The LuLac Edition #330, Oct. 23rd, 2007
PHOTO INDEX: WILKES BARRE COUNCIL CANDIDATE IN DISTRICT A, WALTER GRIFFITH, LUZERNE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMISSIONER CANDIDATES GREG SKREPENAK AND MARYANNE PETRILLA, WILKES BARRE COUNCIL CANDIDATE IN DISTRICT C PETE GAGLIARDI AND ALFRED E. NEWMAN, THE "WHAT ME WORRY?" KID FROM MAD MAGAZINE.
PETE'S DEBATE
Wednesday, Oct. 24th, 7PM at King's College's Burke Auditorum in the McGowan Business Center the Wilkes Barre City Council candidates will have a forum, meeting, debate, however you want to catagorize it. I'm calling this event "Pete's Debate" after Pete Gaglardi. A graduate of King's (he spent most of his life at the Library there, thus the brilliant letters to the editor) Pete has been wrangling for more discussions during this campaign. LuLac tried to get another forum together but we had a few roadblocks in terms of finding a suitable place. Pete convinced some King's Government students to take this forum Wednesday night on as a project and with much persistence, it's a done deal. How many people will show is open to conjecture but the fact that the thing is being held at all is a tribute to Pete's belief in open government and the sharing of all ideas to make the city a better place to live. Way to go, your old Government professors would be proud you got out of the library and into the arena!
NOW A JAMES
We have an Urban, a Jones and now a James. My God these Republicans are something. You can't get them to run for anything together but seperately, they break their necks to go it alone. James said he is mounting a write-in campaign for Luzerne County commissioner on Nov. 6.
James ran as a Republican in May but lost. He said Monday that he wants to give voters an additional choice on Nov. 6 because he is not enthused with the other four contenders – Republicans Bill Jones and Stephen A. Urban, and Democrats Greg Skrepenak and Maryanne Petrilla.
Voters get to pick two, and the top three vote-getters land seats.
If the 2003 commissioner race is any indication, James would have to get more than 28,000 votes to land a seat.
Urban, who ran on a team with James in May, said he has no involvement in James’ write-in plan.
Jones said voters already rejected James twice because James also lost the 2003 general election.
Skrepenak was blunt about what he thinks is going on. Skrep says James is in the race to take votes away from Jones, thus giving Urban an edge. Skrepenak intimated that he thought Urban might be running scared but of course the Minority Commissioner disagreed.
This will be interesting to watch for the following reasons:
1. To see if James has enough name recognition to pull some votes.
2. It will be a gauge to see how a write in effort would work with the new voting machines. Bob Cordaro did it in Lackawanna County in the spring primary but he had a huge organization in place. James is just starting out. We shall see. But Skrep just might have a point, even though Urban has denied involvement. And I believe Urban. However this is just too Luzerne County Republican! BILL JONES----BILL JAMES, a perfect match except for a few letters. Vanna baby, where are ya?
MEANWHILE ON THE HILL
Up in the Crestwood District, School Board member Bill Jones is facing some interesting input from a non resident. It appears Luzerne County Commissioner Stephen A. Urban plans to join picketing Crestwood School District support workers on Thursday. Jones said health insurance co-payments are “the major sticking point” in the contract.
Urban said he plans to stand with the union workers because they have been working without a contract since August 2001. Urban said the county would never allow negotiations to drag on for six years. He pointed out that Jones was on the board for eight years.
“This tells a little about his leadership and not being able to sit down and negotiate in good faith,” Urban said of Jones to the Times Leader. “To me it shows a lackadaisical attitude on his part.”
Jones, a Crestwood School Board member, is running for county commissioner, and Urban is seeking re-election. They are both Republicans but are not running as a team on Nov. 6. That fact has to be a sheer delight to both Greg Skrepenak and Mary Anne Petrilla who curiously are not running against each other but on the same ticket. Only in this county would a GOP team for county office not only run against each other for office but openly antagonize each other.
In the meantime, reports from under the dome say that Skrep and Mary Anne have named their new campaign mascot, Mad Magazine "What Me Worry?" kid, Alred E. Newman. With this kind of stuff, why should they!
WALTER AGAIN!
Walter Griffith in District A has sent along a few words about his intentions.
Common sense reasons why you should vote Walter L. Griffith, Jr. for City Council:
I am a man of my word. My opponent flip-flops. My opponent said he supported small businesses coming to town, and then he went to a zoning hearing to try to stop a business from moving into his neighborhood. He has clearly demonstrated that he will do what he thinks is best for himself, not what is best for our city. I would have welcomed that business into our city, and along with it, the tax revenue that it would have generated. My campaign finance reports clearly indicate who has financially supported me and how I have spent my money. My opponent has been the subject of scrutiny due to the fact that his campaign finance reports incorrectly listed contributions and expenditures. I have frequently attended Wilkes-Barre City Council meetings for more than four years in order to gain the knowledge of how our city operates.
