On Election eve, former Allentown city council member Lou Hershman was the victim of an anonymous last-minute smear campaign, which took the form of robo calls. Pawlowski toadies Rob Hopkins and Jimmy Spang admit they were behind this mean-spirited maneuver. Hopkins denies the Mayor directly funded the effort, but refuses to say who did.
In the meantime, Hershman lost the Democratic primary badly. So that's the end of Lou, right? Wrong.
Hershman will appear on the ballot this Fall as a Republican write-in candidate. He needed 100 signatures and got 178.
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
24 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.
O'Hare why bash Rob Hopkins? Easy answer. It is the same reason folks like you and Angle and company bash hispanics, battered women and of course gays.
ReplyDeleteYou really love when the right wing toadies you and Angle have cultivated blog in with their cheers for you baiting.
I am bashing Rob Hopkins for one and only one reason. It is the same reason I bash Scissorhands Severson. He violated the elections laws. He interfered with democracy by depriving the public of information that election laws require be disseminated.
ReplyDeleteWho paid for that ad? He still won't say.
Anybody who interferes with the democratic process like that loses a lot of respect in my book, and I made that very clear to Rob in a one on one phone conversation. I say nothing here I am unwilling or have not said to his face.
Whether Hopkins is Hispanic, a battered woman or gay, is irrelevant. You seem to think possessing one of those attributes gives you the right to break the law. It doesn't.
Rob Hopkins here. While I appreciate anyone coming to my defense, Bernie is not bashing me because I'm gay.
ReplyDeleteBernie is bashing me because he has a legitimate, yet quite different interpretation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution than I do.
While abridging the freedom of speech might be the fad today, I do not think this to be appropriate or just. Call me old fashioned...
Remeber Rob this is the O'Hare universe. In this part of the galaxy Stoffa's deal with Angle to go negative on McHale never happened.
ReplyDeleteDo as I say not as I do.
Rob,
ReplyDeleteThanks for defending me against the charge of being a gay-basher.
Yes, we do have different iterpretationms of the First Amendment. A political consultant with your interpretation is currently being prosecuted by the AG. Under your interpretation, the public really has no right ... ever ... to learn who is funding a campaign. Why bother filing a campaign finance report at all?
I have nothing against anonymous speech. But the person or persons paying for that anonymous speech should be identified. That's what the election laws require.
Those laws are designed to protect the one right even more basic than the First Amendment, the right to vote. That right is meaningless when spinmesiters make it impossible to follow the money.
Gay people have just as much right to make sneaky, underhand mistakes as straight people. True equality is when we're all judged for our actions without orientation or race or sex becoming an issue. Remember Roy Cohn and J. Edgar Hoover were gay.
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:40,
ReplyDeleteI have nothing against a negative campaign in which there is a disclaimer and citations to all the claims being made. Unlike Hopkins, Angle "proudly" took responsibility for the negative remarks made about McHale. Unlike Hopkins, Angle actually cited sources for every claim being made.
I do have something against anonymous negative campaigning and personal smears. Hopkins is guilty of the former. Angle is guilty of neither.
maybe after hershman loses in the general election he will finally go away. funny thing is that he might be the highest vote getting Republican, which is more a commentary of the party.
ReplyDeleteThe irony is that you quoted Hopkins as not liking Herschman because of his "old fart" ways but Hopkins used "old fart" tactics (anonymous robocalls) to get rid of him. Who's the old fart?
ReplyDeleteMe.
ReplyDeleteWell, we're living here in A-Town. And they're closing all the factories down. Out in Bethlehem, they're playing roulette. And, in Easton they're playing another kind of roulette...
ReplyDeleteShould I market that song?
~~Alex
hershman achieving the write-in will give democracy in allentown a much needed boost come november. lou and tony will energize each other, giving the voters some possible alternatives. to my knowledge, lou is only the second successful write-in in allentown history, joanne jackson being the first for school board in 05. there is only one advantage to the new electronic machines, the feature to use the keyboard for a write in.
ReplyDeleteBernie,
ReplyDeleteHow about some investigative reporting. The so-called Hopkins (read Palowski PAC) that robo-called Hershman has to file some sort of report. I wonder how many city contractors dontated to this PAC. Why not disclose who financed the robo calls, what are folks AFRAID of? Eddy P has already boxed himself in the corner and said he had nothing to do with it, yet his "hacks" orchstrated the event?
Play and pay will not go away.....
