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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Thursday, July 09, 2015

Who Does the Urban Growth Regime Want to Buy?


In 2012, I told you that democracy is dead in Allentown. Sure, people still vote, but turn out is so bad that a scant minority makes decisions for everyone else. A scant five per cent of Allentown elected Edwin Pawlowski. Most people believe it does not matter anyway. Newspapers fail to inform, devoting far more attention to proms and restaurant reviews than in actually telling you what is happening. So over the years, democracy has been replaced by an urban growth regime in which politicians, select members of the business community and even the newspapers have co-opted each other. They might sincerely believe that they are working for the greater good. In reality, they are advancing their own business interests. They have even tried to expand control into Northampton County and Whitehall Township.

The chief architects of this urban growth regime are J.B. Reilly and Joe Topper, who are smart and successful businessmen. But when they contribute directly to candidates, that draws eyebrows and resentment. They've learned to hide their donations by funneling them through political parties and political action committees.

They did that during John Brown's Northampton County Executive campaign in 2013. His opponent, Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, had angered the regime by making some remarks that were mildly critical of the NIZ. So they decided to prop up an unknown Bangor Mayor who they thought would do as he's told. Reilly and Topper contributed $50,000 to the state Republican party ($25,000 each), which in turn contributed $41,217.12 to Brown and $1,000 to Peg Ferraro. Because some reporter might write about a direct contribution and Northampton County residents would resent Lehigh County developers coming in and taking over, So they laundered the money via the state party.

But that's a problem, too. The party will always keep some of the money, depriving the money boys of the biggest bang for their buck. So being the astute businessmen they are, Reilly and Topper set up their own political action a=committee to make sure every penny they contribute goes directly to the candidate. They call it Citizens for Urban Renewal, though the only citizens involved are Reilly, Topper and Jeff Vaughn, who handles their communications. The initial $200 came from Vaughn, but Reilly and Topper have handled the rest. They have contributed $103,000 to this PAC since late 2013.

Who are they attempting to enlist as members of the urban growth regime? They give to Democrats and Republicans alike. To them, money is more important than party. Below are local Democratic legislative and executive candidates who have accepted donations from a two millionaires whose views might be called more of Ronald Reagan's trickle down economics.

Allentown Future Fund - $15,000. (This is a Pawlowski PAC).
Dan McCarthy - $4,000 (McCarthy, a Pawlowski ally, was running for judge).
Pete Schweyer - $4,000. (Pawlowski Democrat)
Ed Pawlowski - $15,000.
Mark Aurand - $1,000 (Pawlowski Democrat, was running for the state senate)
Mike Schlossberg - $2,500 (Pawlowski Democrat running unopposed)
Lisa Boscola - $1,000 (NIZ Democrat running unopposed).
Tom Wolf - $2,000 (reportedly unhappy about corporate handouts)
Tom Muller - $4,000 (NIZ Democrat)
Dan McNeill - $500 (Democrat).
Jeff Glazier - $3,000 (Pawlowski Dem).
Jerry Palagonia - $500 (Whitehall takeover)
Charlie Thiel - $1,000 (Pawlowski Dem)

John Brown, a Republican was given $5,000 in addition to the $41,217.12 that was laundered through state Republicans. He is now Northampton County's Executive. But the attempt to take over Whitehall Township failed.

But is this really trickle down economics? No. It's crony capitalism.

An economist explains the difference.
"Reagan's presumption was that the private sector was a better and more efficient allocator of wealth than the government. Indeed, the idea was to make government smaller and the private sector larger by reducing tax rates and eliminating government red tape, among other means. Reagan was deeply opposed to the government picking and choosing economic "winners" and "losers."

"The NIZ concept is antithetical to that belief system. The NIZ concept wants government to pick winners and losers. And, of course, the winners are those with the money, power and influence to steer government largesse their way. Reilly, et al, are "crony capitalists" - relying on their wealth, power and influence to suck as much money from government coffers (meaning, less wealthy, less powerful, and less influential taxpayers) as they possibly can."

75 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dean Browning for Commissioner got $2,000 on 4/29/15.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Numerous Rs got money. That is to be expected bc Reilly and Topper are hard-core Rs. The purpose of this post was to show that numerous Dem legislators and Execs are being recruited by this urban growth regime. That includes Schlossberg, who did not even have an opponent. Does he buy the trickle down economics pushed by Reilly and Pawlowski?

