Barack Obama’s little sister? What???

Oh Mayor LT, why do you hate right-to-know requests and criticism? Don't you know that sunshine (openness) is the best disinfectant in government? I'm sure you have even uttered those same words, at some point, when chiding former Mayor Reed.

So. What happened to transparency in your administration? Openness? Getting away from past back room dealings and practices?

Reading last night's Pennlive account of Mayor LT's blow up was disappointing to me. Moreover, I was not happy to read that LT prefers working on the city's problems "behind closed doors" rather than in the media. Nice about face...

I wish our mayor was able to handle and weather criticism better. Frankly, her own words, that “[she feels] like Barack Obama’s little sister right now,” is pretty damn delusional, if not wholly grounded in her own persecution complex. If anything else, it is a statement that is meant to engender sympathy among her African-American base.

I hope her base can see through it. After all, Barack Obama is the picture of grace under fire. The guy does not always get it right, but can anyone rightly see LT walking into a GOP retreat, taking overtly biased questions from elected GOP members, and yet having the poise to actually win? Well, President Obama did just that.

LT might have some common threads with Obama, but overall, any lessons she should have learned from the President's own ascendency to power have been sorely ignored by her. She'd do well to take a page from Obama's playbook and cultivate a sincere, deliberate style--for that is what hard times demand. Leave the bible crazy and perpetual umbrage at home, it ain't gonna cut it.

My own criticisms aside, I truly hope you can get this city back on track. We all have a stake in that.

"The Harrisburg Authority is an abomination." ~Bill Cluck

"The Harrisburg Authority is an abomination." ~Bill Cluck (2010.01.27)

Well, my good friend Bill Cluck nailed it. He nailed it even better than last night's posting of Laura Vecsey's superbly written commentary on Pennlive (Maybe it's time to lock up the Harrisburg Authority). It worth a read, if not two reads to savor the flavor.

Check out Bill Cluck at Tuesday's Harrisburg Authority meeting (here). Bill went loaded for bear. Nothing he said to the HA board disappointed.

It is difficult to say what might have been different, but I cannot help but think about all the poor decision making by former mayor Reed, council, and newly minted Mayor LT (sure, read that as Mayor Lite) that might have been averted had Ms. Vecsey been at the Patriot News oh so many years ago. The Patriot and other news media just never seemed interested in peeling back the carpet to see the rotten floor boards underneath.

It truly is our loss. But we must focus on the now, and I am glad that Ms. Vecsey is writing exactly what needs to be written. The Fourth Estate has a duty to shed light on the political dealings that will make or break city residents. Lately, however, there feels to be more breaking.

On the subject of breaking, doesn't it seem like there was a very short honeymoon period before Mayor LT (again Mayor Lite) began breaking her word to voters on increasing police protection. Did LT really need to cut police overtime, just as she was allowing overtime for her security detail?

Her meowing that Reed had a security detail, so she deserves one too, just is not ringing true to me. Alas, she must deserve protection. She is Mayor LT after all. But who is protecting her voting block "up on the hill" from the violence of what can only be described as an open-air drug market? Last time I checked, oath breakers did not fare well in the Bible...which is perhaps the only book that I can think of that our new mayor has ever mentioned reading.

Maybe I am wrong, maybe she deserves more time. It just does not look good, when you jump out of the starting gate as mayor and raise executive salaries in contradiction to what the management consulting team you hired recommends, especially when you are mouthing that taxes need to go up so much. It's also an ill omen for the ethical, transparent government that you promised when you campaign manager is the same guy in charge of the abomination, er...Harrisburg Authority (that is causing so much pain with their own higher costs and no debt payments being made). And talk about a blow to transparency--LT hired a guy that has ties to the very management consulting team that is urging draconian measures.

How any of us get off this messed up merry-go-round is a mystery?

As always, I am sure there is much, much more to come. The biggest question is: when will the good news, if any, get here?

Stay tuned.

H.A.? More like G.A. (Gamblers Anonymous)

So, I just read something that caught my eye. The Harrisburg Authority (HA) is invested in Interest Rate Management Agreements (i.e., SWAPS! WTF!!!???)

For those that do not know what a swap is click here.

The long and short of it is this: a swap is a complex financial instrument that in my opinion is too complex for any entity involved in doing the people's business. What's that, you don't agree with me...well PA Auditor General Jack Wagner does (click here).

Let's face it. The HA is run by a bunch of idiots who just raised their own executive pay, yet they cannot make debt payments on the incinerator (the incinerator being one of a couple raison d'etres for the HA). These folks are clearly inept. Well, inept, or just happy to keep bleeding the city and county tax payers dry.

Who in their right mind thinks that these same folks are capable of handling the intricacies of a swap agreement, let alone picking one out? Not me! Hell, part of this national financial crisis was because top people in the financial sector lost their shirts with swap type instruments. Swaps are nothing more than a fancy method of gambling.

*Commencing teeth gnashing, in 5...4...3...2...1: GRIND, GRIND, GRIND*

I'm glad that Mayor LT is so damn tight with HA Chairman Ellison. Oh wait, there is a conflict of interest issue in there somewhere. Hopefully, hints and rumors that he may resign are true.

It seems that every day more of the city's dirty fiscal laundry floats up. One thing is certain, it does seem apparent that Mayor LT did her best to keep a lid on the bad news until after she had got her mayor sash.

Anyone else feel like you are staring up from the bottom of a deep well?

Stay tuned for more outrage...

PS: It amazes me how typos increase the angrier I am about something. I am too embarrassed to say just how many typos I caught while proofing this short post.

DOUBLE FRAKKING ACK!!!

Great commentary by Patriot News reporter Laura Vecsey. Her piece pounded out a lot of the same questions I and many of you have been asking for a long time.

