Delco voters wishing they had more of the same the hard hitting (and scathing) political commentary found on PA7Watch, now have a new destination for local Delaware County politics. While PA7Watch was focused upon the 7th Congressional District and Joe Sestak, PADelcoWatch will concern itself with Delco County Council and local township politics.
For the core of the problems in Delco, one doesn't have to look far to find the GOP strangle-hold that has led to widespread corruption, cronyism and chaos.
For too many years, Delco residents have been ashamed of the strong-arm politics, patronage and waste that have squandered our hard-earned tax dollars. No-bid contracts have become the norm. Courthouse and other government employees are routinely coerced into contributing time and/or money to elect officials of the GOP political machine. It's run like an old-style protection racket. Those that don't comply lose their jobs, rather than their stores, but the effect is the same.
I've heard more than one story of people forced to switch their voter registration to Republican or make a "contribution" in order to get a court case put on the docket. Not surprisingly, a cottage industry has grown around the facilitators of this system.
Many voters are under the FALSE impression that their trash won't get picked up or they'll be denied government services if they don't register Republican. Has ANYONE ever seen (or pictured) the trash collectors with a voter registration list and skipping over some houses? Are there years worth of trash piles outside the Democratic households? Of course not. Voters need to stand up to these hoodlums, and from now until Nov. 2007 they can make their voice heard.
And what of the Delco Times? While they report on stories they can't ignore, they ignore stories on which they can't report. The Delco Times has dropped the ball investigating even the low-hanging fruit of corruption. Why? .... My guess, the oldest reason: money. The Delco Times is beholden to its advertisers more than its readers. The threat of a pullout by GOP controlled advertisers is enough to kill any serious investigation. And there is no left/liberal editorial counter-balance to the right-wing rantings of Gil Spencer.
One of the things I hope to accomplish with this blog is bring some these stories of corruption out in the open, publish the evidence (screen shots and document scans), and have voters wonder why they have continued to tolerate this disgraceful nonsense.
As for Delco GOP cronies, stooges, shills and lapdogs intending to post here: you might want to wear a cup.
This site is an offshoot of PA7Watch.com, but with a different emphasis and management.
It's purpose is to inform and entertain Delaware County Pennsylvania political junkies (and to expose some of the Delco GOP machine to the light of day).
22 comments:
David Said: "The threat of a pullout by GOP controlled advertisers is enough to kill any serious investigation."
C'mon now.. You can't be serious about that. There are many business in Delco that have Democrats at the helm and advertise in the times.
DD -
Yes, it's me.
Glad to see you moved away from the boring rants on PA7Watch. I am proud of you for sticking to your principles and stepping up to criticize Sestak for his vote. While I agree with his vote, I understand that you do not. While you and I may disagree, I respect your point of view. I'm disappointed for you that many of your colleagues at PA7Watch don't share that same value.
As for your rant against the Delco Times, you cannot seriously contend that the Delco Times is beholden to the GOP. Have you read any of Heron's writing? Isn't he the counterbalance to what you perceive to be Gil's right-wing opinions? If I read one more published letter about impeachment of Bush, impeachment of Cheney, I'm going to lose it. Heron controls what letters get published. While he realizes that impeachment will never happen -- even accoring to Pelosi and Sestak -- that doesn't seem to stop him from trying to refuel the issue with the hope that such letters will deflect from the fact that Dems have not made good on their campaign promises.
DelcoGOP-
During the election, Phil Heron and the Delco Times were pretty even-handed in coverage of Sestak-Weldon, except for Spencer, who did nothing but hatchet pieces on Sestak and love-letters to Weldon. There was no comparable pro-Sestak advocate.
As for impeachment, while I agree this Congress can't get it done, it long overdue for Bush/Cheney. However, this might not be the left-wing bias you think it is. Here is why:
1) This county went nearly 60% for Kerry in 2008, when Bush was far more popular than today. The letters ratio of pro-Bush letters coming in must be pretty small these days.
2) The Sestak's Democratic base has been all over his ass (he even broke from the Dems and voted to continue funding Cheney's office after Cheney claimed to be exempt from Executive Branch laws). The paper covered the "fireworks" at several recent Sestak appearances.
3) The letters serve as constant reminder that Sestak's base is not entirely happy with him on a matter that will not get resolved to their satisfaction. Hey, they published MY letter about Joe's disgraceful Iraq vote (yep, my blog, I won't get censored), though they did print Joe's lame excuse twice.