My opponent has not attended City Council meetings, even after
winning his party's nomination in the primary, showing us all how unconcerned he is with what is really going on in the city. We can clearly see by his attitude that he is just another one of the good ol' boys looking to take advantage of you and your trusting nature. I am not related to anyone in City Hall. My opponent has a son-in-lawwho is the mayor's assistant. How can we expect him to remain impartial as a councilman if his daughter depends on the mayor's good will for income?!?
The anwer is, we can't. My lack of family ties to the administration will allow me to make decisions that are in the best interest of everyone in Wilkes-Barre.
I am a man of my word. My opponent flip-flops. My opponent said he supported small businesses coming to town, and then he went to a zoning hearing to try to stop a business from moving into his neighborhood. He has clearly demonstrated that he will do what he thinks is best for himself, not what is best for our city. I would have welcomed that business into our city, and along with it, the tax revenue that it would have generated. My campaign finance reports clearly indicate who has financially supported me and how I have spent my money. My opponent has been the subject of scrutiny due to the fact that his campaign finance reports incorrectly listed contributions and expenditures. I have frequently attended Wilkes-Barre City Council meetings for more than four years in order to gain the knowledge of how our city operates.
My opponent has not attended City Council meetings, even after
winning his party's nomination in the primary, showing us all how unconcerned he is with what is really going on in the city. We can clearly see by his attitude that he is just another one of the good ol' boys looking to take advantage of you and your trusting nature. I am not related to anyone in City Hall. My opponent has a son-in-lawwho is the mayor's assistant. How can we expect him to remain impartial as a councilman if his daughter depends on the mayor's good will for income?!?
The anwer is, we can't. My lack of family ties to the administration will allow me to make decisions that are in the best interest of everyone in Wilkes-Barre.
posted by David Yonki @ 7:52 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I think the write in campaign, if that's what you want to call it for Bill James is a joke. The voters had the oppotunity to vote for Bill in the primary, and while 4,000 of them did, it was not enough. How can he say he's not happy with the other FOUR choices when he ran with Urban in the primary? You can bet this is another scheme thought up by Urban to pull votes away from Jones. I am a Republican who has run for office as a Republican, and with stunts like this, I have to say I am ashamed. The county leadership should insist on Urban and Jones running together. Cordaro did his write-in campaign out of necessity- because he was kicked off the ballot by the court system. And Barletta did it to secure both nominations. Mr. James is just trying to play the spoiler.
Don;t be so sure Mr. Urban is non-resident of the Crestwood School District. Check county records- he owns property in Mountain Top.
I haven’t seen much on the mayoral crawl(too boring to be a race) in Wilkes-Barre. I am still laughing about the ad I saw for Leighton that shows falling light posts, under his predecessor and then shows the new light posts. For the record, someone should tell hizzoner that there are no new lights on S Franklin St. It is dangerously dark across from WBRE. Also, the ad showed the two or three new restaurants that have opened and the movie theatre. So far, nothing new and original there. His predecessor was heading in that direction and everybody called him a nut job. Someone should let the mayor know that he defeated McGroarty some time ago and it’s time to run on his own record, not the botched record of his predecessor.
Our neighborhood had not seen a street sweeper since Leighton took office, until about 3 or 4 weeks before the Primary last spring. They paraded up the street, three in a row. This was repeated for 2 or 3 weeks, and they haven’t been seen since. Of course I see them every morning soaking the streets downtown, where the streets are immaculate. In the neighborhoods, though, we have leaves covering storm drains and bottles and cans littering the streets, left where the recycling crews dropped them. I don’t mind keeping my own property clean, but I am getting tired of cleaning the city’s street. What’s become of the famous Sterling Hotel project? There has been no visible work going on there in months. And while I am ranting, why will taxpayers get stuck with the bill for tearing down yet another derelict building (Murray on Courtright St)? When there is money to be made, the landlords are there, hands out. But when the building starts to deteriorate, they are nowhere to be found and the city gets to remove the eyesore. I’d like to know if the costs are ever recovered. One more question – why can’t the Republican party find a credible candidate to run for Mayor in the city of Wilkes-Barre? A harpy who is shrilly squawking about things she seems ill informed on is not going to impress anyone. The great thing about the new voting machines is that they make write-ins easy.
Post a Comment
<< Home