Anonymous said...

Morganelli, Giordano, Scomillio..,

Those reports are amazing with the variety of people they include.

Also Candida Affa, aspiring Pawlowski flunkie on City Council.

Also amazing how many expenditures on these reports go to candidates that use H Street Strategies as the address.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I don't much care abut the contributions to DAs, who cannot set policy or to Scomillio and Giordano. Giotdano is running for Superior Court, so it's highly unlikely he would review any NIZ litigation. That would be in Commonwealth Court. Scomillio is in a different county. But I missed Candida Affa, a Pawlowski puppet.

Anonymous said...

Affa is a wholly owned Pawlowski flunkie who spends much of her time out of state.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Completely missed her.

Anonymous said...

It's just amazing how far Reilly & Topper can make our tax dollars can go.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of PACs, there doesn't seem to be much going on over at Citizens for a Better Allentown. Can you imagine how discoraging it must be to be a School Board or City Council candidate with your face on posters alongside Chicago Eddy's smiling mug. No wonder their social media presence came to an abrupt halt.

Anonymous said...

What economist are you quoting?

Anonymous said...

John Brown got toms of money.

Anonymous said...

There are Republicans who don't believe in crony capitalism. I don't see their names on the reports.

Anonymous said...

For $50,ooo.oo, they could have hired my dogg to do a better job than John A Brown from Bangor,PA.
A quick google search and one could see the Brownstain was a failure. Brownpants was the worst mayor in Bangor history. And that includes the drug-dealer (Janus).
And what business did he actually work for? Enron!? John A Brown lied about his "business" background. He was a house-husband, his wife wears the pants. Always did.

Anonymous said...

so your biggest complaint is that "rich people" make campaign contributions while simultaneously funding business, urban growth renewal and new construction.

seeing that this happens everywhere across the nation, and recent Supreme Court decisions on this matter make it perfectly legal, you now choose to deride and demean these people for their obvious success...by using the words "laundering" you seem to think this is all illegal....its not. "Picking and choosing winners and losers" ....smph

You've been complaining about this for years...what is your solution O'Hare? Would you be happier if Joe and John gave all their money to the homeless people, and let them redevelop the city on their own merits? Really....you have some wild conspiracy theories....its that hate/jealousy thing you cant seem to shake

Anonymous said...

Something doesn't make sense.

If this PAC was set up in late 2013, why the contribution to McCarthy? He wasn't running for judge that year, and was retiring as a commissioner. So why the contribution?

Similarly, I didn't see the contribution to Muller in the 2013 reports, which is when Muller was running for office. So it would have been 2014 or later.

Are they using other committees to hide the trail of where their money's actually going? Is that legal, on the giving or the receiving side?

Scott from LV said...

@8:24

I think investing and improving our urban areas is ultimately a win-win for all involved and I applaud any person or business with the ambition and means to do it. Local government can and should do whatever it can to make these projects easier and lucrative for those putting up the initial bankroll.

What BOH is spotlighting is the lack of transparency and access to the process, coupled with the general publics ignorance and/or apathy over it due to either a lack of manpower or concern from local media outlets.

Again - its great to see "rich people" who take an interest in creating projects to rebuild and improve our communities - we need more of them! What we don't need is a visual of only a few "pigs at a trough" as it just discourages others from participating and ultimately tarnishes the process as a "rich get richer" scheme.

Scott

Anonymous said...

scott...i'm in agreement w/ most of what you say, but BOH seems more frustrated not in the transparency part, but in the fact that successful rich people are the heart of the urban renewal. I find his tactics childish and endless as he berates and slimes people over a great cause that will benefit all people. Meetings are open to the public, and financial records are also public and posted online...

