Saturday, February 17, 2007

The LuLac Edition #156, Feb. 17, 2007





PICTURE INDEX: THE NEWEST TOOL AT THE CITY OF WILKES BARRE'S DISPOSAL FOR SNOW REMOVAL.


WHAT PEOPLE WANT FROM GOVERNMENT

People generally give government a pass. Political junkies like myself love the give and take of this stuff. We can tell you who ran thirty years ago and analyze the crap out of it. We furiously study position papers, land deals, partnerships, alliances, all that stuff. But your average citizen doesn't do that. They know who their Mayor is, might know a few councilmen and might give you the names of their state rep or State Senator. But for the most part, they ignore the process. Not because they are bad citizens but just because they have other interests, one of which is not the political bug. Smart, successful politicians know this fact about the average voter. They ask for their vote but will not aggressively court them because as long as they have the junkies, the partisans, the people who vote because it is in their interest or the interest of their family to vote, the officials have a majority that insures victory. Mayor Daley of Chicago knew that as did the late Senator Martin L. Murray and his handpicked County Chairman, the late Joe Tirpak. It is the "let sleeping dogs lie" theory of politics. And it usually works.
But every once in a while, Mother Nature will throw a monkey wrench into the equation. People care about their own needs and comforts. Most live in their own world, "work, school, church, home". The politics they leave to the guy up the street with the county job or the lady across the way with the daughter who does something for the city. But when nature fowls up people's lives, they look to government to provide the basics. Street plowing of snow on a storm predicted for three days and removal of such snow. Basic. They need to get to the one component of their world, work. When government, run by the politicos and junkies can't do the basics, then that detached voter awakens from their slumber and acts. It may be a knee jerk reaction but they rise up and vote. Their vote generally is emotional and usually blames someone. Three examples:

1977: Michael Bilandec, Mayor Richard Daley’s successor in Chicago is the favorite to be elected to a full term as Mayor of the Windy City. A blizzard surfaces, the city doesn’t respond as well as Mayor Daley’s administration would have and Jane Byrne becomes Mayor in response to the problems caused by the snow.

1984: People in the 11th Congressional District have to boil their water because of something found detrimental in the water supply. Congressman Frank Harrison, being groomed by House Speaker Tip O'Neill is in the tropics on a foreign policy fact finding mission not many Congressman are invited to attend. No matter, people in the district can't drink their own water and all they know is Harrison is someplace sunny and not responding to the problem. Your voters don't care if O'Neill is gong to make Harrison his successor, all they know is the water is bad. Paul Kanjorski is elected the new Congressman.

1985: Jim McNulty is coasting to re-election as Mayor of Scranton. A tropical storm hits in September of that year and many homes in Scranton are flooded. The Mayor puts on a yellow rain slicker and hops aboard a DPW truck. Too late: the perception is out there that his administration has ignored the neighborhoods. David Wentzel beats him by 121 votes.

Three examples, three basic needs of the voters, snow removal, clean water and flood protection. All of the aforementioned were acts of nature but the perception is the people in charge didn't do enough to provide the basics. Whether the Valentine's Day storm of 2007 will claim any victims on election day is still a question that is unanswered. But the fact that we are now asking the question is significant. History repeats itself.

QUICK HITS

MAYOR LEIGHTON:

Mr. Leighton has said that the city has moved from a snow plowing method to a snow removal mode of operation. The question needs to be asked, how can one remove snow when it is not yet cleaned up on the road surface.

RUMOR OF THE WEEK

Heard at the CityVest luncheon, some wags have indicated that the reason for the slow Penn Dot response might be the unhappiness of the rank and file workers toward the Governor. Word is the Governor seems to have shortchanged Penn Dot workers in his new budget and that someone was trying to send a message to his honor. NOTE: This is only a rumor but an interesting one anyway. In the meantime, Governor Ed and the state got national attention on NPR’s “All Things Considered”. The network interviewed various motorists stuck on the road for more than a day and suffice to say they weren’t happy with the Keystone State.

