Scranton Mayoral Debate: What a Disaster! (Wilkes-Barre, Washington: condos, crime, house)

[Rolo Tomassi]

I've read the posts here on the Mayoral debate last night and I attended the dabate. It appears some of you posters are in college or recently graduated. Therefore, the Brookings Institute and the term "brain drain" is something you should be familiar with. I am not a college grad and neither do I have the time to spend reading articles, studies and theories such as that associated with this subject. Then again, I am not running for mayor. Some of you are a little harsh on the candidates for this one question. Quite honestly, I am a Dibileo supporter and I, personally, know the other candidates as well. The question that must be asked, is would Doherty have known about Brookings and the term brain drain if he were not mayor and still working for his family business? Mind you, I feel Gary and Bob looked foolish on this question as some of you have commented. Brookings is not the only institute of authority on this subject and although Doherty was familiar with it, I think he totally misses the boat on the matter. Doherty did appear to play possum with the question and took advantage of the opportunity to emabrass his oponents during the rebuttal. However, I feel Doherty misses the mark when he attributes what he has done in the city over the past seven years and passes it off as a remedy to brain drain. In my opinion, his economic development has been superficial at best and designed to benefit the developers and not specifically towards job creation. Especially the type of employment addressing brain drain. Nothing has been done by this administration to lure high tech or industrial employment. Lastly, the beutification or investment into parks, although some of the things mentioned in these studies are not the sole remedy to this problem. Mayor Doherty fails to note the other issues in the studies, like public safety. The list goes on and on. Keep in mind, that although two candidates were unfamiliar with Brookings and brain drain they established platforms all during the debate. Many of the platform issues would, in fact, address brain drain. Issues such as lowering the wage and mercantile/business priveledge taxes, working to remove Scranton from distressed status, continued economic development (in the right way) and settling labor dispute with the City's public safety personnel are all part of the solutions. So I guess what I'm trying to impress upon all is that although the two candidates did not know the name of the song, they did know the tune and the words. As another poster put it, they know our educated youth are not staying and had established means of reversing that without knowing it. It's called common sense. I feel Doherty may talk the talk, but doesn't walk the walk. Besides, the majority of the residents in the northeast are elderly and I doubt they would have known the meaning of this question either. In closing, was it embarassing? Probably so. As dramatic as some make it sound? I don't think so. I'll take a man who can admit he's doesn't know everything over an egotistical person who thinks he knows it all.

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by shoegal111

Exactly Pittston2Sarasota, Scranton used to have housing in the downtown years many moons ago and if history and memories recall the downtown was always filled with people. People who owned shops on the first floor and lived above, homes that still line Jefferson Ave that are now occupied by lawyers and doctors, etc. I guess some people who post here that are saying they want the Scranton of yesteryear must of had a brain fart or be living in a frug state in order not to remember that.

The 400 and 500 blocks of Jefferson are not in the downtown. Downtown is Jefferson to Mifflin....Lackawanna to Mulberry

Who said they wanted the city of yesteryear? In those days the streets were dirt in Lower Greenridge and homes still used outhouses.

Hell people still had horses and carts and Lackawanna ave was full of vibrant markets and such, but something changed...Now what was it again.....

OH thats right coal was no longer king and Scranton died with it.

Again this is Scranton NOT Seattle.

How long have you been gone again?

Problem is that small shops cannot survive in the downtown due to the mercantile and wage tax.......If you were here for the last 8 years you would have witnessed the exodus of shops and residents from the city........

Nothing like an armchair quarterback that just moved back from seeing the real world outside of little ole pennsyltuckey to swoop in and save us from ourselves and pump life back in to our city right? Spare me. Been there done that.

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by shoegal111

NP. Hoping Scranton gets better with drawing folks into the downtown during the holidays. They could do a lot more. Seattle is also great at the holidays. The buildings are bathed in green and blue, have white lights, or moving x-mas designed spotlights on them. There is a big Holiday parade the day after Thanksgiving during the daytime and in the evening they have a concert and tree lighting ceremony in the middle of the shopping core district, followed by the lighting of the Bon Marche Star and fireworks compliments of Macy's (which bought and converted Bon Marche) off the top of the building.

One of the stand alone downtown malls has a daily concert or show of sorts (e.g. ballroom dancing, ballet, etc.) followed by indoor snow (glycerin soap) for 15 minutes everynight at 6 p.m.

There is a Christmas Merry Go Round for the kids, outdoor concerts and some local celebrity selling roasted chestnuts for charity on weekedays.

No of this costs a great deal of money for the individuals/companies involved (except the fireworks) but wow what an impact when strung all together for the holiday season.

This is not Seattle nor will ever be, if that is what you are hoping for then maybe a return trip is in order.....

[weluvpa]

Welcome Rolo......Nice to see you here, enjoy your comments on the Times site......

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by shoegal111

Exactly Pittston2Sarasota, Scranton used to have housing in the downtown years many moons ago and if history and memories recall the downtown was always filled with people. People who owned shops on the first floor and lived above, homes that still line Jefferson Ave that are now occupied by lawyers and doctors, etc. I guess some people who post here that are saying they want the Scranton of yesteryear must of had a brain fart or be living in a frug state in order not to remember that.

Scranton also had near double the population back then...wasn't as much housing to go around. Now you can live in a single house, not sharing a wall or stacked on top of one another, in walking distance from downtown. This isn't New York, Philadelphia, or Seattle. This is a small town, not a big city. And we natives like it that way.

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by go phillies

Scranton also had near double the population back then...wasn't as much housing to go around. Now you can live in a single house, not sharing a wall or stacked on top of one another, in walking distance from downtown. This isn't New York, Philadelphia, or Seattle. This is a small town, not a big city. And we natives like it that way.

Yes, Yes, Yes. Why do these people want to change it into some progressive, coffee shop and trendy store town? At this point I don't care, I'm out in a few months.

[PITTSTON2SARASOTA]

Originally Posted by NYRangers 2008

Yes, Yes, Yes. Why do these people want to change it into some progressive, coffee shop and trendy store town? At this point I don't care, I'm out in a few months.

AND Scranton Never will....grow at this rate...lol...

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by PITTSTON2SARASOTA

AND Scranton Never will....grow at this rate...lol...

I don't know why some people are obsessed with Scranton growing....I think it would be fine if we just leveled off in population......I'd rather stability over growth. Growth is not always good....look at the Poconos.

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by NYRangers 2008

Why do these people want to change it into some progressive, coffee shop and trendy store town?

Because that gives Doherty more chances for photo ops to run for a higher office.....Trendy coffee shops and loft housing look more impressive on political propaganda mailings than safe stable working-class neighborhoods....

[PITTSTON2SARASOTA]

Originally Posted by go phillies

I don't know why some people are obsessed with Scranton growing....I think it would be fine if we just leveled off in population......I'd rather stability over growth. Growth is not always good....look at the Poconos.

TRY and see from my point of view; the Scranton I grew up in DID have 111,000 people....Pittston had 13,000 and Wilkes-Barre had 63,000. To us people born during the Jurassic period....the cities are only returning to the density/population we were used to....you must admit they should not have shrunk so fast, I am still confused as to why the population has not stabilized and grown. Really a lot is about image...Sarasota has a impeccable reputation; yet IT SUCKS HERE ,and there is a lot more to do in Scranton. The Kirby center makes our concert hall look sick...but the idiots here rant and rave about it.I think maybe Scranton needs to "like" itself, I miss it now,heyna it really is better than even Sarasota.