When retired politician Phil Mitman decided to step down as CEO, LVEDC Executive Committee Chair Don Bernhard pledged that Mitman's successor would be someone with "serious economic development credentials." He'd want to see a Certified Economic Developer certificate, experience in economic development and loyalty to the Lehigh Valley. "That is exactly what we are doing," Bernard told The Morning Call.
But Bernhard is a blowhard.
When push came to shove, insider politics won. Cunningham, whom I like, might turn out to be the best CEO that LVEDC has ever had. Lord knows, they could use some real leadership. But his selection is contrary to what was pledged.
I probably would have caved and voted for Don myself. He is that charismatic. But I see these three problems.
First, it is well known that Cunningham though Allentown's controversial NIZ was a bad idea. I had heard that from his closest stafers. But Cunningham was mysteriously absent on the day that LVEDC decided to give this funding scheme their endorsement. Then Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, a Cunningham foe, gives him a ringing letter of endorsement. Then, after being selected as LVEDC's new top dog, Cunningham makes a statement supporting the NIZ. So it certainly appears that Cunningham sacrificed his principles to advance his own interests.
Second, he has no real private sector experience. How effective will he be in drawing private sector jobs to the Valley without massive doses of state incentives? State subsidies will harder and harder to come by in future Corbett budgets. So an inexperienced Cunningham will have to sell the Lehigh Valley largely on merit, not the bucks he can throw at a prospective employer. That's a tall task.
Finally, he is dealing with an unwieldy, stagnant and political board. It needs "at-large" members who are not political appointees, term limits for all and a thorough and competitive vetting process.
Updated 2 AM: Cunningham will be Alan Jennings' guest today on Lehigh Valley Discourse, 6 PM, WDIY (88.1 FM). (You can livestream it). Jennings is a NIZ Board member, and I wonder whether they'll break out the pom poms.
Updated 10:15 AM: Don Cunningham's Response: "There is much I could react to in this post. But, I’ve lived long enough to understand that deeds not words answers questions and respect is earned and not given.
"I only want to reassure the readers of these Ramblings that I am not heading off to the retirement home. To the contrary, I will bring a high-level of energy and engagement to make LVEDC a better and faster engine to market the Lehigh Valley and to work with everyone, public and private, to create jobs and opportunity and to grow our economic base. Our mission will be clear and focused. And we will be open and engaged. In the end, it’s about results. It’s not about how many meetings you do, how many conferences you attend or how many certificates are on your wall. I will use all of my ability to work with everyone, whether they supported my selection or not, whether they are in the urban core of Allentown or the slate belt of Northampton County to find a way to get it done. The premise upon which LVEDC was created is a good one. The Lehigh Valley is stronger in marketing itself and creating jobs and opportunity as a region than we are as component parts."
Don has not developed anything. He's a more peculiar choice than Mitman, whom all can agree was a big mistake.
ReplyDeleteWho are the political appointees you are referring to?
ReplyDeleteI am referring to the people who are there by virtue of their public office.
ReplyDeleteSo they should get public funds with no public oversight? Reconcile that for me, please.
DeleteOf course not. But there should be strict limits on the amount of time an individual should serve on the board, whether he is an elected official or not. It is too much of an insider's game for this and other reasons. Other economic development boards do that, so I am proposing nothing new.
ReplyDeleteI love the shot Stoffa took. That is classic Stoffa, Mr. pompous hypocrite. He is, "Mr. do as I say, not as I do".
ReplyDeleteStoffa has been milking the public trough since the 1960's. He has been retiring to public positions for decades and has more taxpayer benefits than blood cells. He is amazing when he says this stuff. It is like he lives on another planet.
Yet I don't see that he applied for a job in the private sector.
ReplyDeleteSo let me get this board issue straight: the political apppontees need to go, but they are the ones who voted against him. They are also the only ones who speak up for Northampton County (Angle, Grube) when Lehigh County gets all the businesses. The At Large members, who always control the Executive Committee, who are the LV Partnership and don't care where businesses go, should have the oversight of LVEDC? C'mon O'Hare, make up your mind. Before you said non-profit boards need political appointees (CACLV) and now you don't? Or is this an indication of who spoke to you last?
ReplyDeleteof course he caved in. he had $120,000 reasons to do so
ReplyDelete$120K may be a decent landing for a politician looking for work, it's peanuts to a seasoned manager with a real world business development pedigree. That's why politicians land in these jobs. While he's seemingly unqualified, he may be the best they could get for that money.
ReplyDelete710 am is right. People w the credentials berhart was hoping to get dont work in the public sector. Berhart has them but he works for ppl. Most people w those credentials work in the private sector or doing consulting work. Very few actually work in the public sector. Those credentials are worth 200k per year
ReplyDeleteAlso, i think stoffa and co were classless in their comments. Right or not, they showed very poor taste. On the plus side, cunningham has incentive to outperform so stoff looks like a fool.
ReplyDeleteThose credentials are worth 200k per year????
ReplyDelete80k - tops.
