StopLouBarletta.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.

With Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta still up in the air about whether he will run for Congress or not, Chris Paige has written an op-ed over at Pa2010.com explaining just how scary America would be if Mayor Barletta were given the opportunity to make the rules.  In an article titled “Lou Barletta’s Hazleton”, Paige makes the argument that Barletta’s vision of government is too scary to be allowed to come to fruition.  Barletta’s vision of America, Paige argues, is horribly un-American.

To quote from the article (full version can be found HERE)….

“Imagine living in a country where you can’t rent an apartment without presenting your identity papers to a government official.

Imagine living in a country where you could lose your business—your life’s work, your family’s sole means of support, and your life savings—just because one of your employees was unable to produce his or her identity papers on demand.

Imagine living in a country where citizens are encouraged to report their friends and neighbors to the government whenever they suspect they might have violated the government’s constantly-changing rules on identity papers.

Sounds like North Korea or some other police state, no? In fact, I’m describing Hazleton—or at least, Hazleton as it would have been if the federal courts had not struck down its anti-immigration laws pushed by my potential primary opponent, Mayor Lou Barletta.”

I don’t know if Lou Barletta will run for Congress again or not.  It’s possible that Barletta doesn’t even know if he’ll run again.  However, if Mayor Barletta does decide to make a third go of it, I think it’s important to keep Mr. Paige’s argument in mind.  It’s bad enough that Lou Barletta is in a position to run an entire city into the ground, as he has with Hazleton.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the United States Congress.

See also: Lou Barletta’s Vision of America and Steve Corbett on Lou Barletta

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

Deciding whether or not to run for Congress is a hard decision.  Mayor Lou Barletta has been on the fence about his to decision to make a third attempt to win a seat in the US House of Representatives.  For weeks, he has speculated that he might run, or, y’know, he might not.  Recently, however, Barletta sent out a donation letter to supporters, explaining to them that if they sent him lots and lots of money, he would be more likely than not to run.

According to the letter (a copy of which can be found HERE), Lou Barletta needs to pay off his existing debt from his previous two campaigns before he is willing to make a third try at Congress.  The best part of all of this is that most of this debt is owed to Lou Barletta.  See, Barletta “loaned” himself money to go to his Congressional campaigns.  And while the fund raising letter doesn’t specifically say which debts are to be paid, it can be safely assumed that most of it will be used to re-fill Lou Barletta’s personal checking account.  If this is legal…it shouldn’t be.

As the letter explains…

“I need your help now.

Last year, you and I battled one of the most liberal pro-amnesty Congressmen and almost won.  Even with President Obama’s tremendous margin of victory, our race was one of the closest in the nation.

However, I need your help once again – to retire the debt of the last campaign.  If you’d be so kind to consider giving your most generous contribution possible, my family would really appreciate it.

For your convenience, I’ve enclosed an envelope or you can go to www.loubarletta.com and contribute online.

I’m hoping you’re still as concerned as I am about the continuing problems that illegal aliens are bringing to our communities.”

So let me get this straight.  By sending Barletta and “his family” as much money “as possible”, we are somehow helping him make our communities a better place?  Keep in mind, he doesn’t say whether he will actually run or not, regardless of how much money he raises.  Essentially, Barletta is begging for money and hinting that if all of us send him enough of our hard earned money (earned in one of the worst economic environments in US history), he would be more likely to run for Congress again.  And probably fail, again.

At this point, Lou Barletta has become a life-sucking leech.  He complains about how much money is being wasted on supporting illegal immigrants.  But how much money is being wasted supporting Barletta’s bumbling ass?  This letter makes it sound like Lou Barletta is the savior that the American people have been waiting for and, for the low low price of $250,000, this savior might actually run for Congress again.  If anything, this letter makes it painfully clear that Lou Barletta doesn’t have a shot in hell at winning any election (except maybe another term as Hazleton’s mayor, as they seem to enjoy getting screwed by him) anytime soon.

