Local politics in northeastern Pennsylvania is nationally relevant – and the past informs the present and the future.
I really resent light pollution, so this story has me on squarely on the side of the complaining neighbors.
Local businessman in Scranton has vowed not to comply with city ordinance letter after neighbors complain about the level of light on his downtown marquee. I’m a bit of a cynic and no theatre or club ever lasts in this location very long. And we know that other theatres in the area are still struggling in a pandemic that they really really insist but that it should be over,1 but of course there are still people like myself, with the money to do these things, but not the desire to go places that are still unmitigated disease distribution centers, (and possibly places where weirdos convinced that any little threat should mean they ought to pull a gun like some kind of dangerous fool).2 So I could make a snide remark about the put upon neighbors just waiting it out a couple months, but I feel like there’s a principle of the thing here.
How nice it is that the businessman never talks to the neighbors who are not so happy, only the customers who go downtown just as a treat, but likely live in the more fancy burbs with expensive tasteful and controlled mood lighting. I say this as someone who lives in a very residential neighborhood where it’s possible to do a little bit of stargazing, and that prompts visitors to say “Oh this doesn’t even seem like it’s in Scranton.” We do have one house in the neighborhood which has a ridiculously bright white light chandelier in their dining room and a huge picture window with no curtains or blinds drawn. I see it on my walks and I’d be complaining if I lived on that block. And if I needed to live downtown, I’d be complaining about a marquee lit up very bright past 11pm.
The bottom line though is that this guy sounds like an entitled jerk, being quoted on the front page of the newspaper vowing to flout the rules of the town, come what may! Can he hear himself? It’s like a comical caricature of the rich guy who thinks the rules don’t apply to him.
Times-Tribune – Mayor: Compromise can be reached in movie theater marquee dispute BY JEFF HORVATH STAFF WRITER Mar 29, 2024 “I think that there will be an ability to come to a good compromise solution where the great, welcoming and vibrant sign can coexist with the residents across the street,” Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said Friday. “We’ll keep working on it. We’ll do more reviews from the resident complaints after the holiday in addition to the one we did last night.” A Samter’s tenant who wished to remain anonymous told the newspaper the marquee light seeps through their blackout blinds. The anonymous renter is a fan of the theater but wants the lights turned off by 11 p.m. to avoid a nighttime nuisance. Others who spoke to the newspaper, including Basalyga, touted the marquee lights as a welcome and vibrant addition consistent with what one should expect when living in a city’s downtown. “I’m not going to lay down and just let the city decide after the fact that it’s too bright or they don’t like it,” Basalyga said Wednesday. “Everybody that I’ve talked to absolutely loves it and I think it’s a great thing for the city.” [emphasis added]
Perhaps not surprisingly the scuttlebutt is that Basalyga is MAGA, and a Mastriano fan.3 Doug Mastriano is the Qanon aligned insurrectionist organizer PA senator who lost the last governor’s race to Josh Shapiro.4 Yet somehow it sounds a bit like Basalyga’s got the mayor maybe a little sweet talked, as she was quoted speaking favourably about the lights, possibly leaning on the side of the business.5
Pretty sure Paige Cognetti campaigned on equity issues too. Of course if you read podcast notes copy on her, you’ll think she met her husband in Scranton6 when she “walked into his family’s sandwich shop” while working on a congressional campaign in the 2000s – when actually the sandwich shop is in the fanciest of the Scranton suburbs, Clarks Summit, or more specifically South Abington Township.7 This is one of the tightest real estate markets in the area with a well regarded school district, and has a lovely park that attracts shorebirds and bird enthusiasts and is very well appointed.
Of course I’m not lulled into satisfaction when politicians talk about equity and the environment when those concerns are always brought up in the context of The Economy (as a false god) and “bringing the jobs”8 – even though you would not need to worry about there being jobs if you just took care of the situation for the people in the community, because the jobs would happen, because there’d be work to be done. There are always jobs, if things are actually functioning! They don’t need to be “created” when things are run properly with the proper incentives in place to get things done.
