Monday, April 30, 2007

The LuLac Edition #208, April 30th, 2007










PHOTO INDEX: THE LATE CIVIL RIGHT LEADER, MARTIN LUTHER KING WHO MOST LIKELY WOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COUNCIL CANDIDATE TIM GRIER'S SKIN CANVAS AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE RADIO GUYS, ALWAYS STIMULATING THOUGHT AND PUBLIC DEBATE, KEVIN LYNN.


LYNN PITCHES


GRIER HITS


If you were listening to the Morning News program on WILK Radio this morning between 7am and 730am, you might have heard Kevin Lynn talking about the South Wilkes Barre City Council Forum held last night. Lynn made a comment about Council and Mayoral candidate's Tim Grier's tatoos saying that it indicates the person with the ink might have made some bad judgements along the way. To his credit, Grier called Lynn and explained that it was indeed art and that as far as bad decisions went, he did not get the tatoos in a place like jail but was involved in the body art community for a while. Lynn and Grier then had a cordial exchange on the issues and what seems to be a stumbling block for the young candidate had more light cast on it. I'm glad Grier called Lynn. He acquitted himself well and engaged Kevin in a sane, articulate debate that spoke well of the two men. I have had occasion to meet Tim Grier and he confided to me that sometimes he was self concious about the body art in the context of him running for elected office in Wilkes Barre. If he had not pointed the art out to me,I would not have even noticed. Working in the radio industry in the nineties, many young people his age had body art. It was not an issue in the way they sounded on the radio or in some cases sold advertising for the industry. As long as they did their jobs, no one cared about the insignias on their body canvas. Right now, Wilkes Barre is at a crossroads in a crucial election. The last thing that should be on anyone's mind is how a candidate looks,whether it be how tall or short they are or even how much ink is on their bodies. Grier has offered himself up as a candidate for public office because he has a passion for change. In some instances, he has burst through the door instead of politely knocking. But change is not about politeness anyway. In this part of the world, we moan about how all young people want to do is just hang out in bars and watch NASCAR and then go home and watch the NFL network. We dercy the apathy and say the only people interested in the voting are people over 45. In Tim Grier we have a veteran in his 30s who is pursuing a degree at a State University. The guy has a full plate but has jumped into the fray as part of this historic election. He should be applauded for his interest and ideas. The late Martin Luther King Junior said he wanted a world where people were judged by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin. I'm assuming he meant any color, manufactured or not. Let's judge our council candidates by what they say, not what they look like.



INSIDE THE ENDORSEMENTS


A few weeks ago, Mike Merritt received the endorsement of the City Democratic committee for Council in District "E". Many politicos cited the nod as business as usual since Merritt was a relative of Bill Brace. I stated in my blog that that fact didn't bother me as much asthe fact that Merritt worked in the same place as Tony Thomas. Now, I don't care what people do for a living and these guys are hard workers at Metropolitan. As a United Way staffer in the 80s, I toured that facility many times and no one stands around. But with the new reprsentative number of Council people at 5, these guys are one short of a quorum!! Anyway, a Democratic committee member weighed in on the proceedings of the actual endorsement process. And since we love the"inside baseball" stuff of the political game, we thought we'd share this glimpse into the meeting where the endorsement was made. This is aletter that was sent to the Times Leader last week:



Editor:
As a member of the Wilkes-Barre Democratic Executive Committee, I would like to comment on writer Ron Lieback's April 11 article about the committee's endorsement for District E of Wilkes-Barre City Council. One of the executive committee's responsibilities is to help Democrats select the Democrat they feel is the best suited candidate for their prospective elected seats. I sat and listened to all of the candidates pitch for the party's endorsement. First was Ron Silkosky, which int hree sentences asked that there be an open primary and the committee not endorse any candidate for District E. That was it; end of pitch. Second was Charlotte Raup. She told us about her involvement with Wilkes-Barre's Crime Watch. Yet she said nothing about her plans, if elected, as a council member. She, too, was very short-winded and asked for an open primary. Next was Virgil Argenta. He told the committee about his accomplishments as a businessman and landowner in our city. Yes, Mr. Argenta respectfully requested the nomination but also asked to leave the primary open. Now to me, that's talking out of both sides of his mouth. The fourth candidate was Mike Merritt. He spoke about his roots inWilkes-Barre and proceeded to tell us his hopes and aspirations as acouncil member and District E representative. Mr. Merritt asked to be selected for nomination as the endorsed candidate. As Mr. Merritt walked out of the meeting room I felt if it was a no-brainer that he should get the party's endorsement. Reading in your article, I understand Mike Merritt may be a relative of Chairman William "Bill" Brace. Chairman Brace told me nor anyone else of such a relationship. Mr. Merritt won the party's endorsement not by being a relative, but on Mr. Merritt's own merit.
Mike Belusko Wilkes-Barre Democratic
executive committee member