I am continually baffled about how poorly the Harrisburg Authority is run. Well, we all knew that we (city and county taxpayers) would have to pay for the poor decisions by Reed, LT, and many others. Now that Mayor LT is kicking the tires with a possible 117% prop tax hike, not to mention 20% more for water, and 20% more for sewer, I cannot fathom how many of us will continue to survive as city homeowners. It's not like this is a terrible economy or anything, with no jobs, and stagnant wages...oh wait it is.

I suppose there is a lot more news to come!!!


***
Commentary: Selling off Harrisburg's assets makes sense if you've got something to hide

By Laura Vecsey
January 25, 2010, 9:08PM

Do residents and taxpayers in Harrisburg really want to sell city assets in order to pay the incinerator debt?

Remember, there are no prices set and no cost analysis of the potential benefit of keeping the assets to produce revenue.

And mind you, the city is bankrupt now. It might not make payroll next month.

Then again, the Harrisburg Authority can’t pay its bills, but it’s still making payroll.

This is confusing.

What’s not confusing is that, after years of knowing that the house of cards that was the Harrisburg Authority and the City of Harrisburg was crashing, it’s time for a fire sale.

Selling assets is a major component of recommendations made in an emergency financial plan released Monday by Mayor Linda Thompson, who will present a new budget to City Council tonight.

Anyone with a stake in the city ought to think about checking out this meeting. The city’s future is about to be told.

On Monday, Thompson spoke of a balanced budget and closing a $3.8 million gap, but with the city on the hook for $70 million in debt this year alone, we’re talking deck chairs on the Titanic.

The dismal news made it more puzzling why the city paid a $637,000 bill last week on behalf of the Harrisburg Authority.

City Controller Dan Miller did not authorize the payment to Covanta, the incinerator’s operator.

Thompson defended the move. If the city didn’t pay, Covanta would shut down the incinerator, she said.

Plus, the city would be on the hook for increased fees for not paying the debt, Thompson said.

Where was the fiscal alarm last year, when the city refused to pay its incinerator debt, forcing Dauphin County to step in?

In the months since she won the Democratic primary and it was pretty clear she would be the new mayor, Thompson said she would be ready for these problems. She said every option would be on the table when it came to fixing the city’s financial mess.

However, bankruptcy is suddenly not one of those options.

Miller contends the financial crisis is so severe that all debt payments should be stopped until there’s a decision about whether the city should pursue bankruptcy under Chapter 9.

If Thompson and City Council take the draconian action of preparing to sell assets, that would eliminate the chance for an audit of how the Harrisburg Authority amassed $288 million in debt.

Wouldn’t it be nice for someone to ask:

"Where are we? How did we get here?"

Unless, of course, the incinerator players have reasons for not wanting a spotlight on this mess.

Where are all those lawyers, bond writers and prospectus printers who sucked big fees out of the city every time more millions were borrowed and more debt was restructured?

Where are the fees that the city collected from the Harrisburg Authority when bonds were issued?

If you sell city assets without asking questions, you’ll never know.

You’ll never know why anyone would have sold bonds for retrofit technology that could not be guaranteed.

That’s the reason Dauphin County is on the hook for the incinerator debt.

You can bet they can’t wait for the city to sell its assets, because the county signed its name without protecting county taxpayers.

Harrisburg is in a world of hurt right now, even as Thompson attempts to make the restoration of the city’s financial foundation her mission.

Selling assets sweeps away all those cards that are falling now that Stephen R. Reed’s so-called legacy has become a busted myth.

In the month since the mayor for life left office, what have we found? That Harrisburg is like a little AIG right here on the rain-swollen Susquehanna.

That sound you hear isn’t the river flooding. It’s the red ink flowing that no one wanted to responsibly blot up until it was way too late.

Does selling assets make sense?

If you’re Reed, it does.

His proposal to lease the parking garages meant all that money bled by the Harrisburg Authority for debt service and lawyer fees would have been off his ledger.

If you’re Thompson, it makes sense to sell the city’s goods, too. That way, she gets a fresh slate on which to build her own legacy.

After all, as she says, she’s got land.

Harrisburg’s open for business.

Even at the expense of its citizens.

ACK!

Ah, nice. There is breaking news from Pennlive that the city will be paying (non-budgeted money no less) $637K to the operators of the incinerator.

*Commence Teeth Grinding*

What a sweet gig the Harrisburg Authority (HA) has. Administrative salaries on the HA just got a bump too I believe. When will the HA stop being so completely dysfunctional? Mismanagement of the HA is going to bleed this city and county dry.

Best of all, our own so called "guardian of the purse strings," City Comptroller Dan Miller, also got circumvented. Another way of putting it: he got his ass handed to him by a rookie mayor. Nice job Dan. Looks like LT is not as dumb as she sounds. Those of us that voted for you expect you to raise holy hell about this $637K payment.

And here is the reason for my nausea...(below). I can't wait for news of the next city council meeting, or this wonderful press conference that is coming.

City pays $637K incinerator bill for Harrisburg Authority; will hold press conference on financial report recommendations

By Laura Vecsey
January 25, 2010, 12:26PM

Harrisburg city officials are planning a press conference within the next 24 hours to announce the findings of a financial report, including recommendations about how to settle the city's crushing debt load. The bulk of that is the $288 million owed by the Harrisburg Authority for the incinerator debt.

City spokeswoman Joyce Davis said city officials are meeting today to discuss the findings in the final report, which will be made public.

Last week, the city paid $637,000 to Covanta, operators of the incinerator. The payment, which was wired, was not authorized in the budget approved in December. City comptroller Dan Miller said his office did not authorize the payment, which was given the legal go-ahead by the city treasurer and solicitor.