Bernie Baby,
ReplyDeleteOnly question folks need to know.
Does he play golf?
No.
ReplyDelete6:33, I was pretty clear. The political appointments should be minimized and term-limited, the way they are on other economic boards.
ReplyDeleteCallahan and Cunningham caved on the NIZ because their political contributors told them they'd be cut off at the knees.
ReplyDeleteDo you really think Callahan would go against the unions when he is going to run for NorCo County Executive. True leaders aren't afraid of the fallout and do what is right.
Callahan has no leadership or vision and now let's his boys on council do his dirty work.
i'd agree a credentialed CEO could demand a much higher salary. Let me add that Don will probably surprise me and the rest of us. He is a natural-born salesman. I doubt very much that I could have voted against him.
ReplyDeleteAs for Stoffa being classless, he voted no bc he thought the LV would do what they said they were going to do. He made no public statements of which I am aware. The remark about retired politicians was made by me, not him. I am classless.
ReplyDeleteCallahan did not cave on the NIZ and voted against supporting it at LVEDC. If he has since changed his mind, I am unaware of it.
ReplyDeleteCallahan caved when he refused to join the NIZ litigation.
ReplyDeleteOf course he now supports the NIZ. NIZ=Economic Development. It's time the rest of the rubes wake up too.
ReplyDelete$120K may be a decent landing for a politician looking for work, it's peanuts to a seasoned manager with a real world business development pedigree. That's why politicians land in these jobs. While he's seemingly unqualified, he may be the best they could get for that money.
ReplyDeleteRight. $120K is a joke for anyone with any pedigree.
Don is not only an excellent choice with the right skillset he is a Valley guy. Why is it that we don't think we grow the best candidates? And why is it that we think former politicians are not worthy based on one or two individuals.
ReplyDeleteHere in the Lehigh Valley we are fortunate to have qualifid leaders that do a great job. Take Easton, where was Easton 5 years ago and where is it today? Don is an executive manager more than he is a politician. I put Panto and a few others in that category as well. They run municipal businesses. We do well to have their types with their skillset in our school districts which are dismal financially. Bethlehem School District is how many hundreds of millions in debt?
Give Don the chance and I believe even BOH will see that the committee made the right choice -- the right choice for the rigfht time and for the right reasons.
"80k - tops."
ReplyDeleteYou are full of it. This is like a second MBA but MBA's are a dime a dozen. There are few universities that offer this program. The folks that earn 80k are managers, not executives in economic development circles.
Find me 3 people in the LV who have the CED credential and figure out what they are earning. I can assure you they are pulling over 120k b/c none of them are working in the public sector. I don't even think Tony Hanna, the most seasoned of economic development folks in the region, has CED credentials. Certainly nobody at LVEDC does.
Don is perfect for LVEDC.His heart has always been in Bethlehem/eastern LV and yet has done a good job in LC.At LVEDC will be a regional kingpin and will be a force for LV development hopefully keeping NIZ projects in balance.Don is a wheeler dealer in the Rendell mode.Hate to admit it but the current NIZ mess maybe just what this area needs to stimulate the local economy.When Rendell became mayor of Phila. it was broke.He got with developers and pols and the result was Kimmel center,Ballpark,football stadium,art museum addition,Perlman cancer center,Liberty trust buildings,Convention center.Sound familiar.
ReplyDeleteAllentown is not Philadelphia and never will be. The developers here and the corporate partners like APD and LVHN are leeching off the backs of the tax payer, making minimal investments and reaping disproportionately higher rewards. The brothers in corporate carpet baggery call this a win win situation. This is being done in a city where the emphasis should be on education and developing industry that will provide a living wage, not this service oriented, serve the well off white man, BS. Lets have another beer, smoke a Marlboro, and fart our brains out while watching a low rent hockey game, just in time for a heart attack at half time.
ReplyDeleteIn a city where the emhasis should be on education and developing industry that will provide a living wage. Good point ! Could you please share with us anywhere in this country where this model has been enacted. Any town,boro,city, township, community or state so we could follow their success. With our standard of living as high as it is, Whats a living wage?
ReplyDeleteIn sales/biz development, degrees earn your first salary. After that, nobody cares about anything but results. Private sector sales directors are paid $200K to make rain. $120K might get you drizzle - or a public sector seat filler.
ReplyDeleteCareful Guy, you are asking good questions. Bernie's readers aren't interested in thinking. They'd rather bash job creators and government. Anybody who calls Air Products and LVHN leaches doesn't recognize that health care and chemical engineering are legit growth clusters. And I've yet to figure out how LVHN is a carpet bagger.
ReplyDeleteI myself like Don, however; notice in his reply to the article that he never defends his support of the NIZ or the past events leading up to it. He must have known he was in position for the job and that is why he disappeared. It just confirms what these guys will do for personal gain, and all the contributors that support them. What a shame!!!!
ReplyDeletespeaking of out-of-control bureaucrats seeking personal power for themselves and their Corporate Cronies by spending everybody else's money ...
