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?

***

Crime Data for the 21st Century

Now this is interesting. I found this link while perusing the nasty bile found on the Pennlive forum. Sadly, the Harrisburg forum is turning into speediest way to find good story links.


The good news for you is that I found this gem: http://www.spotcrime.com/pa/harrisburg.

This link provides and interactive map of crimes occurring in Harrisburg (and other cities too!). Though I do see one incident that did actually happen, as always, I would advise that folks observe the usual, healthy amount of skepticism to all things found on the Internet.

Enjoy.

Please, someone put out this fire...

Rough day for LT.

Today we saw Less Ford, a Democratic candidate for mayor in the primary, endorse Republican Mindlin (Oh the horror!). I applaud Ford for being able to transcend party affiliation.

Later we saw Thompson claiming to have won the Patriot News' endorsement...only she did not get their endorsement. Um, yeah, Linda, you need to read those endorsements carefully and in their entirety before jumping the gun like that.

Hey, people make mistakes, right? Let's face it, LT is under a lot of stress right now. Probably due to what happened to her in this Patriot News story involving gasoline, which still has me scratching my head (Seriously, WTF?)

Harrisburg has big problems and needs a steady course setting to get us through this debt and crime mess. Let's get away from the growing LT weirdness. Really, I am sorry; it's just that I prefer my elected officials a bit more reflective and poised. Let's vote for Mindlin and ensure that we have a mayor who is deliberative and, well, boring. I just want my local government to work again, sans drama.

Scary Halloween Treat: The Angry Candidate

Yet another interesting (crazy ass) post concerning Linda Thompson on Harrisburg Forward.

If that story is true, then LT is certainly beginning to remind me of the little girl from The Exorcist. With Halloween approaching, that is certainly timely...but what do I know, I'm just a pathetic blogger.

:-)

Random, winded thoughts on the Harrisburg Mayor's Race

Sit back, drink some coffee, and peer in my addled mind...


Masterpiece Theater and the resurgence of Investigative Journalism
I think we all knew this mayoral election would get ugly. Linda Thompson is a self-proclaimed passionate person. I think LT is trying to re-brand her image; to me, passionate in her sense is another way of saying that she brings the drama. As of today, there is no doubt that the ongoing mayoral election drama has fired up the Pennlive forums and also rekindled investigative journalism from local TV stations and the Patriot News. Kudos to the Fourth Estate, now stay awake...

Pennlive Posion
I've never commented on Pennlive's forums. Some of the folks that do comment are thoughtful and measured. Those people are in the minority. Simply put, anonymity often brings out the worst in people, and no where is that truer than in the nasty, brutish, and short comments found in Pennlive's front-line trenches, er...forums, particularly as they relate to this year's historic open mayoral election. Some of the English found on these forums is downright garbled, ignorant, lazy, cruel, and classless (Not like my blog...um...because I'm sunny and clever...right? Bastards.)

The devil is in the details...
Linda Thompson has often commented that her records are open and that she stands by them.
Well, it certainly seems like people are starting to take notice and question the growing discrepancies between what Linda says, what Linda does, and what Linda said she did. Today's Patriot News story: Harrisburg mayoral candidate Linda Thompson tells more about her finances further attempts to twist open this prickly pickle jar. The story asks questions, but LT's answers just leave me with more questions. I am staying tuned for more.

Were there really any swing voters at the debate?
I attended Wednesday's debate at the Zembo shrine with Ms. Girlfriend and a GOP friend. Frankly, I thought LT's performance was better. Clearly, she is the more experienced candidate (remember that I said this when you read later thoughts below) and she knows how to work a room. Mindlin is about as exciting as listening to a bathtub drain water. LT, as the better candidate, says just enough to cater to all interests. I think that she rightly tailors what she says based on her audience, and that is just smart politics. The attending audience was for the most part respectful of both candidates, but it is clear that LT brought her own cheering section that made up the majority of those present.

Bazinga!
Nevin nettled Thompson from the get-go. I can honestly state that Mindlin started the mud slinging by getting defensive over negative comments Thompson made at the previous debate about Nevin's reasons for running. This was probably not a smart move and I am sure it alienated folks there, but, again, how many swing voters were actually there at the debate? Maybe he sought to unbalance Thompson early and put her on the defensive. Bottom line: It did not work.

