Political panderer Sam Bennett has made clear she intends to run for Mayor in Allentown next year, but I still threw up a little when I read her Facebook tribute paid to Michael Donovan: "Sad and deeply moving to be at Michael Donovan's funeral at the gorgeous Historic Zion Church and gathering at wonderful BrewWorks afterward. Michael we will miss you - and as conversations inevitably steered towards public service and politics, your deep and abiding passion - we sense your piercing intelligence and wry deprecating humor overseeing the proceedings. In our politics we honor you dear friend - in the words of Pastor Bob Stevens, our "Social Justice Gyroscope". This upcoming Mayor's Race in 2017 will be in your honor."
If you don't support her, you're a sexist.
120 comments:
As an Allentown resident and democrat I vow to sell my house and move out of the city if that hideous harlot is elected mayor.
A totally inappropriate statement. "Glad to be at your service, and the ambiance was simply intoxicating. Vote for me next year."
Perfect.
The City Without Limits.
If she could make Ed Rendell happy in his limo, she can make your city happy as well, right?
Allentown is in big trouble.
See today's FB post on her wall. She is a one-issue candidate: elect a woman. If Mike Donovan were alive to run, she would be running against him.
We're finished! I'd rather have Fed Ed!
Surely there is a core of responsible Democrats left in Allentown to thwart this looming disaster. Responsible Democrats need to look at the damage caused by Roy Afflerbach and Fed Ed and intervene. Can't Pennsylvania appoint a non-partisan administrative professional to manage Allentown? We simply can't have this incompetent egomaniac running our City. Haven't we suffered enough already. I'd hate to move to the suburbs, but Bennett will do more harm than Afflerbach! HELP!!!
Roy Roy Roy
Sam has no shame. What happened in Washington? That's the information voters need.
Funny someone should mention Roy. Thought he moved out of state after the police pension nightmare but no, there he was on state TV. Amazing.
Never found a funeral I didn't like. could be quote.
Ask the Properties of Merit board what a fine job she did.
Time to order a martini shaker for the mayors office.
Not only didn't Afflerbach move but was put on the Delaware River Bridge commission ,serving alongside our man Greedy. Afflerbach has a ready, consulting business in Allentown ready, advising non profits.
Too bad Hess's is gone. Bent it would gladly use the display windows to kiss every ass in Allentown.
I was absolutely infuriated by this post and nearly each one after. She claims she is "Calling out" sexism; she's doing no such thing. She sets the women's lib movement back at least a few years every time she opens her mouth or posts! She's whining, she's complaining and she's behaving as if she should get special treatment because she is a woman. No my dear, you get opportunity - do with it what you will. As a woman in business and active in the community I am embarrassed by her behavior since Michael's Funeral.
~Gina B.
Sheboing Bentit for mayor. This will do more to light the fire under my apathetic ass than anything I can possibly imagine!!! I have friends turning their yachts around in mid ocean to be here in time to vote against her.
Why did you throw up? That was quite a nice salute. You need to lighten up a bit on the cynicism. It will send you to an early grave.
@12:13 AM
You will move out of the city if she is elected mayor but yet you choose to stay living here with the piece of garbage we have now as mayor?
It's very important that the facts speak for Ms. Bennett,.
http://articles.mcall.com/2007-07-01/news/3745542_1_compensation-committee-merit-state-grant
I don't know how to make that a link! But please, cut and paste it in your browser and read how she gave herself a $110K salary to hand out golden rakes once a year in Allentown. (This was a full third of the "Properties of Merit" annual budget!!) She exploited her relationship with Rendell and her little charity to line her OWN pockets with taxpayer dollars. She defended this by saying she didn't give herself the salary (but she lied! she was one of three people who set that outrageous salary!!) and even one of her fellow board members gently tried to tell her how this would "appear." (Uh, it appears to be selfish and greedy.) Then, she said it was an appropriate salary for the future, when Properties of Merit was imagined to be greatly expanded. She never thought about paying herself what she was worth in the present tense, just the fantasy future! IS THAT THE KIND OF MAYOR ALLENTOWN NEEDS????? NOOOOOO!!!!
It's true that Bennett can be charming in person, and she knows how to deliver a good speech. But, let the facts stand on Ms. Bennett. The Properties of Merit scandal cannot be forgotten. If you want the FBI to set up a home office in Allentown permanently, just let Sam take the reins at City Hall. I don't post this as a personal attack (because, believe me, this comment would get ugly real fast if I made this personal) - I am truly hoping to educate even just one person about Bennett's background and greed. She would be the worst thing to ever happen to Allentown.
Well, OK, one personal thing, but it's on point: making what is essentially a political speech at a wake is horrible. I'm so embarrassed for her. The great thing about Mike Donovan was that he included everyone in his life, regardless of their flaws, myself included. He had such great love for his fellow man. To hijack a grieving audience for personal gain is EXACTLY in keeping with what Sam does...she exploits and manipulates every single opportunity for her own needs. It's disgusting.
I concur,A rock stamped with a D could be elected in The Limitless Metropolis.
I don't even know how to begin... As we all know, Sam Bennett is a train wreck, and that Facebook post is awful on so many levels. Throw in what Gina Blevins said, and I don't even know what to say.
And as bad as Fed Ed is, it's a toss up on who was worse, him or Afflerbach.
God help us.
The Banker
Check this Is The Properties of Merit still active and is she still milking a salary from it?
9:17 regardless of Pawlowski's indiscretions, he has done a good job as Mayor and has conducted himself professionally in public. Sam is a foul mouthed lush who will take corporate cronyism to a higher level of slime.
Sam Bennett and the demise of Mayfair. No coincidence.
Is anyone honestly shocked that she would stoop so low as to use a man's funeral to further herself? Sorry, I have seen this woman's behavior at church myself. She will do whatever it takes at CHURCH of all places to draw attention to herself. It is all about herself. Trust me, there is no bigger hypocrite in the Lehigh Valley. I thought we maybe had seen the last of her. Unfortunately, I appear to be wrong.