5 Comments:

At 7:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The fact that the Democratic committee now has to go on the defensive says to me that something about their endorsement in District E wasn’t kosher. They can spin their decision-making “skills” anyway they want, but why, all of a sudden, do they care about what other people think?

 
At 8:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My name is Bruce Szczecinski and I am running for Wilkes-Barre City Council in district "D".
District "D" includes Parsons, Heights, Miners Mills, and East End. I would like to first thank all of the people
in Wilkes-Barre for their overwhelming support. I am overjoyed to see the tremendous amount of signs that people
have placed on their private property to support me. I would also like to thank everyone on my committee for volunteering
their time for the better of the city. I would like to thank everyone for their generous campaign contributions. I would like to
thank all of the people in Wilkes-Barre that took the time to discuss their issues and concerns. I would like to thank the people on Matson
Ave at their cheese smoking cook out and the people at the surprise party on Brader Drive for their warm hospitality. Last but not Least I
would like to thank my lovely wife Antoinette for her patience and understanding, who I have not seen much due to my door to door campaigning.
When my committee and I went door to door we discussed several issues and concerns with the people. Some issues to me seemed easy to fix.
I was shocked to see that they even existed. For example a person who lives on Hillard street has been trying to obtain a recycling container
for quite some time. Other problems are more complex. For example a person on Hayes lane feared for her safety and the safety of her child.
The more my committee and I spoke to people the more clearer the issues became. At first their were issues specific to one person. Second their were issues
specific to certain areas Miners Mills, East End, Parsons, and Heights. Third their were issues that were specific to the District. Although there are
several issues on several levels I was able to come up with "4" (as in my sign Bruce Szczecinski "4" Wilkes-Barre City council) issues that were important for the
entire Wilkes-Barre City. These are issues that concern all people in Wilkes-Barre and although I am running in district "D" my goal is the betterment of the entire City.
1. Reinstate clutter clean up.
2. Implement and enforce a scheduled year round maintenance street service: Spring potholes, summer street cleaning/ paving, fall leaf pickup and drain cleaning,
and winter snow removal.
3. Implement and maintain a permanent drainage system for the entire city of Wilkes-Barre to prevent future flooding once and for all.
4. Take crime off the street and put cops on the beat.
After going door to door, and speaking with the people in the city, the issues and solutions are crystal clear.
Remember to vote and make your choice clear on election day Tuesday, May 15.

 
At 10:21 PM, Blogger Walter said...

Dave,
Thanks for your coverage of the Radio comments by Kevin Lynn regarding Tim Grier.
I must say that I have had the fantastic opportunity of being in the company of Mr. Tim Grier on many occasions and Tim is a gentlemen and a very knowledgeable person when it comes to Politics in Wilkes Barre and what is actually going on in the City Political arena.
Tim Grier has approached City Council on many occasions as a Taxpayer and citizen and was belittled and criticized by the Administration for no other reason than because they are afraid of his knowledge and ability.
I feel that the Mayor of Wilkes Barre should have hair on his head, but that doesn’t make him less of a person to everyone else and I don’t feel it is a reason to criticize the Mayor...I feel everyone is entitled to their own identity and we as people should not judge someone for the way they look or not look...
I would wonder if the person that went on the killing rampage in Virginia had tattoos on his body, would that have helped the law enforcement identify him as a person with a mental disorder and therefore save 33 lives ? I don’t think so...the truth of the matter is that we need to approach people with an open mind that will allow all of us the opportunity to learn and become better people that actually care about our fellow man..Tim Grier is this type of person, Tim is a man of character and moral fiber that I have not seen in many of the candidates that are currently seeking office in the City of Wilkes Barre and I am proud to say that Tim Grier is my friend and I wish him well in his quest to win the seat of Mayor of the City of Wilkes Barre.

Sincerely
Walter L Griffith Jr
City Council
District "A"

 
At 2:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thought Tim was running for council???

 
At 2:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Walter, i thought Tim was running for Council, isn't that why he was at the most recent debate???

 

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