LT is far more nimble with the one-liners and she definitely won the zinger contest. Nevin missed many opportunities to zing her back with satisfaction. At one point, Mindlin was told that he should live on the hill (Allison Hill) after he mentioned that four at large city council members lived in, or near, his uptown neighborhood. The original point being that Allison Hill lacks real city representation on council (a fair point by the way). After being chided for not living up on the hill himself by Thompson, I wish that Nevin had pointed out that LT doesn't live on the hill either. There were loads of little retorts that Nevin could have made. While the "zing game" makes for good political theater, especially for a candidate's supporters, we're all better off discussing real problems facing Harrisburg.

The Ghost of Ayn Rand
Mindlin comes across as professorial. On Wednesday, for whatever reason, Mindlin, at times, spoke to this majority Democratic audience using phrases like "self-determination" and "picking oneself up by their bootstraps." I get what he was trying to say, but did he think he was at book club meeting discussing the merits of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead? Such comments are a poor choice for any candidate trying to make his way in a one party Democratic town. To me at least, it is indicative of being politically tone deaf. It doesn't matter if he was right or wrong, those words automatically ear-muffed most listeners in the room to anything good Mindlin had to say, and that is the last thing any candidate should want.

Oh crap...
In particular, those words, and other tidbits of Republican sloganism spewed by Mindlin, had a very detrimental effect on Ms. Girlfriend. She is the more liberal half of this couple (not by much) and Mindlin's meanderings greatly reduced the likelihood of her voting for him. This shocked me at first; later it annoyed me. Perhaps I am just more utilitarian in who gets my vote (as I am supporting Mindlin). Ultimately, it should not matter: it is her vote and she is entitled to use it as she pleases (I will be hiding her glasses in spite.)

Demobots: programmed to vote blue or snooze through the election
I was less shocked to learn that there are many Democrats in Harrisburg that are echoing Ms. Girlfriend's sentiments on Nevin. I've been getting earfuls from Democrats that loathe Thompson personally and will not be voting for her. In the same breath, these same life-long Democrats refuse to vote for a Republican. It's as if they are just hard wired in such a way that pushing the scary "Mindlin-Republican button" will violate their programming (or kill a puppy somewhere). I am still amazed at the power of party politics, even as such partisan pigeonholing wanes.

Think it through
I completely agree that Nevin sometimes sounds like Republican dorkmeister; but right now, and at the local level, I think Mindlin will be the better mayor. A major question Democrats should ask is: How much damage can Nevin the GOP slogan shiller do at the local level? Mindlin is NOT a right wing zealot. Though I sense that he has trouble empathizing with any other viewpoint outside of his personal experiences. A better question is this: Which candidate with interact better with our solidly Democratic City Council? The easy answer should be fellow Democrat LT, but I don't think that is right. In any event, Republican Mindlin will still have a Democratic City Council with which to contend.

Also, notice earlier that I did not say that Mindlin is the better candidate, even though he did knock on my door and Thompson DID NOT (by the way, too late Linda...so bitter). The main difference between these two people is clear to me at least: Nevin will make for a better manager of the major problems facing this city--problems that are so large that any tough decisions he will make may well lead him to becoming a one term mayor.

Thompson, on the other hand, did some serious buck passing on her incinerator vote, and admitted as much on Wednesday. I would have preferred that she admit messing up on the vote. Rather, she claimed that as a freshmen member of council that she relied on the expertise of those who knew better. I'd argue that her alliance with Harrisburg Authority board chairman James Ellison (her campaign manager) is simply an extension of LT deferring to the expertise of other people. The more she trumpets herself as "doer, who lives it," the more she looks insecure and vulnerable to me. I wonder, and worry, about the influence that Ellison will have on a Mayor Thompson, should she win. Will Ellison's law firm be getting the lion's share of the city bond work? His firm has already given her campaign money. If any watchdogs eyeball a possible Thompson Administration, Ellison quid-pro-quos should be at the top of the watch list.

