Category: Bob Small

Swarthmore OKs Demolition Of History For Sterile Condos

Swarthmore OKs Demolition Of History For Sterile Condos

By Bob Small

Swarthmore Council’s meeting began at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30 and continued to 2 a.m. the next day.

Although 90 percent of those in attendance at the packed Park Avenue Community Center (PAC) spoke against the demolition of 110 Park Ave. to make way for a multi-floor condo in the heart of Swarthmore, their statements and visual presentations did not sway council’s from approving the demolition by 4-2 vote. One SBC member was absent. The vote closed the meeting by whic h time the original crowd of approximately 100 had dwindled to a hard-core 20.

Most speakers felt that the developers were tearing down a historical building to build an unnecessary condominium. The developers have suggested the project presents a net gain for Swarthmore because it will add both density and “vibrancy” to the town. However this density means more municipal services will be required, possibly leading to higher taxes and more complexity. 

Similar benefits were touted touted with the promotion of  the Broad Table Tavern whose  benefits have been debatable.

The year 2023 is for municipal elections in Pennsylvania, and three of the council seats on Swarthmore Council are up for a vote. If you are interested in becoming a member of council, please consult the county election web site. 

Petitions to place independent Democratic, or Republican candidates on the primary ballot will be circulated from Feb. 14  to March 7. Be prepared to collect at least three times the required number of signatures, as the Democratic and Republican “machines” will try to challenge and knock off any independent Democratic or Republican candidates. Also, be prepared to make both friends and enemies.

Swarthmore is a one-horse town and a blue one at that. A tradition has developed that the uncontested primary serves as the general election, as the GOP avoids running candidates, even though each party needs but 10 signatures to place a candidate on the primary ballot.

Maybe there are other boroughs and towns where the elected officials have ignored the public’s wishes. Maybe the public might want to consider “unelecting “ their current officials?

Swarthmore OKs Demolition Of History For Sterile Condos
Swarthmore OKs Demolition Of History For Sterile Condos

Shapiro Wants His Secrets Secret

Shapiro Wants His Secrets Secret

By Bob Small

Due to the inability of our new governor, Josh Shapiro, to participate in any pre-election debates — he ran unopposed in the Primary and neither his campaign nor Doug Mastriano’s Campaign could agree on the details of a proposed debate– there were some unasked questions. One question he would of answered with a resounding no! would have been “will you disclose your inaugural donors.”

According to Philadelphia Metro, the Gubernator is not  legally required to disclose this information.

Whereas New York City and Philadelphia, along adjoining New Jersey, and Maryland and Virginia have such laws.   Aaron McKean, a lawyer who works for the DC-based Campaign Legal Center says “The whole goal here is to prevent corruption or even (my ital)  the appearance of corruption.”

He went on to say “Nobody is giving this money just for fun.”

Shapiro Wants His Secrets Secret
Man of many secret donors

Because Governor Shapiro’s inaugural committee was organized as a 501 (c) (4) he is not required to disclose the donor information. Many local arts organizations have been formed as a 501 c (3) and the law requires they must account for every dollar.  In a previous life, I was one of the persons who made these budgets match.  A big difference between a 3 and a 4.

Spotlight Pa has a great deal to say about Shapiro’s Secrecy.  I urge you to read the whole seven pages. Spotlight Pa. is a non-partisan newsroom connected with The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Patriot -News and other newspapers.y

Did you know that Shapiro asked his team to sign NDAs?

Pennsylvania’s previous governors, Corbett and Wolf released the name of private donors.

Meanwhile, The University of Delaware’s Biden Institute will not disclose its donors since Joe Biden became President.

Though this article is over a year old, there doesn’t seem to be any changes.

And yes, we do know who the corporate donors to President Trump were.

Shapiro Wants His Secrets Secret

Prohibition Party Is 3rd Oldest Active Party

Prohibition Party Is 3rd Oldest Active Party

By Bob Small

The Prohibition Party, which has a chapter in Pennsylvania, is the oldest existing third party in America and the third-longest active party, dating from Sept. 1, 1869.

One reason for the party’s longevity –besides never needing to make decisions while hung over — is the George Pennock Trust Fund, established in 1930 and still active, which has paid the Prohibition Party approximately $8,000 per year.

Though its focus has remained prohibition, the party has also embraced bimettalism, equal pay and and equal rights, and women’s suffrage, among other issues. Today it supports many things, including animal rights, free education, and school prayer. For a full list, see www.prohibitionparty.org

The party’s very first presidential candidate, in 1872, was Pennsylvanian James Black. Other Pennsylvania Prohibition Party candidates for president were Silas C. Swallow in 1904 and James Hedges in 2016. 

