Hailstone To Be Replaced by "Wise Guy" At Great NIZ Debate

Jeff Barber, Wise Guy

Allentown's DCED Director, Sara Hailstone, has decided, at the last minute, to decline to participate in the Great NIZ Debate.

This debate, which will be taped today at WFMZ's Business Matters, originally featured Hailstone and Michael Fleck, who is the Allentown mayor's campaign consultant as well as a shill for the Lehigh Valley building trade unions.

In view of pending NIZ litigation with surrounding municipalities and developer Abe Atiyeh, municipal attorneys have wisely counseled Hailstone to stay out of the arena.

She'll be replaced by NIZ cheerleader Jeff Barber. He's the President of Lehigh Financial Group, has a realty office and also is a partner at Wise Guys Beer Depot, located at 209 W. Union. Barber claims that this demonstrates he's "very civic minded."

I doubt Barber is really a "wise guy." But one of his two Lehigh Fnancial colleagues, Gary Chromiak, spent a year in federal prison after helping Michael Solomon get illegal kickbacks from Northampton County in 2002. So he's got that going for him.

Fleck's benefiting personally from the NIZ, too.

He recently herded about thirty trade union members to invade Hanover Township and pressure Supervisors to drop their NIZ litigation. This lawsuit, filed in Commonwealth Court, challenges Allentown's tax grab of EIT for a hockey arena and other improvements.

Supervisors listened politely to union workers, but were unswayed.

Union pressure is less effective in suburban communities as it is in one-party Allentown.

But Fleck is getting paid anyway.

Unlike paid NIZ advocates, nobody is paying Lehigh University's Dr. Steven Thode a dime for his opinion. Thode recently facilitated a meeting among developers who are concerned that Allentown's 130-acre NIZ will destabilize the tax base, resulting in real estate tax increases for residential home owners. He also participated in a Morning Call Point and Counterpoint.

Thode warns that the NIZ, which gives Allentown and a few favored developers, special preferential treatment at the expense of everyone else, is a death knell to regionalism.

Fundamentally, the NIZ is likely to greatly diminish cooperation among Lehigh Valley cities and municipalities in promoting the Lehigh Valley as a region. The NIZ is the first volley in, sadly, what will likely become an "every municipality for itself" mentality. That could have a devastating effect on job growth and the quality of life for everyone in the Lehigh Valley.

Originally, I was going to be Dr. Thode's tag team partner, not that he needs one. But Fleck, who knew very well that I'd be connecting the dots between him, unions, Mayor Pawlowski and campaign contributions, objected. So I've been replaced as a panelist.

After today, Fleck might regret that decision. I've been replaced by blogger Michael Molovinsky. He's been writing about this topic long before anyone.

He's not being paid a dime by anyone, either.

And unlike the other participants, he's the one panelists with deep City roots.

I'm told The Express Times will cover the debate. I was invited to cover it, too, but I think it's bad form for me to show up after being disinvited as a panelist. I look forward to hearing and reading the acconts, and then watching the show on the 'Net.