Video is from Delco Times.
Notes: just slide the bar while playing the video, to jump around.
Around 30% to 40% of the way through is a lively discussion on the budget and the lack of openness.
Just before half-way point, watch and compare Innelli vs McGarrigle on who can manage the $560 million budget.
Watch McGarrigle read from script and even turn page, all with his head down, on the Revitalization question (about 2/3 the way through)
It's almost impossible to hear on the tape, but 75% of the way through the tape, Andy Lewis is following up on a question about economic decline in Delaware County. He starts by saying: "By any objective measurement ... Delaware County has been well managed." This is where the audience murmured its objection to the veracity of that statement. Just be glad we don't have "smell-o-vision", because Andy was shoveling some serious BS.
Showing posts with label Tom McGarrigle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom McGarrigle. Show all posts
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Look Who's Calling Someone an Amateur Hack
Gil "The Shill" Spencer defense of GOP corruption, cronyism and misdeeds has not only extended itself to tax delinquents like Tom McGarrigle, but also to going after Democratic campaign staffers.
First, Spencer twists the revelations (from his own paper) about McGarrigle's past failures to pay taxes into an attack on Democrats. Spencer: Democrats desperate attempt is laughable. While Spencer accepts McGarrigle's weak explanation with praise, Spencer accuses the Democrats of accusing McGarrigle of corruption when the ACTUAL complaint from Democrats is that McGarrigle was fiscally irresponsible in managing his own businesses.
Clearly, Spencer thinks McGarrigle's eventual repayment with penalties absolves him of the original willful decision to avoid taxes. In particular, over $15,000 was in school taxes. Did McGarrigle think it was okay to put his business over Springfield's kids. McGarrigle "claims" it was to keep paying his employees, but I don't hear anything about McGarrigle taking a pay cut himself or getting a business loan to cover the $15,000. What is not clear about this story is whether McGarrigle volunteered to pay his taxes or just got caught red-handed.
Spencer then decides to follow the wishes of Pete Peterson and go after Landau staffer: George Matysik. It seems that the GOP is so desperate, they have to send their attack dog after campaign staffers.
The simple truth of the matter is that Matysik signed out this and many other documents from the court house. The McGarrigle tax documents, like many others, were sent off to appropriate tax/legal experts (not Matysik) to examine. When questioned about the story, Matysik had not reviewed the documents himself and said so, clearly. He also asked the further questions be directly addressed to Landau himself. This seems to have mystified Spencer, who is used to GOP candidates that don't/can't speak for themselves and need their puppet-masters to speak for them.
Matysik has a whole wall lined with information requests he had to extract like pulled teeth from the GOP run Delco courthouse. He has actually gone through and counted the GOP staffers in key departments and documented his findings. It's called research, Gil. But, you of all people have the audacity to call him "amateur hack"? Get real. There's only one "hack" around here Gil, and a "professional" hack at that. Just look in the mirror.
Gil, ends with: "In the meantime, if the Landau campaign needs to be led by his nose to pay dirt let me suggest...."
Gil, how about YOU "investigate" and "let me suggest": tell us what friends or family members of yours work at the GOP courthouse. Are you beholden to the Delco GOP for any reason that the your readers ought to know about to evaluate your biases? Are you going after George because his investigations of courthouse employees might reveal connections too close to home?
BTW, does Peterson write your columns for you or just send you an outline?
First, Spencer twists the revelations (from his own paper) about McGarrigle's past failures to pay taxes into an attack on Democrats. Spencer: Democrats desperate attempt is laughable. While Spencer accepts McGarrigle's weak explanation with praise, Spencer accuses the Democrats of accusing McGarrigle of corruption when the ACTUAL complaint from Democrats is that McGarrigle was fiscally irresponsible in managing his own businesses.
Clearly, Spencer thinks McGarrigle's eventual repayment with penalties absolves him of the original willful decision to avoid taxes. In particular, over $15,000 was in school taxes. Did McGarrigle think it was okay to put his business over Springfield's kids. McGarrigle "claims" it was to keep paying his employees, but I don't hear anything about McGarrigle taking a pay cut himself or getting a business loan to cover the $15,000. What is not clear about this story is whether McGarrigle volunteered to pay his taxes or just got caught red-handed.
Spencer then decides to follow the wishes of Pete Peterson and go after Landau staffer: George Matysik. It seems that the GOP is so desperate, they have to send their attack dog after campaign staffers.
