The LuLac Edition #3598, September 18th, 2017

TRUMP AND THE LUZERNE COUNTY GOP: A LOST OPPORTUNITY

As I said many times here on LuLac and other places, President Trump won Pennsylvania by 44,000 votes. 26,000, more than half came from Luzerne County. Some of them were ingrate Democrats, some were Independents who were angry for whatever reason. My thoughts were that with this huge wind at their sails after 2016, the Republican GOP in the county might be something to be reckoned with again.
When I was growing up, the Republican party was competitive in Wilkes Barre and Luzerne County. By 1967 the cracks in the wall started to show and by the 70s the Republicans became a second rate political entity.
The party, to be sure had successes. After the death of Commissioner Crossin 1980, the Democrats intensified their divisions and Frank Trinisewski and Jim Phillips took over The Courthouse. Many thought the Republicans were back but the votes for Trini were based more on his political personality than any allegiance to the GOP. When he became a Democrat, the GOP never had control of the county again. District Attorney races were won by Corey Stevens and Stefanie Salavantis  because they as candidates, capitalized on the weaknesses, perceived or real, of their Democratic opponents. Tarah Toohil in the 116th and Aaron Kaufer in the 120th as well as Tony Brooks in Wilkes Barre District B did the same thing. All were well funded, had great presence on the campaign trail and convinced voters that a new direction was needed.
In my way of thinking, the Trump campaign followed that model. Unlike Secretary Clinton, his campaign was here, asked for the vote and he was seen as an alternative to his Democratic opponent. So on radio and TV,  I said that this was a great way for the GOP to revitalize itself and take action in the County. They had an abundance of local role models who did it. So I waited for some action.
And waited. Okay, it was a tough campaign. Plus Christmas and New Years were afoot.
So I waited. Ahh Inauguration Day. Maybe there would be an event that would get people geared up locally. When President Reagan and George H.W. Bush won, there were local “watch” parties when they were sworn in.
Nope, none. Hey but wait, the Super Bowl was coming. Surely the Lincoln Day Dinner (which I attended in the past) would be front and center for some old fashioned chest thumping. Uh….no. Cancelled because of scheduling conflicts I was told.
You know where I’m going here. There wasn’t a primary fight for the county Council but at least they had a full slate for the fall.
Harry Haas, Gregory S Wolovich Jr, Chris R Perry, Marc Dixon and Stephen J. Urban are all good candidates.
Plus their Facebook page as well as the outreach to Young Republicans is not bad. 
The Summer outing was so unattended that even the candidate for Governor avoided it and went to the Tomato Festival.  If I'm running as a county Council candidate and I go to an event where very few from my party is there, what the hell am I going to think! Jesus, no wonder why I saw Chris Perry at Matt Vough's event Wednesday night. There were people there!  
You win elections by registration drives. Where are they? That's how you win here. Donald Trump and Tony Brooks notwithstanding, there will be other Democratic candidates who will not be as anathema to the voters like Hillary Clinton and Lou Elmy were.
There are also reports that key state committee people who have been there for years are being shunted aside. Why? What onerous actions did any of them take to deserve that?
Mrs. LuLac and I attended the Luzerne County Fair a few weeks ago. Now the Vice Chair of the 120th Ditrict, Lynette Villano and I have been going at it on Facebook since Trump took office. I was fully expecting to get an earful from the people manning the GOP booth that traditionally was a hotbed in the Back Mountain. But there was nary a soul there. On a Friday night at the fair? C'mon man!!!
Look on the national level, I am a Democrat. But since the local Democratic party is full of cronies and sons and nieces of cronies, I have no allegiance to them. Through the years I gave the state party as well as candidates money. In some years more than I could afford. I did it only to see the members of the non political class like me ignored. On Property taxes, the only person in my district is Senator Yudichak who is for Property Tax reform. As a person who respects and even likes government, I want the local Republican party to succeed.
But it won't happen unless this occurs:
1. New registration drives to get new voters.
2. A blending of the old and new leadership. When someone assumes leadership, the key is to merge….not purge. You lose experience but more importantly, this is a luxury YOU CAN”T AFFORD! You need all the bodies you can get. 40 years ago, Reggie, Billy and Thurman couldn’t stand the sight of each other. But they knew the key was winning. You don’t win by getting by an opponent in a primary. You don’t win by attaining a party office. You WIN in November. After that, nothing else matters.
3. Stay visible. Use that great victory in 2016 to expand your local stronghold. Be selective in your use. Trump and Pence are example of how two different people of values, and roots can co exist.
If those two guys can bring a portion, hey a majority, enough of votes to their side to win their election, locally, here in little old Luzerne County it can be done.
If it can’t, maybe it’s time to do some internal re-arranging.
To be clear, I have no dog in this hunt. My life will go on either way. But one of my key beliefs has always been, “Never waste an opportunity”.
I think of many things when I see Trump on TV but the one thing that I don’t understand is why his big win is not being exploited.It was and remains a wasted opportunity.