I just opened her Linkedin page. Under skills she lists 50 . How could we not choose this creature to lead us. I am going to rent a suite at The Benner Mansion on a long term basis just to. Be close to the energy and dynamic personality that is Shiboing Bentit.
>"Check this Is The Properties of Merit still active and is she still milking a salary from it? "
A webpage still exists, but it appears to be defunct. Bennett's Remfield or Ed DeGrace, a person named James Molchany, claims on Facebook that the group had to close bc of adverse publicity.
" If you want the FBI to set up a home office in Allentown permanently," - The FBI has had an office in Allentown for many years, and the SAC for the Eastern District lives in Northampton County, although I am not saying where.
"Why did you throw up? That was quite a nice salute. "
It was the worst kind of pandering.
If you don't support Bennett or Hillary, you're sexist. If you didn't support Carly Fiorina, you're not. Got it.
It just occurred to me, she is a lot like Hillary. Scott Armstrong
Is there a special place in Heaven for women who hate Sarah Palin?
This is astonishing-I understood she died last year after chaining herself , with a string of pearls, to the fence of the Donacker Mansion and vowing to die for the cause. Please Bennet give us another opportunity to grant your sincere and heartfelt wish. This creature will own the ice water concession in Hell.
The lehigh county commissioners have announced they are cooperating fully with the FBI. My question: What choice do you have tough guys?Did we think that you would not?
The Lehigh County Commissioners tried to separate themselves from the FBI/Pawlowski/Fleck investigation.
FBI not targeting us, say Lehigh County commissioners
Commissioner Hartzell waited until AFTER the vote to make this statement to admit that he worked with Fleck and took money from a Pawlowski PAC.
How can I ever trust this man? He was just elected? He was funded by a Pawlowski PAC run by Fleck? He waited until after the vote to admit this publicly?
After reading everything I read about Sam Bennet, I realize that she is just another politician, another Hillary type of Democrat.
We need a Bernie Sanders type of Democrat in Allentown.
The Democratic Party will be shamed hard in 2016, my prediction. Pawlowski and Hillary will have the spotlight with the FBI.
I'm forming a new Super PAC in order to support Sam's mayoral campaign. It's called Hypocrisies Of Merit. Details coming soon ...
With all the sleaze in politics , we can't possibly have enough FBI agents, we only have 35000 total for all their duties. We could use five times that number just to clean up the slime we know of.
RUN RICH RUN
Rich, I was in agreement with you until you went down the path of Democratic Socialism.
But before I comment further, what is your definition? Please don't give me the answer from something like Wikipedia - I'd like an example-based answer. For example, would ownership of the Brew Works transfer to the government? Would ownership of my business do so? Is my economic return to be capped, and a 100% tax applied over a certain figure so I would not earn too much? Who makes the decisions on what's "fair" and what's not?
In short, what does America look like?
Believe me, I'm as pissed as you are at what's happened here and nationally. And I agree with Sanders on a few points - Immigration and breaking up big banks are the first two.
But based on what I've heard and read, I don't think there is such an animal as "Democratic Socialism" but rather it's true Socialism with a different title. I don't want to go down that path, history has shown time and again Socialism does not work.
The Banker
Yes,Yes we need Sanders, My taxes are not near high enough. I have money left over, here take my wallet, give it back when it,s empty, I'll refill it and give it back to you. Will we be paying for a four year degree or go for a PhD? The one thing I do like about Sanders, he believes what he says. I have more respect for someone that truly believes than the reptilian members of the Lizard-American-Party!!
FDR was a "Democratic Socialist" and saved America from the Germany and Italy solution to world depression and corporate oligarchy. He was a shrewd enough politician not to claim that but it was what it was. America was on a very dangerous path in the early 20th century. If not for TR and FDR, I doubt we would have remained a vibrant republic.
Education is a wonderful thing.
Greeting Bernie. Sam here. I am willingly and with foreknowledge taking the risk to having my remarks misconstrued with this post: I admire your years at the helm of lehighvalleyramblings - free press so essential.
As a teenager, I spent hours entranced by Thomas Paine, Hamilton, Jay and Madison - who risked much in questioning the government of their day. Doesn't mean I will always agree - but will always respect.
In public service questioning goes with the territory. Political “wisdom” is to always ignore and never respond to any attack or line of questioning. But never quite felt right to me - especially when those attacks were at times...yes Bernie, sexist. So I will work to do a better job responding.
I'm saddened that others like me who supported Mike Donovan when he ran against Pawlowksi would question dedicating this Mayor's race to Mike. My last time with Mike was at Hummus House talking about the upcoming Mayor's race in 2017. Letting me know he wasn't running due to his health, offering to assist with advice.
Like Mike - I have been consistent in my opposition to Pawlowski: running against Pawlowski in 2005, opposition to water privatization (Op-Ed Mcall), to my strong support of Gerlach and McClean, meeting with Pawlowski and Fleck Spring of 2015 - that I was running for Mayor in 2017 even if against him. That being said, the downtown momentum needs to continue but with transparency and responsiveness.
Bernie, transparency and responsiveness will rule my race - I'll post all past campaign filings (2001, 2005, 2008) on the campaign website. I stand for campaign finance reform, executive term limits and maximizing voter participation in all elections - and will restrict the amount of funds any one donor can contribute to my race. This will be my last race for elected office – not a springboard.
Restoring faith in Allentown City Hall is essential. And yes, Bernie, calling out sexism, just as calling out racism*, is essential also.
Onward! Sam
*hence my many years as co-founder/board officer of Allentown's Freedom Memorial, the only in the world with both Martin and Coretta Scott King. :0)
Joke or not, "If you don't support her, you're a sexist". That is the typical Modus operandi for this party. That's all they know. Isolate and demonize. Hmm where did we hear that before?
If you want illegal immigration to stop you are a racist.
If you believe in traditional marriage you hate gays.
If you don't support obamacare you hate poor people.
If you believe in the 2nd Amendment , you are an extremist.
If you believe in life, you are at war with women.
