Allentown's Redevelopment Authority Playing Games With Toy Factory

Back in January, Allentown's Redevelopment Authority (ARA) voted to issue what is known as a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the old toy factory located at 725 10th Street. Amazingly, two then members of this five-person board (Jessica Ortiz and Christopher Raad), just happen to be realtors. No conflict there. 

Unlike a sealed bid, a request for proposals gives the selectors a lot of wiggle room. They can actually award a project based on factors other than price, though I'd hope that a governmental entity would at least try to be frugal. 

Surprise, surprise! That's not what happened with the Toy Factory. There were two proposals, and the ARA is going with the one that makes the least sense, at least for now. A lawsuit recently filed by Nat Hyman, whose proposal was rejected, has thrown a monkey wrench into things.

Though he actually lives in Allentown and is one of the very few developers who actually has a track record of successful projects inside the Queen City. But he's no ass-kisser and generally refuses to bend the knee to those local governmental officials who can be both supercilious and officious.  

Hyman proposed buying the Toy Factory for $410,000, about $10,000 more than it cost the ARA. The stated purpose of the RFP was to create workforce and affordable housing. Hyman proposed 20 affordable apartments and would be able to provide parking on the site with no need for off-street parking. 

Hyman has a history of 41 projects creating 1,480 apartments. None of these has ever required any taxpayer assistance, no matter how blighted the property may have been.

What about the other proposal? That came from Warren Lim, another realtor who has done 4 projects with 26 apartments. Unlike Hyman, his deal is contingent upon his ability to obtain financing for $1.39 million. Lim had two alternatives. On both of his options the ARA would lose between $50,000 and $100,000 over what it spent to acquire the toy factory. Option A would provide just 6 apartments, a daycare and no off-street parking. The other would create just 12 apartments with no on-site parking. 

It gets better. After both proposals were submitted, Lim was called in for a back room meeting with three of the five authority members, which certainly appears to be a Sunshine Act No No, along with staffers like Vicky Kistler, who reputedly smeared Hyman for daring to insist in an unrelated matter that a homeless encampment was a public safety nuisance. 

After that back-room meeting, the ARA decided that Lim, and not Hyman, was the best choice. That's right. They went with the project under which taxpayers will actually lose money. They are backing a project that is contingent on financing. They are backing a project that will result in less affordable housing.

Along the way, Alan Jennings, who participated in that private meeting along with a quorum of the authority, condescended from his self-adulation to instruct Hyman to apologize for telling the authority that they are full of shit. (figuratively, of course). 

Hyan sued instead. 

By the by, the authority also awarded realtor Lim the project at 540 W Hamilton. 

A Tale of Two Apartment Buildings

Above is a photograph of Nat Hyman's Water's Edge 94-unit apartment complex, located at 2025 Edgewood Avenue in Palmer Tp.  In early June, zoners gave their blessing to a proposal to allow the former Crayola factory to be used instead for apartments. As you can see, Hyman has painted the building two different shades of blue. Windows that need to be replaced have been boarded up. He had a team of workers at the site as well, preparing the property with nonstructural studs so he could begin work once he received building permits. But as I explained to you on Monday and again yesterday, township apparatchiks have done their best to prevent Hyman from moving forward. They've sent  peeping Toms to peering through windows, issued stop work orders and even executed a bizarre search warrant. They claimed they were responding to noise complaints from residents, even though there are none anywhere near this property. They unlawfully refused to issue a permit on the basis that he had to wait for a 30-day appeal period to expire even though he has every right to assume that risk. And as of yesterday, they now claim that it will take 30 business days (6 weeks) just to process his permit application. 

About a mile away, you can see the vacant Dixie Cup factory, replete with broken windows. This project was approved in June 2024 for over 400 luxury apartments. The nonlocal developer, Brian Bartee of Skyline Investment Group, told both Wilson Borough and the School District that he would have units ready by April 2025 and be done by December. He's received $500,000 in RCAP funding and is seeking a $29 million tax break for the project. The only reason he doesn't have it yet is because NorCo Council is hesitating. But since the county's portion of the tax break is relatively small, he could possibly have moved ahead without it. 

Instead of building anything, he's had a fire on the property. Get this, he's "finalizing plans" to fix windows, which should have been a top priority to abate an attractive nuisance. Now he's saying the project will be done by 2027. 

In Palmer, a developer is doing everything he can to redevelop an old factory into workforce housing, a public good. He is being hamstrung by officious bureaucrats.