From what I gather , his frightening thought process is that poor people should be given a piece of the pie, not the rich people who put millions of dollars of their own money into the redevelopment. Its irrational to think that anyone other than rich people would be able to bankroll this huge project

How many people have millions of dollars in the bank to front for this urban growth regime? Sadly, the reality is that very few people have the ability to do this, hence the constant attacks on Reilly and Topper. O'Hare is so unsuccessful, disbarred from pracicing law, and radioactive to anyone who is a productive member of society. What kind of utopia does O'Hare want? Mom and pop shops with a shovel and a hammer? Honestly, he is so irrational and full of hate, I dont see any worth in his "gripes"...just my two cents

Anonymous said...

its one thing to excercise first amendment rights and complain about a project you feel is "crony capitalism". Its something else to suggest that its all illegal, and that there is some sort of money laundering conspiracy going on for the sole purpose of self enrichment. If "enriching oneself at the public till" is O'Hare's gripe, I would imagine that he can spend his time more effectively by trying to do something to change the process, and appealing to those who make the laws. Instead, he cowardly hides behind a computer and detonates the characters' of those involved.

If you ask me, one must question why you exist if you spend 24 hours a day complaining and no time trying to be a part of the solution.

Bernie O'Hare said...

9:01, The PAC was set up in 2013. McCarthy, who ran for judge in 2011, apparently had campaign debt. Muller was running for Exec in 2013 and the contribution would have been made then or in 2014.

Bernie O'Hare said...

The comment by 8:24 is obviously inspired by hatred. My condemnation is NOT of wealth, but what academics call crony capitalism, " an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, or other forms of state interventionism." That is precisely what we have with the NIZ. This kind of relatioship destroys democracy.

Anonymous said...

O'Hare, your hindsight is hand picked to derride certain people you despise, all in the disguise of cronyism. Please do some homework and spill over every single contract that Lehigh and Northampton County has in its Human Services budgets.....and other counties. You will see contract after contract to for profit companies that provide services to needy people, funded entirely by taxpayer pockets...these for profit companies enrich themselves on a daily basis by receiving public funds to provide a whole host of services to people who need them....some of these companies run million dollar profits nation wide.

If you really despise the idea that public money creates wealth for wealthy people, then at least be consistent in your criticism. Although it is not applicable here, take a look at the private prison industry that is capturing profits at an alarming rate in this country. Deep pocket developers are funnelled revenue from the tax base, and profit heftily from their "investment"

thats just one example. I could go on

Anonymous said...

and correct me if I am wrong, but NIZ tax benefits expire after a certain period of time

Bernie O'Hare said...

I do not despise that public money creates wealth for many people. I despise an "economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, or other forms of state interventionism." There may be some crony capitalism in some Human Services contracts, but there's no question at all with the NIZ. It is the most blatant and glaring example in the Lehigh valley and probably in the state, in which $54 million in public tax dollars have been diverted to assist the wealthy get more wealthy, without so much as a community benefits agreement for the unwashed masses. Your feeble attempt to liken this to a few human services contracts rings very hollow in comparison.

Anonymous said...

I also know of another developer(AA) who is constantly donating money to influential people who set policy that can help him enrich himself...do I need to spell it out, or are you going to publish how much money this developer contributed to Ronnie who can help him prop up profits in county contracts to keep his private prison running profits? This same developer has his hands in other publically funded sources like charter schools, which also bankrupts the tax base, by funding multiple schools on the taxpayer dime, and taking tax money away from public schools.

I dont see you deriding this guy, only Topper and Reilly...why so much selective hate? Seems like AA is doing the exact same thing, but thats all swell? C'mon!

Bernie O'Hare said...

"and correct me if I am wrong, but NIZ tax benefits expire after a certain period of time"

...and that's when they will pull up stakes and leave.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure where you are getting the $54 million number from....it seems like you are trying to exrapolate future tax monies that havent been collected yet. You are also ignoring how much Topper and Reilly had to sink into this upfront, with their own risk, that is tied to bak financing. Its unfair to suggest that tax money is the sole source of revenue when its clearly not. Who do you think the banks are going to come after if loans are defaulted on? The taxpayers? No, its Reilly and Topper who assumed the risk.

Anonymous said...

The NIZ legisaltion was created to help dying cities revive themselves. CRIZ, TIFs and other tax subsidized tools created in Harrisburg allow some money from the tax base be used to redevelop blighted urban areas to bring in jobs, infrastructure, business, housing, retail, etc....the whole purpose of this legislation was to create an environment for prosperity for the people who populate the area...hence, a decrease in poverty, crime, welfare, homelessness and ghetto life.

If you really hate this idea, what do you propose to keep a city from failing and failing, and then finding itself in Act 47? What about all the other CRIZ , TIFs, etc that do the same thing? I dont see you deriding those, just this one...selective hate, and your true colors shining bright

Anonymous said...