LT: Turning out to be Reed-Lite?
I voted for Linda Thompson in the primary because I felt that Mayor Reed's many years in office left him too corrupt and too compromised to govern in a city beset by BIG problems. As the Klieg lights are being focused on Thompson's finances, Loveship failures, and ethics form questions, I am beginning to question her ability to handle details, her ability to provide transparency (something she rallied against Reed for), and her ability to even back up her own resume as a proven leader. She is looking like a mini-version of Reed right now, and the last thing I want is another Reed.

When all is said and done, I'll be voting for Mindlin because this city needs a manager and a problem solver, even one that occasionally sounds like a hackneyed echo of Ronald Regan's Greatest Hits. Honestly Nevin, watch a Michael Moore movie. Get with it. And please know that I think LT is right on KOZs (you should have zinged her about Rendell's endorsement, after all, his Edness helped with the foolish Midtown KOZ).

In the end...
For those who are on the fence, that is your choice. Personally, not voting to me is akin to cowardice.

But, who the hell am I to tell you how to vote. I may feel superior for picking the lesser of two evils, but in the end I really know that voting is all about:

1. Yelling at people trying to hand me their literature (seriously, eff off!);
2. Signing in at my polling place;
3. Making cranky jokes with my neighbors;
4. Getting into the booth, shutting the curtain;
   
5. Holding my nose;
6. And pressing a series of buttons for candidates that can never live up to my standards.

PHOTO CREDIT

WE ARE DROWNING IN DEBT

Here is the latest from the Patriot News on the DOOMED Incinerator: Harrisburg Authority takes on more debt to help city make incinerator payments.


Honestly, I'm too disgusted to re-post the article.

Linda said what?

What the hell is Linda Thompson talking about?

The Patriot News (see below) is reporting that LT is saying something close to the following: Mindlin is wasting all this time running for office because he has a personal vendetta against Reed because Reed pressured Mindlin’s son, Josh Mindlin, to withdraw his candidacy from a seat on city council two years ago.

Er...what?

Wow. If that is true, never piss off Nevin Mindlin because he's so hard core that he might run for public office. Let that be a fair warning to the Nevin's neighbors. That's right, if you don't sweep your sidewalks and keep the neighborhood tidy, he'll run for Sidewalk Patrol. You so don't want that.

Sure, I am making fun of all this because it is soooo utterly stupid. Maybe the way the Patriot News is reporting this is overblown. Who knows. But if it isn't the story taking liberties with her words, then Linda Thompson is one messed up sack of doorknobs for issuing such a moronic, personal statement against Mindlin.

It has been my experience that politicians act out when they get bad news. Maybe LT did polling and she's no longer so presumptuous of her win.

***

Harrisburg mayoral race gets personal during tonight's debate

By DAN MILLER, The Patriot-News
October 19, 2009, 8:54PM


The race for Harrisburg mayor got personal during a debate Monday night, as Democrat City Council President Linda Thompson accused Republican opponent Nevin Mindlin of not being honest with voters on why he is running.

Thompson said Mindlin decided to run out of a vendetta against Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed, whom Thompson said was responsible for pressuring Mindlin’s son Joshua Mindlin to withdraw his candidacy from a seat on city council two years ago. Joshua Mindlin is Nevin Mindlin’s campaign manager in the Harrisburg mayoral race.

Thompson also said Mindlin ran in the Republican primary just so Reed, a Democrat, wouldn’t be able to get enough write-in votes to run in the fall on the GOP ballot.

Reed lost to Thompson in the primary and his 335 write-in votes on the Republican side fell short of the 423 votes Mindlin got from being on the GOP ballot.

Mindlin did not directly respond to Thompson’s accusation during the debate.

Asked for comment afterward, Mindlin acknowledged part of the reason he decided to run was to change the politics of city government in light of what happened to his son. But he denied that his son’s experience was the chief motivation behind his candidacy.

"She called me a liar and questioned my integrity. He (Joshua) was challenged. I stood by my son and he stepped away from it. You don’t run for mayor on a vendetta like that. It’s ridiculous."