When called about the story before it ran, Landau campaign spokesman George Matysik indicated to the Daily Times he had not seen the tax documents in question. But he did offer this:
“We’ll have to take some time to review the documents, but considering Mr. McGarrigle’s platform of fiscal responsibility, this does not bode well.”
It appears however, when Mr. Matysik suggested to us he had not seen the documents, he was not telling the truth.
For it was Mr. Matysik himself who sought out and asked for the public records. He signed for copies of them Oct. 1
The documents then made their way to a third party, who provided them to the Daily Times.
Now using a “cut-out” to provide negative information about opponents to the press is an old political trick.[Yeah: Spencer you should know as you are the biggest "cut-out" in Delaware County using your column as an extension of the Delco GOP.]
The simple truth of the matter is that Matysik signed out this and many other documents from the court house. The McGarrigle tax documents, like many others, were sent off to appropriate tax/legal experts (not Matysik) to examine. When questioned about the story, Matysik had not reviewed the documents himself and said so, clearly. He also asked the further questions be directly addressed to Landau himself. This seems to have mystified Spencer, who is used to GOP candidates that don't/can't speak for themselves and need their puppet-masters to speak for them.
Matysik has a whole wall lined with information requests he had to extract like pulled teeth from the GOP run Delco courthouse. He has actually gone through and counted the GOP staffers in key departments and documented his findings. It's called research, Gil. But, you of all people have the audacity to call him "amateur hack"? Get real. There's only one "hack" around here Gil, and a "professional" hack at that. Just look in the mirror.
Gil, ends with: "In the meantime, if the Landau campaign needs to be led by his nose to pay dirt let me suggest...."
Gil, how about YOU "investigate" and "let me suggest": tell us what friends or family members of yours work at the GOP courthouse. Are you beholden to the Delco GOP for any reason that the your readers ought to know about to evaluate your biases? Are you going after George because his investigations of courthouse employees might reveal connections too close to home?
BTW, does Peterson write your columns for you or just send you an outline?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Hey McGarrigle: Failing to Pay Taxes is Not the Same as "Cutting Taxes"
In Today's Delco Times, McGarrigle's Taxing Problems are revealed.
Republican Delaware County Council candidate Thomas McGarrigle once owed thousands of dollars in school taxes and other liens, making his opposition question his stance on fiscal responsibility.
...
For the tax years 1990 and 1991, McGarrigle owed the Southeast Delco School District a total of $15,198, according to county Common Pleas Court records. He also owed $3,203 in sales taxes between September 2000 and June 2001 for a Springfield property; liens of $571 and $412 for sewer rent in 1995 and 1996, respectively, at that property; and $831 for sewer maintenance on a Sharon Hill property.
McGarrigle said the Sharon Hill property was an apartment house he had sold to the county Housing Authority and did not believe he still owned it at the time of the service.
The other sewer liens he attributed to a possible problem with payments through his mortgage company, of which he was not aware. McGarrigle said he is also still wrestling with red tape at the Department of Revenue to clear up the 2000 and 2001 taxes on his record.
So, let's see if I got this right...
McGarrigle wants to control a $560 million dollar County Budget, but he can't even keep track of the taxes and ownership of his own Apartment house?
But, what's worse is that McGarrigle defended his knowing decision not to pay taxes on his gas station in the early 1990's as his best business judgment!
"He added standing in line at the county Tax Claim Bureau with others who were struggling had helped him resolve to get involved in politics." I guess he figured out that cashing in on the the GOP political machine was the way to go.
The article points out that he eventually paid off his taxes and penalties, though he's still "wrestling with red tape at the Department of Revenue to clear up the 2000 and 2001 taxes on his record."
But for a guy that thinks taxes are "optional" when times get tough for himself, his talking point that he never voted for a tax increase doesn't inspire confidence that he can be trusted to make ANY responsible tax decisions.
He forgets that taxes pay for things. Taxes pay to help out people struggling and worse off than he was. Taxes pay for child health care. And, how about all the State revenue that comes into Delco. From where does McGarrigle think it comes? Even the Tooth Fairy expects you to pitch in with a tooth.
From some of the amounts, it seems like he went a while without paying (sort of like having his own private business loan from the state, at the expense of the other business owners that did pay their taxes on time). So, for the honest businessmen out there struggling to make ends meet and able to plan a budget that includes required taxes, everyone of you has demonstrated better business sense.