Just checked LC website for McCarthy reports. No debt from judge run.

It looks like he got a contribution from Citizens for Urban Renewal on 10/31/13, and turned around and contributed to Muller on the same day.

Is that legal/ethical?

Still checking on Muller contribution.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"I also know of another developer(AA) who is constantly donating money to influential people who set policy that can help him enrich himself...do I need to spell it out, or are you going to publish how much money this developer contributed to Ronnie who can help him prop up profits in county contracts to keep his private prison running profits? "

You are too much of a coward to ID yourself, but should at least let my readers know that the AA to whom you refer is Abe Atiyeh. Of course he is a crony capitalist, and admitted as much in his interview with the Morning Call. In fact, after he retained Fleck as a "consultant," he magically got the billboard deal in Allentown. Over the years,I have listed his numerous contributions.

But there was no crony capitalism in the NC deal. No favoritism. In fact, I'm not sure that rthe deal he did get was that good for him. But it was good for the county. if it stops being good, the county will end it.

Anonymous said...

in ohares world of utoipia, no one would be able to raise a dime for elected offices, any contract given to anyone in any municipality is laden with corruption, no one with even a distant friend or relative can earn any money from any publically funded project....etc....he draws lines and connects dots based upon wild conspiracy theories that he creates in his delusional little world.


It seems he may only be happy if government was run by pre-programed cloans, who have no ties to anyone anywhere, in which he can hit the "back" button to his hearts delight.

this blogger gets more delusional by the day and never offers any solutions to all of the "racketeering" he complains of...if he spent 1% of his time trying to correct all of these "problems" he may have a little more info, and would have to publish falsehoods

Bernie O'Hare said...

10:444, Completely legal form of deception.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"in ohares world of utoipia, no one would be able to raise a dime for elected offices, any contract given to anyone in any municipality is laden with corruption, no one with even a distant friend or relative can earn any money from any publically funded project....etc....he draws lines and connects dots based upon wild conspiracy theories that he creates in his delusional little world. "

I believe in a democratic form of government, in which no one person gets special treatment because of his wealth. You obviously believe in oligarchies and in seeing government officials and businesses co-opting each other.

Anonymous said...

Muller $4,000 contribution from Citizens for Urban Renewal received on 9/22/14. $1,000 contribution to Wolf for Governor the next day. Interesting, but nothing that would get to the $4,000 and indicate a direct connection.

Muller also apparently a client of Fleck Consulting.

Bernie O'Hare said...

10:34, I oppose the CRIZ, most KOZs, most TIFs. I reject the notion that cities are dying because of an uneven playing field created by suburbia. They are dying bc they are one-party towns that have become hopelessly mired in corruption and nepotism. The answer is to weed out the corruption, encourage people to vote by giving them tax incentives to do so, term limits and nonpartisan elections.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"I'm not sure where you are getting the $54 million number from..."

Try reading. Reilly has received $54.4 million in state tax subsidies since 2012. More public has gone into his pocket than the rest of Allentown's welfare population combined.

http://pennbpc.org/city-center-investment-corpgetting-237-million-niz-tax-subsidies

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Muller also apparently a client of Fleck Consulting."

Noting apparent about it. Muller used Fleck. So did many other good candidates. Fleck does have a good ground game.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"If you ask me, one must question why you exist if you spend 24 hours a day complaining and no time trying to be a part of the solution. "

Pointing out the problem is part of the solution.

Anonymous said...

Allentown is a democratic form of government that is subject to the same laws of every city in the state. They actually have elections there that are even open to the public...same with meetings.

Your jealousy of success in Allentown and your dislike of the Mayor has blinded you with so much hate, you've become sad and pathetic. Since you are so distraught about all of it and the 5% voter turnout that continues to elect an oligarchy, then I invite you to register people to vote, and personally escort them in and out of the polling places on election day.

Instead I expect that you prefer to continue punching brick walls and crying louder and louder when it gets you nowhere. If you care to look beyond the confines of your delusional little world the concept of "special treatment" due to wealth has brought us energy, cars, roads, food, water and clean air, railroads, computers, the internet, cell phones, ATMs, malls, schools, hospitals, medication, boats, ships, planes, football, baseball, golf, basketball...and the list continues

sometimes the evil rich people actually do good things....I guess its your never ending life's failures that makes you so insanely jealous of successful people who do great things...would a free superbowl ticket dry your tears?