But the economy seems always to be just a scam house of cards superficial facade confidence game to the people in charge who often prioritize the wrong things.9 Just deck chairs to move around on some iteration of the Titanic. And “bringing the jobs” is just a way to tell the people who my father’s generation used to call “the little people” (ie: us ordinary folks) that we don’t actually deserve a good life or good things, we’re just servants who should view even the mere opportunity to be paid for our labor as some kind of gift to us. I may need to print out and send my Christmas movie propaganda, job creator myths10 explanation to the mayor. Mayor Cognetti was recently appointed by President Joe Biden to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.11 This probably doesn’t have as much to do with Joe Biden being born and spending his early years in Scranton, PA and feeling some affinity for us, as it probably does Paige Cognetti having been employed on the Obama campaign and in the Obama administration long prior to running for Mayor of Scranton.12
Sadly we know how common it is for developers and business people to get in with the politicians and lobby lobby lobby with their money money money. I had hoped things would be at least a little different, with this mayor having won her first election as an independent after the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee nominated somebody else for the special election behind closed doors.13 This was a special election after the previous mayor, who everyone in my neighborhood hated so much they used to have signs pinned on telephone poles complaining about city hall, was forced out because of the FBI busting him for illegal bribery and corruption.14 I specify illegal bribery, because not all forms of bribery are illegal, as is demonstrated at the difficulty of even getting a gift ban in Pennsylvania (one of only 3 states that don’t have one),15 because it’s where politicians keep insisting they be allowed to get free lunches.16 The mayor before that wasn’t too popular either, since after the Great Recession in 2012 there was a financial debacle where Mayor Chris Doherty slashed all the city workers to minimum wage17 like he was playing the tycoon video game Tropico where, playing as a dictator, you can use one slider to set the wage of all workers of one type on the island to the same wage in one go.18
I confess I didn’t vote for the first woman mayor of Scranton the first time around, I voted for the other Independent candidate who probably also did so because of being snubbed or expecting to be snubbed by the Democratic Party, but who came in 2nd in that election — Kyle Donahue, who is now a PA state representative.19 I voted for Kyle Donohue for mayor because he’d shown up20 and seemed friendly to non-partisan anti-corruption campaigns I have supported like Fair Districts PA which opposes gerrymandering.21
The Republican Party is no better when it comes to protecting status quo crony power, as I remember a Republican – a young libertarian type economist of some sort, wanted to run for mayor against Bill Courtright in 2013, and he was edged out even before the primary. This was in 2013, but perhaps the problem was that he was a renter and wanted to defund the police, or at least the highest salaried ones. I can’t remember his name, but I remember these details because he was in local blogger. I’m no Libertarian nor a big fan of economists, but maybe he would’ve made a better Mayor than the criminal one?
The Republicans also edged out Bob Bolus,22 though in this case there’s more to the story and that story also pertains to opposition to law enforcement, as it happens. This is the local right-wing small business trucker who joined the Trump train, and was on board with the trucker convoy to block the DC Beltway with a protest back in 2022 over pandemic public health interventions23 which were no longer even in effect anymore. Of course the right-wing has tried to say any disease control at all is tantamount to “lockdown” – and they’ve pushed this false equivalency dating back to at least 2021 with documented evidence from Cambridge Analytica propagandist and anti-vax proponent Patrick Fagan.24 Strangely for some reason back in November 2023, Bob Bolus announced charity giveaways of “lockdown” — he said he was giving away disinfectant wipes in a Times-Tribune Letter to the Editor.25 The mind reels — was he a bit of a germaphobe at some point in the past, or is he one finally now? No idea. If you only saw the AP News story back in 201926 you’d think the judge pushed him off the ballot just because the field was crowded with independents running for Scranton mayor in the special election, but he was actually removed from the ballot because of a felony criminal history, which came up again when he attempted to run for mayor of Scranton the next time.27 He’s had criminal convictions in the 1990s28 and in the 2010s, both seemingly related to his business, and it’s been reported that he’s thought his charity should mean the courts would go easier on him.29
A felony in one’s history does not prohibit someone from voting in Pennsylvania,30 but apparently there are restrictions from holding some offices. I personally don’t think a criminal history should blanket exclude people from running for office, unless it’s something pertinent, like someone who’s embezzled running for Treasurer, or someone who’s attempted a coup running for President. But I do think it’s rich that it’s so often Republicans who want these restrictive rules, and yet then wind up in scandals flouting the rules in hypocritical ways, and just going about their business, like the Republican Party vice chair holder that was recently reportedly found to vote with a felony while improperly registered.31
Of course all of this is related to the fact that people with money and in charge of stuff think they can play by different rules than the rest of us.
