StopLouBarletta.com

While Mayor Lou Barletta’s Congressional Campaign continues to do a whole lot of nothing, Chris Paige is continuing to try and take the fight to Barletta.  From today until Sunday, Chris Paige and volunteers from his campaign will be staffing booths at the Columbia and Steamtown Malls.  They’ll be there, collecting signatures to get Paige on the ballot, answering voter questions, and (hopefully) talking poorly about Mayor Barletta.

As a Republican, I can’t think of a worse candidate to represent the Party than Lou Barletta.  He has proven, in multiple campaigns, unable to raise campaign money or to run a competitive operation.  As a mayor, he has ruined the city of Hazleton, bringing it to the point of financial collapse.  The thought of this man representing anyone in any higher office is a frightening thought, indeed.  This is why I feel that having Chris Paige as a challenger to Lou Barletta in the Republican Primary is such a good thing.

The Republican voters deserve to have a choice.  Barletta has walked into the Republican nomination twice before, and watching his campaign was like watching a toddler beat his toys on the floor.  His fund raising operation was a joke.  He failed to articulate any clear positions on important issues.  His campaign manager, Vince Galko, has screwed up every election he’s ever been a part of.  And now on his third attempt at running for Congress, Lou Barletta shows no signs of learning from his past mistakes.

So at some point this week, stop by either the Columbia or Steamtown Malls and learn more about Chris Paige and his campaign.  If you’re so inclined, sign his petition to get him on the ballot.  Both the Republican Party and the voters of the 11th Congressional District deserve to have competitive political candidates.  Lou Barletta is not one of those candidates.  He never was and it appears he never will be.  It’s time to move on.  Lou Barletta does not deserve to be elected to the United States Congress.

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

In 2001, the town of Coatsville sold its water and sewer system to a private buyer.  That sale generated $40 million.  Today, only $14 million remains.  In less than 10 years, the town burned through well over half of that money.  They invested it in things that were supposed to generate steady income to the town.  Those investments have failed to generate anything.  In short, Coatsville did exactly what Lou Barletta wants to do with Hazleton.  And it didn’t work.

But, hey, maybe Lou Barletta could make this work.  Right?  Probably not.  Barletta has made bad decision after bad decision, bringing Hazleton to her knees and on the verge of bankruptcy.  He wasted millions in trying to defend his mindless “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” in Federal Court.  He illegally used the city’s pension fund for purpose it wasn’t intended for, and needed the State to come to the rescue of the city.  Honestly, if Hazleton was granted the authority to print money, Barletta would find a way to screw it up.  He’s just not very good with money.

For more proof, just look at the half-dead, sad looking thing that is his Congressional Campaign.  Already, Barletta has built up more debt than all of the other candidates, Democrat and Republican, combined.  Before he even launched his Congressional Campaign, he had to send out letters begging people to give him money because his debt was so massive.  And this is Barletta’s third consecutive attempt at running for Congress.  Every time he runs, he loses and accumulates more debt.  Most people get better at things with practice.  Not Lou Barletta.  He gets markedly worse.

The punchline in this un-funny joke is that Lou Barletta wants to take this brand of leadership to the Federal Government.  Why in the name of everything that is Holy would anyone cast a vote for Lou Barletta?  He’s not good at anything.  Unless you count ruining cities and embarrassing his own political party as a skill.  Because, I guess, Lou is pretty good at doing that.   Lou Barletta’s plan to sell the Hazleton Water Authority and save Hazleton will probably fail.  Not only because it’s a bad idea, but also because Lou Barletta is behind it.  Clearly, the voters of the 11th Congressional District simply can not afford to have Mayor Barletta represent them in the halls of the United States Congress.

As an elected official, Lou Barletta is a failure.  The city of Hazleton is worse off, not better, as a result of having Barletta serve as its mayor.  The city’s economy is in shambles.  His plan to sell-off the Hazleton Water Authority is reckless and stupid.  Before he is finished, Barletta will have made Hazleton’s economy one of the worst in the nation.  And while the damage is already done for Hazleton, it’s not too late to keep Lou Barletta from wreaking the same havoc on the 11th Congressional District.  At all costs, Lou Barletta must be kept out of the United States Congress.