Lou Barletta is not a serious candidate.  He is, by now, a political joke.  Why should people pay a man to consider a run at political office?  If Lou Barletta was really serious about making our communities better, as he claims, then he would eat that debt, most of which is owed to himself, and run.  And if running for political office is putting such a burden on his finances and on his family, then he shouldn’t run.  The voters have said, twice and in consecutive elections, that they do not want Lou Barletta to represent them in Congress.  Barletta is obviously too stupid to know when he’s not wanted and that is his problem, although he’d like all of us to finance it.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to US Congress.

See also: Lou Barletta Still in the Hole and Barletta Accepts Money from Drug Dealers

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

A couple of days ago, Mayor Lou Barletta presented his budget for the city of Hazleton to City Council.  The budget is filled with tax increases and police layoffs.  Under Barletta’s “leadership”, Hazleton has become one of the most financially distressed cities in the state.  It’s already teetering on the edge of financial collapse, a direct result of Mayor Barletta’s horrible decision making.  This budget does little to ease the city’s financial crisis and adds more pain to a population that has already been drilled into the dirt by Lou Barletta’s incompetence.

And while all of this is very bad news for the people of Hazleton, voters all across the state should take notice.  This is because Barletta continues to hint that he might want to try another run at Congress.  Take a moment to allow that to sink in.  Mayor Lou Barletta, who has ruined an entire city with his patented combination of poor judgment  and political grandstanding, now wants to bring his brand of leadership to the halls of the United States Congress.  Based on his past history, Barletta being elected to Congress would end in disaster, almost all of which would be shouldered by his constituents.

Barletta has proven time and again that he has no understanding of managing a budget, economics, or managing debt.  The city of Hazleton is a mess, a direct result of Barletta’s destructive and divisive leadership style.  Barletta has served multiple terms as Hazleton’s mayor, and things have gone from bad to worse.  This new budget of his is further proof that his handling of the city’s finances has been a bad joke, and now all that he can think of is to raises taxes and lay people off.  Just the kind of leadership America needs right about now, eh?

Lou Barletta is, for lack of a better word, an idiot.  He has used his position as Mayor of Hazleton to ruin the city, driving the city deeper and deeper into debt.  What’s worse, this man is now considering a run for US Congress.  I guess Barletta assumes that since he’s broken the city of Hazleton into as many pieces as humanly possible, he should set his sites on bigger things to wreck.  Like the 11th Congressional District.  Lou Barletta should, at all costs, be kept out of the United States Congress.

See also: Barletta Makes More Excuses for His Failures and Hazleton’s Financial Problems Might Get Even Worse

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

It seems that as everyone is focused on Lou Barletta, and wondering if the Hazleton mayor will make his third attempt at running for Congress, the addition of Chris Paige to the mix has gone largely unnoticed. Paige has declared his candidacy in the race to win a seat in the US House of Representatives, representing PA’s 11th Congressional District. To date, Chris Paige is the only Republican officially in the race, though Mayor Barletta keeps hinting that he may yet jump into the mix, as well.

Personally, I’m thrilled to see a Republican enter the race who isn’t Lou Barletta.  As I’ve said many, many times on this website, I don’t think Barletta is fit to represent either the Republican Party or the constituents of the 11th Congressional District.  I find the fact that Chris Paige has entered the race and, to date, Lou Barletta has not encouraging.  Hopefully, it’s a sign that Barletta has finally realized he hasn’t got a shot in Hell at winning this thing and is ready to let someone else give it a go.  Hopefully.

So who is Chris Paige?  From his official biography on his website:

Today, Chris is an attorney and small business owner.  Several years ago, Chris co-founded Paige Capital Management, LLC, which is the investment manager for two hedge funds, Paige Opportunity Partners and Paige Opportunity International.  Hedge funds are similar to mutual funds, except that hedge funds may only accept investments from “qualified investors” while mutual funds, generally speaking, may accept investments from anyone.  As a small business owner, Chris has experienced the recession first-hand, and he knows how difficult and important it is to create more jobs and new businesses.  As an attorney, Chris can transform that understanding into law.