Anonymous said...

I believe in a democratic form of government,in which no one person gets special treatment because of his wealth............Bernie, that situation has not happened since our founding. Why do you think many across the globe think of us as hypocrites. In any case still love my country.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"What economist are you quoting? "

I do not have permission to use his name.

Anonymous said...

"Pointing out the problem is part of the solution"

How? By banging a keyboard 24/7 and insulting people who actually work? All I see is a completely isolated angry troll with no life and no motivation to do anything other than complain from the confines of a 10 by 10. If you actually tried to change the things you find wrong in our society.....(its an enormous list) you wouldnt be seen as such an angry pathetic nobody who is laughed at by many.

You have a 10 year history of being disgusted with everyone and everything. I am sure the evil rich people would buy you a one way ticket to a foreign land where there is no wealth, no oligarchies , no special treatment, no campaign donations, no urban growth regimes...etc....just find us that utopian society that you would like to be part of.....understand though that a one way ticket involves an airline, a union, an airport, government regulation, etc....obviously rich guy funny money made all of this possible too. We'll wait for your destination place...lets see where its going to be.

Bernie O'Hare said...

So your real problem is me and not the topic. I thought so.

Anonymous said...

Bernie provides real news and a forum to voice opinions. The mcall, wfmz, and lvl report fluff and cheerleader stories. Keep up the good work

Anonymous said...

"give tax incentives to people who vote"

Wow, thats some reverse logic....fix one flat tire by installing a bigger flat tire

Yeah, thats the way to give us "democracy"

so you just want more money in the cash register of the USA? Where is that coming from? The printing press at the US mint? If printing our way to democracy is the only idea you have, we may as well set up cash registers at the polls...great idea

Anonymous said...

@11:17 AM
Lighten up on the kook-aid fella, you're drinking WAY too much.

Anonymous said...

despite all of the excuses you make, a 5% voter turnout that keeps re-electing "corruption and oligrchy" means the people there are content with what they have.

I would assume if all the "people" are as angry as you are, there would be a run on the poll. If he keeps getting re-elected, hes keeping lots of people happy. Its a hard pill for you to swallow, so you resort to repeated hate attacks to bring this man down.

You also hate your own elected people over there in NAZ....same old same old...you do lots of griping, but little effort to actually change the "problem."

and you get more foul, and more obnoxious every day...hence, the cyberattacks are taken from its source. theres no credibility, just lashing out and crying over spilled milk. You must have been a real treasure for your parents growing up.

Ovem Lupo Commitere said...

I wouldn't get too sucked into trying to argue with an obviously skilled debater.... the person kind of reminds me of a more suave and intelligent version of a certain former COB councilwoman: (paraphrase) "but look at what wonderful things I have done for the city... Bernie is an evil man... nothing to see here, just keep moving along...". Such attempts at deflection ultimately don't work if someone keeps shining the light. Shine on Bernie.

Bernie O'Hare said...

That person is not a skilled debater, but a sophist.

Anonymous said...

Oven Lupo...your "skilled debater" just suggested that people should be paid to vote with taxpayer money.

I feel sorry for you if you think that shows the skill in any debate.....pay to play replaced by paying people to vote is the only thing the skilled debater has to offer...so I guess he's happy if everyone gets paid to effect the outcome of an election, not just the evil rich people

effectively he wants more money to buy elections, not less. He's a confused an irrational whack-nut

Anonymous said...

This article seems to try to call out candidates and elected officials that accepted contributions from JB Reilly and Joe Topper. However, the characterization of Mark Aurand as a "Pawlowski Democrat" seems a bit off. The Reilly/Topper contribution was made to Aurand during the State Senate primary in 2014. Aurand was running against Scott Parsons at the time. Parsons whose report has a bunch donations from your so called "Pawlowski Democrats" and labor unions that were heavily in Pawloski's corner. Not to mention that Parson's campaign was ran by Pawlowski's own Mike Fleck.

Ovem Lupo Commitere said...

1:01 you misread, or didn't understand, my comment so your comment is off target.

Ovem Lupo Commitere said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bernie O'Hare said...

