In a message dated 6/27/2007 10:47:35 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Lewis Wendell tries to bury John on the cover of today’s UC-Review. ... You must read it on-line. ... http://www.weeklypress.com/ His now public commentary reaffirms the utter ineptitude of Lewis Wendell's command of the UCD and most cogently answers highly regarded local attorney Karen Allen's question of yesterday: In a message dated 6/26/2007 4:53:44 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Why don't these people ever speak for themselves? Because, despite their employment by what is de facto the closely controlled entity of some of our city's finest academic institutions, they just aren't very smart, competent, or socially and economically responsible. What Lewis Wendell alleges as a series of missteps on John's part are in fact the gravest indictment of his own inadequate leadership, after nearly two years at the helm, of the administration of the UCD, and as a mature organization UCD's failure to develop, implement, and maintain the ongoing training of such policies as well as to frequently and effectively audit the compliance with such policies. The entire problem is not of Lewis Wendell's making, because he is not the elected mayor of a small town but more like the installed facility manager of a small community association, driven by highly biased socio-economically and strategicly inadequate operational guidelines. His outline of UCD's community outreach is what one would more realistically associate with the marketing of the Lower Main Line than an urban University City, unless UCD's powerful corporate backers are trying to de-urbanize the off-campus communities. It is further stunning that the UCD wants to implement a taxing power to promote its societal changes. For instance it is much more powerful to want to bring free concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra to Malcom X Park to share the pleasures of one of our nation's great cultural jewel with citizen' who may be financially hard pressed to afford to take a family to such a concert at the Kimmel Center. Given the current economy and culture, it is totally ludicrous to stage the orchestra in Clark Park for the local bourgeoisie, who can easily afford such a treat, while subliminally sending the message - look what we can do more of for you, if you only increase our revenue stream through the power of self-directed taxation. If the local universities think their "poor" students need such an experience then fund it on-campus. Lewis Wendell's comment, the UCD has only been working on a BID scenario for approximately two years is so off the mark, I can only assume the current UCD Board treats him as some U.S. Presidents have treated their chief press officers - don't give them all the facts so their responses will be plausibly earnest, though unknowingly incorrect because they don't need to know the whole truth and the big picture. As a political activist, who has vigorously and publicly disagreed with Councilwoman Blackwell, I find Lewis Wendell's treatment of her by innuendo to be indicative of a lack of understanding of Philadelphia Realpolitik, a failure to appreciate the constructive role of public relationship building, and stunningly insulting to the Councilwoman. Lewis Wendell, your saving grace is the Honorable Jannie L. Blackwell, a Holy Ghost filled leader, will work with you because she loves you as she loves the District. So there is no doubt, I have professionally admired John Fenton's profound capacity to accomplish many varied task in the demanding off-campus environs, since his arrival at UCD. Initially, I thought he was the mythical creation of a UCD spin doctor, whose sole concern was the implementation of the BID's taxing power. Then I personally worked with John on a State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams Neighborhood to Neighborhood Festival on an oppressively hot sunny Labor Day Weekend at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue. Needless to stay, the support rendered by John and his team was sterling. Equally significant, a previous UCD Executive Director thought he had earned the rave reviews for John's very hard work. Which raises two questions, one, why is UCD's leadership so fast to suck-up praise and even faster to pass-on criticism? Second, when is a UCD worked event non-political versus politically inappropriate? Might it have something to do with the support a politician enjoys with your Board or the Board's concern over the failure of someone to champion specifically beneficial enabling legislation? I am asking so the community can better understand who you support, when you support them, and why you viciously turn on people who have been so good to you. I am equally distressed with the manner in which I believe you have defamed John, while invoking the spirit of a separation agreement that significantly underplays the power of the economic hammer UCD wields, otherwise known as Fenton's financially based separation package. We must not forget that John Fenton and his family will be further professionally and economically punished were he to speak to the public or otherwise attempt to refute your now quite public and inadequately supported allegations. Be most assured, Mr Wendell, the general engaged community will note how you clumsily try to portray John as an incompetent - even worse a sinister cheat - when the genesis for the failure is a poorly formed corporate structure with no historical continuum of cohesive competent management from the top down. In your favor is the outspoken support of my colleague and apparently both our friends local Realtor Liz Campion. I believe Liz when she says you and your wife are good and decent people. This communique is not meant to personally vilify you, but to point out that you are not likely to be the right person at the right time to deconstruct Judith Rodin's Frankenstein Monster, the UCD, as it profoundly and regrettably reconstitutes a culturally rich, great, complex and complicated community into a lesser one - more homogenized and more easily managed from afar by ivory towered ivy walled secretive educational bureaucrats. Who, though just a few blocks away, are as readily inaccessible and unresponsive to us as the New York City absconding Judith Rodin. My, how I miss the sometimes inept but spiritually far more decent and enlightened University of Pennsylvania administration of another Holy Ghost filled leader, Sheldon Hackney. He would never have allowed this kind of diffuse off-campus malaise to occur. And, when his pilgrimage was complete he returned home to a community he loved, not to one others have used as a case study to hawk books or to garner a better compensation package elsewhere. It is time that we all better serve the community by remembering the needs of those who will always be amongst us - the lessor - rather than pushing them out of the way because they appear to be localized economic development impediments. It is time the UCD Board and its few rabid supporters enact the wisdom of a man far more talented than all of us, as you wrongly demarcate yourselves as the only real good shepherds for the adjacent off-campus West/SW Philadelphia community: "I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." -- Galileo Galilei May we soon all abide with understanding in peace. Craig Melidosian RealSolutions Network P O Box 33355 Phila PA 19142-0555 215-724-8148 24hr voice/fax Breakthrough Relationships Enhancing Value in Community & Government Copyright ©1998-2007 ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