As for the GOP bias.. Delco has become synonymous with pay-to-play politics and the use of government resources for political gain. The Delco Times could be doing a lot more to uncover it.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by. I don't agree with you much either, but you are a cut above the anonymous GOP shills.
BTW, are you still thinking of running against Sestak in 2008? You are about $1 million behind in fund raising at this point. :-)
Congress is likely to not only stay in the Democrats hands, but increase their majority. Folks aren't likely to vote for GOP guy that will be in the ineffective minority.
Um, DD, how many articles did the Delco Times run about the investigation into Weldon? Those, by the way, were front page stories -- day after day after day after day. Even when the story wasn't specifically about the investigation, virtually every article that mentioned Weldon also mentioned the investigation. BTW, we are almost a year from the day Weldon's campaign was ruined by a politically-motivated leak and -- no surprise -- no indictment. You will say the indictment is coming....blah, blah, blah. I have news for you, DD. It ain't gonna happen. He did nothing wrong. It ain't gonna happen.
Sorry for the detour .... During the campaign, Gil wrote twice a week (rough gig) and not every piece was about Sestak. Moreover, not every piece was critical of Sestak -- I will send you the link to Spencer's first 2 articles regarding the "admiral". Not very critical at all.
The Delco Times did far more for Sestak than it did for Weldon. DD, the paper endorsed Sestak for pete's sake!
As for me, I am still considering my options. Word on the street is that the Admiral can't stand being only one of 435 -- and a low man on the totem pole at that. Could he really challenge Darlin' Arlen in a state-wide race? No chance. Not even Clinton's coattails will be enough to do that. How much of Sestak's $1 million came from CREW, Sandy Berger, and other left-wing nutjobs? Let's see the Delco Times publish that kind of information...
David:
You really need to consider the possibility that these stories you hear about the Delco GOP are just stories, urban legends so to speak.
You say that you want to bring some of the corruption to light. Well, if you can find one person to who will say, without the cover of anonymity, that he was forced to change his registration to get his trash picked up, or get a job, or anything, I'll send $100 to Barack Obama.
Remember, David, I used to be a Democrat, and I was part of your crowd, happily demonizing the Delco GOP and accepting hook, line and sinker the whole Big Bad Machine story.
What I came to realize over time is that the stories were either old, false, or exaggerated.
And I also realized that the Delco GOP operates just like political parties everywhere in the world. When it is in power, it puts into positions of responsibility people it knows and trusts. When those persons are qualified - and I would like to see you to name one Republican in the courthouse who isn't qualified for his job - it's called enlightened patronage.
Let me remind you, too, that the Democratic record in this regard is not exactly pristine:
* Bill Myrtetus had a patronage job with the Department of Insurance for years, which he got by virtue of a Democratic administration in Harrisburg. (Bill owned a bar in the city, and next thing you know, Bob Casey is elected governor, and Bill is working for the insurance department.)
* Diane Merlino: same story, but with the addition that she got in trouble for macing state employees.
* Nancy Baulus got a job with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (I think maybe Diane Merlino hired her, at the same time she hired Kevin Corrigan?), and I think she's still there.
* John Innelli and David Landau pounced on no-bid solicitorships the minute the municipalities went Democratic (Yeadon, Lansdowne).
We won't even discuss David Landau's law firm, Wolf Block, which makes millions of dollars in no-bid legal work for bonds, etc., for numerous government entities, and which has a lobbying subsidiary.
So David, please, spare us the sanctimony. If history is any indicator, if the Democrats get in power, they'll be hiring their friends for no-bid contracts, patronage jobs, etc. The only difference is that you'll call it "public service."
And then we just have to hope that they are as efficiently and cost-effectively as the Delco GOP, which has held the line on taxes for three years and which continues to deliver good, sound government services to all the residents, without regard to political affiliation, no matter what the old stories say.
Good luck David. Nice to have a place for people willing to air there differences.
DelcoGOP-
The Weldon story was too important not to cover, hence my comment (they report on stories they can't ignore,). The investigation was certainly part of the context.
The word/rumor I've heard is that Weldon's trying to negotiate a deal to keep his daughter out of jail and flip over on Charlie Sexton. He's certainly spent a lot on lawyers fees for a case (you claim) is without merit. The reporting was that they had wiretaps and probably cause from the tapes.