Good read in the Central Penn Business Journal

Below is a excellent article from the Central Penn Business Journal on a local business that wanted to expand in Allison Hill, create more jobs, and build on a brownfield site. Sounds great right?!?

The only hitch is that the Community Action Commission (CAC), a group that works on behalf of low-income individuals, wants to stop expansion of the business and build parks instead.

I thought we needed jobs in the city. Hell, I thought we needed people and businesses to stay in Allison Hill period!

What a mess. This whole story is a comedy of errors. Read it for yourself to see where business, government officials, and community advocates all collectively failed.


***

Manufacturer feels forced out of capital
10/16/2009

A coin roller and change counting-machine manufacturer in Harrisburg's South Allison Hill neighborhood wants to get out of the city.

At 1380 Howard St., N.F. String & Son Inc. is surrounded by abandoned buildings, vacant tracts, litter and crime.

But Vice President Gregory F. String, who runs the company, said blight isn't making him move the business. He said it's satisfying providing full-time jobs with full benefits to 52 employees, many of whom are from the depressed neighborhood.

String wants to move to the West Shore because in 2006 Harrisburg's Community Action Commission blocked his bid to expand on an unoccupied 4-acre former brownfield the commission owns across from N.F. String. The commission is an Allison Hill nonprofit that focuses on making families and individuals self sufficient. This includes job training, job placement, housing initiatives and life-skills training.

String said he had hoped to spend about $10 million to build a campus for his business in the neighborhood.

He said he wanted to buy the plot from the commission to develop an 80,000-square-foot building where his company would produce cardboard for its products. He said he also wanted to expand into two other buildings -- totaling 82,000 square feet -- and use the 52,000-square-foot building N.F. String is in for research and development.

But at about the same time String set his sights on the commission's tract, the commission drew up the South Allison Hill Strategic Plan using input from community surveys, said Mayor Stephen R. Reed. The plan called for a vocational school and recreation area on the property, which included basketball and tennis courts, Reed said. And that turned out to be the stumbling block, he said.

Reed said he supported N.F. String's plans because the expansion meant more jobs in the city and it would add to Harrisburg's tax base. The company paid about $18,600 in taxes to the city this year, company controller Randy Lehman said.

When String took his idea to the city, Reed was supportive, String said.

"We asked for a meeting with (Reed). We said we would add 100 jobs in two years. Then (the city) started to be very serious," he said.

The mayor promised to sell the property to String because neither he nor String knew the commission owned the land, String said. And when the mayor found out the commission owned the land, String said, Reed gave him assurances the sale to the company would happen.

"(Reed) promised it wouldn't be a problem," String said.

The mayor denied not knowing that the commission owned the land when String introduced his plans.

"Our position was and remains that (the expansion) can and should happen," Reed said. "I can't promise him that site. He has to work out the details."

The plot is empty today. And a vocational school wouldn't be viable for the site because there are several others in Harrisburg, Reed said. String's plan still would be the best use for the property, he said.

Reed said he tried to get the two sides to meet in the middle, but neither the commission nor String would budge. String said he needed the entire tract, Reed said.

The commission's executive director at the time was Linda Figueroa, and she and String had words, which didn't help the situation, Reed said.

Figueroa, who retired in the summer, could not be reached for comment. She was replaced by Alfred Worley. After repeated unanswered phone calls to Worley, his assistant said he could not set up an interview as of press time.

Reed said he does not know what the commission wants to do with the land, but Harrisburg's Hamilton Health Care has since purchased the adjacent building where String wanted to build his change counters, Reed said. The state formerly used that building to run a print shop.

Reed said he wants to keep N.F. String in the city and would look into the matter.

Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick stepped in as the arguments were taking place between String and the commission to see if he could help mend the situation. After one meeting, String said, he never heard from Hartwick again.

The state Department of Environmental Protection gave an approximately $500,000 grant to the city to clean the empty site around the time String became interested in the land. Two years ago, a representative from Gov. Ed Rendell's Action Team showed up to see if N.F. String still was interested in the property, String said. After telling the representative he was interested, he never heard from him either, String said.