Davis said the city has paid that debt service in the past. Miller said he is concerned.

"The administration pushed for it, but it wasn't in the budget. We're concerned because of cash flow. Will the city have the money to pay our bills and meet payroll?'' Miller said.

There is a question about why the city is paying any debt prior to a decision about whether or not to declare bankruptcy or file for distressed city status.

The city's payment of the incinerator debt comes as Mayor Linda Thompson prepares for the city's 2010 budget to be reopened. That new budget is supposed to be presented at Tuesday's city council meeting.

The report from Management Partners and the new city budget will be key indicators of how the new administration plans to handle the crippling financial status of the city.

Harrisburg faces three options for dealing with its current fiscal emergency. It can either file for bankruptcy, which would force creditors and bond issuers to renegotiate the city's debt repayment. Miller favors this response. The city would file for Chapter 9 status as the first step toward reorganizing its debt, most of it being incinerator debt which the city has guaranteed to the Harrisburg Authority.

The city could also file for Act 47. A third option, which could be the recommendation in the report, would be for the city to sell its assets, including parking garages and possibly the incinerator.

Preparation for the sale of these municipal assets would require appraisals and feasibility studies to determine values for these assets versus the long-term viability of these assets to generate income for the city.

Love-shibboleth?

By the River is probably my favorite blog at this point. Just look at this re-post (see below). It exposes just the right amount of craziness that makes life interesting.

The next four years are going to be a blast if these sorts of revelations keep coming out about our High Priestess...er Mayor, Linda Thompson.

Side note: Whenever I read stuff like this about LT, I can't help but hear Patsy Cline's version of Crazy playing in my head. Surreal.

I really need to meet this Dave DeKok (pronounced Deh-COOK, thankfully) fellow.

***

The Loveship bylaws

My neighbor the lawyer had to file a Right to Know request to the Pennsylvania Department of State to get this information, but he finally unearthed both the list of directors of Mayor Linda Thompson's Loveship non-profit, and as a bonus, its original bylaws. Loveship has gone into drydock since Thompson was elected mayor, but this stuff is still interesting.

Most of the bylaws are basic boilerplate, but then the curious reader comes to "Article V-Officers" and this paragraph:

"The Chairman of the Board of Directors shall be Linda Thompson, who shall serve until her death or resignation. The Chairman may also be removed by a unanimous vote of the remaining members of the Board only for gross errors defined as severe deviation from the teaching of the Bible (Old and New Testament read together as a whole) which would tend to spiritually endanger and lead the members of the fellowship away from the Lord, the God of the Bible."

Now Linda Thompson the private citizen can have just about any bylaws she wants in her own 501(c)3, even one with the overtly secular agenda of "home ownership counseling" and "combat academic underachievement."

I think it's fair to say most Americans want their elected officials to be religious or have a strong moral compass, but the above paragraph might go too far for many of them. It suggests deeply fundamentalist beliefs which are not held by the majority of Americans. Combine this with Thompson's comparison of herself to the prophet Nehemiah sent to save Jerusalem, i.e., Harrisburg that used to be on her website, and the Bible verses my lawyer friend saw posted liberally about the interior of Loveship, and its more religion than a lot of voters want.

At it's core, that paragraph is simply a severe limitation on the grounds for Thompson to be removed as head of Loveship (known as Timeship in the original incorporation papers, with a ring of science fiction). The part about the Old and New Testament read together is clever--it means she can't, for example, be removed for eating pork or shellfish, banned in the Old but blessed in the New. Thompson, who has pledged transparency as mayor, was loading the dice to make sure she couldn't be removed as head of Loveship.

The danger of having a deeply--and I mean deeply--religious person of fundamentalist beliefs as mayor of Harrisburg or in any major elected post is that she starts filtering her decisions for the public through her personal religious beliefs. No matter what the Christian Right may tell you, the U.S. Constitution mandates the separation of church and state.

Oh, and the Loveship directors for 2008 were Gerald Robinson, Dr. Norman LaCasse, K. Lameson Lawrence, Jacquetta McCoy, Lois Glass, Greg Rothman, and of course Thompson herself.

Something interesting...finally

As many of you have noticed, my postings have been far and few between of late. Frankly, there has not been much that I was suitably felt blog-worthy. (Caveat: It is too soon to start blasting Linda Thompson over her lack of transparency. After all, she bought herself some more time. I shall be patient.)

Well, good news, information regarding "3rd in the Burg" was recently sent my way. Apparently, this is a new Harrisburg-focused take on First Fridays.

On the Third Friday of each month, city galleries will be hosting unique events in Harrisburg. Please be sure to check out the 3rd in the Burg website...here.

I am overwhelmed by all this culture.

The End is Nigh...

Just kidding!!! Silly me, the end is not nigh. It is not even well-nigh.

Good luck to you Mayor Thompson. Everyone deserves a chance to prove their quality and worth and it should be no different for our new mayor, regardless if only a sliver of city residents chose to actually vote.

Oh, and one more thing, please do not start your own brand of cronyism. Reed pretty much ruined it for you. This means that no one wants to see you throw boatloads of city tax dollars into Mr. Ellison's law firm. If possible, and while on the subject, could you also speak with Mr. Ellison about the poor job he is doing as head of the Harrisburg Authority? Thanks!

Finally, please know that we will be watching...and by we, I don't mean "bloggers." I mean Bill Cluck and David DeKok, and at some point I will catch on and raise a stink about it too (full of sound and fury...).

***

Linda Thompson sworn in as Harrisburg mayor
By SHARON SMITH, The Patriot-News
January 04, 2010, 10:14AM

A swearing-in ceremony is being held this morning at The Forum in Harrisburg for new Mayor Linda Thompson and Harrisburg City Council members Kelly Summerford, Eugenia Smith, Patty Kim and Wanda R.D. Williams.