P.S. - it is easy to take on an old fart like Hershman, I cannot wait to see the smear campaign Hopkins assembles regarding Phillips escapade in Bucky Boyle Park!!
I will pullk the 20 day post election report when it isfiled. i also intend to pursue this violation w/ Sterner. When I spoke to Hopkins, he admitted he had made an error. Now he seems to think he has the right to anonymously smear someone again.
ReplyDeleteMark my words, those Democrats who ran that that robo call and used that "old fart" comment directed at Lou Hershman will regret it. Come November Allentown's "old farts" are going to bring it home for Hershman. Go Lou!
ReplyDeletewhat makes lou and old fart? His attempt to roll back allentown's anti-discrimination ordinance that guarenteed gays/lesbians wouldn't be discriminated against in housing. don't forget his support for the illegal ordinance to target latino citizens. or perhaps his vote police pension mess that has crippled the police force and resulted in a rise in crime.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Republican party is happy having this guy as their standard bearer. Nothing like a gay bashing, latino hate mongering man who voted the wrong way on the city's most pressing fiscal issue that year.
What hopkins did was wrong, but don't allow your view of that wrong to suddenly make Hershman seem like a good candidate for Allentown. he's not. He's simply wrong on the issues.
Anon 9:28 -
ReplyDeleteIf you are looking for culpability in the police pension mess, perhaps you should take a look at Councilman Julio Guridy and Mayor Ed Pawlowski.
Both are on the ballot this year and both played a far greater role in police pension mess than Mr. Hershman did.
Only Hershman had the decency to admit his initial mistake and try to correct it. Guridy and Pawlowski continue to try to hide their involvement in the original deal as well as subsequent agreements that will burden Allentown taxpayers far into the future.
"If you are looking for culpability in the police pension mess, perhaps you should take a look at Councilman Julio Guridy and Mayor Ed Pawlowski."
ReplyDeleteI hold Julio and Davie responsible b/c they BOTH, along with Hershman, voted for the contract. Guess what? I didn't vote for any of them. Ed, as director of community and economic development (not mayor or police chief) had nothing to do with it. If anything, he managed to renegociate parts of the contract when he was elected mayor.
I'll blame him for the most recent contract if it turns out to cause similar problems, but the dude didn't have any power on the previous.
Hey Stoffa is an old fart and Bernnie supports him too. Maybe the New Democrats have a mandatory Senior Citizen age entry.
ReplyDeleteThe larger issue is that there is a trend emerging in Palowskiville.
ReplyDeleteEddy tells everyone he supports them (supported 5 demo council candidates for 4 seats -poor davey), that he never goes negative, and then he does exactly the opposite. HE HIDES behind his political hacks, robo-calling, and negative mailings.
I hope the first debate includes both the mayoral candidates and council candidates and we fianlly get the facts on the pension deal. And then we can have eddy explain his "drop program" for the police that is going to cost another several MILLION per year. and then he and el Presidente Damore can explain the bond refinancing that will costs the taxpayers another $50 MILLION in interest.
Eddy - no more hiding behind the political hacks and powerpoint slides, the debate is on!!
"The larger issue is that there is a trend emerging in Palowskiville."
ReplyDeleteNice deflection. the post is about hershman. I think it is more than appropriate to point out his horrible stands on specific issues. But if you feel the need to knock pawlowski in an attempt to mask hershman, then have fun doing it. Frankly, I won't vote for either of them (or Philips). I'll write Pam Varkony's name in.
Hershman et al filed a lawsuit to challenge the police pension arbitration.
ReplyDeleteNew mayor eddy P asked them to withdraw it and the Mcall wrote an anrticle calling also for withdrawl of suit
BUTTTTTT, council did not negotiate the pension, roy A did, and council had a a snowball's chance in hedes of doing anything after roy a made the initial offer, it was downhill from there.
AND, hershman and davey wanted to open hearings into police stacking overtime. But, as the urging of eddy P, that did not happen also.
BUTTT, did you know many police voluntarily gave back 5% of their pensions in the negotiation, why???? Hershman and howells should have been allowed to hold hearings....
I love Lou but he needs to reitre or something! Lou is great and a fun guy to talk to but people dont want him back on city council!
ReplyDeleteWe already have a republican running for city council, Joe Brudnak who i really want to win not cause he is my uncle but because we need young, fresh, GOP blood in city council. and I don't want Lou taking his votes away because city council elections are always real close!
HOW RU NOT EVEN GONNNA MENTION REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE JOE BRUDNAK???
ReplyDelete