The only reason N.F. String hasn't left Harrisburg yet, String said, is because he is trying to find a building large enough to house his expansion that sits along a bus route. He has promised to take his employees with him, and many of them don't drive, he said. String also said he is going to pay for his employees' bus fares when the business leaves Allison Hill.

String said he is fed up and nothing will keep him in Harrisburg.

N.F. String would have paid $5,200 more in occupational taxes to the city annually for the 100 additional employees. And the company would have paid more than $30,000 this year in real estate taxes on the new structure and the adjacent building it wanted to build its change machines in. It also would have paid real estate taxes on the smaller building it planned to put up.

When String leaves, it will be a serious blow, said Bob Jackson, chief executive officer of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Pennsylvania. At 1735 State St., the chamber is several blocks from N.F. String.

Jackson said parks and playgrounds are important, but jobs are more important to the area surrounding Howard Street. No other investors are going to spend $10 million to grow business around Howard Street, he said. The mayor should try to keep the company in Harrisburg, he said.

"I'm quite sure we could use the 100 jobs," Jackson said. "That's how neighborhoods grow, shoot. We want to build the community and the neighborhoods around here. I have been here on this corner for 38 years, and I haven't seen too much go on."

Cleanup mix-up

Harrisburg's N.F. String & Son Inc. wanted to expand on a former brownfield site across from its facility at 1380 Howard St.

A defunct automotive parts company had operated out of several buildings on the 4-acre property, and oil and other contaminates had seeped into the ground. The city demolished all of the buildings on the property last year and used an approximately $500,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to clean the tract.

N.F. String Vice President Gregory F. String said a news conference including Mayor Stephen R. Reed and DEP was scheduled to announce the project, but it was abruptly cancelled because it turned out that the city-based Community Action Commission owned the land, not the city.

Reed said the cleanup had nothing to do with N.F. String.

"The DEP press conference had already been planned with the city. It was unrelated to his project," Reed said. "It had nothing to do with the N.F. String company."

If the company wants to still pursue the project, Reed said, he will try to help.

"It's a good project," Reed said. "That is now a developable site."

String, however, said he is looking for a West Shore location.

No sale

N.F. String & Son Inc. wanted to expand from 1380 Howard St. (blue dot) in Harrisburg's South Allison Hill neighborhood to the unoccupied 4-acre former brownfield shown in light blue.

***

Opening up the captain's log on Loveship?

Talk about walking the plank. Today is not a good day for Linda Thompson. It looks like her record is being examined with a measure of thoroughness by some local gadflies. Politics ain't bean bag baby.

Without further wait, here is another interesting blog post courtesy of David DeKok over at By The River. (Read Below)

***

Loveship on the rocks

Scooped! The Harrisburg Forward blog beat me to the punch with its examination of mayoral candidate Linda Thompson's 501(c)3 non-profit community aid organization, Loveship, Inc., located at 2308 N. Fifth Street in Harrisburg. The HQ is in the heart of one of Harrisburg's worst neighborhoods, although Thompson herself lives well above the street violence she rightly rails against on the sixth floor of the Towne House Apartments, a nice highrise at 6th & Boas streets near the Capitol Complex.

I've linked to Harrisburg Forward's article above. Suffice it say, Thompson told the Patriot-News with great fanfare in 2007 that Loveship was going to restore a house at 2308 N. Jefferson St., a four-minute walk from the Loveship headquarters, and move in a poor family. The photo posted by the blog doesn't suggest that much of anything has been done to fix up the house in the past two years. Makes you wonder about her other promises, doesn't it?

Thompson makes $20,000 a year as a member of Harrisburg City Council, according to city spokesman Matt Coulter, and doesn't get a bump for being council president. She lists her council job and Loveship as her only sources of income on her financial disclosure form filed with the city clerk. How does she afford what she describes as her "suite" at Towne House, where a studio apartment rents for $580 a month? Answer: she has to be getting the rest from Loveship--or a source she has not disclosed.