“I’m not going to lay down and let the people decide what happens in their city!” — “Ex-cons shouldn’t vote or hold office unless it’s me!” — “Protesters shouldn’t block traffic it’s inconvenient, unless it’s small business owners like me shutting down the beltway of course! Then I want it to shut down commerce!”
I have a feeling if the mayor, or the developer, had to sleep with that bright light on at all hours outside their bedroom windows, neither would be so sanguine about the marquee being on late into the night. Anyway, as a dark sky enthusiast and activist, I’m supporting the underdog here.
Here’s the email letter I sent to the Mayor’s office:
RE John Basalyga and his light pollution marquee.
Dear Mayor, I think the guy sounds like a jerk, and needs to stop with the over the top light pollution and comply with the meager regulations that I’ve always thought should be MORE RESTRICTIVE for all sorts of reasons like public health, and the environment. (DarkSky.org – Responsible outdoor lighting) Dark nights are healthy. Bright lights are not healthy – this is science. And so this is a public health issue. It’s going to adversely affect the health of citizens, obviously already is, because the neighbors are already complaining. (Dark Sky Society – Human Health) I bet you wouldn’t be ok if your neighbor set up a light show like that. And, it’s International Dark Sky Week this week! idsw.darksky.org What a FACEPALM!
References
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The problem is, we’re not post pandemic. Once more this time with feeling: stop saying “back during covid” (My unpublished Letter to the Editor.) CHLOE HUMBERT DEC 23, 2023 There was an article in my local newspaper, The Times-Tribune in Scranton Pennsylvania, about how Mayor Cognetti is allocating funds to a local community theatre operation that is still struggling to recover from the pandemic, in what the reporter describes as “what most would consider a post-pandemic world.” Said about the children’s performances: “people just are not coming out.”2 (The theatre owner at least referred to the pandemic in the present tense.)
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How about let’s take the temperature down on the rhetoric? Instead of getting riled up on stand your ground, how about we come back down to earth? CHLOE HUMBERT MAR 29, 2024 Why is this front page news in Scranton Pennsylvania? People ask me why I don’t go to crowded or busy places anymore, and my friends assume it’s because I don’t want to contract a detrimental virus, and that’s absolutely true, I don’t need to roll those dice. But I also don’t want to risk getting shot by someone who has been given a loud and clear message by people with authority that someone can shoot a gun in a crowd, hit innocent people, and then just say “I felt threatened” and maybe get away with a massacre. That won’t even be true most of the time, and people receiving this idea may in fact be throwing away their own lives, but that’s not the message repeated in the media.
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Reddit r/Scranton – Scranton developer John Basalyga on how he got his start – Nov 2022 Scootsypi: “He’s working on a lot of ambitious projects, so I wish him well in that regard. It’s a shame he’s a major MAGA/Mastriano/red pill nut.”
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Yahoo News – Huffpost – Doug Mastriano Makes Dan Cox, QAnon-Sympathizing Insurrectionist, Chief Of Staff Christopher Mathias February 9, 2023 Mastriano and Cox are friends who counted each other as close allies during their respective bids for governor. Their legislative districts — when Cox still served in the Maryland House of Delegates — shared a border along the Mason-Dixon Line. Both organized buses on Jan. 6, 2021, to send supporters to the “Stop the Steal” rally that exploded into a violent attack on the Capitol. Both men attended an April 2022 gathering in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, hosted by followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory. And both men are ardent election deniers who earned endorsements from former President Donald Trump last year. Mastriano lost to Democrat Josh Shapiro by 15 points in his governor’s race, and Cox lost to Democrat Wes Moore by 32 points.
