About Me

My photo
Nazareth, Pa., United States

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Dougherty Resigns as Allentown's Managing Director

Francis X. Dougherty, Allentown's $89,500 Managing Director, has resigned after just two years on the job. Previously, spent five years in Philly as an assistant managing director.

No one is certain whether he ever lived in the Lehigh Valley, let alone Allentown. But in 2007, Dougherty kicked $500 into King Ed's coffers, so Pawlowski asked no questions. During his brief stint, Dougherty once pressured city workers to push through all the necessary approvals for an indoor pool at some bigwig's house because it "means money from air products later."

Dougherty is obviously well acquainted with the "pay to play" game, but two years of King Ed must be enough.

Dougherty's replacement? Ken Bennington, the bobblehead who heads the city's unevenly enforced code and standards department.

The Peter Principle in action!

37 comments:

michael molovinsky said...

in today's morning call article, francis states much of his time was spent straightening out problems from the last two administrations. the article fails to mention that for three quarters of afflerbach's administration, ed pawlowski was second in charge as community development director. the position created here for francis is indicative of the whole entire new level of middle management created by pawlowski. when in allentown, francis stayed at a loft apartment above city line construction. the subsidies given to city line were second only to the brewpub. mayor ed claimed there was a waiting line for apartments at city line, in reality they were occupied by fire victims waiting for their houses to be repaired, city line's primary business. under pawlowski, city line is also the city contractor

Anonymous said...

An Allentown neighborhood for more than a year begged Bennington absolutely begged him to help them with a property in shambles. To date nothing has been done.

Anonymous said...

Oh, how nice! It looks like the "Who will Bernie O'hare crap on today" roullette wheel has become unstuck from Sam Bennett and is now back on Ed Pawlowski, after a brief moment in time shitting on Bill Villa. Gee, I'm going out of my hotel room to take a whale watchers cruise this afternoon. I wonder who Bernie will blame for this comment?
Here are today's odds:

Team Pawlowski 3 to 1
Team Bennett 5 to 1
Team Villa 10 to 1
Team Long 20 to 1

"One of these things is not like the other, one of these things is not quite the same!!

One of these is correct! Who will Bernie blame today! Place your bets!

The Rogue Blogger of Bally!

Anonymous said...

Fran Fairy Tale

“a Philadelpha native who built a reputation of keeping his finger on every issue-big and small-inside city hall”. This line/lie from today’s Morning Call story on the departure of the city manager Fran D9ougherty is just the latest example of propaganda presented as news. As there were no quotes around these words in the story one must presume the expressed sentiment is that of the writer and the paper.
My inside sources all agree that the truth of Fran’s tenure as the city’s first managing Director is I fact just the opposite. He was rarely seen and uninvolved in city hall business, it was clear to many insiders that he “just didn’t want to be there”. Now Ed will fill his slot with the empty suit that is Ken Bennington.
Another bag up reporting job by the Morning Call here today, thank heaven this paper’s influence is rapidly waning. The sooner this rag is gone the better.

Scott Armstrong

Anonymous said...

Please forgive the poor editing of my previous post. It is worse than usual.


Scott Armstrong

Anonymous said...

Please forgive the poor editing of my previous post. It is worse than usual.


Scott Armstrong

Anonymous said...

The great replacement for Francis. A loser that was fired from his last two jobs. Fast Eddie knows how to pick them.Check it out........

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-11222007-1445111.html

Anonymous said...

This blog seems like a hate Pawlowski all the time blog. Every week its the same thing. Henry

Anonymous said...

The phoney picture just tells what B O's motives are in this whole thing. It is a shame bloggers have come to this level. Henry.

michael molovinsky said...

the article is a mixed bag. the reporter is new to the beat and doesn't know the history. the idea of a city manager was first floated as a charter change from the strong mayor format. pawlowski took advantage of the situation and added the position while we retained the strong mayor system. city council went through their usual motions of questioning it, but in the end, as usual, approved the added expense. back to the morning call, without the article, flaws and all, most of the public wouldn't know that he departed(or was even here in first place)

Anonymous said...