In Wilson, public officials are falling over each other to hand out millions of your money so a nonlocal developer can build luxury apartments that most of us would be unable to afford. And the damn windows are still broken. 

Allentown Must Hate Nathan's Hot Dogs

Allentown businessman Nat Hyman was able to persuade Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs to open a franchise in the city. But instead of operating out of  a brick-and-mortar building, he's using a trailer at his 328 W Linden Street location. At the rate things are going, he's never be able to build the restaurant he'd like at that location. And for that, you can thank Allentown's cumbersome bureaucracy. 

You can see Hyman's proposed building in the picture accompanying this story. It's a 1,300 sq ft structure with a drive-thru and walk-up window. There's no indoor dining. It's hardly complicated, and he has zoning approval. 

Here's where things get interesting. 

Allentown, like many municipalities, requires a third-party review of building plans.  This is supposed to expedite the permitting process by allowing a recognized independent agency to review the structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, architectural and accessibility requirements of a building project. This enables the developer to address any issues before plans are approved.  That's what Hyman did and he addressed all issues that were raised. But guess what? Allentown, unlike other municipalities, insists on conducting its own review of submitted plans after the third party review is completed. Hyman's proposed restaurant got hit with 63 comments from Allentown's planners.

To make matters worse, Hyman could address all comments, resubmit and have Allentown planners come back with 63 more comments. 

All this delay is costly to a developer, especially if he has borrowed money to finance a project. 

This is why nobody wants to build in Allentown. Hyman told me he can go to any other community and "be welcomed with open arms and get double the rent," but not in his own home town. "With the present bureaucracy, I will not build," be told me. 

Hyman Calls PPL Building First

A decade ago, before the NIZ became reality, Tony Iannelli hosted a Business Matters program to debate its relative merits. It pitted NIZ cheerleaders Sy Traub, realtor Jeff Barber and political goon Mike Fleck (now a convicted felon) against critics that included Lehigh Finance professor and real estate guru Steve Thode as well as Allentown blogger Michael Molovinsky. (I had been invited to participate, but Fleck insisted that I be banned or his team would boycott). When Molovinsky complained about the disappearance of Latino merchants on Hamilton Street, Barber called them a "cancer." During that debate, which basically consisted of Fleck yelling for 30 minutes straight, Steve Thode predicted that PPL would eventually be coaxed into moving from its current location and into the NIZ, a few blocks east. Morning Call columnist Bill White dismissed Thode's "wild claims" and "hysteria," but Steve has been proved correct.

What will happen to the PPL building? My prediction is that Allentown developer Nat Hyman will try to purchase it for workforce housing, but he'll be shot down. He refuses to hold his hand out for public money, which makes it very hard for grifters hoping to get a piece of public pie.

Hyman Denies Running For A-Town Mayor

Yesterday, Allentown blogger Michael Molovinsky implied that Nat Hyman is running for Allentown Mayor this year, and as an Independent. He reached this conclusion on the basis of a phone poll that someone received. He never talked to Hyman. I did. He's not running this year. Hyman conducted a poll, but it was earlier this year. He might run down the road, but not now.

I have no desire to get into it with Molovinsky. I just want to share what Hyman himself told me, for the 19,543rd time. He's not running.

Hyman: Morning Call Altered Poll to Favor O'Connell

Allentown Mayoral candidate Nat Hyman is making a pretty incredible claim. He has told Morning Call publisher Robert York that he refuses to participate in their coverage of the mayoral election because he considers their actions and reporting to be unethical.

He asked York to publish the following letter in the Morning Call.

To the Morning Call readers:

I am a life long Allentonian. I decided to run for Mayor because, above all else, I felt it was essential to return integrity and honesty to our city.

Recently, the publisher of the Morning Call wrote a letter to the readers stating that their criteria for including candidates in their coverage is a polling number showing that they are receiving 15% or more of the vote. The poll clearly showed that a write in candidate received 9%, yet the Morning Call led the readers to believe he received 22%. What they didn't make clear to the reader is that the 22% was in response to a question asking who would you vote for if that write in candidate's name were on the ballot, which it is not and never will be because he lost in the primary and is now prohibited by Pennsylvania law from running on the ballot. Despite this and the publisher's proclamation of the 15% threshold, they are now including that person in their coverage.

If I am going to be the Mayor I want to be, I have to stand up to dishonesty everywhere....the Mayor, the President of City Council and, yes, the Morning Call. I believe that a man's word is the man himself. Accordingly, I have informed the publisher that I will not be part of their campaign coverage, despite the fact that doing so might be at great expense to my campaign. I must be true to my sense of honor and integrity.

