Posted: Friday, 20 March 2009 11:17AM
Ain't No Party Like A Scranton Democratic Party
Steve Corbett Reporting
Friday, March 20, 2009
The boss thought I was kidding.
He wanted me to think about moving from sunny Central Coastal California to Colorado and told me how much I would like Boulder.
“I’d rather be in Scranton,” I said.
The boss laughed.
“You think I’m kidding,” I said.
Of course he did.
But I wasn’t kidding.
More than two years later, the move to Scranton turns out to be one of the best moves I ever made. My roots run deep here and my ability to do what I do best is fueled by the wild politics that makes us what we are.
But what exactly are we?
The Democratic political machine – whatever that is by Scranton standards – usually answers that question. For better or for worse, party bosses and their henchmen – along with the occasional henchwoman – call the shots here.
They decide the quality of life for the masses.
That quality of life is questionable for too many people who feel distanced from the political process and left out of the thrill of living in the Electric City. Too many people wonder why they don’t feel the great sense of pride that sometimes makes Scranton look like paradise.
To many people that paradise is a desert island where creature comforts are in short supply and where their most basic needs are not easily met.
Wages are low. Good jobs are hard to find. And the good strong neighborhoods that once shaped the spine of Scranton and its people are deteriorating. Spin the city atmosphere any way you like, but too many people see another darker side that excludes rather than includes them.
Most of them are potential voters.
That voting block could decide Scranton’s next mayor.
Democratic Mayor Chris Doherty appeals mostly to a business status quo of so-called young professionals who consider themselves too hip to be coalcrackers. They sip their wine and attend their art gallery openings like they’re above attending a prizefight.
And all too often they compare Scranton to a small New York City.
Those happy days might be coming to an end.
Most Scrantonians know that we’re not Manhattan. Most Scrantonians don’t want anything to do with New York. Most Scrantonians know we have our hands full just being who we are without trying to be something we’re not.
But even city Democratic bosses aren’t quite certain exactly who we’re supposed to be.
That’s why today’s front page story in the Times-Tribune announcing that the city Democratic Party is backing Democratic challenger Gary DiBileo for mayor comes as something as a shocker to many people.
Those in the know, however, already sense that incumbent two-term Mayor Doherty has lost some of the support he brought with him into office. Doherty has also lost some of his base that provided cash for him as well as team support during his campaigns.
If the story is true – and I say that because the article was based entirely on one unnamed source – Doherty will have problems winning re-election.
The Mayor is a victim of his own personality.
Charming yet aloof, Doherty appeals to a sophisticated segment of the community that often acts above it all – even if they’re not above anything and are as Scranton at heart as their immigrant grandparents.
Doherty also has connections at the highest reaches of Democratic Party power. Yet, he made enemies by backing Hillary Clinton in the state primary - which she won – and showing lukewarm support for Barack Obama in the general election.
Scranton’s working-class neighborhoods also somehow got away from Doherty – not that I’m convinced he ever really understood them in the first place.
DiBileo is being packaged as a man of the people, a diamond in the rough who can bring pride to blue-collar residents who don’t feel part of the party crowd that supports Doherty.
Say what you will about former Mayor Jimmy Connors, but he knew the people. Doherty replaced Connors. Now DiBileo seems poised to pull an upset. Watch the neighborhoods as this race develops.
As go rough-and-ready neighborhoods like Minooka, so goes the city.
If he’s not careful, Doherty could join Connors in retirement in that grand old Irish neighborhood of yesteryear as DiBileo celebrates a new dawn and raises the Italian flag high above City Hall.
I’m still glad to be in Scranton.
And if he doesn’t take the DiBileo threat seriously, come November, Doherty could have more time on his hands than ever to enjoy the city we love.
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Corbett
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