I understand you were a candidate for Mayor of Allentown with Pawlowski at that time. Is that true? Thanks Henry

michael molovinsky said...

yes "henry", i was a minor candidate, as an independent, ignored for the most part by the morning call. fyi, i do not have a vendetta against pawlowski, however, i do feel the city would be better off if he hired more police and street workers, as opposed to white tie management.

Bill Villa said...

Thanks, Rogue Blogger of Bally, I sorta wish Bernie O'Mcall would have attributed your anonymous 9:54am comment to me (as he has been doing with increasing frequency lately) but it's never too late I guess. It's a good one.

Question: (just curious) were you motivated to comment today by reading the vile and lies-laced personal attack Bernie O'Mcall launched at me, my wife, and my son, at his "Sam Bennett Defends POM Salary" post of Wednesday? The post where Bernie "closed the thread" to prevent further comments (i.e., prevent us from defending ourselves) but then allowed a comment from a "legal expert."

In any case, thank you for your support and for seeing through Bernie O'Mcall and expressing that here. It is well-deserved.

Oh and please visit Mr. and Mrs. Dottie's informative and fun blog "Lehigh Valley Somebody" when you can. Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

BERNIE!!! BERNIE!!! 11:44 am IS REALLY BILL VILLA!!! I CAN PROVE IT!!!

Bill Villa said...

"i do not have a vendetta against pawlowski, however ..." -Michael Molovinsky

I don't believe Michael Molovinsky has a personal vendetta against Mayor Ed Pawlowski.

But whether he does or not really isn't anybody's business.

For the sake of discussion, let's say MM does have a personal vendetta against Pawlowski. (he doesn't).

Should this disqualify him from raising excellent questions about the Mayor that deserve to be answered? I don't believe so.

Are personal vendettas
and valid, excellent questions and observations
mutually exclusive?

Couldn't you have both?

Okay, maybe not HERE, and not if your name is Bill Villa, and not if you're going after Jim Martin and The Morning Call, but in general I'm saying ...

Couldn't you have both?

Hey, they got Al Capone on income tax evasion.

What if somebody would have "disqualified" and called off Elliott Ness because he had a "personal vendetta" against Capone?

See my point?

Before it goes poof.

Anonymous said...

Bernie,


Good luck weathering the insult storm that greets all who question the authority that is Pawlowski’s Allentown. It is childish, it is cheap, it is brutish but most of all it is dull. The obvious pomposity of the attackers is however mildly amusing.


Scott Armstrong.

Anonymous said...

Off the Deep End?


One more thought, the old adage of give them enough rope would seem to be applicable to these attack/insult posts.

Scott Armstrong

Bernie O'Hare said...

I spent the morning watching children play football, knocking each other around. Their behavior is much better than that displayed by the children posting here.

King Ed is a Chicago politician who has perfected the art of "pay to play" politics. He has ignored the people, people like the owners of House of Chen, refusing to do so much as return a call. The House of Chen does not have the big campaign bucks like Cityline. The House of Chen is not politically connected like ABW. So the House of Chen, a thirty year A-town business gets ignored. No, I don't like King Ed. I don't like government officials who ignore the citizens unless they can give 'em a little sugar. I don't like machine politics, either.

So I will slam the King of Renaissance Square, who has a fundraiser the same evening that four people are shot. I will slam Bossman Long, whose penchant for back room politics and hiring sleaze political consultants is very damaging to local Dems. I will slam Bennett, a nice lady whose campaign has been a comedy of errors.

As far as I'm concerned, blogs exist to give these perspectives, something you won't get from the establishment press. Our MSM is increasingly becoming like that Tempo program, with nothing but "puff" news.

I fully expect to take hits for telling the truth. Most people who say the emperor is in his underwear can expect that. That's part of the game.

In my post, I related a few facts.

Fact: His managing director basically spent as much time away from A-town as he could get away with, conveniently hanging his hit with one of King Ed's campaign donors.