Does anyone think that a guy that avoided paying his taxes on time will go after fraud and corruption in County government?
We can do better. By voting for David Landau, Ann O'Keefe and John Innelli. you can make it better.
Republican Delaware County Council candidate Thomas McGarrigle once owed thousands of dollars in school taxes and other liens, making his opposition question his stance on fiscal responsibility.
...
For the tax years 1990 and 1991, McGarrigle owed the Southeast Delco School District a total of $15,198, according to county Common Pleas Court records. He also owed $3,203 in sales taxes between September 2000 and June 2001 for a Springfield property; liens of $571 and $412 for sewer rent in 1995 and 1996, respectively, at that property; and $831 for sewer maintenance on a Sharon Hill property.
McGarrigle said the Sharon Hill property was an apartment house he had sold to the county Housing Authority and did not believe he still owned it at the time of the service.
The other sewer liens he attributed to a possible problem with payments through his mortgage company, of which he was not aware. McGarrigle said he is also still wrestling with red tape at the Department of Revenue to clear up the 2000 and 2001 taxes on his record.
So, let's see if I got this right...
McGarrigle wants to control a $560 million dollar County Budget, but he can't even keep track of the taxes and ownership of his own Apartment house?
But, what's worse is that McGarrigle defended his knowing decision not to pay taxes on his gas station in the early 1990's as his best business judgment!
"He added standing in line at the county Tax Claim Bureau with others who were struggling had helped him resolve to get involved in politics." I guess he figured out that cashing in on the the GOP political machine was the way to go.
The article points out that he eventually paid off his taxes and penalties, though he's still "wrestling with red tape at the Department of Revenue to clear up the 2000 and 2001 taxes on his record."
But for a guy that thinks taxes are "optional" when times get tough for himself, his talking point that he never voted for a tax increase doesn't inspire confidence that he can be trusted to make ANY responsible tax decisions.
He forgets that taxes pay for things. Taxes pay to help out people struggling and worse off than he was. Taxes pay for child health care. And, how about all the State revenue that comes into Delco. From where does McGarrigle think it comes? Even the Tooth Fairy expects you to pitch in with a tooth.
From some of the amounts, it seems like he went a while without paying (sort of like having his own private business loan from the state, at the expense of the other business owners that did pay their taxes on time). So, for the honest businessmen out there struggling to make ends meet and able to plan a budget that includes required taxes, everyone of you has demonstrated better business sense.
Does anyone think that a guy that avoided paying his taxes on time will go after fraud and corruption in County government?
We can do better. By voting for David Landau, Ann O'Keefe and John Innelli. you can make it better.
So Much GOP Dishonesty and Corruption. So Little Time.
For those of you wondering... Yes, I'm still here. It's been a busy week for me with helping candidates in Delco and Montgomery County, Haverford Township Day, and recovering from a a cold.
A quick recap:
1) Democratic candidates are kicking ass all over the region as voters have wised up the GOP tactics, poor administration, cronyism, etc. Even Republicans are complaining that the current GOP politicians don't represent them and are more interested in playing GOP politics that helping the voters.
2) Haverford Township Day: The Dems were out in force. Local progressive, Larry Chrzan, made a great showing over Jimmy McGarrity. There was a ton of people wearing (very stylish) "Chrzan for Change" t-shirts. The ghost-town-like Haverford Republican table seems to have more Chrzan supporters than Republicans. In the afternoon, Candidates Larry Abel and Brian Kennedy were also meeting voters and handing out the Haverford Dem newsletter.
I watched as numerous people pushed aside Republican literature, but took our Democratic newsletter. The only thing the GOP was able to 'move' was FREE, cold bottled water from the GOP Council candidates. The think the kids with the Chrzan t-shirts drank a lot them. I guess the GOP candidates took a break from handing out Kool-aid.
3) Thomas McGarrigle is in HOT water over recent disclosures about his past problems paying is school and state taxes. A story that juicy deserves (and will get) its own blog entry. The story got HOTTER with a HEATED exchange with Rocco Polidoro as well.
4) Nether Providence Republican Committee Chairman, Michael Maddren, started up a "LandauFactCheck" site. The site is a single web page of the same tired GOP distortions about Landau that Pete Peterson, Andy Reilly, Michael Puppio and their minions have been spreading to distract voters about the GOP record. This will get its own blog posting as well.
