Is the Political Climate in Scranton About to Boil Over? (Philadelphia: hotel, lawyer)

[SteelCityRising]

I watched tonight's Scranton City Council meeting in shock and disbelief. Council President Judith Gatelli went off on a five-minute or so rant about Doherty Deceit, a rather hostile message board in which pretty much anyone in the public spotlight in the city is open to particularly extreme scrutiny. She unexpectedly rattled off rather vulgar language on television as she quoted comments typed about her from these losers (when children could have been watching the meetings with their parents), but I can understand her frustrations. The folks on that site exercise their freedom of speech to dissent from city government, which is fine and dandy. However, most on there seem to take their disgust for the administration MUCH too far, and it is due to perceived "threats" against Mrs. Gatelli that she spoke out against Mr. Pilchesky, the site's owner, in a city newspaper. Those comments evoked a lawsuit from Mr. Pilchesky, and Mrs. Gatelli filed a counter-suit. Since then tensions have been so thick in the city that you can cut them with a knife. I noticed this evening that the city police officer in council chambers was much closer to the podium than normal, and you could sense some real tensions, even from the other end of a television screen.

As a former member of Doherty Deceit myself who was banned for not being nasty enough against the administration (which directly contradicts Mr. Pilchesky's past claims about "anyone" being able to join his "beacon of free speech"), I was likewise the victim of some nasty name-calling and bickering from these "adults" who act more child-like than I do, even though I'm half as old as most of them are.

All in all though I can honestly say that the political climate in Scranton seems to continue to deteriorate. Councilwoman Sherry N. Fanucci also went off on a nearly five-minute rant this evening in which she attacked the council speakers, and I can honestly say I agree with her. From my vantage point 75% of the folks who approach the podium weekly are becoming tiresome with their same old anti-city rants (Ozzie Quinn's behavior was especially disgusting tonight), and they do nothing but detract from the city's overall image to potential newcomers, investors, tourists, and suburbanites alike. Even Junior Council President Doug Miller, a high school student, approached the podium in a fit of anger bemoaning how he has also been attacked on that site, even being threatened with bodily harm. Yes, it takes some very well-educated, articulate people to threaten to strangle a high school student.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

I'm not in the loop for Scranton politics, but I'll tell you Luzerne county residents are close to gathering pitchforks and torches to go after Skrep. Maybe we could organize one mob to go after Skrep and then they can head up to Scranton.
Although I did have to laugh when Skrep said he may have charged personal hotel rooms for his kid on the county dime.
I think Scranton and Luzerne politics are about to implode.

ETA:
One simple thing could change a lot of these problems. The ability to have a recall vote, like our fine friends in California.

[weluvpa]

Judy did that in front of the West Side high school history class that was sitting in the balcony. Judy's lawsuit is dead in the water,when the judge came back and told her and her lawyer that they had to prove that the posters statements were libelious(sp?) they were dead in their tracks. They cannot prove that any of those statements quoted in the lawsuit were libel so its dead and they will never know who the posters are. She has no choice at this point but to attack her attackers from her seat on camera, there is no other recourse for her. The sad part is that if any citizen tried to air their grievences there they would be gaveled out of order and told that it was not city business, so then why is it ok for her to do it? Whether you like DD or not it is responsible for exposing these political hacks for what they are. It has put such a spot light on politicians here in Lackawanna county that they all never know who is watching or who is for or against them. In many respects I think that it has leveled the playing field a bit to favor the taxpayers and has given them the ability to truely monitor our elected officals. Things have been exposed and facts have come out that the everyday taxpayer would have never been aware of without it. I'm not saying thats it always right or that its always true, but alot of factual info has found its way to that site. It would have never seen the public light without it. Do I think that sometimes its out of control or over the top, sure I do! But nothing is perfect and I would rather have it there exposing these people for who they really are then to not know at all. Information is key, whether its good or bad, true or false the more informed you are, the more aware you are!

[FightinPhils]

Sounds like good ol' Joe P. outdid himself this time....posting racial slurs against a black Times-Tribune reporter.

That site is a joke, and Joe takes away his credibility, if he ever had any, every time he opens his mouth (or keyboard, I should say). Which may be good, because most people know that Janet Evans is also strongly behind that site, and her and her family frequent it, so her close association with DD and Joe P. will not help her aspirations for higher political office.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

Whether you like DD or not it is responsible for exposing these political hacks for what they are. It has put such a spot light on politicians here in Lackawanna county that they all never know who is watching or who is for or against them.