If you the want the govt to halt any and all immigration from the middle east until the govt can verify who is coming in to the country, you suffer from islamaphobia. Its not like the feds have a great reputation in vetting individuals.
And recently we had this demonstrated by political hack Madeline Albright. She said
" “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other!”
And yes, Bernie...
1) Properties of Merit still exists, programs still running www.mypom.org. Started her when I was 24 years old and worked as volunteer each year for twenty-four years - until I transitioned to becoming its paid Statewide Director when Governor Rendell provided funding through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development to take program statewide.
2) Both Republican and Democratic women - from Clinton, to Palin, to Fiorina experience sexism on campaign trail - something their males colleagues do not. Great clip from Jon Stewart on this and recent article on Daily KOS.
3) I suspect St. Luke's put the fence up around the Donecker Mansion - to keep us from chaining ourselves to the building. LOL. Remember the Donecker! Irreplaceable Allentown history and architecture now forever gone.
Stay well!
Does she have any idea what a phony reptile she is. Thank god they pulled her off that fence and away from the bulldozer. I will watch her money givers and if possible adjust my retail spending accordingly!!!!
This Question is simple as a brick. Does Bennet get money from POM?
Who failed to teach this woman how to construct grammatically sound sentences? She writes like a failing fifth grader. If she's learning disabled, I apologize. If not, she should apologize to those who tried to educate her.
The Banker @2:55
Can we say that Democratic Socialism is not Democratic Corporatism, which is what I would consider our current form of government?
I don't know what exact form Bernis' Democratic Socialism will take. Shouldn't we let future President Sanders, Congress and the Senate decide what form of Democratic Socialism we adopt. The voters can decide to...if they get out and vote for this new form of Democratic Socialism.
Corrupt Democrats are not capable of creating any form of Democratic Socialism.
I was fooled by Obama's cry for CHANGE. I don't think Bernie Sanders is fooling around.
Even Bennet's reference to an organization is slanted to a gender. She refers to POM as her. She could see an ism in the bottom of an ashtray!!
Say, whatever happened to the German Democratic Republic (you know, communist East Germany)?
And, speaking of communism, what ever happened to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics?
Democratic Socialism. Ha ha. Tell me more, please.
@4:46
So under this "Democratic Socialism" you envision, what sectors of the economy would you expect to be seized under a nationalization drive? How much of an individual's income would you want to see forcibly redistributed? And what would you want to see done to Americans of the productive class who who resist?
- Jeffrey Anthony
The new narrative from the left is to ask the question; was FDR a socialist? The answer is simply, yes he was. I offer this as proof. Yes it is cut and pasted from Wikipedia but you may research it yourself it you question the validity of the following.
Scott Armstrong
The Second Bill of Rights is a list of rights that was proposed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944.[1] In his address Roosevelt suggested that the nation had come to recognize, and should now implement, a second "bill of rights". Roosevelt's argument was that the "political rights" guaranteed by the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights had "proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness." Roosevelt's remedy was to declare an "economic bill of rights" which would guarantee eight specific rights:
Employment (right to work)
Food, clothing and leisure, via enough income to support them
Farmers' rights to a fair income
Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies
Housing
Medical care
Social security
Education
I thought Ms. Bennett's responses were great. It takes proverbial "balls" to reply here - so, I give her credit.
But...what about my problem with her outrageous POM salary? (Readers late to these comments need to check out my previous link to an old but completely relevant story about Bennett's past in Allentown.) I'd like to hear Sam's explanation.
And, my problem with her dedicating this election to Donovan is Bennett's implication of his endorsement. She used his lovely gathering as a platform for herself - that's really out of bounds. It only adds to my personal narrative of Ms. Bennett being tone deaf, of bad judgement and extremely opportunistic. Grief can do funny things to people, though --- so, I will now abstain from using this as an argument against Bennett's mayoral run. Perhaps sadness and loss clouded her judgement, and...frankly, that's forgivable. I'm done involving the good man in discussions about her, unless she continues to invoke his name in her campaigning.
May Mike rest in peace and know how very missed he is. My sincere condolences to his grieving family.
@6:50
Nicely balanced and nicely put.
- Jeffrey Anthony
I ask readers to give Sam some credit for posting here, which does take guts and is completely contrary to conventional wisdom bc I allow anonymous comments. Let me add that Bennett actually knows and understands Allentown, and is much more credible as a Mayoral candidate than she was as a Congressional candidate.
Sam, I think your comments about Michael Donovan and dedicating the Mayoral race to him were totally inappropriate and nothing less than an act of political pandering. On the other hand, your decision to come on this blog and defend yourself is an act of political courage.
With all this talk about democratic socialists, socialists, etc., let me interject a bit. I don't really care what ideology one claims. It's almost like telling someone your favorite color. To me, the first and foremost obligation of a public servant is transparency. His or her second obligation is transparency. Thus, I can and have supported Green party, liberal Democrats, independents and conservative Republicans with those qualities. Everything after that is bullshit.
The fundamental flaw with Fed Ed is that he has never been transparent or accountable. All kinds of mischief results when people govern behind closed doors.
From everyones gobblygoo about this things happenings, my guess is that just yet another one of palumpas parishinors coexistingly colluded and dilluded at gatherings of Church On The Run¿!)$ The Liberty Bell Shirne was a fittin settin for lieing to rest a peoples man, not this its feASSco
The question that I will pose out here is who and what is couchstain kool king or whatever its multiple personality disorder orders it to put to print¿,)$ The 2017 Allentown Mayoral CANidates pandering begins to perform out on bernie's blog for the great Allentown Hospital Circus ca$h cow of the back miday cigar surpriZe twiZtZ of the Z's arena agenda¿!)$
Help youall the ship is a sinkin and no land insight because the lookin glASS has a spot of lead in the window¿!)$ Go in peice and serve there lordZ¿!)$
redd for Republican
patent pending
I am so happy today. We are going to have almost two full years of political hilarity to pay with, and God knows, depending on WHO the next Allentown Mayor is, the fun could go on for years! If Guridy and Sam square off in the primary, the debates will be awesome!