Last time they has Sexton dead-to-rights on tape he managed to slip by (rumor is that Arlen Specter intervened with Regan administration's justice dept.). I've yet to meet anyone Dem/Rep that thinks that Sexton's sweetheart deal on the prison was on the up and up. But, I digress.
I do recall Spencer's two-part article on Sestak. While the first part seemed fair/reasonable, it was clearly a setup for a total hatchet job in part two.
Endorsing Sestak wasn't tough considering how out-of-touch Weldon had become on the Iraq, Able Danger, supporting Bush, non-existent WMD's, fear mongering about terrorists in our supermarkets, and reality in general.
You can view Sestak's donors on the FEC site. No earth-shattering donors that I noticed.
Arlen isn't running in 2010. It will be an open seat. "Clinton coat-tails" depend upon who wins in 2008. Also, there's no guarantee Sestak could win a Dem statewide primary and there are plenty of PA Dems ahead of him in line.
Besides, if YOU decide to run against Sestak, a possible 2010 Senate run won't help you in 2008, anyway. :-)
Pat-
I personal friend of mine told me how his family was forced to switch registration in order to get a custody case on the docket. That's good enough for me.
You certainly weren't happy with the Moran/Twardy politics or with Judge Ken Clouse. Did you think fat Freddy was earning his county paycheck? Weren't you the one complaining about no-show Haverford jobs related to Ken Clouse?
Do you really expect anyone to think that you believe there aren't enough qualified registered Dems to fill even 10% of the courthouse jobs? These guys make Alberto Gonzales look impartial.
I'm not a proponent of no-bid contracts. When John, Anne and David take over County Council, I expect them to eliminate the no-bid contracts and I'll certainly hold their feet to the fire if they don't. (You've all seen my postings and editorials on Sestak, so you know I'm not a shill, and I'll call them out if they fail to deliver.)
Pat, I think you may lost your argument with efficiently and cost-effectively as the Delco GOP. We've got a $500 million budget that far exceeds that of our neighboring suburban counties. We've got more county employees, few online resources and less open government.
I know you are close to Andy Lewis, but with Andy Reilly managing the GOP council candidates, and the primary fight against them, they are clearly the Three Stooges hand-picked to maintain the status quo. Nyuk. Nyuk. Nyuk.
David,
When I mentioned qualified people in the Courthouse, I should have said, now that Fred Moran is gone! But remember, no one fought harder than I did to get people like him out of government. If I had had my way, Clouse would be out too, but we did get rid of Moran, Twardy & Kelly, and that's nothing to sneeze at!
If, as you say, Delco's budget is higher than the other suburban counties, I don't know if that is significant or not. There may be good reasons for that. Have you looked into it? And are you sure it's true? I know other of David Landau's statistics were just plain wrong.
You say you know of one family who claim that they had to switch registration to get their case heard in family court. Are you so sure about that? I have dealt with the Office of Judicial Support plenty, and registration just isn't a consideration. Maybe their lawyer told them that, and maybe he's part of the demonize-the-Delco-GOP crowd? I doubt very much that there is any truth to it.
And besides, that's one story (and it's anonymous, uncorroborated, and implausible). You haven't provided any other examples of so-called corruption. I thought you were going to be exposing all kinds of terrible things here, but that's the best you got? :)
Pat-
Fred, Twardy, Kelly, Clouse don't exist in a vacuum.
The budgets are available and I've yet to see one GOP challenge that the numbers aren't accurate. Landau is one of many with these numbers. I'll try to link to some documentation with per-capita figures.
I meet people with stories like this all the time, but this one in particular was from a trusted friend who is NOT into politics and had no ax to grind. Another friend of mine had to register GOP to get a job at a local bar. Dems new to the area complain about how the local GOP committees "explain" why they need to register Republican (especially in Springfield).
If these people don't want to come forward, out of fear, the only thing I can do is get more Democrats in office and level the playing field.
What ever happened to Curt Weldon? Is he in jail?
Franny-
Spending an awful lot of money, for a case DelcoGOP pretends has no merit. Curt and Charlie are keeping a pretty low profile these days. Jack Cahill (total neocon, Bush, Cheney, Weldon cheerleader) recently wrote a 4-part series ("The War on Weldon") about the giant Clinton/Berger/CREW/Sestak/"vast left-wing conspiracy" to railroad Weldon.