BILL BARRETT: "BUILD YOUR OWN DRIVEWAY!"

Wilkes Barre City Councilman Bill Barrett (Photo: Times Leader)

Wilkes Barre City Council passed a resolution prohibiting residents from parking cars on their lawns when street parking is unavailable. On the surface this sounds okay. You don’t want a neighborhood infested by old junkers in someone’s front yard. Quality of life is an important thing in a neighborhood. However in neighborhoods where parking is at a premium, sometimes a resident might need to get on their lawn.
At least for a little while. But Barrett and Council seem to be the proverbial old men yelling, “Get off our lawns”.
Look, I think this is over regulation. But Council had some complains and acted on it. But when a resident objected, Bill Barrett, Representative of District D said, “Well build a driveway”. I wasn’t at the meeting but in the newspapers it really didn’t read well.
The fact is that if you are lucky enough to buy a house with a driveway, you’re fine. But residents in this city who are not members of the political class CAN’T AFFORD to “just build a driveway”. What an insult! There are residents in this city who work at real jobs for low wages holding on to their homes by a thread because of the incompetence of the Wilkes Barre Area School Board and the refusal of the State Representative to even consider property tax reform. You’re answer to a resident who questions why you are passing this is, “Build a driveway?”
Maybe if that resident Barrett dissed had three pensions coming in like the ex Police Chief, LCCC Security head and God knows what else, has health care taken care of as well as other bennies from previous tax payers supported jobs…that resident might be able to afford to “build a driveway”. If you want a driveway with about 494 square feet, that might run around $1500.00 or more. A few years ago we had our drive way expanded. We needed huge curbs removed. That was about a thousand bucks.
You can bet if residents did “build a driveway” the code guys in the City would be on it for their cut. Plus speaking of neighborhood enforcement, how about have “neighbors” remove couches from the front lawns. How about ticketing people who have driveways but park ass out blocking a sidewalk. There’s a lot of selective enforcement in this city when it comes to the sainted colleges who pay a fee but not property taxes.Driver routinely fly through stop signs and traffic lights but God forbid if you car is just a little ass ended out when trying to negotiate a parking space. All of a sudden you'll get questioned like a crack dealer!
As for his comment about a mud bog, well that’s what your Impact teams are for. That’s where people should be cited. Living in the North end for over 30 years, I have yet to see a “mud bog”. I’ve seen King’s College “women” squatting in my driveway, clueless out of state people blocking my driveway, garbage strewn on my lawn by the pigs who pass through here, red cups and Keystone Light cans all over the place,

people breaking recycling rules and even a COUCH and TV on a lawn but  never…ever a mud bog!
Why any resident would even bother to address city council is beyond me when you get a flip comment like “build a driveway”. If Barrett runs again in 2019 or if one of his cronies takes his seat if he doesn’t, maybe voters should just say, “build a bridge”………….and….you know the rest.