If greedy becomes mayor will he keep the 100k/ yr. He gets from the bridge scam?
Since she came on here and signed her name, I expect you to do so as well when you personally attack her.
I met Sam Bennett while on a photo assignment in 2014. She struck me as intelligent, capable, and dignified but accessible. I do not profess to know about her political history beyond that, but she made a good impression.
She always tries to make a good impression, but is as phony as a three dollar bill. She is the Derek Zoolander of Allentown politics.
We need a Mayor that wants the best for the City of Allentown, now a person who is looking out for herself. We are getting rid of one like that now.
"Great clip from Jon Stewart on this and recent article on Daily KOS."
Any person that reads the Daily KOS is not going to get my vote.
I want to see her concession speech again. I think you can still see the drunken sputtering on Youtu7be. It was the best!
Someone wrote that Properties of Merit board allowed Bennett to accept 1/3 of the entire nonprofit's annual fund for her salary. They did nothing to stop her. What kind of ethics do these people have? Many city residents have moved from the area since she first handled that project so few newcomers may even know this once occurred.
Years ago, I supported Sam Bennett's campaign for Allentown Mayor. She was my "NOT PAWLOWSKI" candidate. This same criteria will DEFINE the next mayoral contest.
Sam brings a background working to improve the Allentown School District by then engaging business participation in creating a more effective delivery system for instruction. She also enrolled her own children in ASD schools and obviously, still lives in a near downtown Allentown property.
This is a candidate who has experience and skills to make positive change for that city. Don't know that she will, but DO know, Sam Bennett will be a formidable opponent during her next run for office. As we have seen from her posting here (very good move) she will not cower under pressure. She WILL be fending off plenty of incoming shots, as we have already seen.
Doubtful the next Allentown mayor will be a Republican, so Sam's Primary opponent, if she actually gets one, will need to be somewhat accomplished already to beat her.
I can't vote for Sam Bennett, but encourage everyone to understand Sam Bennett CAN win this office.
Oops!
The 9:24AM post was from me. Sorry for the omission.
Fred Windish
I'm going to play devils advocate here but this POM's goal was to have people beautify their properties. Aside from advertising and signage and such, the only other expense I see are salaries. I don't see an issue with the salary. The people that have issues with salary amounts are people incapable of creating anything of value or working in a career which is worthy of a salary.
Second, it's embarrassing to see this feeding frenzy on this woman who keeps trying to give herself to public service. The clowns at home berating her anonymously should be embarrassed and should try and make something of their lives instead of tearing down others.
Whats really amazing here is that the very same people on this blog who are touting the candidacy of Sanders and and hoping we trust their reasons are some of the same people who supported and voted for Afflerblock and pawlowski. Wonder if their guilt turns to wisdom.
9:59 let's use embarresed in a sentence. I'm embarrassed that this three time loser is still trying to grab the brass ring. Since you worship this creature, try to keep her semi sober during her concession blather this time around . The Utube of her is priceless.
"The people that have issues with salary amounts are people incapable of creating anything of value or working in a career which is worthy of a salary."
The argumentative tactic of deflecting criticism by attacking the critic will not work on me. I am not running for election, and I do not have to defend myself. Sam's salary that she awarded herself at POM, however, is certainly subject to scrutiny, and it says a lot about her ethics and decision making skills.
There certainly was an issue with her salary, and there is a reason it was widely considered scandalous. I would agree that it's embarrassing. She's hardly "giving herself to public service" when one considers the full scope of her POM salary scandal. The issue is the fact that Bennett paid herself a salary that was not AT ALL commensurate with the scope and mission of POM at the time the salary was set, especially when compared to all other nonprofits in the entire Lehigh Valley. Her salary went against clear IRS guidelines. She said she didn't set her own salary, but she was one of only 3 people tasked with determining a "fair" wage.
It's not the amount of money she paid herself - it's the relative amount compared to the scope and mission of POM at the time and compared to other nonprofit executives in other, much larger capacities. By any comparison, Bennett's salary was way above what others in the field were paid, even though others had much larger nonprofits to run. Don't you see a problem with that??? You may call this a feeding frenzy, but my trouble with this matter is hardly frenzied. It's a genuine concern about Bennett's morals and greed. Why would she ignore IRS guidelines? Why would she pay herself to run what she imagined POM to be in the future, and not what it was in the present day? Why would she think she should earn more than any other nonprofit leader in the valley, even though her organization was much tinier? It makes no sense, and assuming that greed motivated her seems logical to me. It certainly shows flawed decision making skills. Feel free to provide another explanation - I'd love to hear it.
Finally, before you accuse anonymous "clowns at home" of "berating her anonymously," you might want to look in the mirror. Isn't that exactly what you are doing to me and others? The blog forum O'Hare provides allows for anonymity, and many of us (9:59 AM included, I see) have good reasons for utilizing that feature. Whether or not it means we are "making something of our lives" is not relevant. The issue here is a potential mayoral candidate who will suffer many of the same flaws we see evident in current leaders, specifically greed and selfishness.
Please: re-read an excellent article detailing the flawed decision making used in setting Bennett's salary, as it provides much more detal, or google "Sam Bennett Properties of Merit salary" and read all the back story on this: http://articles.mcall.com/2007-07-01/news/3745542_1_compensation-committee-merit-state-grant
Anon 9:59, AKA Sam Bennett - "it's embarrassing to see this feeding frenzy on this woman who keeps trying to give herself to public service. The clowns at home berating her anonymously should be embarrassed and should try and make something of their lives instead of tearing down others." If anyone is a CLOWN, Bennett is. A self-serving, egotistical clown whose depth of "public service" couldn't fill a thimble. In every job she has had in "public service" she has made sure she was financially compensated far beyond the job responsibilities. She did a crappy job at Mayfair, had a joke job at POM, and just lined her pockets as a women's advocate in Washington. Her speeches make Hillary's shrill rhetoric seem like a lullaby.
Says a person who has never done a thing in public service...
