The Lulac Edition #4,152, October 30th, 2019

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Our “Write On Wednesday” logo.

This week’s Write On Wednesday is from a long time journalist and radio talk show host was always controversial but along the way was great fun. Our friend Steve Corbett has written few book which you’ll be hearing about as well as some blog posts of his own. Today Steve takes a look at the Scranton Mayor’s race. Here are two of hid articles.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Opposing candidates for Mayor of Scranton can have their say, contact the blog or e mail me at yonkstur@aol.com.
In the meantime…….Here’s Corbett 

PULLING NO PUNCHES

Pulling a decent pint is a fine attribute for any Scranton mayor. Pulling a fast one on taxpayers is more in tune, though, with the characteristics of a city boss.a decent pint is a fine attribute for any Scranton mayor. Pulling a fast
Independent mayoral candidate Paige Cognetti’s ability to pour the perfect draft is admirable. But good citizens are more impressed with her vow to disrupt city monkey business as usual.
Former Democratic Mayor Bill Courtright is likely headed to prison after pleading guilty to three federal felonies related to his shameful public disservice.
The city political party he led pleads ignorance about his criminality that put huge rolls of cash in the pockets of a patronage pool of political bloodsuckers. Instead, city and county Democratic Party hustlers are supporting the anointed candidate who’s better suited to serve as a dull pencil-pusher than the city champion in a faithless, tainted town fighting its way out of a deep financial and moral crisis.
Almost-a-mayor Wayne Evans has thus far shown himself to be useless, a timid clerk rather than the gutsy leader we need to help us reclaim our integrity. In a city drowning in mismanagement and lawlessness, Evans awarded raises to select city workers instead of showing responsible fiscal austerity.
To make matters worse, under his watch a city gasoline credit card scandal is mounting and warrants a federal or state criminal investigation.
Did Evans call the cops?
No.
Evans allowed the city fire chief to audit himself after lying about not using a city credit card for gas while using a city vehicle dented during a vacation at the New Jersey shore.
The FBI or the state attorney general should open an inquiry or convene a criminal grand jury into what clearly looks like theft. Passing around gas cards like basket-of-cheer tickets at an Irish wake really is not that much to ask.
Cognetti promises to clean house.
That’s why I’m with her.
She should win the Nov. 5 special election because she dares fight the system and the devolved Democratic Party that hurts us all – at least most of us who lack shady political connections to go to the shore, get jobs for our kids and grandkids or pull in big cash reserves even if you’re a lousy lawyer.
And, I’m speaking as a longtime Democrat.
Fighting our way out of a Scranton political cesspool hurts. But think how we’ll progress once Cognetti requires accountability from all scofflaw city workers as well as those crafty lawyers and slick vendors. As a Scranton resident, senior citizen and taxpayer, I’m concerned about honest public service.
For example, not everybody in Scranton pays their garbage bills. A few years ago I spent a lot of time on my radio show talking about city cops and firefighters who pulled down exorbitant salaries from public coffers yet didn’t pay their garbage bills in years.
Nobody cared.
Courtright didn’t care. The fire chief didn’t care. The police chief didn’t care. They refused to take action to collect the money and make sure first responders – some who pull down almost a hundred grand a year – didn’t pull such a stunt again in the future.
Courtright served as city tax collector, city council member and mayor during this debacle that continues under the stewardship of Evans, a professional realtor who doesn’t even talk a good game. Evans is way over his head in his own hometown, still playing footsie with the fire chief.
People should vote for the candidate who will go to war with sharks and sharpies, political fixers who laugh at those of us who pay our bills.
Who among the mayoral candidates will best restore the public trust?
Not only will Cognetti serve us best, she can sure pour a beer.
As an added bonus, Cognetti will bring a bundle of joy with her into City Hall.
It’s called good government.

TWO SCRANTON GUYS TALKING

“So who’s the next Scranton mayor?”
“Paige Cognetti.”
“But she’s not from here.”
“Sure she is. She lives here. Moved here to be here. She and her husband will raise their family here. She’s more from here than you’re from here.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She’s enlisted in the tireless here and now effort we need to face our city’s challenges rather than reliving the bad old days over and over again.”
“That’s a definition of insanity, right?”
“Crazy, huh?”
“I hear she’s pregnant.”
“And?”
“How’s she gonna be mayor if she’s pregnant?”
“The same way a man serves as mayor only better.”
“Scranton never had a woman mayor.”
“Maybe that’s why our last elected mayor is a crook headed to federal prison, the current appointed mayor is too timid to call the cops about what sure looks like state and federal theft of city funds and city political bosses anointed a stuffy hand-picked company man to run as the endorsed Democrat in the Nov. 5 mayoral election.”
“So what if the boss picked a patronage pal? That’s Scranton politics, business as usual, the way it’s always been done around here.”
“Preferential treatment – patronage, nepotism, cronyism – shapes a big part of Scranton’s problems.”
“Yeah, we’ll this Paige isn’t even a Democrat.”
“She was a better Democrat than all these good old boy party lackeys put together until they forced her to switch to independent to get on the ballot.”
“Standing up to that pack takes guts.”
“Guts and brains. Paige has the courage to take on the corrupt politicians who keep Scranton looking backward rather than forward. She’s smart enough to beat them at their own game. They can’t scare her or buy her.”
“Yeah, the boys’ club doesn’t take care of anybody but their own.”
“Paige is one of us – the good citizen majority who care about honest public service.”
“So she’s willing to fight?”
“She’s already fighting.”
“Scranton’s a tough town.”
“It is.”
“Paige is tough, right?”
“Right.”
“Then she is from here.”
“She is one of us.”
“Vote Paige Cognetti for Scranton mayor.”

Here's Corbett's blog and book link:  https://bloodredsyrah.com/