Fact: In January '07, Dougherty was assessed $500 for his $89,500 job. I believe a similar assessment was made this year, but we won't know for certain until the King discloses his campaign fiancee.

Fact: As managing director, Dougherty did pressure city workers to go thru the paperwork for an inground pool for one of the "beautiful people." According to his own words, doping that meant money from Air Products later.

I gave my readers facts, but some people don't like to see the truth being told. Some people's minds are so clouded by hate or irrational thoughts that they don't recognize the truth when they see it.

I will continue telling the truth. Pawlowski is a bad mayor, and if truth be told, he has antagonized city council members in his own party. Eventually, one of these city council members will speak out.

I will also continue telling the truth about Joe Long, Sam Bennett, and Bully Villa. I'll deal with him separately.

Anonymous said...

To the Rogue Blogger

You are a hero. But you forgot to give 5 to 1 odds it will be Deringer/McClure as his targets. Of course it could be another fawning report on Stoffa or Dent.
Opps, I am OT and will be deleted. Isn't it amazing how Bernnie uses personnel attacks and calls them facts and other 'facts' are called 'BS' by the rotund one.
Hang in there Mr. Villa you were once a favorite but are now on the list of official bad people, actually on this blog it is an honor.

The Rogue Boggers New Fan

Bernie O'Hare said...

When it comes to Villa, some disclosure is in order. Villa recently was called by King Ed, who told Bully Bill that someone needs to replace Jim Martin. That must have been music to Villa's ears.

Here's the kind of statement Villa has made about DA Martin. "I'd like to see him [Jim Martin] choke on a steak sandwich at Seward's and explode. I hope I haven't been too wishy-washy here ..."

Nice guy, huh?

I've long advocated the MC should meet with him. But I will not advocate for a person who posts anonymous personal attacks and then brags about them in emails to me. I will not support someone who dances on the graves of laid off Morning Call reporters, as he has done. Most importantly, I will not support a person who breaks a confidence with me, apologizes, and then does it again.

I can no longer believe a word he says. He will do anything, including lies and threatening behavior, to advance a personal vendetta against the MC and the Lehigh County DA. It's very transparent.

His daughter's death is no excuse for dishonest behavior. It's no reason for him to threaten people.

Eventually, he alienates every person who tries to help him. I'm done.

His only allies are other sick people with similar vendettas, but who are too cowardly to identify themselves. He has invited you all to his blog, but that's only so long as you agree with him. I've been told not to post there. Molovinsky has been told to "get lost already." All this from a blog whose headliner proudly proclaims, "we can disagree without having to be disagreeable."

In the very first post, that blog claimed, "You don't have to be on "my team" to be part of the discussion.".

But you do.

Villa now tells people, "you're either with me or against me."


Well, folks, I intend to keep it up. All these snarks tell me I'm doing something right.

Bernie O'Hare said...

The OT personal attacks by the morons are being deleted. That includes Villa and rogue blogger, who has no blog.

Anonymous said...

H, Bl'W HRD, Th rst f th wrld's mrns rsnt y cllng Bll Vll nd Mrns! Dd y hv prmssn? Ths frm g wh gt cnnd n fk Pln phts! BWhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! 'll b dltd nw, y wtch!

Anonymous said...

Brn, y cmpln nd bsh ppl n yr blg mn tms d. mzngl y hv vn cmplnd bt th Tmp shw n TV t lst tw tms clmng t s ll pff. Wht s wrng wth lttl pff t chr s p ftr rdng ll f th ht nd n sdd vws f Brn hr? W lv n mrc m xfrnd... nt Rss. Brn, whn y mk yr mn cmmnts nd pstngs...dn't b s shckd whn th cm rght bck n yr fc. Hnr

Bernie O'Hare said...

Comments from the trolls, people like Henry or Rogue blogger, will be disemvowelled.

Anonymous said...