I'm surprise she even came back to this hellhole
"financially compensated far beyond the job responsibilities"
Says the person who under performed their entire life and whose heart is full on envy and avarice.
Wanted to wait to hear from the the patients in this sandbox so they are on display before commenting. Yes Bernie your Reality Show Blog is very entertaining. Anyone who knows me knows that humor is my middle name. You can take all the shots you want. You can spin the truth but you cant change it. Would have loved for you to be in the room when I along with the POM board less Sam met with the MC Editorial board protesting the hit piece done on us. As someone with a lawyers mindset you would have enjoyed to the point of climax witnessing the MC powers to be defending their article. Not sure if the important ommissions were done at the reporter or editor level but those ommissions created the story. Controversy sells. Who would know better than you, Bernie. Remember sitting there thinking how uncomfortable the MC movers and shakers were when the tables were turned and they were on the hot seat. Was shocked at their body language almost to the point of feeling sorry for them.We layed the truth down in front of them. As it turned out they did not admit to fundamental errors in their story but did come out with a follow up op ed where they softened the story to practices that where in grey areas that concerned the public. NO more charges of IRS problems or non compliance of state laws. POM was a good program could see changes in neighborhoods over the 10 years but you can hate us if you want.And have heard many times lately that the neibhorhoods need POM now more than ever. And last but not least is how the MC has become nothing but a shell of itself. I guess the trends have changed instead of a respected newspaper with thousands of followers we get our news from respected internet sources. Just let me know where they can be found.......Jim Molchany
134. There you go again! How can you blanket someone who mistake was associating himself with team Fleck. Should we blanket anyone who took a DCED handout endorsed by Pawlowski? How about someone who accepted a City award and photo op. Hiw about someone who hosted an event, paid or otherwise?
"Anon 9:59, AKA Sam Bennett"
If you want to accuse someone of posting anonymously, but don't sign your name, what does that say about you? Bennett at least signed her name to her comments while you accuse her of doing what you do.
We The People are so over The Drama, The Baggage,The same cliche spouting buffoons . You have reached your level of incompetence .Retreat. As the People rout the glib and useless, we will afford them less hiding places to suck The People dry. The one thing they all seem to have in common, the non profit world and OPM.
Hypocrisy is not a crime 12:26 nor a disease just a temporary lapse or coverup. As I said before you'll be allright just swallow the bitter pill and call me in the morning
So Fegely was fooled by Obamas call for change. Not enough for him. Tells me his socialism far excedes the American Democratic Socialist brand that we are being sold. Then theres Bernie calling for political revolution only after his showing in Iowa and large expected win in NH. We will see how it goes but backlash comes to mind.
James Molchany, I doubt very much that humor is your middle name, from what I've seen of your comments. You actually trashed a woman on Bennett's Facebook page bc she works for a cigar company. There was no humor. Just political correctness from an anal guy with a rake up his ass. You accused this woman of hypocrisy bc she sells cigars? Give me a break. Yet you say nothing about your idol Sam Bennett, who thought nothing of taking one of Ron Angle's cigars when they were on Business Matters together. She has a sense pf humor. You don't.
I also question why you're even posting here. On Facebook, you were claiming no one reads this blog. Yet here you are.
You are Sam Bennett's Renfield, just as Ed deGrace is Fed Ed's Renfield. As I understand your comment, you claim to have visited the Morning Call and threatened it with libel, a typical ploy by those who don't like reading negative stories about themselves. As I further understand, the newspaper refused to give you a retraction. You left with your tail between your legs and were content with a few subsequent stories in which the paper softened its tone, although i saw no softening.
On Facebook, you were claiming that Lee Iacocca himself would be unable to raise the funds for POM after those hit pieces. Yet you never sued, which leads me to believe that they were not hot pieces, but factual accounts.
You are speaking about POM as though it is defunct, but Bennett in her comments claims that the program still exists.
As for your claims about the decline of newspapers, that much at least is correct. Today, you would get away with what you didn't get away with then. The only persons who might cast a spotlight on your chicanery are bloggers, and you do your best to marginalize them. Ten years ago, it was easy to marginalize this blog. These days, that is no longer the case. I have broken too many stories that are later picked up by the mainstream, including one that was just broken today. It is no reality show, but is an important public service that tries very hard to fill some of the enormous gap between what news coverage used to be and what it is. But unlike typical news coverage, it is delivered in an interactive way in which I will go back and forthe with readers. It becomes a form of participatory journalism and becomes the result of many sets of eyes, not just mine.
Now you can go back to eating cockroaches or whatever it is that Renfields do.
It took guts for her to post here and sign her name so there is that. I still think it was pandering and innappropriate to reference Michael Donovan as if he would be endorsing her for Mayor if he could.
I still think she's a whiner... I call out racism and sexism - I do so without whining. As a matter of fact Bernie and I literally went head to head in a private message because I defended Sam's salary. People who respect one another can do that... My POV is the Non profit's ability to pay doesn't define the worth of the job. If the median rate for a CEO/Director of a Non Profit in this area is 102K she was in the range... she clearly wasn't great at her job or the funding would have been high enough to support her salary and it wasn't... Her salary was not the problem - draw your own conclusions as to what the real problem was.
And Jim - I have some cigars over here for you...
Regards - Gina B.
I love these Blog Battles! Gina, I would worry that Jim won't smoke the cigar, but play with it. The thing is, and I hate to say it, Allentown voters in the last decade have not shown too much in the brains department. Hence, King Ed. Theoretically, in 2017 they could end up with a Queen "B" as in Sam Bennett. Compared to Ed, would that be so bad?
I think Sam should run for City Council. That is where the real fun will be. but on the bright side, I battle between her and Julio has already given me a campaign song. With apologies to Paul Simon:
"Sam and Julio down by the school yard!"
Gina B. You have provided a flawed analysis. Her salary for running a one person non-profit with a minuscule budget should have been on the low end of the pay scale, not the average. There are directors of non-profits with dozens of employees and budgets in the millions that earn less than she did for far greater responsibilities. Her job with POM was a joke, for which she received obscene compensation.