Apparently, Curt "Chick-Little" Weldon was the one man in the world that could have prevented 9/11 if those evil Dems hadn't thwarted him in order to cover-up their own misdeeds.
The timing of a crazy, revisionist 4-part article about Weldon suggests that Curt needed some preemptive propaganda. The article doesn't have the tone that Weldon will be vindicated. Rather, it is filled with petulant whining that no one is investigating the conspiracy (that's how big it is). Sounds like bad news for Curt is right around the corner.
David, how on Earth would you know how much money Weldon is or isn't spending on this investigation?
And by the way, Curt Weldon is "keeping a low profile" because he has a job that takes him all over the world. (I know someone who works with him.) He travels a lot, and is doing some fascinating, important work.
P.S. I also have to comment on the fundamental irony of this blog.
NO ONE did more to uncover and punish corruption in Haverford Township and in Delaware County than Andy Lewis and me. We worked like dogs, and paid a pretty high price, in ways you'll never know, and what do we get for it? Not much!
But that's OK, because we didn't do it for anything except that it was the right thing to do. I lost my job over it, and Andy has seen his reputation attacked, while people like you remained comfortably on the sidelines.
Now you launch this blog and act like you are going to be the salvation of Delaware County. All I can say about this blog is, BFD. You don't know what it really takes to effectuate change, but let me assure you, it takes more than self-congratulatory talk and reprinting each other's letters to the editor.
And you have a lot of nerve saying that Andy Lewis is the hand-picked puppet of the Delco GOP! Are you kidding me? How many people there do you think appreciated what Andy Lewis and I did to expose Clouse?
What have you ever REALLY done, David? I seems to me that all you do is spread rumors, and wrap yourself up in sanctimony.
So excuse me if this sounds immodest, but you will never be half the reformer that Andy is, or that I have been!
Pat-
You are too smart/sharp to play so coy.
Weldon's FEC filing for the first quarter of 2007 shows two big disbursements for Legal Fees:
Cozen OConnor Attorneys (your old haunt) $50,000
Arthur T. Donato Jr. Esquire $50,000
Both on Feb 7, 2007.
Other Legal Fees from 2007:
Law Office of Scott Magargee LLC $13,724.53, $12,896.55 and $11,175.00
Legis Discovery $3,300
Nixon Peabody LLP $15,000
That's over $156,000 in Legal Fees (and just the fees paid from his Weldon Victory Committee account).
Weldon: Interesting work? Maybe. Important? Not likely.
Pat, you and Andy did a lot to expose Moran/Twardy, but who are we trying to kid here? They were in the way of you and Andy getting power/control.
As for You don't know what it really takes to effectuate change, I am doing A LOT of stuff for candidates and the party that is off the public radar, but will lead to increasing gains by Democrats. Someday, after the Dems reach parity, I'll tell you about it.
Publicly, I do a lot more than spread rumors (and humor). I poke holes in GOP arguments and myths, and back them up with reference links when available (like Weldon's campaign finance report).
Pat, I like you. However, everybody that knows Haverford politics realizes that you burnt your bridges and put all your eggs in Andy's basket. If this were 'Star Wars', R2-D2 would have a holographic of you saying, "Help me, Andy-Wan. You are my only hope." :-)
If Andy Lewis is such an "independent", why is Reilly running the show? (if he doesn't expect "The Three Stooges" to continue the current policies?)
That's over $156,000 in Legal Fees (and just the fees paid from his Weldon Victory Committee account).
Yes, but since the report is dated February 7, 2007, I would think those legal fees were from 2006, when the investigation was apparently very active. I don't know that there has been any similar level of activity for 2007.
Weldon: Interesting work? Maybe. Important? Not likely.
Now, really, David, how would you know that? Aren't you being a tad snide?
Pat, you and Andy did a lot to expose Moran/Twardy, but who are we trying to kid here? They were in the way of you and Andy getting power/control.
I can't believe you said this! Is it really that hard for you to imagine that someone other than yourself, and other than a Democrat, can do the right thing just because it is the right thing? Are you really that close-minded and narcissistic?
Someday, after the Dems reach parity, I'll tell you about it.
I hope I live that long! :)
However, everybody that knows Haverford politics realizes that you burnt your bridges and put all your eggs in Andy's basket. If this were 'Star Wars', R2-D2 would have a holographic of you saying, "Help me, Andy-Wan. You are my only hope." :-)
Not being a Star Wars person, I have no idea what that means.