The ceremony began at 9 a.m. Council members were sworn in, followed by Thompson, who is about to give her inauguration speech just before 10:30.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell spoke at the ceremony, pledging the state's help with city issues. "We need to help our capital city," he said.

Rendell said he envisions the state having a "great working relationship with Linda Thompson," as he declared it Linda Thompson Day in Pennsylvania. He also said that residents need to help elected officials. "Understand this, that no mayor ... can move a city by himself or herself," he said.

Thompson is Harrisburg's first female and first black mayor. She replaces Stephen R. Reed, who spent 28 years in office.

Rendell also was headed to York this morning, where Democrat Kim Bracey will be sworn in as that city's first black female mayor.

Several choirs performed at this morning's Harrisburg ceremony. The Rev. David Screven offered a prayer for the city of Harrisburg, saying, "Let our city not be polarized."

Tonight, Thompson will hold an inaugural ball at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. Her plans for the rest of the week include a luncheon with city business leaders tomorrow and a meet-and-greet with city employees on Wednesday.

Interesting appointments by LT...

Pennlive has a story this morning (here) that mayor-elect Ellison, er...Linda Thompson has chosen her "educational transition team."

Reading this story, I just have to shake my head in disbelief. Some of the people selected either have conflicts of interest, like attorney Corky Goldstein who is representing Eric Waters in a suit against the school district, or Nathan Waters, Eric Waters' father.

Others have either poor records in education or serious axes to grind.

Transition team member Diane Bowen-Lipscomb was rated unsatisfactory at least twice as principal of the distone deaftrict’s Scott School and was subsequently demoted, according to district records. Bowen-Lipscomb did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Transition team member Rae Talley is another former district principal who later became principal of the Ronald H. Brown Charter School in Harrisburg. In 2006, the Board of Control voted to cut off money to the Ronald Brown school after its charter was revoked. “We took her school away,” said Board of Control member Clare Jones.

However...my favorite pick has to be Barbara Shelton. She is listed as "retired from the federal government." Pennlive was seriously remiss for not singling her out in their story.

Barbara Shelton is well known in my neighborhood as being the acting commissioner at GSA (yes that GSA) during the protracted fight over where to build the new federal courthouse. CAN residents should be openly rebuked if they forget the ever obtuse Ms. Shelton or how she acted as the face of overbearing federal authority and its singular pursuit to ram new courthouse construction down our collective throats. None should ever forget either just how fawningly reverent Ms. Shelton was of her boss (President George W. Bush) during that summer town hall meeting in Midtown. Nothing is worse than seeing a bureaucrat hum a saccharine tune for her boss or his failed administration. People were going to vomit after listening to her.

I have to say, that the the selection of this team appears to be all fluff and no substance. It is just another press release turned into a story that gives the impression that LT is doing something about our city's poorly performing school district. Luckily, Pennlive did take a somewhat critical eye to her picks.

Here is the rest of LT's "educational transition team:"

The education transition team is led by Audrey Utley, former superintendent of Middletown Area School District. In March 2008, Utley was named chairwoman of the Duquesne City School District’s Board of Control by the state Department of Education. On Thursday, Utley e-mailed to The Patriot-News a list of members of Mayor-elect Linda Thompson’s education transition team. Besides Utley, the members are:

• Sieta Achampong, school administrator in Susquehanna Township School District.
• Jill Bartoli, retired Elizabethtown College professor.
• Iris Brown, instructional facilitator at Steelton-Highspire School District.
• Ellen Castagneto, director of special education at Donegal School District.
• Vincent Champion, attorney.
• Marion Echols-Clark, retired spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
• Kim Cuff, who works in the field of mental health services.
• Corky Goldstein, attorney.
• Michael Holmes, professor at the University of Phoenix.
• Diane Bowen-Lipscomb, Harrisburg School District teacher.
• Royce Morris, attorney.
• Eva Patrick, retired Harrisburg School District teacher.
• Aundre Pearce, retired Harrisburg School District teacher.
• Gloria Martin-Roberts, retired state employee and member of Harrisburg City Council.
• Barbara Shelton, retired from the federal government.
• Rae Talley, employed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
• Barbara Thompson, minority recruiter for Penn State Harrisburg.
• Nathan Waters, attorney and solicitor for Harrisburg School District.
• Harry Witte, attorney.

Let's hope this is true.

It was not too long ago that the bungling Bush-era run GSA tried to impose (Eminent Domain) new federal courthouse construction in locations currently occupied by homes and businesses, sometimes areas even designated as historically significant.

Well, good news all. The Central Penn Business Journal (link here) is reporting that our newly enlightened (yay for Obama!) GSA is seeking to build on the vacant (repeat, vacant) lots located on 6th and Reilly Streets.

If all of this reporting proves accurate and action occurs, I think many will be relieved. It may even be time for some sort of rejoicing; after all, it is about time that government works with our community rather than against our community.

PS: If outgoing Mayor Reed had any hand in this, then I will say: GOOD JOB SIR!

Linda sets the tone...

Check out this very interesting post by Dave DeKok at By The River.

After reading it, you should recognize the familiar Reed-esque pattern of back scratching with "conflict of interest" Ellison and his big shot law firm. Wow, LT learned a lot from the master politician of Harrisburg as she navigated a treacherous route from city council ingénue to mayor elect.

And while I am not too sure that LT will switch parties a la Dekok's theory, it is also important to question our mayor elect's recent "love fest" with the moneyed GOP establishment (spokesperson/consultant/guru Charlie Gerow).

Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming shenanigans folks.