5) John Innelli: John must have done well on some internal GOP polls this week because Pete Peterson put out a hit piece on John. In it he repeated the distortions about John's work for Darby Township. Peterson tries to act like John was the recipient of some political largess. The REAL facts: John acted as a assistant solicitor, worked at 1/5 his normal fee (so, practically pro-bono work), and the work amounted to a few thousand dollars per year and well below amounts required by Darby for any kind of bidding process. As for Paul Brown being in the loop.. she's in her own loop.
6) Gil "The Shill" Spencer does a standard hatchet piece on Landau. Yawn. Sometime I wonder if Spencer has a set of hatchet pieces pre-written years in advance and then just copies/pastes the name of the Democratic candidate. Spencer also tries to minimize Landau's complaints by comparing the corruption in Philly with Delco:
"But, practically speaking, when you look at say the Democratic machine in Philadelphia and you then you look at the Republican machine in Delaware County, one is not just as bad as the other. One is worse. And we all know which one."
I think the differences are that Philly machine is what the Delco GOP machine has tried to emulate and that Philly has more news organization to investigate and uncover corruption. Clearly, the quality of Republican Editorial comment is worse in Delco. (Yea Us!)
Spencer ends with: To win, Landau needs a better argument, better ideas, or a whole lot more real GOP corruption (not just this "appearance of" stuff) to expose before Election Day. I wonder if Spencer can name his closest friend/relative that works at the GOP controlled courthouse? And what percentage of GOP employment above the 54% registration level would be considered too high?
The Republicans are clearly worried. Considering the record they are running away from, they should be.
A quick recap:
1) Democratic candidates are kicking ass all over the region as voters have wised up the GOP tactics, poor administration, cronyism, etc. Even Republicans are complaining that the current GOP politicians don't represent them and are more interested in playing GOP politics that helping the voters.
2) Haverford Township Day: The Dems were out in force. Local progressive, Larry Chrzan, made a great showing over Jimmy McGarrity. There was a ton of people wearing (very stylish) "Chrzan for Change" t-shirts. The ghost-town-like Haverford Republican table seems to have more Chrzan supporters than Republicans. In the afternoon, Candidates Larry Abel and Brian Kennedy were also meeting voters and handing out the Haverford Dem newsletter.
I watched as numerous people pushed aside Republican literature, but took our Democratic newsletter. The only thing the GOP was able to 'move' was FREE, cold bottled water from the GOP Council candidates. The think the kids with the Chrzan t-shirts drank a lot them. I guess the GOP candidates took a break from handing out Kool-aid.
3) Thomas McGarrigle is in HOT water over recent disclosures about his past problems paying is school and state taxes. A story that juicy deserves (and will get) its own blog entry. The story got HOTTER with a HEATED exchange with Rocco Polidoro as well.
4) Nether Providence Republican Committee Chairman, Michael Maddren, started up a "LandauFactCheck" site. The site is a single web page of the same tired GOP distortions about Landau that Pete Peterson, Andy Reilly, Michael Puppio and their minions have been spreading to distract voters about the GOP record. This will get its own blog posting as well.
5) John Innelli: John must have done well on some internal GOP polls this week because Pete Peterson put out a hit piece on John. In it he repeated the distortions about John's work for Darby Township. Peterson tries to act like John was the recipient of some political largess. The REAL facts: John acted as a assistant solicitor, worked at 1/5 his normal fee (so, practically pro-bono work), and the work amounted to a few thousand dollars per year and well below amounts required by Darby for any kind of bidding process. As for Paul Brown being in the loop.. she's in her own loop.
6) Gil "The Shill" Spencer does a standard hatchet piece on Landau. Yawn. Sometime I wonder if Spencer has a set of hatchet pieces pre-written years in advance and then just copies/pastes the name of the Democratic candidate. Spencer also tries to minimize Landau's complaints by comparing the corruption in Philly with Delco:
"But, practically speaking, when you look at say the Democratic machine in Philadelphia and you then you look at the Republican machine in Delaware County, one is not just as bad as the other. One is worse. And we all know which one."
I think the differences are that Philly machine is what the Delco GOP machine has tried to emulate and that Philly has more news organization to investigate and uncover corruption. Clearly, the quality of Republican Editorial comment is worse in Delco. (Yea Us!)