The. Sophist 1:01 has argued that incentives to wealthy developers are ok. But derides a $5 or $10 property tax or income tax rebate to a struggling person who can prove he voted.he actually prefers the front capitalism. And he takes only one of the ideas I suggested to deride them all. That's what sophists do. They argue illogically.. The crony capitalism that exists in Allentown would be far less likely with term limits and nonpartisan elections.

Bernie O'Hare said...

1:24, I am well aware that Parsons' primary run was managed by Fleck. If I have mistakenly characterized Aurand as a Pawlowski Dem, I apologize. He s a class act, as is Scott.

Anonymous said...

Ovem Lupo...I am responding again....if you were telling ohare not to debate a skilled debater...it was a back door compliment for me, and thanks, but I am actually not a skilled debater....just aware that this partu=icular blogger has been deriding Allentown, the NIZ, and the investors for years and making categorically false accusations that are uncalled for, and unnecessary. 1st Amendment aside...he crosses the line with frequency, and lashes out when people criticize him. He's always in the fray, then freaks out when someone has a difference of opinion.

Not to mention the anon comments on this blog range from obnoxious to purely insane and disgusting, yet the blogger wonders why no one actually gives a shit about anything he says. Hes constantly banging heads and insulting people from a keyboard and doing very little to actually effect the corruption he cant deal with

For a person who finds so much fault in others you would think they he would try to do something to re-arrange his lifestyle, and fix the problems that he finds everywhere with everyone. My impression is that he hates everyone because he hates himself, and is terrified of having to actually function and work. If you ask me its a sad life, and Mr. O'Hare needs to spend some time to question why he exits, and less time deriding hard working , goal oriented people.

Just my thoughts, but these repeat Allentown hate attacks are getting old

Bernie O'Hare said...

As I told Ovem, you are no skilled debater. You are a sophist who does not believe your own arguments, but make them because your real target is me. As this debate has progressed, you have established that your real agenda is hatred for me, thus destroying your own points. Thanks for playing.

Anonymous said...

the creation of a government system to give people $5 to vote in hopes that will solve the demise of democracy, is about as productive as offering a heroin addict a clean needle program to stop spreading disease


If someone wants to vote they will vote. I doubt a $5 payment is going to bring about change...also, we would surely need voter ID to make sure the checks get mailed to the right people. Nice solution...its a feel good idea, that will costs millions so we can have 1% more people heading to the polls. This is your progressive agenda ? laughable and sad

Pay people to vote with taxpayer money, so that taxpayer money stops flowing to those who vote...yeah, thats logical

Anonymous said...

Milwalkie , WI, Denver, CO, Jacksonville, FL Boston MA, Fort Worth TX and others have non-partisan municipal elections.

Are they utopia, free from corruption, cronyism and pay to play? You still get who you elect, regardless of ballot ID

Bernie O'Hare said...

I never said I was stiving for utopia. I am stiving for democracy. There are going to be problems in any form of governm,ent, but we fought a revolutionary war to free use from the yoke that crony capitalists wish to impose.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Pay people to vote with taxpayer money, so that taxpayer money stops flowing to those who vote...yeah, thats logical"

Actually, unlike what is going on in the $54 million handouts that you support, a slight rebate does not use any taxpayer money. It just enables citizens who take the time to vote to get a very slight reduction in taxes. But you are not really interersted in this matter. You are arguing for the sake of argment.

Anonymous said...

A lot of this could have been avoided with a charter amendment requiring elected city officials to resign their city office before running for another (state or federal) office.

Doing so would have:

1) Kept the focus of city elected officials on city matters, and

2) Eliminated the need/excuse for local politicians to raise sums of money far in excess of what they'd need for a local election.


Of course, it would also help if the Mayor couldn't pay for the campaigns of those in City Council or the Controller's Office. It's tough to get good oversight when those who are supposed to be the check on the Mayor owe their positions to him.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I would support a resign-to-run law for FT elected officials.

mazel tov! said...

Sadly for O'hare, he had the opportunity to object to NIZ legislation and stop corporate welfare, if he would have put his efforts where they were needed..as much as people despise his cyber-attacks, he does make some good points, in that the taxpayers need not subsidize corporate profits to enhance the bottom line for millionaries.