LOCAL BUSINESSES

An e mailer to WYOU TV’s interactive newscast made a great point. She pointed out that Penn Dot spokes people seemed to be blaming motorists for being on the road as “sightseers”. Her point was that many local businesses did not let employees leave work because of the almighty dollar and quite frankly did not give a damn about the safety of its workers. She blamed local employers partially for the issues on the road. And she’s right. A friend of mine worked the two days for a printing firm, they weren’t busy, but by golly he had to be there. Then there was the caller to WILK who was an employee of one of the local malls. She had to report to work on Wednesday in the middle of the storm. Who was going to shop anyway? We no longer have the coal mines to contend with as we enter this new century but the treatment of the NEPA workforce isn’t any better. We’re just more comfortable than our ancestors. But most workers are treated like meat. And if you want evidence of that, look at all the people stranded trying to do one basic thing: get home.

QUOTATIONS

“If this were the Governor’s election year, Lynn Swann might have a chance”.

“I’m disappointed in Rendell”.

“I hear Barney Farms and Riverside Drive is cleared and dry. The big shots from the city and the Chamber live there”.

“McGroarty might have been crazy as a shithouse rat but at least he knew enough to move the snow at night and clean things up”.

And this alluding to possible election year activity by those not even considering it before this weather event: “ I wasn't going to run, and then I thought, "What a mess. Not just the roads - the whole damn City. City Hall, the P.D., public works, everything." I had 30 people whom I had never met before sign my petition yesterday.”

11 Comments:

At 9:19 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Barney Farms? Riverside Drive? Local big shots live there?

Hmmmmmm! Isn't that the location of the proposed inflatable dam?

Nahhhh. No connection whatsoever.

Good post, thanks.

Kayak Dude

 
At 12:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ed pretty much cut off any juice local politicians had in finding jobs for supporters. During his first term, Harrisburg had more Ridge holdovers than it did Rendell appointments. The local governor's office placed one person in a job during Rendell's first two years, and ironically, it was a PennDOT laborer job. The thinking was that Rendell was looking to build bridges in order to get a lot his projects off the ground, and I guess he did. There are literally hundreds of high and mid level state management jobs that are held by Republicans, and although it might be a stretch, I suppose any number of them could be working, either alone or in concert, against Rendell. They want to see our next governor be a Republican, which could insure their survival. A good example is the head of PennDOT's District 4, wherein we all live; he's a lifelong Republican, and was promoted to district chief by Rendell himself. This guy(Steve Shimko)is eligible for retirement, I'd look for him to do it in the near future.

The head of PR at Dunmore, as noted elsewhere, also a lifelong Republican, as is the key media relations/press officer at PennDOT HQ in Harrisburg. I doubt Big Ed did himself any harm in all of this, since his political life may have been played out, but he is leaving a mess for those Democrats who try and follow.

My point in all of this is that there are a lot of important state decision-makers who have no genuine loyalty to the governor, and that could have played a significant role in this mess.

As always, great observations, Yonk. Politics, while appearing to be quite simple to many, is usually a twisted and complex animal right beneath the surface.

 
At 12:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't get the horrible clean up this snow storm, from PennDot to many of the local municipalities. Did we suddenly become a southern state? This is northeast PA, it is winter, it snows. How is it possible that we aren't good at keeping the roads plowed?

 
At 1:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You know I am so impressed with your insights. When you think about it, your average voter is like a foster child. All they want are the basics, food, fuel and a safe place to stay. Your average voter is hard working and non envious toward the haves and politically elite in this community. It's live and let live. But once something messes with the basics, whether it be nature or whatever and the power elite can't deliver, then whoa to the connected in charge.

 
At 1:56 PM, Blogger Tom Carten said...

>>>“I hear Barney Farms and Riverside Drive is cleared and dry. The big shots from the city and the Chamber live there”.<<<

I'm trying to track down an old quote, "'Someone said' is the biggest lie in the world."

I posted on some local blog, perhaps here, that I'd like some proof of statements like this. Show me the clean streets and I'll believe. Tell me you heard it somewhere and I'll tell you that bridges are sold to people like you.