Below is a wonderful re-post from David DeKok's By the River blog:

***

And now, a word from our sponsor

Mayor-elect Linda Thompson has filed her post-election financial disclosure form--oops! She forgot to sign it! Her campaign manager James Ellison did, but the space for her signature, where she verifies that her Leadership for Harrisburg PAC did not to the best of her knowledge violate any election laws, is conspicuously blank. Just an oversight, I'm sure. Her opponent, Nevin Mindlin, did remember to sign his.

One of my neighbors was kind enough to parse all of Thompson's campaign disclosure forms this year. She spent a grand total of $101,196 on her campaign. Of that, the Harrisburg law firm of Rhodes & Sinon, where Ellison is a partner, provided $25,000, far and away more than anyone else.

And why not? Rhodes & Sinon, according to my neighbor, has billed the Harrisburg Authority more than $300,000 in legal fees in 2008 and 2009. Ellison, who is chairman of the Harrisburg Authority, owner of the incinerator mess, is said to have recused himself on some of the votes to pay those legal bills. Not that it really matters. As a Rhodes & Sinon partner, he knows what happens to law firm profits.They get distributed to partners. Is there anyone here who isn't clear what is going on?

Among other contributions of interest was a $200 donation--small, to be sure--from a John T. Durbin of 12 Emlyn Lane, Mechanicsburg. Durbin was executive director of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission for eight years under Govs. Ridge and Schweiker. He got the job as a reward for his fundraising prowess the first time Ridge ran for governor in 1994. I laud some of the reforms he brought to the Turnpike, especially EZPass, but he's a big-time Republican who lives in the suburbs. In the past few years he has donated $2,300 to John McCain, $1,550 to Rudolph Guiliani, $1,000 to Mitt Romney, and so on. Why is he interested in Linda Thompson?

This and Thompson's employment of hard right Republican Charlie Gerow (see, Swift Boating, John Kerry, 2008) as her consultant/spokesman, a slap in the face to Democrats, is just more fuel for my growing belief that she plans to turn Republican at some convenient point after she gets into office. Oh, and one other thing. The Dauphin County Republican Committee didn't lift a finger to help their own mayoral candidate, Nevin Mindlin, the strongest Republican candidate in Harrisburg in years. No contribution to Mindlin. He did get a de minimus $200 from the city Republican committee and $500 from Friends of (Sen.) Jeff Piccola, but really. These sort of things don't happen in politics just by happenstance. Something is coming.

Why would the Republicans want Thompson? Because they don't have many blacks in their party. Thompson would be an anti-abortion, Bible thumping candidate who could add the GOP base to her own know-nothing base. For governor? Senator? Heck, they'd be thrilled just to keep her as mayor of Harrisburg.

I also looked at her campaign expenditures in the most recent support, and one thing that caught my eye was more than $600 for "volunteer lunches" on election day. The story that circulated after Thompson's primary victory last May was that she used free food to entice voters from her base to come to the polls, which is illegal under state election law, not that it's ever enforced. Then I heard she was claiming the food went to "volunteers." $600 buys a lot of pizzas. Ellison received $200 for "reimbursement for youth volunteers." Considering that 27,000 registered voters stayed home that day, and Thompson got the votes of only 12 percent of all registered voters in the city, it does not appear to have been money well spent.

And finally, my favorite Thompson campaign expenditure, $15 for a "parking ticket," paid on Nov. 18, 2009, after the election. I'm sure there's a fascinating story behind that one.

Pay your bills...

Breaking news from Pennlive that will make you sick.

It seems that the Harrisburg Authority will be ignoring their "bills."

Way to go Thompson, Reed, and City Council members who voted to create this crisis.

What will Mayor Linda do? Better yet, what will Ellison tell her to do?

***
Harrisburg Authority, city miss debt payment; Dauphin County pays
By EMILY OPILO, The Patriot-News
December 03, 2009, 4:42PM
Dauphin County has made another payment on the Harrisburg Authority’s incinerator debt.

The authority, which owes an estimated $287 million on the incinerator, hasn’t made a bond payment this year on the facility. Harrisburg city, which guaranteed the bulk of that debt, has made some of those payments, and Dauphin County, which guaranteed a smaller portion of the funding, has also stepped forward to make two payments this year.

The most recent payment of $1.8 million was due on Dec. 1. Dauphin County fronted that payment after receiving notification via e-mail from authority Executive Director Michele Torres and city Chief of Staff Robert F. Kroboth in late November that neither entity would be making the payment, County Commissioner George Hartwick said.

The county has already made one $775,000 payment on the debt earlier this year. The commissioners have since filed a lawsuit against the city to recover that money.

WHAT’S NEXT: Dauphin County will make any payments it has guaranteed in the coming year, but will continue to file legal action against the city for reimbursement. That could result in a tax increase for Harrisburg residents if city officials don’t budget that money, Hartwick said.

“If the city is in a position where they’re forced (by a court) to raise taxes, they can’t consider other options,” he said. “Once that’s done that’s done. That’s why we need a comprehensive solution.”

As Transparent as a Brick Wall

I'm convinced that The Harrisburg Authority (THA) pretty much does what it wants when it wants, taxpayers of the city and county be damned.

Click here for a video from Roxbury News highlighting how THA basically flips the bird to the public at large. Better still, wait until the end of the video to watch citizen activist Bill Cluck wax apoplectic at the complete lack of transparency involved in this process.

It seems that THA rammed through two important budgets for running the incinerator and the authority. The kicker: there was NO PUBLIC COMMENT ALLOWED ON THESE BUDGETS.

For a dose of insult with this injury, check out today's Patriot News story (Legal battle over who can appoint members to Harrisburg Authority has cost taxpayers more than $1 million).

So, if anyone is keeping score, we just blew a million bucks on lawyers so that politicians could mud wrestle with our money. Super. By the way, the taxpayers of the city and county and on the hook for all the incinerator debt and debt service.