But O'Hare failed to actually do anything about it b/c he was much too busy painting brownstains, fighting gracedale, chasing RAV4 s, witches, pigs and broomsticks and Gregory PFA problems for the last 1/2 decade

Now we have pathetic brownstains, NIZ welfare for millionares, a bleeding elephant called a nursing home...

o'hare has a used car, and the taxpayers have a gregory $60,000 jail bill , a $10 million annual bleed for publicly funded nursing care, and a $54 million tax subsidy to make Topper and Reilly more profitable

Happy yet?

Classic....'to win the battle and lose the war'

With this type of track record, I'd stay home and shut off the computer for awhile

Anonymous said...

It's obvious, Bernie. The ability you have shown in discovering, and having the courage to reveal untold stories is making 1:45 uncomfortable. You are being 'discouraged' by someone who might be trying to keep his/her own closet door closed. Or, maybe an embarrassed newspaper professional (if there is such thing anymore).

Anonymous said...

"Actually, unlike what is going on in the $54 million handouts that you support, a slight rebate does not use any taxpayer money. It just enables citizens who take the time to vote to get a very slight reduction in taxes."

Can you do the math on the $5 paid to each voter who votes? Who pays for this system...and how many voters are there?

Is this $5 taxpayer funded pay to vote idea just for local elections or all? Wouldnt we need voter ID?

Lets see the math on how this is free.....ohare gets more irrational evrytime he opens his mouth

Anonymous said...

voter compensation? Do I have to pay federal and state taxes on that and does it come with a pension after 10 election cycles?

ROFLMAO

Anonymous said...

You also defended the illegal hiring by Alan Jennings of John Stoffa hack Ross Marcus. Marcus knew he would get the boot by the next exec. due to his over budget spending. He couldn't get a job elsewhere, so Stoffa got Jennings to hire him in defiance of the law. County law was very clear and it was ignored. In your world that was OK and justifiable. You are for "good government" when it doesn't involve your pals. That is why "many" folks are scoffing at your latest outrage.

Anonymous said...

That is how Bernie swing anon 4:47. It is all about personalities and not topics.

Bernie O'Hare said...

It is obvious that sick people who care nothing about the NIZ or corruption are trying to waste my time responding to their personal vendetta against me. I have better things to do.

Anonymous said...

what better things to do? Lets here it. Your blog is your revolving life with nothing else in it

Anonymous said...

Let's face it. Anyone who used Fleck is a blithering moron with slippery ethics. His stink won't wash off. Mom taught us to watch the company we keep. These pols are old enough to know better. Which indicates they're either stupid or dishonest or both.

Anonymous said...

And Fleck's sleaze has been well documented on this blog for years.

Anonymous said...

Mezzacrazy is off the reservation - which has become a permanent state of existence. The stress of owing Bernie $72,000, and having screwed up her chances once again to achieve elected office seems to have had a devastating effect on her.

Read em and weep. Just a jealous hater, with nothing to do except hang on Bernie's blog and badmouth him and think about her former car and political events years old.

That is a pathetic life.

Anonymous said...

anon 7:16, is all you do troll blogs and obsess over Mezzacappa? Sad that you have no life.

Anonymous said...

Sad that ohare has one way conversations with his Mezzacappa fantasy...he really wants to believe she is here posting comments all day...if he falsely attributes enough comments, some of his duped dunce readers (3 or 4) might actually believe it.

At least she used her time wisely to change the corruption in her scary little town. Sometimes, if you get off your loaf and actually try, its possible to get things done

ohare on the other hand, will just keep punching bricks from his keyboard. Yawn.

Anonymous said...

Bernie,
I don't think that any local media outlets get the trix of allentowns circus nor the ringmaster and than these two circus sticks that are proped up like a cardboard chacture in front of areana gate, than there is the new morning gag wfmz first floor news room¿

NewYork city Allentown will never be it is a cul de sac with a road to nowhere going somewhere in the future only with people of integrety and honor, and most importantly the givers of genuine human concern not with a monitary amoun attached but a heart felt paying it foward to the ones whos souls are in the lost and stolen box in allentown cityhall as well as the engineered cracks in the county human services because they are the ones that speak up and question the underhand matters concluded before counsil mettings even started behid closed doors like allentown beautiful iron lady on counsil who just refuse to partake in the sale of her soul on the childrens children not even a life form yet¿

redd
patent pending