See also: Barletta: Question Me and You’re All Screwed and Lou Barletta’s Vision of America

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

Mayor Lou Barletta wants to sell the Hazleton Water Authority to the highest bidder and if anyone tries to stop him, murder, rape, and anarchy will ensue.  Barletta claims that if he can’t sell the Water Authority for a quick buck, Hazleton will collapse into a heap of rubbish.  Worse, the residents of Hazleton, now drug addicted serial killers, will spill into the surrounding towns and cities.  What will ensue will be nothing short of a Biblical plague of pain, suffering, and horror.  Or something like that.

Barletta appeared this week on the Sam Lesante Show and spoke about why he needs to sell the Hazleton Water Authority and what would happen if he wasn’t allowed to do so.  As reported in the Standard Speaker…

He said the 13 municipalities in addition to Hazleton where the authority sells water have a stake in the city’s well-being.

“If the City of Hazleton crumbles, we would lose our police department, our fire department … The crime and decay will reach out,” Barletta said.

And if that weren’t enough to scare the living crap out of all of you, keep this in mind.  Without the money from the Water Authority Sale, Barletta will have no choice but to raise everyone’s taxes to the point where people will have to begin selling off their children just to afford food.  Again, as reported by the Standard Speaker…

If the city doesn’t make the sale, however, Barletta said he expects taxes on a home assessed at $100,000 would increase by $3,057 during those five years. He said he does not think most taxpayers could afford the increase, nor does he think the city could continue to maintain roads or provide the current level of police and fire service.

Get that?  Higher taxes.  Widespread crime and decay.  No police or firefighters.  This is what will happen if Mayor Lou isn’t able to sell off the Hazleton Water Authority.  Yes, Barletta admits that the sale will probably result in higher water bills for Hazleton and all the surrounding areas currently being serviced by the Water Authority.  However, as Lou himself points out, that fee hike is nothing compared to the tax hike he will unleash if his grand-plan is thwarted.  Besides, think of all the money that the city will raise if it sells the Water Authority.  Right?

Not so fast, according to Chris Paige.  Paige, who is running against Barletta in the 11th Congressional District Republican Primary, says that the profits promised by Barletta are the stuff of pipe dreams and fiction.  According to Paige, who held a Townhall Meeting last night in Hazleton, Barletta’s numbers are a bit off.  As reported by the Standard Speaker…

According to the mayor’s presentation, the city stands to generate $1.5 million annually by investing proceeds from the sale of the water company into an irrevocable trust and in a solar power generation facility to be constructed on city land near the municipal airport.

Paige said Barletta’s investments would have to yield 14 percent in order for the projected profits to become a reality.

“Fourteen percent per year with no risk? Even Bernie Madoff only promised 10 percent,” Paige said.

Paige termed Barletta’s plan a “get rich quick scheme” and said, “Hazleton’s problems weren’t created overnight and they won’t be solved overnight.”

So now the plot thickens!  Not only will Barletta’s planned sale of the Water Authority probably result in higher water fees for the fine people of the greater Hazleton area, but the profits promised from such a sale may not ever materialize.  If true, selling the Water Authority will make things worse, not better, for Hazleton.  The city will still be near financial collapse, police and firefighters will still have to be laid off, taxes will still have to be jacked up, up, and away, and on top of all that, the cost of clean drinking water will be increased, as well.  But despite all of this, Lou Barletta still wants all of us to just go along with his plan and trust him.

Trusting in Lou Barletta is the real source of this whole mess.  The people of Hazleton trusted in Barletta and elected him, multiple times, to the rank of mayor.  And what did they get in return?  One of the worst economies in the state.  Businesses are closing, homes and store fronts are sitting vacant, and the city’s finances have been thrown into the toilet.  Lou Barletta would like all of us to believe that everything is fine and that he’s got everything under control.  Hell, he even says as much on his website.  And what’s even scarier is that this man, who’s already ruined a city, now wants a shot at playing Congressman.

Lou Barletta must not be allowed to become a US Congressman.  He has shown, repeatedly, that if given the opportunity to make things worse, he will.  In fact, even when you think that there’s no possible way that he can make things worse than they already are, he will surprise you.  Lou Barletta has screwed the city and the people of Hazleton so far into the dirt that it will, if they’re lucky, take a generation for them to see daylight again.  And as the country slowly eeks its way out of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, we simply can not afford to put a man like Barletta in Congress.  Because he will find a way at screwing all of us.  It’s what he does.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to Congress.

