Having said that, I want to talk a moment about Eugene McDuffie, another City Council candidate. I met him in the September 2015, and over the course of a few hours, he told me his life story. It's the sad story of a 14 year-old boy who ran away from abusive parents to live on the streets of NYC. Thinking he was worthless, as attempted to end his own life several times. But it's also a happy story. He found God, moved to Allentown, raised a family of his own and has a passion for the City's homeless. It was McDuffie who was my tour guide several years ago.
He is a gentle man. His view of the world and other people is almost childlike. He is someone I consider a man of God, even if he lacks a degree from Moody's Bible Institute. I chose not to support him in his bid for a seat on City Council, but only because I believe he does more good helping people one-on-one. Believe it or not, I think he's far more comfortable with the homeless and addicts than with politicians. He is " Pawlowskia first responder for the soul.
McDuffie asked to speak to me yesterday. Apparently,he's been accosted by Allentown Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski. On May 5, he was summoned by Fed Ed assistant Ismael Arcelay for a meeting at City Hall concerning the Human Relations Commission, of which he was a member. He went into a room and Fed Ed was sitting there, along with City Council candidate Jessica Ortiz, who is in Fed Ed's pocket.
Fed Ed had no interest in discussing human relations. He was misusing city resources for politics. He was there to bully McDuffie. He demanded to know why McDuffie had posed for pictures with Allentown activist Robert Trotner. He then demanded to know why he had appeared in a video with Mayoral candidate Josh Siegel. Grabbing his cell phone, he shoved it into McDuffie's face, yelling at him. McDuffie was extremely upset that evening and has decided to resign from the Human Relations Commission, which he believes is being perverted by Fed Ed for political purposes. Last night, he went to Allentown police to see if Fed Ed's conduct amounts to criminal harassment.
So much for the phony who exhorts everyone to "be kind."
Whether this conduct constitutes harassment is in my view questionable. But I do know that using public resources for political purposes, as Fed Ed clearly did, is a theft of services from the taxpayers of Allentown. It is precisely that kind of conduct that led to Bonusgate.
According to McDuffie, Fed Ed has tried similar bullying tactics on two of his former supporters. One of them is Cynthia Mota and the other is Candida Affa.
He's a bully.