Can you say TAX INCREASE?

Better yet, here is another question: When LT speaks as our mayor on incinerator issues, will her campaign manager (AND Harrisburg Authority Board Chairman) James Ellison be pulling the strings?

Guy Fawkes Day and Mayoral Election Recap

Guy Fawkes Night is a good day to recap recent seismic shifts to our local body politic. Whereas old Guy wanted to blow up British Parliament (Go Team Catholic!), I think it is fair to say that our mayoral election on Tuesday was anything but explosive if voter turnout is considered.

Voter Turnout or Voter Flake Out?
The Patriot News is reporting that turnout was abysmal (Click here for: Data show voters were cool to hot Harrisburg mayoral race). Congratulations to our Mayor Elect, Linda Thompson (M.E.L.T.?) are still in order, but it sure is sad that most voting age citizens of Harrisburg were voiceless by choice.

County officials said 9,046 of Harrisburg’s 36,592 registered voters showed up. That’s a 24.7 percent turnout. Election officials did not have a breakdown Wednesday of how many of the Harrisburg voters were Democrats and how many were Republicans.

Really? Only a quarter of registered voters bothered to vote? Who the hell are these losers? Everyone I know voted, but then again, most people I know are informed and diligent citizens (like JOE THUEURER!). I hope to meet some of these non-voters soon. I'm not angry per se, and I'm not angry that LT won, but I do need to know why these folks failed to be good stewards of our democracy. PATHETIC!

RepubliCAN'Ts
Speaking of pathetic, where was the GOP? Mindlin has the guts to run in a lopsided one party town and his own people leave him hanging? Wow. Where was the help? Well, the Republican Party can now take a good hind-sighted look and see this:

In a city where blacks are in the majority and Democrats far outnumber Republicans, Nevin Mindlin, a white Republican, beat many expectations by capturing 45.3 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s Harrisburg mayoral election. Democrat Linda Thompson received 54.7 percent of the votes, beating Mindlin by 842 votes.

“I must tell you, I am surprised, as I think a lot of people are, with the vote total,” said G. Terry Madonna, a pollster at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. “Arguably, she should have won this election pretty handily. It means there’s a huge amount of pressure on her to prove that she can lead the city.”

Democrats have a voter-registration edge of 72 percent to registered Republicans’ 16 percent, yet Mindlin got more votes against Thompson in 11 out of 28 precincts or wards. The population is more than 50 percent white in seven of those, according to the most recent census figures, 2000. One of his wins was a precinct in which half the population is black.

See that, even Terry Madonna is surprised. Yeah, I know, he is not the most original thinker out there. But was it really that far fetched that Mindlin would do this well? Granted, I did not think he would win (that would have been surprising), but the outcome was no shocker given the bad press LT received, in addition to the outreach Mindlin's campaign made to Democrats.

All in all, Nevin, you ran a good race. I'm proud to have voted for you.

L.T. Watch
One good thing that did happen this election cycle is that people (bloggers, local press) are now screaming bloody murder when city politicians seek to bullshit us. LT was especially petulant when faced with serious questions concerning gaps in her resume, "Lovesank," financial problems, frivolous lawsuits, and her general ornery attitude. These questions were never answered by Thompson either. Maddening!

Thompson got fifty-five percent of the paltry 9,046 votes cast. This same 55% felt that these unanswered questions weren't valid enough to override their support of Thompson. Again: Wow. Maybe those black ministers are just THAT charismatic! Gotta love when politics and religion mix...but that is another rant.

The next four years will determine if Thompson's supporters were justified in placing their faith in her. Who knows, maybe Nevin would have sucked as mayor, maybe they both were bad choices. No one can predict the future. All we can go on are the facts at hand. Too bad the facts, or missing "facts," on LT do not bode well for a successful Thompson Administration. Time will tell, it always does.

What to look for next...
How will Mr. James Ellison be rewarded for his queen making skills?

Will Ellison's law firm be benefiting from preferential city treatment? No bid contracts anyone?

How will Thompson balance the crushing debt, need for more police, possible sale of city assets, and/or potential tax hike?

Watching all this play out will be interesting.

Election Day Eve

Tomorrow, the voters will determine the course Harrisburg takes for the next four years. Our beloved city is in serious deep shit, so make sure you know who you are voting for and why you are voting for them.

American politics may not be pretty, but it is still better than any other system of governance out there. Okay, almost anyway. So whatever you do, just vote. It is the only real voice you have.

Good luck to both candidates.

By the River Re-post

David DeKok lays it all out very nicely on his blog, By the River.

Below is a re-post of David's thoughts on the Harrisburg Mayoral Election.



***

October 31, 2009

The Harrisburg we want

I've already voted absentee for Nevin Mindlin for mayor of Harrisburg, because I'm going away on a research trip for my next book and won't be in town on Election Day. But before I hit the road, I want to say a few words about why it is important that Linda Thompson not become the next mayor of Harrisburg. Whether you are black, white, Asian or Hispanic, you should want a mayor who is smart, honest, transparent, and capable, and who will not embarrass us. Thompson may be smart, but she has none of those other qualities. And she seems almost predestined to embarrass the city again, and again, and again, on the order of Mayor (now Councilman) Marion Barry in Washington, D.C., but probably in different ways.

Finances

Thompson asks us to put her in charge of the $122 million Harrisburg city budget, but has not provided any evidence that she is a good steward of her own or other people's money. She has refused to answer further questions about the finances or accomplishments of her Loveship non-profit, deeming them not of interest to her base. The one success story she touted on Loveship's website for several years turned out to be false. The house that was supposedly going to be rehabilitated for a low-income family was shown by Channel 21 to still be a boarded up hulk. There are serious questions of how she can afford to live in a luxury highrise apartment or drive a Mercedes on her $20,000 annual salary for being a member of City Council plus the $10,000 annual rent paid her by Loveship. She has attributed some of this to the generosity of her brother, Steven Crawford, who won a big legal settlement for being wrongly convicted of murder. Finally, again thanks to Channel 21, we now know that Discover Financial Services sued her at the beginning of this year for non-payment on a credit card account.