 
At 11:42 PM, Blogger Tom Carten said...

UPDATE: Friend of mine heard from a good friend of hers that a relative went to the Mayor's house --knocked on his door-- he was so angry that his street had not been plowed. Reported that the Mayor's street was plowed clean.

Reported as heard.

 
At 12:34 AM, Blogger David Yonki said...

Tom: Thanks for your thoughts and input. I'm trying to give the Mayor the benefit of the doubt. The storm was tough. My vehicle is still frozen in our driveway. My main thing was to get the roof cleaned off so it would not collapse. The enormity of this storm was horrible. But what I think is bothering people here is lack of details from the city and the perception, warranted or not, that this administration ignores the neighborhoods. The quotes I put in the editions were real quotes I heard from frustrated citizens who wouldn't care if Leighton packed all administrative posts in City Hall with realtors, wouldn't care if they saw him riding out of town on a Martz Bus filled with Hooters girls or wouldn't care if he repaved Public Square in solid gold bricks. But the main complaint is that an essential service is not being handled well. It is an emotional issue because it involves people's routine and lives. As I write this, I see a large load lof snow on a truck making its way up North Main Street. The city is making the effort but that doesn't ease the frustration of those citizens I alluded to in an earlier edition.

 
At 1:22 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey, Tom I saw Barney Farms two days ago, and it is clear of snow from Cresent Drive into the Farms. If you are such a great reporter you know that you should checkout any leads or comments prior to reporting, you would have found out they were telling the truth. The same goes with the info you get from the City, don't believe it all, confirm it.

 
At 2:28 AM, Blogger Tom Carten said...

I wish to h*ck Mark Cour or someone whose opinion I respect (not always agree with, Mark, but respect) would ride his bike down to Barney Farms and find out first-hand if the area was plowed first and best, or if my contact's father/brother was just an angry guy who lied anyway.

I used to drive a snowplow, a secret from my hidden past, and I know how hard it is to move this kind of stuff. I don't know why some streets weren't touched, or were touched only lightly, but it might have to do with getting the main drags cleaned and what we had is every plow driver's nightmare.

Speaking of nights, when I went over to the CV around 1:30, the troops were doing North Wash.

Perhaps, in a lighter-weight storm, the DPW's plowing plan might have worked quite well. But at the slower pace, it just didn't go. As all politics is local, so is all snow plowing.

 
At 7:11 AM, Blogger David Yonki said...

IN RESPONSE

If you are such a great reporter you know that you should checkout any leads or comments prior to reporting,

I DON'T THINK TOM WAS IN THE ROLE OF A REPORTER HERE. I WAS PRINTING WHAT I HEARD ACTUAL PEOPLE SAY AND TOM JUST WANTED A LITTLE MORE VERIFICATION TO SUIT HIM NOT AS A REPORTER BUT AS A COMMENTOR. (AT LEAST I HOPE THAT'S WHAT HE WAS THINKING, HERE I AM SPEAKING FOR THE GUY). SOMETIMES WHEN BAD EVENTS LIKE THIS HAPPEN, PEOPLE WILL TEND TO EXAGGERATE. IN THIS CASE THEY DID NOT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS THOUGH. KEEP THEM COMING.

 
At 1:52 PM, Blogger Tom Carten said...

1:22-- If you are such a great reporter you know that you should checkout any leads or comments prior to reporting, you would have found out they were telling the truth.

Read blogs 1:56 and 11:42.

1:56 was in response to an "I heard" comment wanting first-hand info and 11:42 was noting a friend's relative actually going there and, supposedly, getting that look and reporting back.

(I'm a print columnist and online blogger, not a reporter.)

I don't know the circumstances of the Barney Farms area. Is it cleared because the Mayor lives there, is it an easy sweep for a lot of people, is it a connector road? I don't know; maybe you or Dave do. There are reasons, good and nefarious, why some roads get the deal and some don't. Mine got one middling pass, but only two families live on it; the rest is the college.

 

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