Spencer ends with: To win, Landau needs a better argument, better ideas, or a whole lot more real GOP corruption (not just this "appearance of" stuff) to expose before Election Day. I wonder if Spencer can name his closest friend/relative that works at the GOP controlled courthouse? And what percentage of GOP employment above the 54% registration level would be considered too high?
The Republicans are clearly worried. Considering the record they are running away from, they should be.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Sexton's Man, Reilly's Girl and Daddy's Little Boy
The Delco GOP Candidates (aka The Three Stooges) represent the weakest field of GOP candidates in recent memory. They have no message other than to pretend things are fine and to carry on business as usual. What little change they do mention is merely hollow rhetoric about increasing openness in government.
With Andrew Reilly running the campaign, the GOP machine hopes to extend its time on life-support and hold onto the cash-cow that monopoly rule as brought to the GOP, its patrons and its cronies (at the expense of the voters).
Weak Candidates:
The GOP candidates are suffering from a lack of broad support.
Tom McGarrigle is from Springfield (power base of Charlie "County Prison Board Deal" Sexton), and his campaign appears to have little appeal or funding outside of Springfield. Christine Cannon is Reilly's protege and represents what the voters want to change. Andy Lewis peaked when he became a Ward Commissioner in Haverford. Without "Daddy's name and/or money", he wouldn't even be in the race.
The Delco GOP machine is suffering some major breakdowns. This latest set of spare parts might as well have been made in China.
No Message, No Fiscal Responsibility:
More of the same is not a message. It is the absence of a message. From their campaign site: The candidates are committed to the same common sense approach to county government that has resulted in no tax increases for three straight years. The REAL REASON for no tax increases is that we are already taxed over 50% more than neighboring Montgomery County. See my previous Blog Post for details and a budget comparison.
Hollow Rhetoric:
On their site, the GOP candidate claim to want to increase transparency and openness in government through continued investment in new technologies.
New technologies? Since when does holding well-publicized public meetings at a convenient times require "new technology"? They can already publish a budget online, but making it clear where the money goes is another matter.
Besides, Andy Reilly is running their campaigns and already controls the council. If the GOP was really interested in open government or transparency we would already have it.
With Andrew Reilly running the campaign, the GOP machine hopes to extend its time on life-support and hold onto the cash-cow that monopoly rule as brought to the GOP, its patrons and its cronies (at the expense of the voters).
Weak Candidates:
The GOP candidates are suffering from a lack of broad support.
Tom McGarrigle is from Springfield (power base of Charlie "County Prison Board Deal" Sexton), and his campaign appears to have little appeal or funding outside of Springfield. Christine Cannon is Reilly's protege and represents what the voters want to change. Andy Lewis peaked when he became a Ward Commissioner in Haverford. Without "Daddy's name and/or money", he wouldn't even be in the race.
The Delco GOP machine is suffering some major breakdowns. This latest set of spare parts might as well have been made in China.
No Message, No Fiscal Responsibility:
More of the same is not a message. It is the absence of a message. From their campaign site: The candidates are committed to the same common sense approach to county government that has resulted in no tax increases for three straight years. The REAL REASON for no tax increases is that we are already taxed over 50% more than neighboring Montgomery County. See my previous Blog Post for details and a budget comparison.
Hollow Rhetoric:
On their site, the GOP candidate claim to want to increase transparency and openness in government through continued investment in new technologies.
New technologies? Since when does holding well-publicized public meetings at a convenient times require "new technology"? They can already publish a budget online, but making it clear where the money goes is another matter.
Besides, Andy Reilly is running their campaigns and already controls the council. If the GOP was really interested in open government or transparency we would already have it.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Polidoro blasts GOP corruption in Delco County Council
Kudos to Rocco Polidoro for writing this letter to the editor, published in the Delco Times on August 6, 2007. Rocco was one of the 6 or 7 candidates who ran in May in the Dem primary race for County Council. With this letter, we can see the Rocco is working for the 3 candidates that won in the primary. I saw Rocco recently and shook his hand, not only for writing such a hard-hitting letter, but for his carrying on the spirit of party unity.
This letter is filled with the facts and figures the tell the story of how corrupt the (currently) Republican-led Delco County Council is wasting our taxpayer money. If you read this and still vote to continue the GOP hegemony, you just aren't paying attention. And you're voting against your own interests. This costs us millions of dollars every year.
============================================
To the Times:
There is a very important election this November.