In the community, Chris is a member of Rotary and a graduate of Leadership Pocono.  He serves on the Board of Directors for several local charities, which focus on providing career education and internship opportunities to local youth.  For the past few years, he has – quite literally – played Santa for local disadvantaged children who might not otherwise receive any toys.  Previously, he was a Board member of the Union Settlement Association, which provides educational, healthcare and social services to the residents of East Harlem.

If Paige is successful in winning the Republican nomination, he will be taking on either long-time incumbent Rep. Paul Kanjorski or Democratic challenger Corey O’Brien.  While Kanjorski has a huge financial advantage over everyone, he is also considered one of the most vulnerable Congressional Democrats in the country, so he may need all that money just to hang on to the Democratic nomination.  If Chris Paige can mount a serious campaign, this race could become one of the most interesting in the nation, regardless of who wins the Democratic primary.

Paige has established his official website, www.ChrisPaigeForCongress.com, where he provides information on his biography, his views, and his campaign.  What I already like about Paige is that he is actually talking about real life issues that affect voters (the economy, unemployment, and health care).  This is a marked improvement over Lou Barletta, who notoriously refused to take a position on any issue of substance.  Additionally, Chris Paige has established both a Facebook and Twitter account, where, according to his webpage, he wants to hold a conversation with others.  Again, this seems to be an improvement over Lou Barletta, who’s idea of a “conversation” was to pound a podium and rant about imaginary illegal immigrant crime waves.

I think Chris Paige has lots of potential and I am eagerly watching his campaign.  As a Republican, I am thrilled to see someone enter this race who has a legitimate shot at taking back a seat from a Democrat.  More importantly, though, I am thrilled to see a candidate who isn’t going to embarrass both the Republican Party and the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania as he flops around the national stage like an idiot.  So far, the best thing about Chris Paige is that he isn’t Lou Barletta and that, in my mind, makes him a very strong Republican candidate.

See also: Will Lou Barletta Run?

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

Lou Barletta might run for Congress.  Or maybe he won’t.  He probably won’t run for Lt. Governor.  And he might stay on as Mayor of Hazleton.  Barletta, it seems, is keeping all of his options open.  In the meantime, however, all we can do is speculate about Barletta’s aspirations for higher office.

Local blogger Gort42 recently caught up with Mayor Barletta and asked him a few questions about his political future….

The last time I talked to you, I got the impression you were running for Lt. Governor.  What happened to that?

“I want to be in a position to affect change and that is not an office that would let me do that.”

Are you going to run for Congress again?

“I haven’t ruled it out and I’m very seriously looking at the race.”

Has your Congressional campaign committee raised any money this quarter?

“Very little, just trying to retire the debt.”

When I talked to you in your office last January it was obvious that you love being the Mayor of Hazelton.

“Staying Mayor is not out of the question.”

So, it would seem that Mayor Barletta hasn’t made up his mind yet.  Or perhaps he has and just isn’t ready to announce it, yet.  The fact that Barletta says that he has done “very little” fund raising so far and is only looking to get rid of existing debt, I think, is very telling.  If Barletta were seriously considering running for Congress, wouldn’t he be actively raising funds?  Also, Barletta has always had a hard time raising money, so it’s not like he can just go out and raise a few hundred thousand dollars at the drop of a hat.  If Barletta doesn’t begin actively raising campaign funds soon, it can probably be assumed that he will not be running for Congress.

What’s worse for Barletta is that if he does decide to run, he will have an opponent in the GOP Primary.  Chris Paige, a Republican out of Skytop, PA, has announced that he will be running in the election and has already come out firing against Barletta.  This means, unlike last year, Barletta will have to not only fight (and spend money) in the General Election, but also in the Primary.  Considering Barletta’s ineptness at fund raising and his existing debt from his previous campaigns, Barletta will surely face an uphill battle if he does decide to run for Congress.