As is true of the Greens today, they were frequently accused of being “spoilers”. In 1884, they were accused of almost “spoiling” Grover Cleveland’s election over James G. Blaine.

Prohibition Party Is 3rd Oldest Active Party
Some things don’t change

The Prohibition Party was different from the Anti-Saloon League, the WCTU and other similar organizations, although they shared common goals.

There are currently 10 other state Prohibition Parties, besides the one in Pennsylvania.

A recent conversation with James Hedges, the current chair of the Pennsylvania chapter, reveals that they are in the process of creating a website for Pennsylvania and working on ways to attract new members. Hedges quotes the statistic that per-capita alcohol consumption fell by two thirds during Prohibition, and it did not return to its pre-Prohibition level until repeal.

Among other issues the party discusses are “abortion, a balanced budget, ballot access, civil rights, drugs, and gambling”.

Jim Hedges can be reached at hedges@prohibitionists.org.

Other informational websites include:

prohibitionists.org

Welcome to the Partisan Historical Society’s website…

ech-dev.case.edu › cgi › article.pl?id=PP3

Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: PROHIBITION PARTY

Full Disclosure: Jim and I have worked together for many years on ballot access issues. We remain members of the Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition. 

Mayor Adams Goes To El Paso

Mayor Adams Goes To El Paso

By Bob Small

Seeing a line on the scroll at the bottom on Fox 29 10 p.m. news we wondered whether we’ve seen it correctly. This was that Mayor Eric Adams (NYC) went to El Paso to meet with the mayor of El Paso to discuss  the immigrant crisis, keeping in mind that immigrants are persons who are in crisis due to lack of solutions due to various federal governments.

At first the search (using Duck Duck Go) of the meeting above only lead to four items of the first 10 on the first page, but by three days (Jan. 18) there were there were 20 articles using “Mayor Adams visits El Paso”.

In the Politico article, Adams called it a “fact finding mission”, and he was hosted by fellow Democrat Mayor Oscar Leseer of El Paso. He pledged to start a “coalition with mayors facing similar situations”. 

Next week at  the annual US Conference of Mayors. (Hear that Mayor Kenney?) where he will try to coordinate American mayors to say “How do we respond to this directly?”

Mayor Adams Goes To El Paso

He further stated “There should be one (FEMA) to coordinate everything that is happening dealing with migrants and asylum seekers in our country”. He went on to say that the city spent $366 million and received just a total of $10 million from a combination of FEMA and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Adams told Fox News that the refugee resettlement, “should be coordinated by our national government, not only done locally by these NGO’s, but it should be done by our national government. That is not happening.”

Others, however, are concerned that Adams is trying to foist his problems on all taxpayers.

Hopefully, we will have a bipartisan effort so that we can have a coherent federal plan to work with the migrants and the cities, rather than dumping “the migrant crisis” on the cities by federal inaction.

Shapiro’s Republican Pick For Secretary Of State

Shapiro’s Republican Pick For Secretary Of State

By Bob Small

In a case of  seeming  bipartisanship, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has chosen Republican Al Schmidt, a member of both the Philadelphia Election Board,and the Philadelphia Parking Authority to be Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State.

The Department of State runs elections.

Al Schmidt and former President Trump remain on opposite sides about the fairness of the 2020 election. Al Schmidt has received many threats to himself  and his family, which should never happen.

Mr. Schmidt has held the minority party seat on the three-person Philadelphia Election Commission since 2011.

Shapiro's Republican Pick For Secretary Of State

After the 2020 election, Trump pressured Schmidt to stop counting the absentee ballots, which Schmidt refused to do.

Most recently, Al Schmidt was the CEO of the Committee of Seventy, a long-standing Philadelphia fair election group.

Originally from Pittsburgh, he has a  BS from Allegheny College and a PhD from Brandeis University.

He moved to Philly in 2005, when his wife was hired by a Philly law firm. He also worked as a  policy analyst for the Presidential Commission on Holocaust Assets under the Clinton administration. He was once executive director of the Philadelphia Republican City Committee.

“He led an informal insurgent faction some called the ‘Loyal Opposition’, which pushed back against what he believed was ineffective Republican Party leadership at the city level.”  

