Empty buildings, For Sale and For
Rent signs don't lie. They can tell a very dismal economic story, and we have such a story in
Scranton. It's hard to "sell" yourself to the voters as a mayor who brought so much economic growth into the city
when those same voters drive the streets every day and see the empty buildings. It's impossible to "sell"
it when it's an outright lie.
The real eonomic situation hasn't been honestly "sold"
to you because Mayor Doherty and his loyal oppressionist cohort, the Scranton Times, have opted to "sell" lies instead,
that there is a great revitalization occuring in the city, and in particular in the downtown area. They've not been truthful
to us. Why? They didn't think they'd get caught selling the lie because they knew it would take a huge
effort to prove them liars and manipulators, and quite frankly, no one has ever done that to them before, until now. Things
have changed. Attitudes have changed. People are changing.
The Times told us that Mayor Doherty has brought vast economic
development to the downtown area, as well as the surrounding communities. Then again, Mayor Doherty and the Scranton
Times have been telling us for a long time that the parks were all beautifully restored, too, but we all now
know that was a completely fraudulent representation of the truth, designed to deceive all of us for our precious
individual votes on November 8th.
In the months of August and September, the Scranton Times
repeatedly printed on its Opinion page that certain members of City Council were economic obstructionists because they
refused to sanction the sale of the CRF loans for 5.2 million dollars. That is the farthest thing from the truth. Those
council members were diligent watchdogs of our money. Remember, those same council members have already watched millions
upon millions of dollars disappear with no accountability from the mayor regarding its whereabouts. He's proven himself
to be totally untrustable and he is not in trouble for money.
This administration repeatedly refused to show where tens
of millions have gone, which was why Janet Evan had to have OECD records subpoenaed. Sara Hailstone, Director of OECD,
had refused to fully cooperate with revealing where all that money went. She also refused to cooperate with
a citizen's group seeking to see the records. Janet Evans and Bill Courtright were not about to put their approval on
a blank check for Mayor Doherty, considering his grossly reckless history of spending and concealing where money has
gone. And, look at the tremendous debt load we all have to face now. We have to pay it, not Chris Doherty.
We should be thankful to those council members who said, "No", until there was proof positive where that money was
going.
The editors of the Times repeatedly published that
businesses were suffering because the sale of the loans didn't go through. That is a lie. No business came forward to
say it was suffering. The Times also said it was a great idea and a great opportunity, from which the business
community would benefit. Why then, didn't Mayor Doherty sell the CRF loans much sooner if it was such a stimulating economic
boost to the business community, and such a great idea, to boot? That's strange, isn't it? Why did he wait until
after the Primary election, which he believed he was going to win hands down on both tickets, to seek these funds? The
mayor needs money, a lot of money, so he thought he could do his ususal banking procedure, which has been to just take ours
and do with it as he pleased with no questions asked. Now, he's insulted that someone is asking; the council members
we elected to ASK on our behalf. The only thing that stood in the way of the sale of the CRF loans was the clear lack
of the mayor's cooperation to the extent of telling those loyal-to-the-people council members where the money was going
and what it was to be used for. He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. Because, the money would never
have made it to the business community. It would have gone directly to OECD, controlled by Sara Hailstone, the Mayor's
close friend, and from there, we'd have never known what happened to that money, 5.2 million dollars. Mayor Doherty already
converted all of the authorities into autonomous entities, giving each of them the power to spend millions without the taxpayers
having any input. That was wrong, and must be reversed as soon as possible. That's the only way an
audit and investigation can be done. Essentially, non-elected people who were personally appointed by the mayor to those
authorities have been spending millions upon millions of our tax dollars without having to tell us they are doing so.
That's never happened in this city before, and for good reason, it never should have happened. No previous
mayor ever imposed that private spending practice upon the taxpayers. Why did the mayor make them autonomous? What
benefit to the residents and taxpayers was that? None, that's what. It was to benefit his personal goal of
climbing the political ladder, stepping on us as he climbed.
The mayor's interest in the sale of the loans to CRF happens
now because Mayor Doherty wants the money available for many of his political purposes. Mr. Reckless Spender is rumored
to be very close to campaign broke; he blew a ton of contribution money on the primary he thought he'd win in a landslide.
He doesn't have those same contributors lined up now, many have distanced themselves from him. Why do you think OECD has
directly paid, with federal funds, for all those billboards and yellow signs that straddled the streets for months? Otherwise,
he'd comply with the law and say where the money from the loan sale would be going. Atty. Gene Hickey appeared at council
on September 8th, 2005 and told the council body they should reconsider selling the loans to CRF, and furthermore, they
didn't have to know where the money was going. Sure, Mr. Hickey, anything you say. Here's 5.2 million dollars,
just do with it as you please. The mayor had to be very desperate to have tried that openly public insult to everyone's
intelligence.
There are many, many empty buildings
in the city, businesses that have gone under, and even more wanting out. For Sale or For
Rent signs are everywhere, like never before. Yet, of all those businesses that went belly up, the mayor
apparently didn't make any efforts to help any of them recover, or they wouldn't be belly up, would they?
Here, you will view a pictorial of many of them. Now,
if there was revitalization occurring like the mayor and the Scranton Times said it was, why do we have all these
empty buildings, bellied-up businesses, For Sale and For Rent signs? They exist because Chris Doherty
openly lied to all of us about economic recovery. There is no economic recovery. It's a lie, something kept
from us by the Times. There is no revitalization, either, it is actually just the opposite. These pictures prove it. Some
of these buildings are empty because they cannot compete with Mayor Doherty's KOZ's that will pay no taxes for ten years.
The list of the KOZ's granted and the list of the Doherty financial supporters have a lot in common. They're mostly the same
people. Some out-of-town businesses have more than one KOZ business status, while local businesses have been rejected.
Daron Northeast, for example, has three KOZ's. That's wrong, too. How many lost jobs do you think are related to all
these empty buildings? The precise number is unknown, but look at how many businesses have gone belly up and/or are
trying to sell or rent, and you'll get the picture.
Scranton has become somewhat of a Ghost Town,
especially in the downtown area. Don't take my word for it, see for yourself. These pictures showing businesses
gone, or wanting to go, were taken recently in the months of August and September. Click on any image to enlarge
it. Give them time to load, it'll take a few minutes. At the bottom of each page, you will be able to link to the
next page. There are seven total. Enjoy some truth in pictures, nothing but the best in honesty for you.
"Businesses gone, or Wanting to"