Behavior

Stories about Thompson's temperament, especially her behavior toward people who anger her, are legion. Those in the know will recognize what I mean when I say "West Shore car dealership" and "Harrisburg tobacco store." She filed a lawsuit against a Bucks County gas station after she spilled gasoline on herself and supposedly suffered permanent psychological damage. Thompson had high negatives outside her base of black uptown voters and a few anti-Reed whites when she began her campaign because of her rants as City Council president during council meetings broadcast on Channel 20, on occasion telling people she didn't like to "sit down and shut up." Just recently, like a petulant child, she barred reporters who wrote stories she didn't like from a press conference. Her "angry black woman" mode, which seems to be 'on' most of the time, is one big reason she has scared the hell out of many white voters.

Religion

Thompson is a black fundamentalist who, in her own words, sees herself as the prophet Nehemiah, sent to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, i.e., Harrisburg. She has drawn the support of 25 black clergy in the city, some of whom have endorsed her on their websites or, in the case of Rev. Martin Odom, from the pulpit ("Please welcome the next mayor of Harrisburg"), raising questions about their compliance with IRS rules for non-profits.

Cluelessness

Thompson professes to see no conflict in having James Ellison, the chairman of the Harrisburg Authority, which owns the incinerator mess, as the chairman of her campaign for mayor. When she appeared on WITF "Smart Talk" on Friday, she dodged questions about whether Ellison would remain as chairman if she became mayor. A big part of honesty is obeying the rules, written and unwritten, even when it's inconvenient or no one is looking. She has talked repeatedly about businesses that get tax breaks being required to "give back to the community," which could be taken as yet another touchy-feely maxim--or a planned shakedown. Legal? Perhaps. Smart and ethical? Nope.

Race and Economics

It is clear that Thompson sees blacks as her primary constituents, possibly as her only constituents. She pays only the barest of lip service to reaching out to voters of other races. She has promised to divert money spent on downtown Harrisburg to the poor areas of the city, without stating how that money would actually improve the lot of residents there. Economic development is unlikely to occur in any substantive way in Allison Hill or uptown unless they are gentrified, and maybe not even then. Just recently, the N.F. String company, which was located for years at 1380 Howard St. in Allison Hill and was a benevolent employer of many neighborhood residents, announced it was leaving the city because of active opposition in the neighborhood to its expansion plans. Does Thompson plan to divert taxpayer money to non-profit organizations like Loveship to run Kumbaya programs that have little accountability and accomplish less? We have heard nothing from Thompson except glittering generalities.

Real Estate Values

I have heard anecdotal reports that real estate agents are already downgrading the value of city homes in Shipoke and other good neighborhoods, requiring sellers to put up lower asking prices because of the possibility Thompson will become mayor. If true, and one supposes the bad economy is also a factor, that is indeed unfortunate. Some longtime residents vow to leave the city if Thompson wins on Tuesday. Many middle class people of all races have substantial personal investments in Harrisburg through their homes or businesses. They have worked hard to build the city, and don't deserve to have their hard work flushed down the toilet.

Party Politics

This election has almost nothing to do with traditional Democratic-Republican politics. It is more accurate to say that Linda Thompson is the candidate of the Angry African-American Party, and her opponent Nevin Mindlin is the candidate of the Urban Success and Optimism Party. That's why the big Democratic registration edge in Harrisburg is largely meaningless in this election, and why the big-name endorsements from Gov. Rendell and Sen. Specter (but interestingly, not from Sen. Casey) don't count for much.

Thompson won the Democratic primary because she mobilized her angry black base, because Republicans and independents could not vote for Mayor Stephen Reed, and because many Reed Democrats stayed home or didn't bother to get absentee ballots because they thought he would easily be re-elected. What they didn't take into account was that a pre-election poll that seemed to show Reed winning might be terribly wrong, and that Reed had been badly damaged by the incinerator and Museum of the American West scandals.

Because there has been so much publicity about this election, and because Thompson's shortcomings are now widely known, the number of voters who reflexively vote for her simply because she is the Democratic candidate is likely to be far lower than it was in other elections. Reed is no longer a factor in this election, in spite of the efforts of two Bishop McDevitt students to encourage voters to write-in Reed for mayor, arguing, like Ralph Nader did in Florida in 2000, that the two major party candidates are both equally bad. And you know what that got us back then--George W. Bush. Anyone who writes in Reed is in effect voting for Linda Thompson and should not harbor any illusions to the contrary.

I like Nevin Mindlin, even though I am a nearly lifelong yellow-dog Democrat. He is smart, honest, and transparent, has no baggage that anyone has found or is likely to find, and promises a thoughtful, well-reasoned effort to resolve the city's problems. I would feel better about his chances if he had the money to buy TV ads to highlight Thompson's shortcomings, but I think he's going to pull this off. I think the momentum is with him.

***

What's that playin' on the radio?

Here is a clip of LT and Mindlin on WITF Radio.

The one black church in this Scott Gilbert segment sounds like they are breaking the rules by advocating a political candidate, or, in the very least, skirting pretty darn close to breaking the rules.

Mindlin sounded pretty good; LT further grated on my nerves.

Listen and judge for yourself. Overall, a good and worthwhile piece.

Atlas unplugged?

What does it say about Harrisburg when the best advocate the taxpayers have is a non-elected, non-paid citizen?