There is no question I will not answer. So, if any of you have any questions for me, you may feel free to email me directly at Nat@Hymangroup.com

I've asked Hyman to explain how he knows that The Morning Call has misrepresented a nine percent polling figure as 22%. I will share his response when I receive it. I have also emailed publisher Robert York for his take.

Hyman is running against three candidates who are on the ballot and City Council President Ray O'Connell, who is staging a write-in. He acknowledged this may be very well be unhelpful to his campaign.

Updated 10:20 am: Hyman Explains Conclusion that Morning Call Misrepresents Poll -

In Thursday's front page article, The smaller headline stated "Write-in candidate O'Connell earns 22 percent of likely voters, a close third." That simply is untrue!  In the article, Emily Opilo wrote: "Ray O'Connell, whose name will not appear on the ballot, had a strong showing at 22% in a field of five". Under our pictures they showed Hyman 32%, Pawlowski 30% and O'Connell 22%.

Evidence that was dishonest reporting comes from Yesterday's article (Sunday) in which Opilo wrote:
"In the poll, 12 percent said they would choose a candidate other than the four on the ballot. Of those, 94 percent said they would select O'Connell."

Clearly those two depictions of the poll are at odds! So, regardless if Ray is at 9%, 11% or even all of the 12%, he did not meet the threshold of 15% stated by the publisher . O'Connell has zero chance of winning this race and can only act as a spoiler. I think that's an important fact for the readers to know. Yet the Morning Call appears to have their own agenda.

To be clear, If Ray had met the 15% threshold I would absolutely be part of their coverage. But a systemic problem in Allentown is that the rules apply to some and not others. I will play by the rules but I expect everyone to do the same.

Updated 11:20 am: Morning Call Publisher Robert York responds to Hyman. - (My conclusion is that The Morning Call is being fair and honest. Ray O'Connell did poll at 22% when he was named.) 

Thanks for the opportunity to respond.

Here’s a podcast we just posted that explains our polling and coverage of the race.
Chris Borick does a better job of explaining the science than I could and Emily provides some behind the scenes look at the challenges of covering this race.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/valley-view/mc-valley-view-podcast-allentown-race-for-mayor-episode-2-20171006-htmlstory.html

Below is copy of a note that I sent to Nat on Friday afternoon in response to his raising concerns and his request for us to publish the note he sent to you. (In sending to you, I removed two short sentences from this note because they would be out of context for this discussion)
Let me know if you need anything else.
Best,
Robert

Nat,

This race is unique and polling for this race reflects it.

Most campaign experts will stipulate that polling of a write-in is very difficult.

There is no direct data to support that Ray received 12% of the polling responses. The 12% is a “none of the above/other” answer. When the poll takers asked (without a name prompt) who the likely voter intended, 94% of the respondents named Ray O’Connell.

When prompted with all names of candidates who have declared interest and are publically campaigning – Ray O’Connell polled at 22%.

The resulting logic is that Ray is polling somewhere between 12% and 22% +/- the margin of error.

You contend it should be 9% - %12, you may be right.

We estimate it’s somewhere between 12% and 22%, we may be right.

For that reason, we’ve decided to proceed on the side of inclusion..

Readers can see the poll for what it is and make their own conclusions about the methodology, fairness and accuracy. For that reason and others, we won’t be publishing your note.

Best,
Robert

Hyman Begins Relief Effort for Puerto Rico

Allentown Mayoral candidate Nat Hyman owned a business in Plaza Las Americas in San Juan for many years. He spent a great deal of time in Puerto Rico and feels a deep connection to both the island and and its people, whom he says are "among the warmest and kindest people I have ever met. So he has initiated a massive relief effort for the people of Puerto Rico, collecting nonperishable food items and household supplies. He hopes to ship over $100,000 worth of desperately needed items to the hurricane-ravaged island.

"The devastation our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico have experienced is unimaginable," he said. "It is a once in a lifetime disaster. We all must come together to lend a helping hand!"

Hyman said his strong ties to the Latino community is one of the reasons he decided to run. "Over 50% of our city is Latino," he observed. "The current Mayor has not addressed the needs of this community in any way. It is absolutely essential that the next Mayor take on the issues which are most important to the majority of our citizens, the Latino community. We must ensure that we have clean and safe streets where our children can play and the elderly can walk at night without fear. I will aggressively eliminate the 1,000 blighted buildings throughout the city and, in so doing, help those who want to achieve the dream of homeownership. Most importantly, we must ensure that every child has access to an excellent quality education which will give them hope and a bright future they deserve."