But I think your sexism is showing here, David! The female doesn't have to be the dependent one, you know.
If Andy Lewis is such an "independent", why is Reilly running the show? (if he doesn't expect "The Three Stooges" to continue the current policies?)
David, I like you too, but really, name-calling is not the way to go.
And Andy Reilly is really a very bright guy who has done a great job on County Council.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and Media won't change in a day either.
Pat-
The two $50,000 fees occurred one week after a $5,100 "meeting" at "Ye Old Concordville Inn". Smells like strategy session followed by retainers. Numbers are too round to be just bills.
Weldon did a lot of self-serving work before that was important to himself and cronies. No reason to expect that situation has changed. (If the voters believed Weldon did important work, he'd still be in office doing it.) Snide or not, I'd say the empirical evidence leans my way.
Star Wars reference is to one of the most famous scenes, where Princess Leia gets a secret message off to Obi-wan just before she is captured. It drives Obi-wan to re-emerge after remaining hidden for 20-years. Not sexist, just powerful scene.
Andy Reilly is trying to hold onto the GOP power-base that fuels and funds the Delco political machine. If Andy Lewis was so independent, Reilly wouldn't need to run the show for all Three Candidates. And, certainly not if he thought they were going to make any real changes. (If Reilly wanted changes, he could make them himself now while on Council.)
No. "The Three Stooges" represent ZERO change from the status quo.
Media will change in a day: Election Day!
David,
Good luck with your new blog. It sounds like you and Pat will be very happy together.
I am impressed by the high and courteous level of dialog.
By the way, I wrote 3 times a week (rough gig) during the campaign (but not always about the campaign.)
As for the Daily Times, I think it's fairly indeologically balanced.
On the editorial board, for instance, it's me on the Right and five of my colleagues on the Left. It's worked out to be a pretty fair fight.
Again, good luck, have fun, and lighten up. Life's too short to be angry all the time.
Happy Labor Day.
Spencer-
Pat's okay. She's just hitched herself to Andy Lewis's (rising or falling) star and she needs to protect her investment.
DelcoGOP's pretty reasonable and intelligent (even if he is wrong about chances of defeating Sestak in 2008).
I think my decision to keep out anonymous blogging will raise the bar slightly on the discourse. The anonymous bloggers on PA7Watch were like cockroaches. Besides, the local Delco issues are less inflammatory than National issues (war, abortion, religion, gay marriage, guns, etc.) Here we have issues like local corruption/waste, cronyism/patronage, school budgets, zoning, etc.
5 against 1? If that's balanced then you must be 5 times as far Right as each of them is to the Left. :-)
Don't worry about me. I'm having lots of fun.
David, I do wish you'd stop saying that I hitched my wagon to Andy's star, that I am Princess Leia to Andy's Obi-Wan, etc. It is soooo sexist of you!
Try to imagine this scenario for a minute: a male and a female, both interested in the same thing, working together on an equal footing, but each with his or her own life, and each responsible for his or her own destiny.
I know it taxes your sexist little brain to imagine such a thing, but it does happen! :)
Pat-
In the Star Wars movies, Princess Leia proves herself the equal of any of the men. I'm really not trying to be sexist.
As for hitching yourself to Andy's star, maybe you are partners, with you being the brains of the operation. However, Andy is the one with his name on the ballot and you would be an obvious beneficiary should he win. Andy is your ticket to the big show.
If (or rather when) Andy loses and Dems take over both Delco Council AND Haverford Twp., where are you going to go?
I'm not saying that Andy is a nice or likable guy. But, he's also not the guy to change the problems of 30 years of one-party rule. That change requires a new party in charge.
Well, we've seen what happens when David Landau and John Innelli are in charge: they do the very same things that you condemn Republicans for doing, only when they do it it's called "public service," and when Republicans do it, it's called "patronage." So I don't know why you think putting them in charge will change anything.
Weldon update...
Weldon's son, Wayne Curtis Weldon Jr., 26, of Glen Mills, was arrested at his parent’s Tanguy Road home in Thornbury by PSP Trooper, on Sunday Sept. 9th 2007.
Police found "a small amount of marijuana, prescription drugs that were not prescribed to him, and numerous other items of drug paraphernalia" in Weldon’s possession, according to a police report.
It is unclear what prompted the arrest (what was their probable cause?).
While this is unrelated to the former Congressman's legal troubles, it certainly adds an additional burden for his family.
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