And that, in my opinion, is as it should be.  Barletta has proven, repeatedly, that he is unfit to serve in the US Congress.  He has drilled the city of Hazleton into the dirt.  He has been endorsed by convicted drug dealers and members of the KKK.  And he has used his stump issue of illegal immigration to mask the fact that he has no positions on any other major issue.  Lou Barletta is undeserving to represent the Republican Party or the people of the 11th Congressional District.  He would be well advised to keep his current job in Hazleton.

See also: Who is Chris Paige?

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

Mayor Lou Barletta, feeling more and more pressure, appeared on the Sam Lasante Show to address charges that his incompetence has led to the imminent financial ruin of the city of Hazleton.  During the interview, Barletta managed to blame every major problem currently facing the city on someone else, mostly State and National politicians.  Barletta used charts, graphs, and lots of fluffery to try and shift some of the heat away from himself and onto as many other people as possible.  Overall, Barletta’s performance came across as desperate.

During the interview, Barletta failed to, at any point, accept any responsibility for any of the city’s current problems.  This, despite the fact that every major problem currently facing the city originated during his tenure as Mayor of Hazleton.  Addressing the city’s pension fund fiasco (which could, by itself, bankrupt the city), Barletta offered this cheery analysis of the situation (from the Standard Speaker)…

In reviewing the pension fund crisis, the mayor stressed that the city has never taken money out of the pension fund and has never failed to make the full required contribution to the fund. In several years, the city contributed more than it was required to the fund

Utilizing a portion of the Pension Tax revenues to pay for health benefits for pension beneficiaries is the issue that set the stage for the current controversy between state Auditor General Jack Wagner, state Rep. Todd Eachus and the mayor.

“I don’t believe we did anything wrong. I believe what we did will benefit, not only the retirees in this city, but many other municipalities that would benefit from Senate Bill 961,” Barletta said.

Senate Bill 961 would formally legalize the use of a portion of Pension Tax revenues to pay for retiree health benefits in addition to mandatory municipal pension fund contributions.

So you see?  Everyone thinks that this whole mess will bankrupt the city.  And despite previously warning that this situation really could bankrupt the city, Barletta now says that it will “benefit” not only the city retirees but also other municipalities, as well.  Why haven’t we given this man a medal yet?  And then when talking about the huge legal bills from Barletta’s ill-advised defense of his “Illegal Immigration Relief Act”, Barletta gave this hopeful response (from the Standard Speaker)…

As the city continues to defend its Illegal Immigration Relief Act, the unconstitutionality of which is currently under appeal in the Third Circuit Court in Philadelphia, the city is also fighting to hold its insurance carrier responsible for possible plaintiff attorney fees.

Barletta remains optimistic that those costs will be reduced or paid by insurance.

Well, as long as Mayor Barletta remains optimistic, shouldn’t we all?  I mean, yes, if the city were to have to pay all of these legal bills, then, yes, Hazleton would go bankrupt.  But what are the chances of THAT happening, right?  Did I mention that Mayor Barletta is optimistic about the situation?  And when discussing the city’s budget shortfalls, Barletta explained that none of it was actually his fault and that it was all those bastards in Harrisburg’s fault.  As reported by the Standard Speaker….

Barletta offered proof that certain decisions in Harrisburg resulted in less money in Hazleton. He said it was an act of the state legislature that reduced the amount of Local Services Tax revenues collected by municipalities statewide.Authorized by the legislature in 2005, the $52 EMS tax was originally deducted from paychecks in one annual lump sum. In 2008, the legislature changed the name of the EMS to LST (Local Services Tax) and changed the $52 lump sum deduction to $1 per week for 52 weeks. In its $52 form, the tax was deducted from most paychecks and later refunded to those earning $12,000 or less. In contrast, the $1 weekly tax is only deducted from citizens earning more than $12,000.