Hyman's wife, Erica, and his two daughters, Julia and Lizzie, all speak Spanish fluently. They have been meeting and speaking with members of the Latino community to understand their needs, wishes and dreams. "The people have been inviting us into their homes like we are members of their family," said Erica. "I cannot tell you how warm and kind people have been to us. When we meet, I try to explain that the main reason that Nat ran for Mayor was to improve the quality of life for the Latino population of Allentown. He will work tirelessly to give a hand up to everyone who wants it! "

If you wish to assist Nat Hyman's relief effort to Puerto Rico please drop off nonperishable food items and household supplies (diapers, toilet paper, soap, etc). at his office located at 727 North Meadow St. in Allentown between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM Monday through Friday.

Hyman: "If We Do Not Have Safety, We Do Not Have a City"

When Allentown Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski recently posted a Labor Day montage that included city workers, he omitted firefighters. Of course, that's something he's been doing for years in his annual budgets.

I told you in April that the department's operating budget has shrunk from $455,098 in 2008 to just $156,896 in 2017, a drop of 65.52%. No provision has been made for repair or maintenance supplies. The equipment on hand has decreased from $108,638 in 2008 to just $23,396 this year. Only $35,000 is allotted to train 122 firefighters. A scant $3,500 is set aside to purchase chemicals that are often more important than water in extinguishing a fire.

"He is setting our department up for failure," said firefighter Jeremy Warmkessel, a hero who once gave up his own breathing mask so that a little boy could breathe in a building being consumed by fire.

He does not care about politics. He cares about lives.

Allentown City Council President Ray O'Connell has previously called the situation an "embarrassment to the City."

What about Mayoral candidate Nat Hyman ?

He met with firefighters recently to get a jumpstart on a positive dialogue and relationship with them, something that's currently absent with Fed Ed.

Hyman said there will be three non-negotiable items in the city budget - fire, police and EMS. "If we do not have safety, we simply do not have a city," said Hyman. "Safety is the foundation for everything we want to do in this city."

Hyman said that the first thing he will do as Mayor is "sit down with all of the stakeholders from the firefighters, push the reset button and start a fresh new relationship. While I cannot promise you that I will always tell you what you want to hear or agree with everything you want, I can promise that I will always listen and do what is in the best interest of Allentown. I have absolutely no other agenda."

He addressed the fact that there are fewer firefighters today than 12 years ago and called that "obscene, particularly when you consider that they have double the call volume from 12 years ago!" He likewise said that the fact that they do not have a functional ladder truck while Bethlehem has three is unconscionable."It is not a function of if there will be a tragedy but rather when and the likelihood of loss of life is very real."

Hyman assures firefighters that if he is Mayor, they will have a friend in city hall as he views his number one job as Mayor is to "ensure that every citizen is safe and that we do everything we can to get every firefighter and police officer home safely at night."

O'Connell Write-In Ensures a Fed Ed Victory

For the fourth time, Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski is the Democratic nominee for Allentown Mayor. Though he was under the storm clouds of a federal investigation into political corruption, four percent of the City's Democrats chose him. That was all he needed, thanks to a winner-take-all system of elections and a plethora of candidates who ran for the nomination. I was deeply disappointed to see Ray O'Connell, a man I deeply admire and one who understands Allentown, deprived of the nomination.  This process is about to repeat itself in the general election, even though Fed Ed is now under indictment on 54 counts of corruption charges.

Recent history may repeat itself because, once again, there are numerous candidates. This will enable Fed Ed to win with a plurality of the votes. Though he refused to raise the flag on Syrian Independence Day, he has suddenly become their best friend.  He also has made it a point to reach out to small churches on the east and south side that he previously ignored and will ignore again, once elected.

Nat Hyman is the Republican nominee. He is youthful, energetic, has a terrific sense of humor and is smart. His father was a well-respected physician, and he himself stayed in the Queen City and made it his business headquarters when everyone else was leaving for the 'burbs. The reason he decided to run for Mayor is because he felt he had no choice. Despite Fed Ed's protests that all is well, the City has some serious problems. The redevelopment has slowed. Morale among City workers is terrible. Fed Ed has allowed the Cedar Beach pool contract to get completely out of hand. He is still playing favorites,as evidenced by his removal of basketball rims at the behest of his campaign supporters.

But Hyman has two problems.