He recently received a Presidential Citizens Medal from President Biden relating to the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

A friend of minew ho’s a Delco conservative shared his perspective “Schmidt should have endeavored to redress grievances by investigating the evidence of election fraud, not dismissing or ignoring it.” My thought is that suspicions about election irregularities  are not addressed by ignoring them.

Shapiro’s Republican Pick For Secretary Of State

Delco Peace Center In memoriam

Delco Peace Center In memoriam

By Bob Small

I received on Jan. 10 a notice that the Delco Peace Center was closing.

It was founded in 1986 with a mission to “create a welcoming community space dedicated to peace and justice” by the still active Brandywine Peace Community at Springfield Friends Meetinghouse, 1001 Sproul Road, Springfield, Pa.

During my years of involvement with the Peace Center, through Cinema Resistance, Poets for Peace, and other groups, our primary goal was to deliver a  non-partisan, pro-peace message and to enjoy doing it.  This began with Delco Pledge of Resistance, founded 1986.

Then, most of us were with alternative parties (the Green Party, Socialists, etc),  or were registered to vote as independents. The Democratic Party had not yet co-opted the peace movement.

Cinema Resistance featured screenings of Hollywood, independent, and international movies such as these. We would introduce a film, watch it together, and then have a discussion. At least until the popcorn ran out. We also served as a clearinghouse for other area peace-related activities, which I co-coordinated.

Delco Peace Center In memoriam

Like any other group, we had our share of “infighting” over such issues as whether to hire a paid coordinator, the role of politics within the group, and others.

At a certain point, not having stopped any wars, we (my wife and I) withdrew from this activism, and began to focus  on the attempted gentrification of our little borough of Swarthmore, where we won some, lost some,

In the pre-Covid years, when the Peace Center still had Christmas gatherings, film showings, and musical events, my wife and I would attend them, keeping in touch with old friends.

That was then, this is now. Now we’re busy fighting proposed condo monstrosities, the PECO tree cutters, and  the proposed “Poultry Police” in Swarthmore.

I’ll leave the last sad words to my friend Roger Balson, a co-coordinator of Democracy Unplugged: “Just another example of how the peace movement in our area is fading away. Now that the Democrats have cemented their commitment to endless war, I guess this makes sense.”

Delco Peace Center In memoriam

Swarthmore Murder 68th Anniversary Approaches

Swarthmore Murder 68th Anniversary Approaches

By Bob Small

On Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1955, Robert E. Bechtel, then a junior at Swarthmore College, shot fellow student Francis Holmes Strozier. 

As we arrive at the 68th anniversary of this event, the last murder to happen within the borders of Swarthmore, Pa., many details remain to ponder. A 2015 review in MyCityPaper concerning the premiere of the documentary “Blood Ties” notes:

On the night of Jan 11, Bechtel drove home to his mother’s house in Pottstown, where he collected guns and a slice of coconut cake. He returned and, even though he was planning a mass murder because he felt he had been the victim of “bullying”, he ended up only shooting one person.

Bechtel was a proctor (resident advisor) at the time of the shooting.

He was found not competent to stand trial and was committed to the Farview State Hospital for The Criminally Insane for life.  After four years and five months, Bechtel was released in January 1960. He underwent a trial, which found him not guilty by reason of insanity. 

After the trial, Bechtel went to Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, and then to the University of Kansas, receiving his doctorate in 1967. He never mentioned the shooting.

When he applied to teach at the University of Arizona, Bechtel similarly neglected to mention the shooting.

In 2005, Bechtel planned to attend his 50th class reunion at Swarthmore College, despite never having graduated and the antipathy of many of his fellow students.

He first revealed the murder in 2004, in a class that he taught entitled “The Psychology of Happiness”.

With all of that, he’s still the second most famous student in that class, the most famous being Michael Dukakis.

Pondering this story, one wonders whether the good Bechtel did in his life, as a teacher and as a family man, overrides the evil.

Swarthmore Murder 68th Anniversary Approaches

Should Schools Encourage Children To Transition?

Should Schools Encourage Children To Transition?

By Bob Small

Trans people are not “an issue”.  

They are people.

The first activity many of us need to do, when looking at new formations is force ourselves to understand that this is 2023, rather than 1983 or 1953 or any prior date.  The second activity, and this is purely my idea, is how do we neither encourage or discourage a mature person from becoming a Transexual Person but how do we wait until they are mature enough to come to this decision.  How old is mature enough?  To my mind, if they are not old enough to drive, enlist in the military, or vote, they are not old enough to make as final a decision as “transitioning”.   Or is the opposite true, should 12-year-olds be able to drive, enlist in the military, and vote?  And how should this be decided?