Thnks fr dltng m pst bt yr wn htrd fr ppl yt y hv yr cmmnts flw lk wn. Hnr

Anonymous said...

brn, y r tr mrcn. Hnr Schdt

Anonymous said...

nd d nt thnk tht md ths ff-splld psts. Hnr

Anonymous said...

k brn, gt th d Hnr

Anonymous said...

dd nt mk ths psts wth th ff-spllngs, Brn.. thnk y dd. Sm ntgrt hh? Y cn chck th sp nf. ls smn fkd m nm n pst. Brn... f y r th n dng ths y shld b frkng shmd f yrslf. nd thnks fr dltng ths t. Hnr

Anonymous said...

Now thats entertainment!!! :):):):):)

Anonymous said...

H Brn. Th sd thng s yr mkng ff-splld fk psts wth hnr's nm n thm nl mks y lk bd.

Anonymous said...

All your facts were just brought to my attention

Question, can you verifiy how often he was not on Allentown or is that just a malicious rumor on your part? Facts please!

Question, If his campaign donation was an assessment do you have evidence or paperwork supporting that allegation? Otherwise the assessments on Mr. Stoffa's cabinet officials on his expense account must also be tainted.

Qustion, Do you have evidence to back that charge up? If so he miss used City personnel and property and you should give your documentation to the DA.

None of the above will happen because you are a pompous Ass who enjoys destroying people who have succeeded where you have failed. You suck up to crooks like Angle and think the others who pay attention to you really care. They know if they kiss your ass you will write lovingly about them.
You are pathetic.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Question, can you verifiy how often he was not on Allentown or is that just a malicious rumor on your part? Facts please!

Yes, I can. orioginally, Dougherty had an apartment arranged by a Pawlowski donor at which he was never seen. Eventually, even that arrangement was given up.

Question, If his campaign donation was an assessment do you have evidence or paperwork supporting that allegation? Otherwise the assessments on Mr. Stoffa's cabinet officials on his expense account must also be tainted.

Nobody on Stoffa's cabinet has given him a dime. Dougherty, who hails from Philly, did not know Pawlowski from Adam. his campaign contributions were obviosly assessments from the king of "pay to play."

Qustion, Do you have evidence to back that charge up? If so he miss used City personnel and property and you should give your documentation to the DA.

Of course I do. I have the emails from Air Products, from the bigwig and from Dougherty himself. I linked to my blog about that email exchange. It happened, and it stinks.

The rest of your comment is the usual drivel.

Anonymous said...

Speculation, false and inaccurate.

Bernie O'Hare said...

The campaign finance is a matter of public recoprd. I have the emails I mentioned. The apartment? I'm right there, too, but am not going to name names to some anon.

Anonymous said...

Allentown must have breathed a sigh of relief when this news came out! I observed Dougherty very closely for quite some time and enjoyed an insiders vantage point on his abilities as an administrator. Most of his duties while employed by the City of Philadelphia amounted to "gopher" level including car wash runs for the boss, supply pick ups and clerical matters. A curious dresser with odd fashion sense ans impossibly fake hair dye and transplant plugs he was nicknamed fancy pants. During the few meetings he attended he routinely stuck his foot in his mouth or made silly references. An obvious sycophant his ship came in so to speak when a native Allentonian became the boss, none other than Phil Goldsmith. Goldsmith recognized high lackey qualities and rewarde anyone with them with unwarranted promotions and increased authority. Dougherty was the perfect foil. It was roundly assumed Goldsmith made the introduction to Mayor Ed as Goldsmith's ego reaches back to his home town. I can only imagine the absurdity of poor results when Dougherty was left to his own devices without ole Phil around to save the day! I wonder where Fancy Pants wound up? Please God say he stayed in Allentown!!!

Anonymous said...

I know this is untimely, but I am just catching up on news from my home state of PA. I used to work with Francis in the Ridge administration. I have to say that Francis was one of the hardest working, most intelligent men with whom I worked. It is a shame is reputation is spoiled by being in the political system, but that is the way it goes in politics. He deserved a better send off from the blogger.