The first is that Allentown has become a one-party town. Though there is no Democratic or Republican way if filling a pothole or fixing a pool, Fed Ed has made sure that Democrats have a stranglehold on Allentown. He has viciously attacked Republicans seeking office. Ask Lou Hershman. The seeds of political corruption are still there

Hyman's second big problem is Ray O'Connell, who finished right behind Fed Ed in the Democratic primary.

If the race were just between Ray and Nat, I'd want Ray to win. He may be a bit older than Nat, but is just as energetic, smart and humorous. A former educator, he has great ideas about neighborhood schools. He is the biggest cheerleader that Allen and Dieruff students have,and they need cheerleaders badly. Ray also has experience in government, both on a city and school district level.

But the race is not between Nat and Ray, two men of honor.. This is a race between Nat and disgraced Fed Ed, with two independents thrown in for good measure. Ray has been deprived of a spot on the ballot, so he's waging a Quixotic write-in campaign, hoping that Allentown voters will take the time to type in his name.

Based on what I've seen of Allentown voters, I think Ray is spinning his wheels.

If all of his former opponents backed him, this might work. If the Democratic party opened his mouth and condemned Fed Ed, this might work. But that has not happened.

What's most likely is that, come election day, Ray will have taken away just enough votes from Nat Hyman to ensure a Fed Ed victory. Two men of integrity  will be brushed aside by a Chicago transplant who conducted electronic sweeps of his office,used burner phones and directed campaign donors like Ramzi Haddad to delete incriminating text messages.

There is still a scenario under which O'Connell can become Mayor. Assuming that Fed Ed is elected, he will be forced to resign when he pleads guilty. Under this scenario, Ray would be appointed Mayor, and would have the job until the next election in two years. But what if there is a trial that lasts several months? What good will that do the City?
       
Unlike some others, I had no problem with the crowded primary field. I also have no problem with a person who gets on the ballot as an indie or third-party candidate. Write-in campaigns are fine, too, but should be waged to win, not lose.

I really wish Ray would reconsider. What's best for Allentown is removing Fed Ed. If that means holding your nose and voting for a Republican, you can dump him in four years.      

Hyman: Fed Ed Should Be Fired For Absolute Mismanagement

As you may have read in The Morning Call, Allentown City Council is poised to adopt a resolution tonight calling on the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pa to conclude its political corruption investigation of Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski, one way or the other. Mayoral candidate Nat Hyman agrees that "it is time for honesty and integrity!" But he has suggested that we should all be focused on Fed Ed's mismanagement. Below is a statement he sent to me last night.

I read today that City Council will be sending a letter to the U.S. Attorney to ask them to expedite the prosecution of Mayor Ed Pawlowski.

I think the danger is to continually focus on Ed's crimes, and the prosecution thereof, and miss the bigger issue as it relates to the City of Allentown. Ed Pawlowski has colossally mismanaged this city. In any other business he would have been fired by now. One need only look back at the past couple of weeks....

We learned that yet another change order was submitted for the cedar beach pool. Ed has now spent $3,400,000 of tax payers' dollars and 3 years repairing one pool and it still isn't finished or open! That is 4% of Allentown's entire annual budget...on one pool. To be clear, that is to repair one pool, not even to build it. Perhaps more disturbing is that 4 out of 5 pools owned by the City of Allentown are closed, so we may be in for millions more when the other pools are to be repaired.

I have reviewed the scope of work involved with this project. As a developer, I can say, without equivocation, that I would have completed this job for under $500,000 and reopened it in a matter of months. As any decent businessperson knows, all that was needed was an iron clad contract and good supervision to ensure that the work was completed on time and on budget. And no one would have been paid unless those 2 things were accomplished.

This was absolute and blatant mismanagement. If anyone worked for me and handled a job in the same manner that Ed has, they would be fired. If anyone worked for any company and handled a job the way Ed has, they would be fired.

Another relatively routine problem arose last week when some kids were making noise on a basketball court and angered the neighbors. Surely a Mayor can handle a problem like this with efficiency. Not our Mayor. He reacted impetuously and bungled this simple problem to the extent that it became enormously contentious, requiring a town-hall meeting.

I would suggest that we put aside the fact that 5 people in Ed's administration pled guilty to felonies and will testify against him and that Ed's own attorney said one would be "foolish" to think that he will not be indicted. Forget that the FBI has Ed on tape offering public services for money and that he was sweeping his office and patting people down for listening devices. And disregard the fact that City operations are at a standstill because he doesn't speak with City Council and the police and fire departments have utter disdain for him.

