Posted: Wednesday, 28 October 2009 11:02AM
Doug Miller Isn't Ready
Steve Corbett Reporting
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Scranton City Council candidate Doug Milled said he called “Corbett” yesterday to “clear the record once and for all.”
The 19-year-old Republican said he had paid all fines incurred by his late filing of campaign finance reports.
Before yesterday’s show began, Lackawanna County Voter Registration officials told me that a woman had come to the office on Miller’s behalf that very morning and paid $180 on the balance of the fine.
A Miller campaign worker had previously paid $30.
Yet a balance of $250 remained, the county election officials said.
Not only had this aspiring public servant failed to file campaign finance reports on time, he failed to pay his fines in a timely manner as well. Still, Miller is “campaigning his heart out,” according to one caller to the show.
Sadly, this young man’s zeal to win office is unmatched by his responsibility to abide by election law.
Republican Miller called “Corbett” two Fridays ago to announce to the world that Scranton Democratic Mayor Chris Doherty, who faces re-election Nov. 3, is supporting his campaign.
But Doherty refuses to publicly address Miller’s claim and has failed to return four telephone calls I have left on his cell phone concerning his re-election, Miller’s statement and Doherty’s current campaign for next year’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
Maybe Doherty’s lackluster response is because he’s too busy running two political campaigns for himself at once. Or maybe he’s trying to cover his tracks as a slick behind-the-scenes political manipulator.
So what else is new?
Doherty has regularly worked privately among a few key and influential persons to get what he wants. But if he truly is pulling Miller’s strings to make this teenager dance, Doherty has sunk to a new low of political abuse.
Miller’s call to “Corbett” yesterday raises serious questions about his suitability to hold public office.
You can hear Miller’s interview exclusively by logging onto wilknewsradio.com.
And when you do, you will hear an aspiring bureaucrat who attempts to take a page from Doherty’s playbook and mislead voters by refusing to answer very specific questions.
Although Miller acknowledges his failure to file the required campaign finance reports on time and his failure to pay his fines promptly, he still refuses to say how such negligence occurred.
Miller even rejected the idea that he was negligent. Worse is that Miller said he does not believe voters deserve an explanation. City residents deserve better.
Miller and Doherty re-election signs are planted side-by-side all over Scranton. Miller writes on his Facebook page that Doherty is supporting his first bid for public office. On that same Facebook page a “friend” of young Miller is pictured smiling and giving the world the finger, but that’s another story.
During yesterday’s interview, Miller also blundered wildly by refusing to answer specific questions about his Scranton residency. Responding to allegations raised by others that his residency is in question, Miller said the accusation was a last ditch effort to scare voters who support his election. But then he refused to answer my questions that could put those rumors to rest. By displaying a glaring immaturity, Miller actually raised more questions than he answered about himself and his capacity for leadership of any kind.
Equally disturbing was that during the interview somebody’s voice in the background could be heard coaching Miller.
If Miller can’t file his reports on time and pay his bills in a timely manner, how does he expect to handle the huge responsibility that comes with serving on a city council in a city that’s officially declared as financially “distressed?”
Maybe Miller can ask Doherty how to spin the story that magically turns coal to diamonds. The mayor who wants to be governor knows how to throw the bull as well as anybody.
Miller must learn that voters in Scranton and elsewhere in Northeastern Pennsylvania will no longer accept the illusion of public service that depends largely on a smile and the cash support from a greasy political machine that cares little about real people unless they’re politically connected.
Miller isn’t ready.
Doherty is too ready.
Scranton loses either way.
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