Gina, you have no clue. You got hammered after claiming you were this big feminist business woman who made a hellava lot a money in a mans world. At the same time complaining about Sams whining about the sexism card especially how it related to her. You see your buddy Ohare outed the COS of lisa Boscola who was posting disgusting comments about Sam anonomously....Are ya with me Gina. That sleeze is OHares trademark, it gets his blog hits.Talk about sensational.His hits were off the charts.Now the Morning Call gets in the act and their both printing the vile comments for a few days. Nice. Call it a public service if you must Bernie. Yes Bernie your blog was nothing before this particular event and you know it. Then theres my comments about POM. Every line item you put words in my mouth or put forth your opinion.Thats the best you can do conselour ? How the fuck did you pass the bar? Your Father would be very proud. And thats my humor of the day.
James "Renfield" Molchany, Go eat a cockroach. I never outed Bernie Kieklak. I realize you have trouble with facts, but Kieklak outed himself. It is "sleaze," not "sleeze." It's "they're," not "their." It is "counselor," not "counselour." And yes, my father would be very proud. He always stood up to snobs like you. Incidentally, I not only passed the bar, but was the projects editor of law review and graduated in the top 10% of my class. That might explain how the fuck I passed the bar. I lost my license as a result of alcoholism, not stupidity. You are insane to suggest that my blog is popular because of L'Affaire Bennett. Most of my readers are unfamiliar with my coverage of that matter. My blog is popular bc I take the time to develop and report on stories that are either not being covered in the mainstream or that could use more information. While we have different styles, this is why MM's blog is popular,too. The interactivity of the comments leads to a new form of journalism - participatory journalism. When someone comes on this blog and posts bullshit as you have done, readers see it very quickly.
Finally, if you want to attack me, I can handle you. But I am not going to allow you to slam my readers as well. You can email them from your Florida residence.
I have not met this Molchany character. I knew him to be the President of POM, so I can certainly understand why he wants to cover his tush. But, this is the first time I've seen him in his own words, and let me say, they are not helping Bennett's case.
Leaving aside the bad grammar, the poor spelling and the foul mouthed nonsensical rant, all I can see is that he is blaming the messenger (The Morning Call and O'Hare) for the POM salary scandal. I really can't understand some of what he's trying to communicate in his posts here, although I think I get the general idea. But the bottom line is, Molchany the one who sat with Bennett and led the compensation committee as President. So of course he's going to try and defend the outrageous salary he and Bennett devised. The salary was high enough that Charlie Dent called for an investigation.
POM was a good program. It was a program that should have been run entirely by volunteers dedicated to the cause. Political connections and greed led to Bennett's downfall. She really has no one to blame but herself.
I ask again. Does Bennet receive money from POM . Maybe we can slime this up a little and call money something else.
I understand from a friend in the pest control business that they have not had a call for roach control for some time now.Has there been a convention in the area?
Monkey Momma, To add to what you said, I really had nothing to do with the POM salary story. I had been writing stories that were highly critical of POM, but did not break the news of the salary. Also, the derogatory remarks made about Sam Bennett on this blog were made by Bernie Kieklak, who at that time was Sam Bennett's Chief of Staff. I never outed him. He outed himself. I did not delete his comments bc at that time, I was a free speech purist and did not delete anything. I felt that the best way to combat speech was with more speech.
But as this blog continued, and as more and more repulsive comments were posted about various people, I began deleting comments. Today, the comment that Kieklak made would never have survived.
I also believe that I have been too lax in allowing anonymous personal attacks at public officials. In my opinion, some of that goes with the territory, but I have allowed too much of it. I am going to exercise tighter control on what I allow people to post anonymously.
I'll be polite.
This woman is not part of the solution for Allentown.
I will make this as simple as possible, The following information comes from the minutes of the board meeting, from my response to the MC article and our organization plan. Sam and I did not sit on the compensation committee and go over the info for her salary and make the recommendation to the board. My self and the treasurer Bobby Rudolf did. The info came from an independent recognized non profit consultant. Sam had no involvement in the deliberations except to request her salary to be total compensation. Which meant no health and dental benefits, no travel or expense account or reinbursement, no sick pay vac etc. She indicated we could revisit this situation at a later date. Myself and Bobby understood She would be doing a lot of traveling across the state the first year and the budget was difficult enough so a fixed salary was agreed upon. It boiled down to three ranges of rates. We agreed to recommend mid range which we did. Opened the floor for discussion with no response. I recommended the 110 at the lower end of mid range and asked for a vote. It passed unanimously. I was the one responsible for Sams salary not her. The reason for the state money was to build POM programs across the state including Phila and Pitt. In 2009 i think we had a total of 9 with 5 on hold in the pipeline for 2010. The strawberry mansion section of philly just north of the art museum was in my view our finest program at the time. The organization model we created was approved by the state. Employees were figured to phase in, Sam expected to hold her position 2 years i think and the postion would split with one leader over the philly area and one over the west including PItt. She expected to become founder/CEO and step down to pursue other ventures including creating her B&B.State wide POM was created in sept 2006 and at first fundraising went well to achieve our targets including Sam getting Home Depot on board as a major supporter. Local efforts in all the small programs started slow but were holding their own. The Morning Call was always a big supporter of POM and most importantly praising those city residents that participated. Yes the local pols were there at the receptions as well touting the programs success. Even Charlie Dent was there at most of them to beam and gush over the city citizens who made a big improvement to the neighborhoods they lived in. That all stopped when the nasty article broke in july of 2007. It sure seemed to me that since Sam was talked about running for congress in 2008 the whole community vibe changed and somehow politics hung over the POM program. You can blame Sam all you want but had it not been for her strength that program would have dropped dead at that moment. And not only her but the whole POM team any many from the community helped us to go on. I was pissed that the MC did a sloppy job. Especially omissions which gave false impressions. Then when i asked about the omissions was given the standard omissions from whom. You see i was one of the main characters interviewed before the story broke and yes i really had no proof of what I said and didnt say. just didnt copy it but had good recall especially the main points. So they have the upper hand and if the story turns out to be a hit piece your screwed. As i said before we protested the story and since im sure the MC is not quick to point out blunders we stated our case as it happened resolved to pick up the pieces and move on. Yes they softened the piece in a new followup but in the aftermath i was very proud of our organization and never have witnessed a more determined and dedicated group of people in my whole life. And a love among friends that i will cherish till i drop dead.Theres alot more to share but in the end It really doesnt matter what anyone else thinks.