Non-profits are required to file an IRS Form 990 in lieu of a regular income tax return. Unlike income tax returns, 990s are public documents. You can ask any non-profit to see their 990 and they have to show it to you. It is basically a profit-and-loss form for non-profits, showing income and expenditures but not always in any great detail. A friend found Loveship's 990 forms for 2005, 2006, and 2007 on Guidestar.org, a financial disclosure website.

In 2005, she reported Loveship revenues of $32,528 (no sources were identified) and claimed $31,683 was spent on "program services," described by her on the form as "Provide training in employment, counseling, housing and economic development to help less fortunate individuals become self-sufficient." She said just over $3,100 was spent on "management and general expenses." In 2006, she reported $24,466 in revenues and just over $23,500 in "program services." Management and general services were just over $2000. In 2007, the 990 form changed slightly and included a specific line item for salaries. She listed $32,420 in revenue that year and nothing paid out in salary.

It just doesn't add up. She also has a $25,000 car loan, according to her financial disclosure statements, and took a loan of unspecified size at zero percent from Loveship in 2008. Whether that loan was for her campaign isn't disclosed. She also has a student loan from PHEAA--she graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1985, a university spokeswoman confirmed.

There are rumors that Thompson benefits from the huge settlement won by her brother, Steven Crawford, when he was freed from prison many years after being wrongfully convicted of murder in Dauphin County in 1970. See p. 38 of Jet magazine here for the story, and a photograph of Thompson and her brother.
If so, she hasn't included income from this on her financial disclosure statements.

She also hasn't filed an annual report for Loveship with the state Corporation Bureau since 2001. I'm still waiting to hear from the Department of State whether that violates any law or regulation.

Do we really want her as mayor of Harrisburg?

***

I wonder if anyone is eyeballing Mindlin's records with as much interest...

PHOTO CREDIT: PennLive

Thompson's "Loveship" floats better on paper

A friend emailed me a link to an interesting new blog: Harrisburg Forward.

This blog's first post is entitled Linda and The Love Boat and takes a hard look at Linda Thompson's self hyped charity, LOVES.H.I.P. It is important to note that LT often cites Loveship as a reason why she is qualified to be mayor.

On LT's website , LOVES.H.I.P. is mentioned under experience in the following passage:

In addition to her outreach, President Thompson founded and is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of the noted faith-based non-profit organization called LOVES.H.I.P. Incorporated a Self Help Improvement Program, that instills love, inspires hope and provides education, housing, economic and workforce development training to minorities and economically disadvantaged individuals.

Wow, that is quite a mouthful of warm fuzzies. Loveship is also a "noted faith-based organization." Oh is it now!?! According to Harrisburg Forward, LOVES.H.I.P. Inc.'s one success story appears to not be quite the success story any longer. The house at 2308 Jefferson Street, which at one point was the home of the Davis family, now appears to be boarded up and uninhabited.

This is all very curious. I wish that the folks at the Patriot News would investigate this matter more fully. How did Linda Thompson's mission to get this family a home fall to pieces? More importantly, is this family alright?

Odd how LT is mum on this. I'd like to learn more. I'd also like to know why another politician seems to be trying to bullshit their way into office. We had enough of that under Reed, and LT seems to have inherited Reed's playbook.

Stoopid people...er

Ah, now this is interesting, in sad sort of way. The Patriot News had a delightful story concerning the intelligence of those living in the Harrisburg region. Apparently, we rank 50th out of 55. I imagine that many have taken offense at such a low ranking. However, I have a perfectly reasonable response to this low ranking and it is this:

THOSE RANKING US CLEARLY FAILED TO ACCOUNT FOR THE ALL THE STATE POLITICIANS THAT COME TO WORK IN HARRISBURG.

I'd argue that the current state budget mess is reason enough to make this a valid argument. Without a doubt, our elected state officials have severely brought down Harrisburg's collective IQ. I pray that those determining rankings in the future will visit us again, preferably on a non-session day.


***

Harrisburg area ranks 50 out of 55 on 'smartest cities' list
By AMANDA PALLESCHI, The Patriot-News
October 16, 2009, 1:09PM

Forbes may have ranked it among the nation's most livable cities, but according to online magazine The Daily Beast, Harrisburg, Pa., isn't one of the smartest.