See also: Hazleton for Sale…Maybe and Chris Paige to Challenge Barletta in Hazleton

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

I’ve been saying for quite a while now that Mayor Lou Barletta is not a serious candidate for Congress.  The latest fund raising numbers support that claim.  According to FEC filings, Barletta raised about $68,000 in cash.  That number might seem not all that bad, until you consider that $48,000 of that is Barletta’s own money.  Additionally, he now only has about $6,000 of cash on hand and has an accumulated debt of $110,000.  Lou Barletta’s campaign finances are about as troubled as those of the city that he runs.

A key indicator of a candidate’s popularity, and political viability, is his or her ability to raise funds.  Lou Barletta and his people love to walk around and claim that he is the darling of the Republican Party and that he’s the next political superstar and blah blah blah.  However, if Lou Barletta is such a political powerhouse, why is he struggling to raise cash?  If people love Lou Barletta so much, why aren’t they donating to his campaign?  If it’s true that numbers don’t lie, then Lou Barletta is much less popular and enjoys far less support than he’d like to admit.

Also, keep in mind that struggling to raise campaign cash has always been a problem for Barletta’s Congressional campaigns.  This is due in large part to the fact that while he is more popular than Jesus in his hometown of Hazleton, Barletta’s popularity begin to fall off rapidly the farther away he moves from the city.  So while Barletta’s congressional opponents (especially Paul Kanjorski) raise cash from all across the district, Barletta’s money comes from three major sources: 1. Himself 2. Citizens of Hazleton and 3. Loans.  This small cash base goes a long way toward putting Barletta at a strategic disadvantage with almost everyone else in this race.

Finally, Barletta is probably also struggling to raise funds due to potential donors not wanting to throw more money at a dead horse.  In two consecutive Congressional elections, against the same opponent, Barletta has come up short.  And now that he’s making a third attempt at it, many people who are looking to donate to a candidate have to be wondering if Lou Barletta has become a bad investment.  Republicans, and even quite a few Democrats, are eager to get Paul Kanjorski out of office.  However, there is serious doubt about whether Lou Barletta is the candidate capable of accomplishing that.

The saying of, “Something is only as valuable as someone is willing to pay for it,” comes to mind, here.  If the candidates in this race were items in a store, Lou Barletta would be on the clearance rack, right alongside the VHS cassettes and Christmas decorations.  His inability to raise cash combined with his huge (and growing) debt make him extremely unattractive to potential donors.  This, in turn, makes Lou Barletta a weak candidate and a poor choice for voters looking for someone with the ability to mount a serious challenge to Paul Kanjorski.  Lou Barletta has wasted enough voter money.  It’s time to leave him by the wayside and move along to bigger and better things.

See also: For $250,000, Lou Barletta Might Run for Congress and Barletta Accepts Money from Drug Dealers

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

As I’m sure all of you know by now, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta has announced that he will make a third run at Congress.  Why this man keeps beating his head against a wall is beyond me.  He has lost in two consecutive elections, against the same opponent, and has wracked up massive personal debt that he has yet to pay off.  Additionally, for the first time Barletta has a challenger in the Republican primary, as Chris Paige has also entered the race (months before Barletta) and this will only force Barletta to spend more money that he doesn’t have.  Despite all of this, Lou Barletta apparently thinks that this third time will prove to be the charm.

Let’s hope not.  As mayor of Hazleton, Barletta has buried the city in debt.  The city is facing a widely reported financial crisis and the current city budget being put forth by Barletta is chock full of tax hikes and city layoffs.  I mention this because, according to Lou Barletta’s official website, everything is just peachy in Hazleton.  Financial crisis?  What financial crisis?  To quote from his site…

“Lou Barletta was elected to Hazleton City Council in 1998, and became mayor in 2000. He inherited a massive budget shortfall, and was able to turn the city of Hazleton around with tough prudent financial decisions, earning statewide praise and recognition. He now leads Hazleton through one of the most impressive revitalizations in regional history.”

REALLY?!?!  Aside from the dates that he was elected to office, everything else in that paragraph is a pipe dream.  Perhaps by “statewide praise and recognition”, Barletta (or whatever coked-up moron wrote that) is referring to him having to beg the State to change the laws for him so as not to have to pay back city pension money that he used illegally.  And “most impressive revitalization in regional history” is obviously in reference to the fact that the city of Hazleton now has some of the highest taxes in the entire state and is on the verge of going bankrupt.

I’m eagerly awaiting the next press release from the Barletta camp, which will probably credit Barletta with drafting the Constitution and inventing sliced bread.  There is a difference between putting a positive spin on something and simply making stuff up.  The Lou Barletta campaign has not only crossed that line, they pole vaulted over it.  To claim that the financial affairs of Hazleton are anything but a disaster is a slap in the face not only to the people of Hazleton (who are being taxed to the legal limit), but also to all of the people who support Barletta in his bid for Congress.  It’s bad enough these people are gulible enough to support Barletta, and now he’s just outright lying to them.