Did She take the money or not ?
Look at that! Renfield made it through an entire comment without attacking anyone! Perhaps if you started that way, instead of with personal attacks at just about everyone, your message might have been received more sympathetically. Not by me, but readers like Gina might have been on your side, defending that excessive salary. But you had to insult her, too, and anyone not drinking the Koolaid.
So it is either Fed Ed or Slush Bennet. How about Pam Varkoney
Thanks for the expanded perspective and clarification, Mr. Molchany. My concerns about Bennett's salary at the time remain - I mean, come on - she was making more than the MAYOR himself! I think some very bad decision making happened. Whoever that "independent" consultant was, I sure hope they've found a new line of work.
Why will no one answer the simple question? Is Bennett still employed by any branch of The Properties of Merit.? All discussion concerns the past ripoff. Bennett directs us to a non informational site. I'm going to keep digging . The answer yes or no is out there. The IRS has info on all non profits if the correct ID numbers are known.
I have been banging my head against the wall with the truth for over 8 years and I'm a fighter. I have always rolled with the punches in life to much success. Not any more. Time to change and stand up and fight for whats right. Am watching my hometown go down the tubes starting 15 years ago by 46 votes. 46 votes. Wonder how many of the haters and loud mouths will admit voting for Roy and ED. And yes i am pissed. No longer willing to take the verbal bullshit without a fight. Sam is a very intelligent human being with passion for womens issues and who has experienced sexism like no one I have ever met. I remember like it was yesterday when that disgusting story broke about her by the way a few weeks after the POM one. A 2 for one punch. That story was sexism at its worst. You may say she was the victim okay but where was the public outrage in the news. Didnt hear a peep out of Pam Varkony. I guess her form of support of womens issues doesnt include democrats. So when I get a sense of hypocrisy like I did with Ginas statement to Sam on facebook. Down comes the big brother hammer. Maybe Gina never had a older brother. Sam can handle herself quite well and Fred is right she will be a formidable candidate for mayor. The truth is she is a proven leader who took Mayfair out of debt and with a great crew created the best Mayfair run her two years. It was 5 solid days of rain her 2nd year that killed attendence and income. Thats not what you hear from Sams opponents. She had a great run in washington as well raising a lot of money for the WCF a group similar to NOW and Emilys List. Now shes back home in the midst of being an inkeeper at her B&B and being a great mom to her very talented son. Me, you can bash all you want ill just run away crying to the beautiful beaches of Sarasota from my little paradise i have created here along the gulf coast. Could care less about spell check or grammer.
Oh and Monkey Momma , maybe you should consider you get what you pay for at least in the mayors race
I'm going to register as a D so I can primary her out of this sexist election, assuming of course she allows a primary opponent !
Just to clear this up.One Siobhan Bennett Who lists Her employment as 'The Properties of Merit' donated $2600.00 to Pawlowski2016.Com as of 4-28-2015. I assume this is not the Sam Bennett being discussed on this site as Properties of Merit no longer exists.
I guess James will tell us the drunken non-concession speech given by Sam
Bennet was a fabrication of the Press as well. Funny how folks do something then blame the press for reporting it.
The video is still on YouTube and it is still both funny and sad. Mayor material? No thanks!
Perhaps Mr. Molchany might be so inclined as to educate readers as to why he himself resigned POM? It seems the scandals did not stop with Bennett's salary. (If readers can't wait for his reply, just google "Molchany resignation Properties of Merit."
I don't know Molchany personally, and I have no vendetta against him. What I do have a problem with is incompetence, arrogance, greed and lies. We've had too many of these things here in Allentown, and the likes of Sam Bennett will just put a new face to the same old problems.
12:22 Bingo. I now know where I saw the connection between Bennett and POM .
"Just to clear this up.One Siobhan Bennett Who lists Her employment as 'The Properties of Merit' donated $2600.00 to Pawlowski2016.Com as of 4-28-2015. I assume this is not the Sam Bennett being discussed on this site as Properties of Merit no longer exists."
That's pretty strange from someone representing herself as the anti Fed Ed. I would think that if she is an inkeeper as Molchany insists, that her B&B would be listed as her employer I would think POM would NOT be listed as her employer. I will re-examine the campaign finance report to make sure this claim is not some error.
It appears that Sam does list her employer as properties of merit in that contribution to Fed Ed.
http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/paper_forms/C00576520/1025162/sa/ALL
Shebong doesn't so much support Hiz Goner as she was trying to create a job opening by moving him out of town. Something Evil This Way Comes!!
After looking into The tax advantages of owning a bed and breakfast, I talked to the Mrs., She's all for it repairs, utilities, landscaping ,tech, food,transportation,etc. I believe there is only one B&B in the city so there are possibilities for others. If we eat the leftover eggs and sausage that's a tax deduction , the guests will need heat and electricity and running water --newspapers, magazines, wifi, cable. Then the wife says " How many guests do we need to have to avail ourselves of these tax deductions you speak of? " I answered " I don't know I'll check into it." Sweet!,
2008 was our 10th year and a big celebration was planned at Symphony Hall. A lot of work went into the presentation by the many volunteers. The night of the event turned out to be the night of the first presidential debate. Great. So to insure a healthy turnout I decided to call a press conference to invite the public to the event. Not having the emails I asked the campaign manager for the the email list. He told me to call Gary his press guy after work for the list which i did. The next day i got the list of emails from the POM office sent an invitation to meet in front of the last winners home where i showcased the home plus invited the public to the awards event at symphony hall. All the local news people were at the press event. The awards event was a success, nice turnout despite the debate and everyone was pleased. That is except the person that complained to the press that the press conference was a violation of rules that state that no nonprofit should engage in political campaigns and or vice versa. Here we go again nasty front page story. That story two or three weeks before Sam and Charlies election was a firestorm of accusations. The only way to cut the story was to throw them red meat. ME. No more story,No more accusations and of course after Sam lost the election No one cared. Imagine that.Up to that point I talked to Sam maybe 5 min at the reception. Sams campaign press agent maybe 5 min to ask for email addresses of local news outlets.Of course my offered resignation to the board was rejected at the next meeting. By that time like I said there was No story and no one cared. One of my fondest memories in life is to have a board member Eric Weiss come up to me at the meeting and say " We got your letter of resignation jim however we wont accept it. Serve out your term [two months}Dont worry. Ya got better things to worry about in florida.