And, more importantly, who should make the decision.  I only have answers, not questions.

The toolkit for gender spectrum  brings up some fascinating questions like “are there gender differences in what kids are expected to do during recess? They also discuss the “gender-neutral day”.  There are some fascinating ideas here, which are, at least, worth debating.

In Philadelphia, for instance, had quoted the Pope Francis as saying “The Catholic Church consistently affirms the inherent dignity of each and every person.”  I’m not sure of the current translation of that, since there are not any recent posts, but you can see the previous details here.

The Post Millennial, is a conservative Canadian publication which has published some stories I found dubious one of which was the Pennsylvania Department of Education says kids can identify as transgender.

So I checked Pennsylvania Department of Educations website and it did have the line, under “Creating Gender-inclusive schools and classrooms  that “If you don’t know a student’s preferred personal pronoun, it’s always best to ask”. 

I couldn’t find anything on three-year-olds identifying as transgender, however.

In Delaware County, Haverford High School introduced proposed School Board  Policy 259, ensuring Equity and Non-discrimination for Gender Expansive and Transgender students and Strath Haven’s The Panther Press carried an article Unlocking the door to equality  by Cece Olszewski on Jan. 20, 2022

The first high school in Pennsylvania to adopt a Transgender Bathroom Policy, was Springfield Township in Montco.

So, is there a way to arrive at an age for this decision.  Is there even a way to discuss this?

I’d like to hear opinions.

Should Schools Encourage Children To Transition?

Can Frank Agovino Turn Swarthmore Red?

Can Frank Agovino Turn Swarthmore Red?

By Bob Small

Can Frank Agovino Turn Swarthmore Red? — Frank Agovino has been elected at the new Delco GOP chairman replacing the retired Tom McGarrigle and promising a host of changes.  

“I want to get the party on better footing, and that means having a 49-municipality strategy that actively invites more people into the process from across the county,”  he said.

He also intends to “establish a committee on mail in voting” and wants to “improve our performance amongst voters who now prefer to vote early and remotely”.

“We need to do a better job of serving as a watchdog and holding the current l(democratic) leadership accountable,” he said. It is also our duty to effectively articulate an alternative vision.”  

Can Frank Agovino Turn Swarthmore Red?
Frank Agovino

This was an election where only one county Republican candidate State Rep Craig Williams (D-160) won.  Incumbent Chris Quinn (168th) was an incumbent who was upset.  

Agovino was the GOP candidate for the 26th District senate seat in November losing to incumbent Timothy Kearney

Agovino’s New Avenue Foundation started the Media Bean Company which is still around, albeit in Newtown  Square, still making great breakfasts.  He has been involved with a number of boards, including the Delaware County Intermediate Unit, the Manufacturers Alliance of Delaware and Chester County, and the YMCA of Eastern Delaware County, etc.  

He received a BS in Marketing from St. Joe’s and an MS in Organizational Leadership from Cabrini.  He lives in Springfield with his wife and daughter,.

One borough in Delco where Republicans have not been on the ballot recently, is Swarthmore.  Maybe Frank Agovino can revitalize the Swarthmore GOP which, sadly does not have an electronic presence.

This is an article I wrote a while ago.  Nothing has changed.

Swarthmore Was Once Republican – BillLawrenceOnline

Hopefully, Frank Agovino will provide some needed changes.

Narrow D Win In Bucks County

Narrow D Win In Bucks County

By Bob Small

F. Todd Polinchock, a two term GOP incumbent lost in the November election.  One of his many issues was tougher gun legislation and other anti-crime measures.  He also wanted greater energy production.

He is a pro life supporter. 

He is a Realtor.

The Democrat winner, Brian Munroe had 16,123 votes to Polinchock’s 15,608 or 50.8 percent. A victory but hardly a mandate.

Narrow D Win In Bucks County
Brian Munroe

PA house district 144 consists of 5 areas in Bucks County. Since it’s creation in 1969, all the State House representatives had been Republican.

Munroe has been an emergency medical technician and a Radnor Police officer. He was also a volunteer firefighter.  He is a US Navy Veteran.

Among his signature positions are pro-choice, Green Jobs, increasing healthcare coverage, and a iving wage. He has also come out for free community college. For other positions, see his website.

Reviewing the five PA House incumbents who lost, four of them were GOP.  Some of this was due to redistricting and some may have been the statewide candidates at the top of the ticket.

Or maybe something else.

Like in many political setbacks, there are lessons to be learned by more astute minds than mine.