Let's forget all of those things, and focus on one simple issue....Ed should be fired from his position for absolute mismanagement of our city.

Hyman: "Taking down those basketball rims would have been the LAST thing I would have done! "

Allentown Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski recently ran headfirst into a buzz saw of public criticism over his decision to remove the basketball rims at Andre Reed Park, located next to Dieruff High School. He was placating campaign supporters who had hosted a house party for him, much as he has rewarded other campaign contributors with lucrative contracts. How would Mayor Nat Hyman, a Georgetown grad who knows a little bit about basketball enthusiasm, respond to this situation?

"To my mind, one of the biggest problems our City has is that 1/3 of our children in Allentown do not graduate from high school. Needless to say, without a high school diploma their prospects for success are dim and some of those who have problems finding employment may become involved in crime/gangs.

"With that in mind,I think it is essential to keep kids engaged in constructive activities, like basketball, 24/7, 365 days a year. That is especially true during the summer when school is not in session. Remember the old maxim "the idle mind is the devil's workshop."

"Taking down those basketball rims would have been the LAST thing I would have done! I would have increased police patrols and/or have the power turned off nightly at a source which could not be turned on and/or erected fencing to ensure that no one drives up to the courts and shines their headlights.

"Next to our youth, our parks are Allentown's greatest treasure. Unfortunately, they have fallen into terrible disrepair. 4 of the 5 swimming pools are not operating!! That is horrible mismanagement. All of our kids should be swimming to escape this long hot summer and they can't. I have already met with several of the people who are responsible for the parks and actively involved with them. Bringing all of our parks back to their former beauty and full operation will be a high priority for me as Mayor. I want to maximize their use by everyone, not lessen it!"

Nat Hyman's Rainbow

Allentown Mayoral candidate Nat Hyman also owns what at one time was a clothing factory in Nazareth. He is completely rehabbing the former eyesore, and is renting out apartments as fast as he can rehab them. He plans on using some of the original bricks to build a patio and even a grilling area for residents.

This evening, I noticed this rainbow over that building.

Is that a sign of good things to come?

Why Hyman Challenged Garcia and Pez - A Theory

The Morning Call is reporting that Allentown Mayoral candidate Nat Hyman paid two law firms to challenge opponents Luiz Garcia and Christopher Pez in the primary. This was learned from reviewing Hyman's expense reports, so he has been transparent. Here's what I believe happened.

Hyman grew up in Allentown. His father was a doctor. Though considered a real estate maven, he actually made his money with Landau, an Allentown-based jeweler with 60 stores in the US and Canada. He could leave as Allentown sunk. He stayed. He continued to live in Allentown, too. That says something about his loyalty to the Queen City. Hyman could see that the City was moving in the wrong direction under Fed Ed, and decided to run for Mayor himself. He invested $25,000 of his own money, too. Here's how he explains his decision on his campaign page.
state maven, he actually made his money with Landau, an Allentown-based jeweler with

Nat decided he had to run for Mayor in order to try and pull Allentown out from under the cloud of scandal that its current Mayor has put it in.

Allentown should be enjoying its finest hour of economic opportunity instead of waiting for its Mayor to be indicted and the city to slip back to where it was before the NIZ (Neighborhood Improvement Zone) was established, missing our chance to grow and be one of the greatest cities in the nation.

You could dismiss all of this is pure ego. Or maybe, just maybe, this is the real guy who has been successful and wants to serve in a city that he obviously loves.

Now I support Ray O'Connell. Should Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawolwski be indicted, and should he resign, I will push hard for the former school administrator who understands that the City is only as healthy as its schools.

But Fed Ed has vowed to remain in office, even if indicted. He will have to be dragged out, kicking and screaming.

Several people have vowed to wage write-in campaigns or run as independents  Unfortunately, that just guarantees Fed Ed's victory in the general election, just as the plethora of primary candidates insured Fed Ed's success there.

Hyman, who never ran for office before, had no shortage of advisers. One of the originals was Lehigh County's former GOP Chair, Wayne Woodman. He was Scott Ott's mentor, and must have thought he could control Hyman the way he was puppet master for Ott.

He eventually found out he was wrong, as evidenced by his failure to contribute to Hyman. But in those early days, when he thought he was calling the shots, my guess is that Woodman urged Hyman to finance challenges to Garcia and Pez  

It was still a mistake, but one I can understand.

As the summer winds on, I'll have more to say about this race.