On Monday, October 7, 2002, at 10:08 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> The Historical Commission has a policy of systematically polling for > community >> support, and only supporting nominations where there is community >> buy-in. > > Well, I know I was never polled, and neither were many other people > I've > spoken to.
If you believe that making this a Councilmanic "Political" decision is better than an Independent Commission... and that you will EVER be "polled" let alone listened to by the Politician involved, I've got a war in Iraq you can enlist in. (I also have a number of very nice Bridges I can sell you shares in.) Jannie Blackwell was NEVER elected Councilperson -- she was handed the position and anointed into it by her Husband and the Democratic Machine in the City. If that is your definition of Democracy, then you must have slept through your Civics Class. People like to claim that the Republicans specialize in Smoke Filled Rooms, well not here in Philadelphia... that's the specialty of the Democratic Machine. They're the Fat Cats that suck down the Dollars from the Special Interest Groups day after day after day. You can believe what you like, but the simple fact is -- the DEMOCRATS are the Machine here in Philadelphia and they have been since the 1950s. There hasn't been a Republican elected to office except by virtue of the City Charter since then. Spector an Gola were so long ago that nobody even remembers who they were. [The City Charter mandates that there be two "minority party" candidates automatically elected to Council.] If you think that the UCHS letter is unique, you clearly haven't been on the mailing lists for Common Cause or Greenpeace or any number of other "democratic" activist groups that seek to influence legislation. Paid Lobbyists do not exist only in Washington D.C. As for Jannie's position -- she is NOT a stupid politician. She knows a cow to milk when she sees one... Just think... all any Council Person has to do is to threaten to introduce Historical District Legislation for their area and the "contributions" will pour in from Real Estate speculators opposed to the idea. If you think I'm kidding, you know nothing about the political process, let alone how that process is executed here in Philadelphia... "Money Talks and Nobody Walks." This is a power grab on the part of City Council pure and simple. It's far more blatant than the recent pro-BillBoard legislation, but it spreads the dollars around to every Councilmanic District, so it will pass. ... expect Jannie's proposal to pass unanimously and with NO debate. Council's "re-election" funds will double in size overnight. They may all be Petty Politicians, but they can smell "campaign contributions" when their noses are rubbed in them! So don't complain when the house next door to you is filled with noisy partying folks who dump their trash on the sidewalks... After all, they were never consulted about those laws, never voted for them, and neither did you. But you can sleep easy -- our Mayor will soon be Governor and he'll cut property taxes just like he cut the City Wage Tax one tenth of one percent over 5 years. B.F.D. And the good news will be -- without a Historic District to depress property values we can all look forward to our taxes doubling while he cuts property taxes. Duh... T.T.F.N. William H. Magill [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
