The Tragedy of Allentown

Last week, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski was finally indicted. He received multiple counts of bribery and mail fraud, among other things, for running a pay-for-play scheme. Basically, if you believe the indictment, Ed Pawlowski sold city contracts for campaign contributions and personal goodies- like Eagles tickets and dinner. If you believe the Feds accounting, Mike Fleck essentially set up a business where he represented most of the city government, some of the local unions, and the contractors that sought city business. You had to hire from among his clients in order to get business- and the Mayor was always there, always approving of the behavior, because it personally benefited himself and his ambitions. Again, it's all alleged at this point, everyone deserves a day in court, even people I don't happen to personally love.

The other side of this, of course, is that the city of Allentown is now in a state of chaos. Just months before the election for Mayor, the incumbent is both on the ballot and under indictment. The city government is not very functional right now, as Council and the Mayor are largely at odds. State and federal officials don't want to work with a city hall that is largely seen as corrupted. The progress of the downtown is in peril, particularly because of somewhat unwarranted fears that the political chaos will make business impossible. This is essentially the worst case scenario, and it probably will be until at least November. If Nat Hyman, the Republican nominee, is somehow elected Mayor in such a Democratic city (a real possibility in this chaotic race), or Ray O'Connell wins as a write-in after finishing second in the primary, the chaos will probably begin to clear with Pawlowski gone. If Pawlowski wins re-election, it's hard to see anything happening until he would be cleared in a trial.

The real losers here are the public, who has yet another reason to doubt their government, and will not see improvements to their quality of life while this cloud is here. Pawlowski had managed to get a lot done in Allentown, and now that is in question, regardless of how things turn out. The odds, based on the number of plea deals and the length of the investigation, are that Pawlowski is guilty of something- even if it happened because he was negligent and hired a corrupt political consultant. While the criminal system will play out, the political system will not, at least not until this sad case is litigated politically in November.