City of Allentown Managing Director Fran Dougherty has submitted his resignation. You can read the news release on Allentown's website.
Here's what I know. Dougherty and Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski have had an increasingly strained relationship. Dougherty began looking for a Township Manager job months ago, and actually had an offer that he turned down. He has no job lined up at the moment, and does not need one because he was awarded $700,000 in a whistle blower suit against the Philadelphia School District
Here's what I believe. He has been a cooperating witness in the investigation into pay-to-play in Allentown, and has already testified against Fed Ed before the federal Grand Jury.
Note: This story originally was published 4/18/16 at 4:13 pm.
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
▼
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
38 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
Was just about to send you this. The noose just got a little more tight, but I still don't think it ends with Pawlowski.
ReplyDeleteThe Banker
Time for fed Ed to go too!!! What's taking so long?!?
ReplyDeleteThis case wil be brought when Feds are ready, not when some our instant gratification society demands it. The white collar case against Nazareth's mayor took over a year, and this is a tad more complicated. It could be tomorrow. It could be next year.
ReplyDeleteGood Point Mr.O'Hare !
ReplyDeleteBernie,
ReplyDeleteLike a fine wine needs ageing, so too must be for the political parasites that are appointed as the head circus ringmaster stick?! The fatlady of the circus has flown the coup and can't sing?! Now LVHN formally the great allentown hospital circus sideshows
of the back midway freeks and geeks are flying the coup too!? This massive madooff scheme against the failing pension packages as well as the pa medicade system too!?
Just who and what entity or entity's have there hands in this shitstew political pot o blue bugjuice?!
redd registered Republican
patent pending
Who has the key to the cash box now ?
ReplyDeleteSomeone needs to ask council what exactly are the mayor's duties when we have a managing director. They of course will not be able to provide an answer because they honestly don't know.
ReplyDeleteSince the Managing Director's position isn't in the Citu Charter, and since council specifically rejected the strong mayor system in 2000, could a lawsuit to prevent the position ftom being filled hsve a chance of success ?
ReplyDeleteRight, lets let The Mayor control everything.
ReplyDeleteGood bye fran you will not be missed another rat leaves the sinking ship called the USS burgermeister
ReplyDeleteWhen will the FBI indict Hillary
ReplyDeleteFran was an effective manager.
ReplyDeleteFran may or may not have been cooperating with the FBI investigation.
Fran knew EVERYTHING Ed was up to.
Fran had absolute contempt for the citizens of Allentown and the city workforce.
Fran was an arrogant jerk and very, very, very, few people will miss him.
Stick a fork in him.
Bernie,
DeleteI am so hopping that you will be cover the perp walks as the gags employees just might be joining the crowd too?! This for there edited out news worthey advertismentalist in the same circus and arena agenda?!
Fran looks like and similar too butt not like a ReSemblence of ryan conradd formally of the former LVRA prez now defunt patt white with a nue nue nue yet same old prez now working under cover under colour of palumpa local law for blighton cohen fran Sonnie and other for circus gumby man,stretch all for the flippflopp to chalk paint a taint make a taint what it ain't gender specifics?!
Well Hell at least we have mettalica and that is huge?;)
redd registered Republican
patent pending
Dougherty will not be missed. This man was a stuffed seersucker suit.
ReplyDeleteWill the Mayor show up at City Council this week or will he send another useless representative?
I'll repeat, LOTS of Philadelphia operatives at play during Allentown's past 5-6 years. Pawlowski could have been used as a willing stooge for several bigger fish. He no doubt thought it would help his OWN visions of grandeur. But, he was swimming in water too deep for him to handle.
ReplyDeleteFred Windish
Well, while we're speculating...here's what I think might happen....
ReplyDeleteDougherty gets indicted and gets thrown under the bus for the whole thing.
How easy would it be to paint Pawlowski as a "willing stooge for several bigger fish"? (Answer: quite easy.) Maybe Pawlowski was just the dumb puppet manipulated by real players, such as JB Reilly, Jennifer Mann, Pat Browne and Ed Rendell. And maybe Dougherty was just the guy needed to get things done.
Just a thought.
No matter what happens with the FBI, we will never know what actually went on behind closed doors. Obviously Reilly knows, since he's king of this paper empire. But, I imagine Pawlowski to be more dumb than diabolical, although he certainly has both traits.
When is the City gonna hand the reigns over to Mann(imal), Schlossturd and Bennett?!?! Those are the City's only hope....."Help us Obi Wan Kenobi, you're our only hope....."
ReplyDeleteMonkey, Actually, we will know a lot when the indictments come out bc of he wires. The feds already know. If Dougherty were the kingpin, as you suggest now, I would think McMahon would make that argument while he was trying to blame it all on Fleck. From what I'm told, he and Hailstone are cooperating witnesses.