Once again, Bill Cluck shoulders the burden like Atlas. Check this latest video out and watch Bill fight the good fight: William Cluck: "Ellison must resign (10/29/2009)."

Here's hoping beyond hope that enough of us can muster the courage to ignore party politics and vote for Mindlin.

Link: Roxbury News

Off limits? Um, hiding much?

Time for another Harrisburg Mayoral election haiku...

Linda's transparent,
Until people start looking
Not ready for Mayor...

Check out the latest Patriots News story: Harrisburg mayoral candidate Linda Thompson says questions about her nonprofit group are off limits.

HIGHLIGHTS (er...gag reel):

• Thompson said that she didn’t know who the board members of Loveship were and that she would provide the list Wednesday. (LT has been bragging about Loveship for as long as I can remember, you'd think she had a better grasp of what was going on at Loveship.)

• On Wednesday, LT said she would not provide a list of donors or a list of people the organization has helped because the information is CONFIDENTIAL (Even though she already blabbed about the Davis family and the failed "success" of the Jefferson Street home that is boarded up).

• When asked for a copy of Loveship’s 2008 tax return, Thompson said that one had not been completed yet. (Umm, 2009 is almost over. If you can't get your little ducks in a row, how can you possibly help fix Harrisburg?)

• She also said residents who are voting for her are not concerned about Loveship’s business. (Really? I'm concerned and I am a resident. Loveship is IMPORTANT! This is LT's baby and it speaks to her poor managerial abilities. Thompson is the one who invited this attention when she bragged about standing on her record, well, that is, until that record crumbled like toast. By the way, it seems like it is still crumbling.)

• The best part: In a recorded interview with Patriot-News reporter Sharon Smith, Thompson says she wants to focus on the campaign, accuses the newspaper of unfair reporting and threatens legal action. (Hmmm...she sure likes to sue people, especially after she invites everyone to look at her public record!!!)

You can't make this kind of crazy up.

Hands in the cookie jar. Isn't it obvious?

Better late than never, right? the media is finally picking up on one of my biggest concerns regarding Linda Thompson: JAMES ELLISON.

How can Mr. Ellison, Board Chairman of the Harrisburg Authority, also act as Linda Thompson's campaign manager? By the way, isn't he busy enough as Board Chairman? Isn't the authority defaulting on debt payments? Um, that is kind of serious! Especially since the city is now on the hook for those payments and that could raise our taxes.

These sorts of cozy, convenient inner circle relationships are what really led me to oppose Stephen Reed. Believe me folks, this is the writing on the wall. For a minute, forget LT's utter lunacy, her poor managerial skills at "Lovesink," and her combative nature. A potential Thompson Adminsitration will be a crony Reed-esque affair with Ellison having a hand in far too much. I also guarantee that his law firm will be getting the lion's share of the city's no-bid contract work.

Kudos to Bill Cluck for lighting a fire under the Fourth Estate's ass. Thanks also to CBS' WHPT 21 for calling greater attention to this (their story is below).

***

Conflict of Interest?
Reported by: Mike Parker
Email: mikeparker@cbs21.com
Last Update: 8:04 am

A Harrisburg man is calling on James Ellison to make a choice.

Currently, Ellison is serving as both Chairman of the Harrisburg Authority, and as Democrat Linda Thompson's mayoral campaign manager.

At Wednesday evening's meeting of the Harrisburg Authority, CBS 21 News was given a written statement from Harrisburg resident William Cluck. In the three-page document, Cluck called on Ellison to resign his post on the Authority, calling his dual role the cause of "tension."

The following is the opening paragraph of the statement:

"Tonight, I call for the resgnation of James Ellison as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Harrisburg Authority. Mr. Ellison has failed to perform his fiduciary duties due to the inherent tension between his position as chairman of Linda Thompson's campaign for Mayor and his oversight of the Harrisburg Authority and the $287 million debt associated with the incinerator. The Harrisburg Authority was unable to make any required debt service payments this year and has stated it will not next year. That means the City of Harrisburg and Dauphin County will be required to make those payments, reportedly as much as $71 million, likely resulting in substantial property tax increases for property owners in the city." -(William Cluck)

Cluck, who is a lawyer, is also a frequent critic of Harrisburg city government, and the Harrisburg Authority. He did not read the statement publicly during Wednesday's meeting.

CBS 21 News did provide Ellison with a copy of the statement, but he did not immediately read it, and declined comment.

Cluck says he has been considering a call for Ellison's resignation for "months."

In his statement, he refers indirectly to Ellison's lack of action on important issues facing the Authorty, since taking on the task of leading Thompson's campaign.

"It appears that politics and the spring primary got in the way of productive discussions among the County, City, and Authority. Now, the County has sued both the Authority and the City. The lawyers are involved. Has there been any progess since the spring primary?" Cluck asks.

On Tuesday, Linda Thompson made direct mention of the incinerator debt, and how the Harrisburg Authority and herself as a member of Harrisburg City Council were "partners." The comments were made during an exchange with Republican candidate Nevin Mindlin at a candidates' forum.

To keep the comments in context, the following is a partial transcript of the comments made by both Mindlin and Thompson:

"I don't think its in the best interest of the city to maintain and run the incinerator. I believe that we would be better served if we turned it over to private enterprise, and derive whatever tax income we might get from it," said Mindlin.

"The Harrisburg Authority owns the incinerator, ladies and gentlemen. Not the City of Harrisburg. We were gracious in guaranteeing that debt. We were partners in that. I made the decision to allow the administration to borrow $125 million dollars. And the only regret I have is that we didn't do more of accountability," responded Thompson.

What do you think? Is James Ellison's dual role as Chairman of the Harrisburg Authority and Campaign Manager for Linda Thompson a conflict of interest?

***