Barletta said if a citizen works two jobs, each job paying $12,000 or less, the combined earnings could be as much as $24,000, but the tax would not be deducted from either paycheck. The red tape of deducting a $1 tax from employee paychecks each week is also considered a nuisance to some employers, Barletta said. So the fee goes uncollected, leaving the municipality with less LST revenues.

The city received $539,798 in EMS revenue when the legislature first authorized the tax in 2005. After the legislative change, the city received $316,903 in LST revenue in 2008 – which is a $222,895 reduction in the amount of money the city used for public services.

“That’s almost a quarter-million dollars less. We hired the police, now we have less because of what they do in Harrisburg,” Barletta said.

See?  It’s not Barletta’s fault that the city’s budget is a trainwreck.  It’s because of “what they do in Harrisburg”.  But the very best part of this interview was the part where Barletta talked glowingly about himself, bragging about how popular he is in California (he has a fan club) and how he could probably be the Governor if he wanted (he’s decided he doesn’t) and that people in Washington DC are practically begging him to come be a Congressman so he can save the country from itself.  Again, as reported in the Standard Speaker…

“It would be a lot easier for a lot of politicians if Lou Barletta would go away. But I’m not going to.”According to Barletta, a recent statewide opinion poll gave him a significant approval rating for the office of governor or lieutenant governor.

“But I have ruled both those out,” Barletta said.

Still, a run for higher office appears to be a sure thing in Barletta’s future.

“It is no secret they have been talking to me in Washington. But right now there is so much going on here in Hazleton. Yet I definitely think Hazleton has been short-changed. Take stimulus money, for example. Hazleton hasn’t gotten any. And I believe it’s for no reason other than politics,” Barletta said.

“I definitely feel Hazleton needs a stronger voice in Washington,” he said.

The mayor said he was recently approached by a woman in a grocery store who was visiting from California. She said there is a huge “Barletta Fan Club” on the West Coast.

“We love you in California,” the woman said.

After receiving similar accolades from a citizen of Houston, Texas, Barletta said the news makes him feel more frustrated than flattered.

“That shows there are so many voices across the country shouting for the same things, but the people in Washington and Harrisburg have grown too big, too powerful to listen,” Barletta said.

All of this finger pointing, blame shifting, and pipe-dream-happy-talk is nothing new for Barletta.  This man, as Mayor, has ground his city into the dirt.  He has left it a financial disaster area, one of the worst run cities in the nation.  And now, despite this, he wants to run for Congress.  Lou Barletta wants to bring his brand of “leadership” to Washington.  Facing the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, the people of the 11th Congressional District can not afford to have Barletta represent them in Congress.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the US Congress.

See also: Hazleton’s Financial Problems Might Get Even Worse

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

Hazleton’s financial problems might get even worse.  Or, possibly, stay just as bad.  Mayor Lou Barletta and the city of Hazleton are asking a Federal judge to reconsider a ruling in which the city has been ordered to pay $2.4 million in legal fees incurred by plaintiffs when the city was sued over Barletta’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act.  Hazleton claims that the city’s insurance provider, Scottsdale Insurance Company, should pay the money.  In May, a judge ruled against Hazleton and now the city is asking, pretty please with sprinkles on top, the judge to change his mind.

According to The Standard Speaker…

“The city of Hazleton has asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling made in favor of the city’s insurance carrier that would mean the city would be responsible for paying $2.4 million in attorney fees incurred by plaintiffs in the city’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act (IIRA).

Judge A. Richard Caputo decided in May that the city would need to pay the funds if the city loses its appeal of the IIRA in the Third Circuit Court in Philadelphia.

But Hazleton officials continue to maintain that the city’s errors and omissions insurance carrier, Scottsdale Insurance Co., Scottsdale, Ariz., should be responsible.