Three of the five county council seats are up for election. Based on my 25 years of business and political knowledge of Delaware County, I would venture to say that more than 95 percent of the residents do not know the following data.
County council will spend more than $500 million of your federal, state and county taxes in 2007 to run our county government. This county employs more than 3,600 employees.
For the last 32 years, there hasn’t been a Democrat elected to county council. All five council members are Republicans and all five are lawyers. There are 67 counties in Pennsylvania and other than a very small county in the northern part, we are the only county government in the state that does not have two-party representation.
If you view the Web site or the campaign material of the three Republican candidates this year, you would think they are fiscal conservatives and dedicated to smaller government. You would think these candidates — Andy Lewis, Christine Fizanno Cannon and Tom McGarrigle — had something to do with the fact that we haven’t had a county tax increase in three years, although they have all been selected and supported by the same group that has controlled the county in the past, they had nothing to do with that issue.
Not having a tax increase in the last three years is actually a smoke-screen. So if these three are elected this November, we will have “no change” in the way this county spends our taxes. And with the same group in control, we probably will have “no new direction” for this county for years to come.
Some would argue that the majority of the voters have elected these Republicans in the last 32 years. Do you really think a monopoly is good for local government? Who’s looking out for the several hundred thousand residents that are not registered Republican? Where are the checks and balances when our council is spending millions on no-bid contracts? In many cases the recipients of these no-bid contracts are also donors to the Republican Party. Are we getting the lowest and most responsible contract?
There should be a law that prohibits a contractor who bids for county government contracts in Delco from donating to political parties. We’ll never know with all five members from the same political organization if we are spending our taxes wisely.
Why have all five council members been awarded solicitorships on various boards and small government bodies within the county? I think it’s a great conflict of interest for elected council members to accept solicitorships while representing the people of Delaware County. You could only serve one master.
In addition to receiving $50,000 for the part-time position on county council, it is estimated all five members are also paid with more than 20 solicitorships within the county. And guess who’s paying for those positions? Is your town or school board paying any of the current council members?
Now let’s see how Delco’s spending compares to our neighbors. Bucks County has more than 50,000 more residents, according to the Census Bureau, but Delco will spend $112 million more than Bucks. The chairman of Delco council has said our county receives more state and federal grants than Bucks and Montco, and that we spend less on county taxes than our neighbors. Another smoke-screen.
We have to look at the total amount of taxes we are spending if we are to consider how efficient we are compared to our neighboring counties. After all, we are all federal, state and county taxpayers. Regardless of the county chairman’s spin, we are spending millions more than our neighboring counties.
When you look at where most of our taxes are going, you’ll see it’s on county jobs. And that’s what makes the Republican organization strong, patronage jobs. And you pay for it.
Delco employs 1,000 more employees than Bucks. And remember, Bucks has more than 50,000 more residents.
Compared to Montgomery County, Delco has 200,000 fewer residents, but yet spends $103 million more than Montco. Even though Montco is 40 percent larger in population, Delco employs 400 more employees.
Both Montco and Bucks include their prison employees in their total numbers, whereas Delco does not. And if you were to factor the prison employees back into these calculations, it would show that Delco is employing even more than our two neighboring counties. That’s because Delco employs an outside company to run our prison.
And what do Bucks and Montco have that Delco doesn’t? They have a two-party system running their governments.
It appears the organization that has controlled this county for 32 years with no “checks and balances” has taken advantage. The population figures, the number of employees and the budgets of the three counties are all posted online and available under the right-to-know law. The numbers speak for themselves.
This county is riddled with an over-abundance of patronage workers and you are paying big bucks for it. It is my opinion that we will probably get hit with a county tax increase in 2008. Do you want another four to eight years of the same political organization running our county government?
The chairman of council is also heading the election committee of the three Republican candidates, further proof that the same organization will control those candidates if they are elected.
Isn’t 32 years enough? Don’t we deserve to have the checks and balances in our local government that every other county enjoys in the state?
I am not saying replace all five Republicans on county council with five Democrats. But at least consider giving several Democrats a chance. It would be healthy to have a mix on council.
If you want to see change in our county starting in 2008, then please consider David Landau, Anne O’Keefe and John Innelli for county council in November.
ROCCO J. POLIDORO
Springfield
======================================================
This letter is filled with the facts and figures the tell the story of how corrupt the (currently) Republican-led Delco County Council is wasting our taxpayer money. If you read this and still vote to continue the GOP hegemony, you just aren't paying attention. And you're voting against your own interests. This costs us millions of dollars every year.