This pretty clearly a violation of rules prohibiting the use of 501c3s for political purposes. You politicized the nonprofit. You should have been canned.
See what I mean monkey momma, Ya could have tied up four court rooms, 9 lawyers, judges, weeks of investigations for all the incompetence,arrogance,greed and lies in the story i just unfolded.
Mr. Molchany, this reminds me of Claire Underwood's nonprofit in House of Cards Season 1. If you haven't watched the show, you totally should - it's awesome. And Season 1 shows a very entertaining view of how nonprofits can overlap with political ambition.
Giving you the benefit of the doubt on this subject, I will scratch the "arrogance, greed and lies" portion of my previous accusation. I suppose the old adage is true that no good deed goes unpunished. However...the obvious overlap between POM and Bennett's campaign troubles me. If the nonprofit is so intertwined with the campaign staff that a conflict can arise in minutes....well, there's something structurally wrong. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose, and I have to give you credit for signing your name to your timely replies, which is more than I can say.
I'll let it rest. Thanks for engaging. Stay away from the water for a while - I was just reading about the black-tipped shark migration happening off the coast of FL now...there are tens of thousands of sharks in the water! Still, I am jealous of anyone south of the Mason-Dixon line right now. Enjoy...
For months before the November election there was a communication firewall at Sams insistence between her campaign and POM. There was even little personal communication between Sam and myself. She was 24/7 with her campaign and I was heading up all the ground work for POM. I held a press conference to invite people to the 10th annual special event. I answered no questions from the press,the press made no mention of Sam or of any politics. it was a video clip on WFMZ and newspaper coverage of an invitation to the public to attend. Had many people approach me at symphony hall to tell me they came to find what POM was all about and were impressed. That simple. My retirement was planned for years after 40 years of construction type work I served out my term 2008,downsized, sold my home in allentown and relocated here along the gulf coast. I laugh when I think of the old saying ya hear when you go into the military. When they ask for volunteers never ever raise your hand. Well I never listened to that advice. Especially love to step up to the plate when few are willing.Just think of all the places its taking me with Binh Thuy Viet Nam and Allentown Pa. just to name a few. And here I am in the autumn of my years feeling blessed,content and thankful for a good life.
I just took the time to re-view the Bennett You-Tube video.It was a real hoot ! R.V.N 67-68
Bernie and your readers - greetings, Sam here. Providing periodic response as promised. WHY DID SAM DONATE TO PAWLOWSKI'S SENATE RACE: When I met with Pawlowski and Fleck at Billy's Diner March 16, 2015 to let them know I was running for Mayor in 2017 (long before the current melt down situation) even if it meant running against him (which of course he wasn't pleased with to say the least) I also indicated that I had heard he was seriously looking at a run for U.S. Senate. As the third largest city in PA we are long overdue to field Gubernatorial and other statewide candidates - we lag far behind Scranton in that respect. At that time, given there was no woman in the race (for example, I supported Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz over Pawlowski in the PA 2014 Gubernatorial) and no one knew about what was going on in City Hall - I indicated that my husband and I would support his candidacy for U.S. Senate. It seemed like the right thing to do as a fellow Democrat from Allentown who had just told him that she was going to run against him for Mayor in 2017 - on a platform that included the necessity of mayoral term limits. I believe that when you disagree, do so openly - case in point, I called the Mayor before my anti-water privatization Op-Ed in the Morning Call ran.
Bernie and your readers - greetings, Sam here one more time today. Providing periodic response as promised.
WHY IS PROPERTIES OF MERIT LISTED AS SAM'S EMPLOYER IN HER DONATION TO PAWLOWSKI'S U.S. SENATE RACE? Hmmmmmm I smell the hand of Mike Fleck here - intent on undermining me since I had been clear I was going to run for Allentown Mayor 2017 against his client Pawlowski. In the paperwork I submitted to Pawlowski's U.S. Senate race I unquestioningly provided that "The Historic Benner Mansion" was my employer. Given that I commuted between 2008 - 2014 as a National CEO in Washington, D.C. leaving that position in 2105 to focus on our business, The Historic Benner Mansion, Allentown's first and only bed and breakfast - and to lay the groundwork for my planned 2017 run for Mayor: with two employers since my time as the Statewide Director of Properties of Merit - there is absolutely no way I would have listed Properties of Merit as my employer. But it wouldn't surprise me at all, if Mike Fleck in filing out his FEC paperwork - took liberties as a way to undermine my upcoming 2017 candidacy - hmmmm Mike Fleck taking liberties...imagine.
And by the way, we made the Historic Benner Mansion, pouring hundreds of thousands of our own money into its loving restoration, into a bed and breakfast as our small way to be part of the city's revitalization. In the words of Peggy Fegley, of Fegley's Brew Works, "Sam a city with ONE bed and breakfast sends a very different signal than a city with NO bed and breakfasts." No one in their "right mind" would do a project like this to "financially benefit" - but our family did it as an act of love, reflecting our love of our city of thirty years. With up to almost 300 happy guests from 38 states and 6 countries - all who would have stayed at B&B's elsewhere - we are helping to reshape the perception of Allentown, one guest at a time.
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