Caputo ruled in favor of Scottsdale on the legal fee issue. As for Scottsdale’s challenge against funding the city’s appeal, he ruled the issue was moot because the firm had represented and argued the appeal in Third Circuit Court.

In June, the city filed a motion asking Caputo to reconsider his decision, saying, in part, that the insurance form misinterpreted terms in its policy.

Scottsdale then opposed Hazleton’s request in a motion, saying that it had already presented those arguments to the court. Hazleton responded otherwise last week.”

So, unless this judge changes his mind for some reason, the city of Hazleton will be forced to pay for Lou Barletta’s stupidity.  Keep in mind that the city is still fighting a completely seperate ruling in which the city has been ordered to repay almost $3 million back into the city’s pension fund after it was determined that Barletta and the city council misused the money.  So, if that ruling stands and this ruling stands, the city will be forced to come up with close to $5 million.  This will, without question, force Hazleton into bankruptcy.  Hell, even if one of these rulings stands, the city could go belly up.

All of this is a direct consequence of Mayor Lou Barletta’s “leadership.”  All of these rulings against the city are a result of Lou Barletta making really bad decisions.  Now, as a result, his city is on the verge of financial ruin.  Worse, Barletta is considering running for Congress.  If elected, Barletta would leave Hazleton high and dry and be in a position to bring his destructive, incompetent leadership to the national level.  The man has already screwed a city into the dirt and now he’s asking voters to let him try his hand at playing a Congressman.  For the love of all that is sane and decent, he must not be given that chance.

Just look at the financial appocalypse that Barletta has dropped on the city of Hazleton.  Barring some sort of legal miracle, the city will have to declare bankruptcy and it will take years for it to climb back out of the hole.  In one of the worst economies since the Great Depression, Lou Barletta has found a way to make things even worse for the people of his city.  When the economy finally starts to rebound, Hazleton will still be left lying in a gutter, paying for Lou Barletta’s disasterous leadership.  Barletta is a disgrace of a mayor and should not be elected to any higher office, especially the United States Congress.

See also: Barletta Makes Mores Excuses for His Failures

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

It is a fact of political life in US politics: If you can’t raise money, you can’t win the election.  Now, people can debate the fairness of this, but when it comes right down to it, it is what it is.  Yes, there have been a handful of cases where the candidate with little campaign cash has defeated a much better financed opponent.  However, those cases are clearly the exception to the rule.  I mention this only because, once again, Mayor Lou Barletta is considering running for the US House of Representatives and, once again, he is struggling to raise campaign money.

As reported on the always informative Gort42 Blog…

“Paul Kanjorski (D) has better than $600,000 in the bank with a big chunk of his latest take coming from banks, insurance companies and labor unions. His prospective opponent is Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta who reports $4,000 cash on hand and $263,000 in debt from his last 2 failed campaigns to become the Congressman from the 11th CD. Barletta only raised about $3500 and loaned his campaign $48,500.”

Aside from the basic financial importance of campaign fundraising, a candidates ability to raise money is also an indication that candidate’s political strength.  The fact that Lou Barletta is still unable to pay off the debt from his previous two congressional campaigns doesn’t really speak well to his chances of being able to unseat a very well financed incumbent.  The Republican Party, if it is serious about picking off Paul Kanjorski, needs to move past Lou Barletta and find a candidate who can actually raise campaign money and run a competitive race.  The simple fact of the matter is that while Lou Barletta may be very popular in certain political circles, he has proven incapable of leveraging that popularity into actual campaign cash or, for that matter, a political victory at the polls.