The Daily Beast recently ranked the top 55 most populous metropolitan areas from smartest to least smart, using criteria such as the number of bachelor's and master's degrees per capita, the number of institutions of higher education in the region and nonfiction book sales.

The Harrisburg region came in at 50. The site makes jokes about "blaming the Amish" and cites the "disparity in local opportunity" -- with a comparatively low number of higher education degrees and institutions per capita.

Philadelphia ranked 11th, while Pittsburgh came in at No. 27. Raleigh-Durham, N.C., came in first. Fresno, Calif., ranked last.

Humble like Jesus, or not...

For a person that speaks often for being so profoundly affected by the teachings of Jesus Christ, I can only only assume that Linda Thompson missed the lessons on humility.

Today's Partiot News has an article on Linda Thompson in which Linda's own words will no doubt rub many the wrong way.

When coupled with the fact that LT will likely ignore knocking on my door as she did in the Democratic Primary, and now this, it just pushes me into the Mindlin camp with gusto.

She might have the numbers to win, but I'm old fashioned. I like to believe that my vote counts and that politicians should not take me for granted. I may be a progressive and a liberal, but dammit if I am not going to be voting for Mindlin now. I will also be writing him a check, and this should really show how pissed I am.

For anyone that feels the same way, your only recourse will be to vote for Mindlin. If you have issues with voting Republican, then you should probably get over your belief that party politics are everything. Trust me, being a Democratic is just cheap shorthand for a basket of issues that not all Democrats can soundly agree to support.

Vote for the candidate, not the party.


***

Mayoral candidate Linda Thompson 'presumptuous in my win,' she says at NAACP forum
By SHARON SMITH, The Patriot-News
October 08, 2009, 11:19PM

Harrisburg voters won’t elect a new mayor until Nov. 3, but City Council President Linda Thompson is pretty confident the job belongs to her.

The Democrat, who unseated Mayor Stephen R. Reed after more than 27 years in office during the May primary, let audience members at a candidates’ forum Thursday know she is working on a Thompson administration.

“I am pleased to stand here and tell you that I’ve already been presumptuous in my win,” Thompson told the audience at the Greater Harrisburg Area NAACP candidates forum at the Central Allison Hill Community Center.

She said she has assembled the names of two transition teams, one devoted to education and the other to administration.

“I’ve already started interviewing for a [city] business manager,” she said.

Thompson has made no secret of her plans to fire Gerald Kohn, the superintendent of Harrisburg schools. She said she’s prepared to find his replacement.

She told the audience that she is taking steps to ensure the police department and the public works department will be ready.

“We are ready on Day One to make sure the city doesn’t shut down because of a change in leadership,” she said.

Republican Nevin Mindlin, who is challenging Thompson, said he also plans to use transition teams.

Unlike Thompson, Mindlin did not suggest that he would oust the school superintendent or make sweeping department changes. However, he said top management would change.

“I’ve already sent a letter to City Hall, and told them I am not interested in wholesale getting rid of people there,” he said. “There’s a lot of depth of knowledge; institutional understanding. And most of those people would be more than willing to work for the new mayor, knowing that the community wants a change in direction.”

By the River Repost

By the River is another Harrisburg blog I enjoy reading, regardless if I agree with what Dave writes. Though, I must say that I agree with him the majority of the time.

The author of By the River and I also share a mutual friendship with Bill Cluck, who is probably the one person that SHOULD be on Harrisburg City Council based on his considerable knowledge of the incinerator issue alone.

Below is Dave's latest post. Enjoy.


***

What's wrong with Linda?

I went to a meet-and-greet for mayoral candidate Nevin Mindlin tonight at the home of Alice Anne Schwab, who lives with her husband in Harrisburg's Midtown neighborhood. I recognized many of the people in the room as former supporters of Mayor Stephen Reed. Some of them were there to be persuaded that they should support the Republican candidate for mayor now that Reed has said he will not run a write-in campaign. I asked Eileen Young where her husband was. She told me he was sitting home, unable to entertain the idea of voting for a Republican. "He won't vote for Linda, though," she said.