============================================
To the Times:
There is a very important election this November.
Three of the five county council seats are up for election. Based on my 25 years of business and political knowledge of Delaware County, I would venture to say that more than 95 percent of the residents do not know the following data.
County council will spend more than $500 million of your federal, state and county taxes in 2007 to run our county government. This county employs more than 3,600 employees.
For the last 32 years, there hasn’t been a Democrat elected to county council. All five council members are Republicans and all five are lawyers. There are 67 counties in Pennsylvania and other than a very small county in the northern part, we are the only county government in the state that does not have two-party representation.
If you view the Web site or the campaign material of the three Republican candidates this year, you would think they are fiscal conservatives and dedicated to smaller government. You would think these candidates — Andy Lewis, Christine Fizanno Cannon and Tom McGarrigle — had something to do with the fact that we haven’t had a county tax increase in three years, although they have all been selected and supported by the same group that has controlled the county in the past, they had nothing to do with that issue.
Not having a tax increase in the last three years is actually a smoke-screen. So if these three are elected this November, we will have “no change” in the way this county spends our taxes. And with the same group in control, we probably will have “no new direction” for this county for years to come.
Some would argue that the majority of the voters have elected these Republicans in the last 32 years. Do you really think a monopoly is good for local government? Who’s looking out for the several hundred thousand residents that are not registered Republican? Where are the checks and balances when our council is spending millions on no-bid contracts? In many cases the recipients of these no-bid contracts are also donors to the Republican Party. Are we getting the lowest and most responsible contract?
There should be a law that prohibits a contractor who bids for county government contracts in Delco from donating to political parties. We’ll never know with all five members from the same political organization if we are spending our taxes wisely.
Why have all five council members been awarded solicitorships on various boards and small government bodies within the county? I think it’s a great conflict of interest for elected council members to accept solicitorships while representing the people of Delaware County. You could only serve one master.
In addition to receiving $50,000 for the part-time position on county council, it is estimated all five members are also paid with more than 20 solicitorships within the county. And guess who’s paying for those positions? Is your town or school board paying any of the current council members?
Now let’s see how Delco’s spending compares to our neighbors. Bucks County has more than 50,000 more residents, according to the Census Bureau, but Delco will spend $112 million more than Bucks. The chairman of Delco council has said our county receives more state and federal grants than Bucks and Montco, and that we spend less on county taxes than our neighbors. Another smoke-screen.
We have to look at the total amount of taxes we are spending if we are to consider how efficient we are compared to our neighboring counties. After all, we are all federal, state and county taxpayers. Regardless of the county chairman’s spin, we are spending millions more than our neighboring counties.
When you look at where most of our taxes are going, you’ll see it’s on county jobs. And that’s what makes the Republican organization strong, patronage jobs. And you pay for it.
Delco employs 1,000 more employees than Bucks. And remember, Bucks has more than 50,000 more residents.
Compared to Montgomery County, Delco has 200,000 fewer residents, but yet spends $103 million more than Montco. Even though Montco is 40 percent larger in population, Delco employs 400 more employees.
Both Montco and Bucks include their prison employees in their total numbers, whereas Delco does not. And if you were to factor the prison employees back into these calculations, it would show that Delco is employing even more than our two neighboring counties. That’s because Delco employs an outside company to run our prison.
And what do Bucks and Montco have that Delco doesn’t? They have a two-party system running their governments.
It appears the organization that has controlled this county for 32 years with no “checks and balances” has taken advantage. The population figures, the number of employees and the budgets of the three counties are all posted online and available under the right-to-know law. The numbers speak for themselves.
This county is riddled with an over-abundance of patronage workers and you are paying big bucks for it. It is my opinion that we will probably get hit with a county tax increase in 2008. Do you want another four to eight years of the same political organization running our county government?
The chairman of council is also heading the election committee of the three Republican candidates, further proof that the same organization will control those candidates if they are elected.
Isn’t 32 years enough? Don’t we deserve to have the checks and balances in our local government that every other county enjoys in the state?
I am not saying replace all five Republicans on county council with five Democrats. But at least consider giving several Democrats a chance. It would be healthy to have a mix on council.
If you want to see change in our county starting in 2008, then please consider David Landau, Anne O’Keefe and John Innelli for county council in November.
ROCCO J. POLIDORO
Springfield
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