And aside from Barletta’s political financial woes, he has also shown an inability to keep the city he was elected to govern, Hazleton, in the black.  In 2006, the city of Hazleton ran a deficit of $158,867.  In 2007, that deficit ballooned to $655,347.  And while the official numbers for FY 2008 have yet to be released, it’s safe to assume that the deficit has, once again, gone up.  Also, please keep in mind that these deficits don’t take into account the whole Pension Fund debacle, so if that is taken into account, these deficit numbers only get bigger.  And, as admitted by Mayor Lou Barletta, Hazleton is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Considering all of this, I find it mind boggling as to why 1.) Lou Barletta continues to entertain the prospect of running, again, for the US Congress and 2.) Why anyone (aside from Paul Kanjorski and other Democrats) would want Lou Barletta to run for the US Congress.  Financially, Barletta is a train wreck.  His political campaign is running on fumes and his city is on life support.  The Republican Party must field a candidate who, you know, can actually raise campaign money and win a race.  And while it would be mildly entertaining to see Barletta flop around on the political stage, once again, and make an ass out of himself, once again, I would much rather see a strong Republican candidate actually run a successful campaign and get elected to office.  Lou Barletta should read the tealeaves, the writing on the wall, and the numbers on his campaign’s bank account statements and NOT run for the US House of Representatives.  He can’t afford it (literally) and neither can the Republican Party.

See also: For $250,000, Barletta Might Run for Congress

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

Mayor Lou Barletta and the city of Hazleton may yet get the help from Harrisburg that Barletta has been begging for.  See, Barletta, as mayor of Hazleton, improperly used almost $3 million of the city’s Pension Fund.  The Office of the Auditor General ruled that, yup, the money was used improperly and the city would have to repay that money back into the Pension Fund.  However, sadly, Hazleton doesn’t have that kind of money laying around, and Mayor Barletta has said that forcing the city to repay that money would bankrupt the city.  His solution to the problem was having the State pass a law that would make his illegal use of the Pension Fund legal, making everything hunky-dory again.  It now appears this all might actually play out the way Barletta wants it to.

According to the Standard Speaker…

“Officials brokering a solution to Hazleton’s retiree pension fund crisis believe an actuarial analysis of the fund will make their work easier.

The analysis being undertaken by Hazleton city officials should provide important information about the fund’s ability to meet obligations to retired firefighters and police officers and its stability in the wake of last fall’s Wall Street financial meltdown, said House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-116, on Monday. Once officials have the actuarial data in hand, they can come up with options to address the pension crisis in a way that benefits both taxpayers and retirees, he added.

Eachus hosted a closed-door meeting at the state Capitol for 90 minutes with two dozen representatives of the Fraternal Order of Police in Hazleton and Hazleton city Firefighters Local 507 to discuss the future of the pension fund and its potential to send the city of Hazleton into bankruptcy.

Barletta said the meeting produced the possibility of a modified version Senate Bill 961, which would widen application of SB 961 to allow other municipalities, not just Hazleton, to utilize a portion of pension tax revenues for retirement benefits.”

Now, if the State is willing to pass a law that will help out the city of Hazleton, fine.  My problem with all of this is that I’m not sure this sets a very good precedent.  What kind of message does this send, especially to incompetent mayors like Lou Barletta?  “Go ahead and do whatever the hell you want with tax-payer money, legal or not, and if you get into trouble, we’ll just change the law for you.”  Nice.

The other thing about this whole situation that I find troubling is how Mayor Barletta is trying to make his mistake Harrisburg’s problem.  Had Barletta actually followed the law in the first place, the city wouldn’t be in this mess.  The State is still without a budget and facing a huge deficit, but Mayor Barletta would like the lawmakers in Harrisburg to put all of that on hold so they can focus on passing a law to make the consequences of his illegal activities go away.  Because, you know, making life easier for Lou Barletta is what we have a State government for, right?

Lou Barletta will probably run for Congress in 2010.  He has proven that he has no regard for the law.  He has proven that things like budgets and responsibility have no meaning to him.  Clearly, this is not the type of person that we need to send to Washington.  Look at all the damage he’s done as mayor of a city.  Do we really want to give him an opportunity to serve in the Federal Government, where he’ll be in a position to inflict his arrogance and incompetence on the entire nation?  Lou Barletta should not be elected to higher office.

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