This is the type of person that Lou Barletta really is.  When reality doesn’t reflect kindly on him and his decisions (as it often doesn’t), he tells lies.  This is what Lou Barletta will bring to the United States Congress.  Barletta can not be trusted.  As mayor of Hazleton, he has accomplished nothing, except for raising debt and brutally taxing the citizens of the city.  It’s no wonder Barletta has such a hard time trying to find financing for his campaign.  No one is Hazleton has any left to give him.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the US Congress.

See also: Lou Barletta to Run for Congress Again and Barletta and Hazleton Might Get a Bailout

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

The Scranton Times is reporting that Mayor Lou Barletta will officially enter the race for Congress, making a third consecutive attempt at representing PA’s 11th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives.  Yesterday, Barletta made a post on his Facebook page saying that he would announce decision on whether to run or not by 10am today on his website.  Mayor Barletta has run for this same position twice before and both times has lost to the same opponent, Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D).  Now that Lou Barletta is officially a candidate in this race, I would like to once again express my official opposition to his candidacy.

My views and opinions on Mayor Barletta are well documented on this website, which I established nearly two years ago to voice opposition to his second run for Congress.  As I’ve stated time and again, I do not feel that Lou Barletta is qualified to represent either the Republican Party (of which I am a member) or the constituents of the 11th Congressional District (of which I am also a member).  As mayor of Hazleton, Barletta has a long history of making things worse for the people whom he is supposed to represent.  In my mind, having someone who is so incompetent as a leader and an elected official voted into higher office would be a huge, costly mistake.

Allow me to now point out some of my more exact problems with Mayor Barletta…

• He has accepted campaign money from convicted drug dealers, refused to give it back, and then defended those convicted drug dealers as “hard working citizens.”
• He has been endorsed by David Duke, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan leadership.
• As mayor of Hazleton, one of Barletta’s first acts was to slash the police force in half.  Barletta then blamed the resulting spike in crime on an “illegal immigrant crime wave.”
• Barletta worked to pass one of the most extremist pieces of legislation in the country into law in Hazleton.  The law, which drew wide-spread opposition from all quarters, was deemed Unconstitutional by a US Federal Judge.
• Barletta illegally used Hazleton Pension Fund money, resulting in a massive financial problem for the city (one that might result in the city going bankrupt).
• Without proper authorization from Hazleton City Council, Barletta wracked up millions of dollars in city debt trying to defend his Illegal Immigration Relief Act in Federal Court.  After a court ruled that the city, and not its insurance company, is liable for that debt, Hazleton is on the verge of bankruptcy.
• Barletta’s most recent budget for the city of Hazleton is chock full of huge tax hikes, city layoffs, and cuts in city financed programs.  Worse, despite not receiving funding for this budget, Barletta is still pushing forward with it.
• As a political candidate, Barletta has proven inept at fundraising and has wracked up massive personal debt.  If he can’t properly finance his own campaign, how can we expect him to drive money into his district as a Congressman?

This is the type of “leadership” that Mayor Barletta is attempting to bring to the United States Congress.  As a Republican, the thought of Lou Barletta representing my party sickens me.  As a constituent in the district he is seeking to represent, I am horrified.  Barletta has run an entire city into the ground, doing his damnedest to keep the city buried under a mountain of debt, forcing businesses out of the city, and creating an atmosphere of hate and fear all through the city.  Simply put, Lou Barletta is probably the worst thing that can happen to the 11th Congressional District.

Mayor Barletta likes to fashion himself as a bold, charismatic leader who bravely fights hordes of illegal immigrants.  That is an illusion.  A closer look at Lou Barletta shows a man who is a bumbling fool and who tries to blame ethnic minorities for his mistakes and shortcomings.  It also reveals a man who’s morals are, at best, questionable and who’s grasp and understanding of basic financial principles is non-existent.  For all of these reasons, and more, Lou Barletta should not be elected to the United States Congress.

See also: Barletta Makes More Excuses for His Failures and Mayor Lou Barletta: Comedian

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

PS
As always, I have a standing invitation extended to Mayor Barletta to respond to anything I post to this website.  I promise to post any such response unedited and without commentary.  To date, Mayor Barletta hasn’t taken me up on that offer.