ReplyDeleteHeard the same. Heard Hailstone was wearing a wire.
DeleteFran was an ugly, sweaty, nasty little man in a bad hairpiece.
ReplyDeleteHe made Ed's trains run on time, yes.
Fleck, Fran and Ed, without them the Allentown we know and love wouldn't exist.
They should name the golf course after the little wheezil, that would be perfect.
Hailstone's got her daddy. Fran has his Philadelphia connections.
ReplyDeleteCheck out who his attorney is. They will both sing like birds. Two little girls singing like birds.
Gary W. Gorman wonders curiously out loud...
ReplyDeletePawlowski first hitched his wagon to then-mayor Roy Afflerbach, only to later hitch it onto Fleck and Fran. Why is this mess in Allentown so surprising?
Sure, nobody has a crystal ball, but thee best predictor of future behavior is to look at past behavior.
Week after week Fran oozed contempt for the public at City Council meetings as he sat in for an MIA Pawlowski.
ReplyDeleteRay OConnel is going to miss him.
Fuck them both.
We need a mayor because---------------------------------------------------.Useless people turning a simple arithmetic solution into a monumental money sucking career !!
ReplyDelete"mayor's duties when we have a managing director"? The Mayor of Allentown at this point is a dignitary performing ceremonial duties, attending national seminars and operating as a Democratic Party political boss. I'm all for hiring a professional City Manager, but City Council should reduce the Mayor to a part time salary without benefits. Fed Ed is getting paid way too much to travel to conferences, play politics and light Christmas Trees and Menorahs.
ReplyDeletePawlowski used his strong arm and resources to support Palagonia for Whitehall Mayor. Palagonia recently resigned as Commissioner for personal reasons after several meetings. Another departure of the failed monarchy.
ReplyDeleteAll just a reflection of the rotten behavior we see in Washington, DC. Vote them all out!
ReplyDeleteAnd the Pawlowski drama continues. I miss the good old days in Allentown when Frank Fischl missed out re-election by 100 votes.
ReplyDeleteBut then he was a Republican. Pawlowski is a Democrat and with him comes the FBI and all this other corruption. I'm glad we live near Red Hill where nothing like this ever happens.
Maybe Fran was involved in dirty business, maybe not.
ReplyDeleteHe absolutely KNEW everything, and I mean everything.
Like you, Bernie, I believe they are bigger fish that will fry once all is said and done. personally I think it will be at the current and former state representative level. Also look for another canary to sing (one with a yarmulke who once did grandstanding for EP JM and MS).
ReplyDeleteRay O'CONNEL is a dope.
ReplyDeleteJamie, I received this email from someone, responding to your comment. "Jamie Kelton commented on your Fran Daugherty post at 1:58 PM noting that Frank Fischl lost an election by 100 votes because he was a Republican. Actually, Republican Frank Fischl upset Democrat, and at the time, Mayor for life Joe Daddona by 100 votes. Fischl went on to become Mayor - I know, I worked for him. He chose to only serve one term because of health issues and the fact that I don't think he really enjoyed the job as much as he thought he would. The following election, Daddona won and then went on to be re-elected for several more terms. I think he learned his lesson to never take an election for granted ever again."
ReplyDelete6:10, People who don't sign their names to insult others are the real dopes.
ReplyDeleteThe current and former state Reps hardly qualify as big fish.
ReplyDeleteJamie's comment above reminds me of something: how seldomly we see the word "Democrat' attached to this Fed Ed stuff. Imagine if the mayor was a Republican.
ReplyDeleteMr O'Hare. Apologies for the mistyping about Mayor Fischl, I was incorrect about the 100 votes as I thought he lost by that margin the Mayor Daddona, not defeat him as I wrote.
ReplyDeleteBut the basic point was that every other mayor Allentown had since it became a city was a local man. Until Mayor Pawlowski. And I think all of them until Pawlowski actually had a love for our city, even mayor Afflerbach. I think Pawlowski is an opportunist at best who uses his authority and his influence as a stepping-stone to higher office. I'm not surprised at these political shenanigans, and this "Managing Director" Dougherty was just another one of his political patronages on his staff, a stooge from Philadelphia. You know, just like they do it in Chicago.
Please, spare Allentown any more Mayors that are not from the area and put themselves and their political career first, not the city.
@10:33 PM Mayor Pawlowski probably never lived in a Republican-controlled city in his life. For him FBI investigations of Democratic-controlled local government is probably normal. That's why he's in the predicament he's in.
ReplyDeleteThe Donkeys make people believe they bring the sunrise.
ReplyDelete