error was pointed out by BethDem, I corrected it. Except for grammar and spelling, i won't change a post once it's up there for 15 minutes. After that, my mistake is there, in all its glory, for the world to see.
ReplyDeleteNow if had posted that Bennett was a great candidate or that she was going to win, then you could call me a liar. But an error in a headline, quickly noted, is not on the same level as those whoppers.