ReplyDelete"CHAIRMAN PAWLOWSKI's TRANFORMATIVE STRUGGLE TO PROGRESSIVELY SPEND SERIOUS TAYPAYER MONEY"
http://www.goironpigs.com
Why don't Air Products and LVHN kick in any cash towards the construction of the magnificent $ 220.0 million dollar Palace of Sport?
ReplyDeleteEvery little bit adds up, right?
Why must the Taxpayer have to take on ALL the risk?
SKIN IN THE GAME
I think the selection is a major conflict of interest. Didn't Cunningham have a direct role in reorganizing LVEDC and making an Exec Dir Depart? Check the papers way back when that happened and read what Don said about LVEDC and making it more effective.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't the Lehigh county exec appoint members to the Council? If not, what is the relationship between the Counties and LVEDC? How can appointees maintain their objectivity? In the past, appointees like Paul Marin, did as Don directed and forced major changes and made life miserable for the staff.
I think it was a bad choice as Don doesn't have the correct credentials. And since he was desperate for a higher paying job this entire process really stinks to high heaven. It is surprising that BOH is so comfortable with it.
Smart making it sound as if Don was the best and only choice but I doubt that.
I'm not comfortable with it, which is the reason for my post. I do believe Cunningham, however, makes hard jobs look easy.
ReplyDelete11:06 - FYI
ReplyDeleteThere isn't a "half time" to speak of. Hockey games have three periods. :)
Nothing will be developed for $120K. Tee it up and let's play. Three basic lessons and Don will fit like a glove. And then there's those choice seats at the hockey games.... It's good to be Don. Look on the bright side. He'll never be governor. Is there any truth to that rumor that his application at the bridge commission was rejected? It would be terrible if this plumb is actually a fall back position. Same shit new flies.
ReplyDeleteYes, He's the Best....
ReplyDeleteDon is going to hate that board.
ReplyDeleteWhat's been the one constant in all of LVEDC's all style no substance history?
The massive board and the million committees. They hire the awful CEOs. They hire the alright but not spectacular staff. They make the decisions on the vision and purpose of the entire organization.
The last thing that board wants is any sort of professional because a pro manager wouldn't tolerate 3/4 of what that board does.
It wouldn't surprise me if this ends quicker than most would believe. I think he'll get fed up even with 120,000 reasons not to. Somebody else is always retiring somewhere else.
Isn't it an ethics problem to be on the LVEDC Board and Exec Committee and attend all the meetings during the hiring process?
ReplyDeletewho cares - it's a done deal. opinions mean nothing. wait to see what the results are
ReplyDeleteBernie,
ReplyDeleteComing to this conversation late, but really what does the LVEDC do anyway? Does it matter who leads it?
Scott Armstrong
Northampton County has been asking that question for several years, Scott.
ReplyDeleteWow..a shout out to the Slate Belt from Don the man! Talk is cheap..show me something..anything. Since LVEDC is publically funded..why don't we peons have a say in this thing? BS..
ReplyDeleteGuy you and 11:35 seem to be somewhat bright individuals but dude yous guys need to brush off the cobwebs and do dome critical thinking. You know, look below the surface at the reality of the situation and recognize what it is, not what the boys tell you it is. You'd guys gotta think for yourselves. Anyone sucking dollars out of this project is a leech on the butt of John Q Taxpayer. That's a fact Jack@ 11:35 AM.
ReplyDeleteThe PA Dutch Shaman
Needed a pitcher and got a first base man.
ReplyDeleteSo the word on the street is true. O'Hare did a 180 on Callahan because one of the Callahan klan got to you. word was that they told you Gracedale is a done deal and you get to keep your courthouse privileges.
ReplyDeleteGood to know Callahan hasn't changed.
The crazies are out.
ReplyDeleteWhat does Callahan have to do with this post. You are both off topic and an anonymous coward.
I see Don still has the canned phrases and speech lines he has used for the past fifteen years. As slick as an oil patch.
ReplyDeleteIf Scott Ott wants Don out of that job, Don will be gone. Scott Ott owns Don and all or Don's moves are a result of Scott Ott's direction.
ReplyDeleteYou should be happy Bernie, they're talking about you on the street!
ReplyDeleteWord.
PA Dutch Shaman/warrior king, We probably agree on more than we disagree but heres a cold cruel fact.Were gonna pay taxes wether we like it or not.In my view the current tea party movement is no different than the taxation without repesentation crowd of long ago.An you know what, they got their way.We now have representation.At a cost.Billions.Some would say wastefull spending.We americans are a cheerfull bunch of late arguing over spending.We even spend millions on clean/ flouride water than spend a buck, buck and a half for bottled water to drink.Even our founding fathers couldnt agree, gambled and put together an untried document called our constitution.Were still here though 200 years later sitting in front of a computer screen pissing and moaning about the latest current events.Now thats a life.
ReplyDeletebobby donchez will replace donny boy when he fails. the string of dem losers continues.
ReplyDeletelet's put an end to the bs and put BO in charge
Life is good when you are connected. Also, it is better to be connected than good.
ReplyDelete