I asked Mindlin what reasons he would give to people not to vote for Linda Thompson for mayor. The first reason he cited was that Thompson relies on her experience as Harrisburg City Council president to justify her claim to be qualified to be mayor, "but in City Council she helped enable the very problems we are now facing."

He meant the city incinerator debacle and her support of comingling the funds of the city and the Harrisburg Authority, calling it a "government Ponzi scheme." The authority owns the incinerator and its chairman, James Ellison, is Thompson's campaign manager and handler. "I don't know if it's a legal conflict of interest," Mindlin said. "But Ellison's law firm (Rhoads & Sinon of Harrisburg) represents the authority and gave $15,000 to her campaign." Whatever the nature of the links between Thompson and Ellison and Rhoads & Sinon, he said, they have "tainted" the entire situation.

Mindlin had to be coaxed to talk about Thompson, saying that he doesn't want to "go negative." Asked if he can defeat Thompson without making her the main issue, he thinks he can. "I would also tell people that I am a thoughtful, level-headed person, very steady, and that I exhibit the leadership qualities that people expect."

He has had several conversations with Mayor Reed since the primary election, and says he has promised a smooth transition. People in Harrisburg are often of two minds about Reed, he said, grateful to him for all he has done and fearful at his impending departure, but also angry at the missteps he made that led to his defeat.

Mindlin has ideas, lots of them really. He wants to get city government out of doing things that could be done by others, such as running festivals on holidays. He pointed to the example of Bethlehem, Pa., and its annual Musikfest, which is run by a non-profit. He would like to reduce traffic in downtown Harrisburg by making Second Street two lanes two ways, and making Front Street into a parkway. He is a fan of mass transit, though not necessarily the commuter rail line that has been stalled by the opposition of the Cumberland County Commissioners.

Linda Thompson has been "borrowing" some of his ideas and repackaging them as her own, Mindlin said. He is convinced that the public is getting a clear idea of who Thompson really is and who he is. "If she has any ideas, why haven't they been laid on the table?" he said.

But his obstacles are many, among them a much smaller campaign treasury than she has. No one, so far, has made a $15,000 donation to his campaign. "Even $5 would help," he told people tonight. Similarly, while he has gone door to door in the black, Hispanic, and Asian neighborhoods of the city, he is having trouble finding a way into homes. I asked him if he had been at a meet-and-greet like this in Allison Hill, and he said no, but that he very much wants to have one.

Mayoral Haiku and Democracy for Everyone

Here is my latest haiku:

Door knocking season,
Will Thompson visit my house?
Nevin Mindlin did.

And here we go again. I've been waiting for something exciting to happen before I posted anew. Sadly, everything has been status quo around here. For example, we still have no state budget, it still looks like our taxes will go up, and it appears that Linda Thompson has yet to knock on my door to ask for my vote as a registered Democrat.

Oh well, I must not be worth her time. I did vote for her in the Democratic Primary, but to be fair, none of the Democrats on the ballot back then knocked on my door either. Seriously, I bitched about it for a month of Sundays until Ms. Girlfriend smacked me upside my head and told me to man up. Points to her. But, I digress...

I hope that everyone intends to catch at least one of the mayoral debates. I certainly will be attending at least one. Barring any huge gaffes by Nevin Mindlin, I can tell you right now that I am strongly leaning toward supporting him. I even like his campaign slogan: DEMOCRACY FOR EVERYONE. Linda Thompson should ponder what that slogan means, because right now, she reminds me of George Bush in her approach to politics.

For any of you out there on the fence, I implore you to vote one way or the other.

Please do not waste a vote on a write-in. That is so foolish it could be an annoying Geico commercial, except that it'll be your "vote" starring at you with googly eyes thinking "WTF?" instead of a pile of money. That goes doubly so for anyone thinking of writing in Reed because you have personal issues with LT, and fear voting for a Republican like Mindlin. Honestly, what is the worse thing a Republican can do on the local level? Be careful, he might be against raising our taxes!

So, again, for those who do not care for LT and plan on writing in Reed's name, you may as well vote for Thompson directly because, in the end, the result will be the same.

On a final note: Where the hell are the city Republicans? Um, your candidate could use some help.