It has put a spotlight on them....as long as their name isn't Evans. If you dare to even suggest anything negative about Janet Evans, you'll be banned from DD. BUT...its OK for Joe and all his Beavis and Butthead followers to spout unproven rumors about local politicians' sexual orientation, accuse others of extramarital affairs, post 3rd grade insults about people's weight, claim that there is an Irish-Catholic conspiracy to rule the world, etc etc etc.

That site is a joke, and the only reason it gets so much attention is the same reason people stop and stare at a trainwreck.

[to570717]

When racial slurs are used and then the minions on his site follow up by cheering him on it needs to be aired in public. Joe knows how non-important he is. Now you have Nelson A who is a police officer in Scranton backing up the racist words on that site.

No matter what all of you think you know, you don't know the half of it. Joe is a worthless slouch who cant stand his irrelavant life. Judy does not deserve what she is getting. Dan will argue that the residents are getting worse blah blah blah. Well, no they are not.

Atty Reihner is just getting warmed up.

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by conorsdad

Sounds like good ol' Joe P. outdid himself this time....posting racial slurs against a black Times-Tribune reporter.

Well, I'm sure you've heard the saying, "In Pennsylvania, you have Philadelphia on one side and Pittsburgh on the other, with Alabama in between." Joe just shows racism is alive and well in NEPA.

[to570717]

Yah it is pretty sad....and on top of that a lot of the poster (possible Joe Himself) have been rallying around him and his Klansman attitude. Where is Janet Evans denouncing those words.

MLK Day is in a month. He was killed for simply asking to judge a man by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin. Remember what Joes words and actions signify. Throw your stupid views on city council and your ill-infomred ideas of city politics out the door and realize where this debate has shifted. Anyone who is complacent over this should be ashamed.

[SteelCityRising]

The racism and homophobia spewed forth so freely and fervently on that site is my main argument against it. Sure, it's perfectly fine to do some investigative work into the corruption in city and county government in order to air this dirty laundry to enlighten the taxpayers. That was the site's original intent, and I respected Mr. Pilchesky at the time for doing so. However, any credibility those claims might have had is negated immensely when the word n*gger is used freely, and when people there think it is "okay" to post nasty remarks about sexual orientations as well. Furthermore, saying you'll "strangle" a teenager and calling people "Nazis" is also way out of line, as is ridiculing people for their struggles with obesity. That site started off as a respectable beacon of free speech but has since descended into an embarrassment to the city. I wonder how many of the regulars on there who are so "high and mighty" have even graduated high school?

[SteelCityRising]

I encourage anyone with an interest in the matter to read the article in this morning's Times-Tribune that reveals even more vitriol that was spewed forth from Mr. Pilchesky. Apparently he also attacked Stacy Brown, an African-American staff writer for the newspaper, by saying that he should be dropped off in the South during the 1930s, while also using the word n*gger to refer to him. This comes on top of the anti-gay remarks he made against me during my brief pre-banishment tenure on his site. He says he hides behind the First Amendment in making all of his remarks.

Mr. Pilchesky and his minions are the EXACT reason why Scranton can't progress forward. What sane, logical, educated individual would want to move to a city where such racism, prejudice, and homophobia is inherently promoted and nurtured instead of being vehemently opposed as it is in most RATIONAL cities in our nation? This comes on the heels of another major racial controversy erupting in Wilkes-Barre over how a city police officer and a group of residents yelled racial slurs at African-American and Hispanic children who were part of a step-dancing troupe in the city's recent Santa Parade. This also stirs up painful memories of hate mail, shoves, and threats I received from a few homophobes in my community several years ago.

All of these have combined to give outsiders the impression that NEPA is full of racist, homophobic, uneducated morons, and sadly I won't offer much defense to that assessment. When you see how popular Mr. Pilchesky is (including having some fans on this forum) and then see the racist ideals he stands for, it truly makes me ponder my decision to stay here. You can expect a heated letter to the editor about these issues from yours truly to appear in a future edition of the newspaper---we need to make it known that racist homophobic thugs can NOT be tolerated in NEPA. Anyone who supports this man, his off-base remarks, or his idiotic web site have lost my respect.