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Times-Tribune – Mayor: Compromise can be reached in movie theater marquee dispute BY JEFF HORVATH STAFF WRITER Mar 29, 2024 The dispute prompted an ongoing review by city code enforcement who visited Thursday night the apartment of a renter bothered by the marquee lights. The renter and at least two others live in the Samter’s Lofts apartments across Penn Avenue from Basalyga’s movie house; code enforcement plans to visit the other two apartments after the Easter holiday as the review continues. “I think that there will be an ability to come to a good compromise solution where the great, welcoming and vibrant sign can coexist with the residents across the street,” Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said Friday. “We’ll keep working on it. We’ll do more reviews from the resident complaints after the holiday in addition to the one we did last night.” A Samter’s tenant who wished to remain anonymous told the newspaper the marquee light seeps through their blackout blinds. The anonymous renter is a fan of the theater but wants the lights turned off by 11 p.m. to avoid a nighttime nuisance. Others who spoke to the newspaper, including Basalyga, touted the marquee lights as a welcome and vibrant addition consistent with what one should expect when living in a city’s downtown. “I’m not going to lay down and just let the city decide after the fact that it’s too bright or they don’t like it,” Basalyga said Wednesday. “Everybody that I’ve talked to absolutely loves it and I think it’s a great thing for the city. It brings hope and it brings more pride to the downtown.”
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Lincoln Institute of Land Policy – Land Matters Podcast: Paige Cognetti and the Reinvention of Scranton – By Anthony Flint, December 12, 2023 She has been bullish on Scranton since she went there nearly 20 years ago and ordered a sandwich at a restaurant run by her future husband.
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Google Maps – Caravia Fresh Foods – 1151 Northern Blvd, South Abington Township, PA 18411
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New plan will address the impact of climate change in Scranton By Kat Bolus | WVIA News Published September 19, 2022 at 3:08 PM EDT Tackling the impacts of climate change in Scranton is part of creating a future for the city. “This isn’t planning just for the next five or 10 years, this is planning that needs to happen for the decades down the line,” said Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti. Developing a Climate Action Plan for the Electric City is one of three forward-looking plans. In August, the city released an Economic Development Plan, which will serve as Scranton’s roadmap for the next 10 years. The city is also working on an equity plan. “In order for us to be successful with development, and bringing good paying jobs here, bringing families here, we need to be able to show them that we’re thinking long term,” the mayor said.
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Elite Panic. Big shots have different goals than the rest of us. Politicians should be representatives, businesses shouldn’t lead, even billionaires can’t seem to buy common sense, and tech won’t save us. CHLOE HUMBERT JUL 13, 2023 The people in high places and big positions will never panic over the right things – they do elite panic. Left to their own devices, people in charge panic over the wrong things & try to fix things other than the actual crisis because they’re often more concerned with their own position within the status quo, and are more concerned about the upheaval of the status quo, than the damage that upheaval is causing.
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Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti appointed to White House committee by FOX56 NEWSROOM Wed, February 28th 2024 at 11:09 AM Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti was appointed by President Joe Biden to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. According to the White House, the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations is an advisory committee established to provide overall policy advice to the United States Trade Representative on matters arising in connection with the development, implementation, and administration of the trade policy of the United States
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University of Oregon – Clark Honors College – Now the mayor of Scranton, PA, Paige Gebhardt Cognetti’s passion for equity inspired by her time in CHC by Ashley Lorraine Wiesner, CHC Communications Though her passion lies with Scranton, much of her political experience happened on a national scale. In 2007 and 2008, she worked on the Obama campaign in Pennsylvania recruiting volunteers and honing in on her leadership and campaign skills. Following the election, she transitioned to the Treasury Department as the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for International Affairs and as the Managing Director for China Operations.
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First woman is elected mayor of Scranton, as an independent after sparring with Democratic machine Devan Cole By Devan Cole, CNN Updated 7:32 PM EST, Wed November 6, 2019 Cognetti, a longtime Democrat who said she now identifies as a progressive independent, told CNN she decided not to seek the backing of the local Democratic Party because she suspected that its nomination process would be rife with corruption, a point she claimed was confirmed after the process occurred. “I chose not to seek the nomination for the Democrats in this special election because I knew they would do it in their way, which they did,” she said. “They went behind closed doors, there were 26 electors – I still don’t even know who those people were – and they anointed a candidate and said he’s the candidate for mayor.” “They basically thought that they were going to choose the next mayor, not the people.”
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Justice.gov U.S. Attorneys Middle District of Pennsylvania Press Releases Former Scranton Mayor Sentenced To Seven Years’ Imprisonment On Public Corruption Charges Friday, October 2, 2020 Courtright had been the subject of a multi-year year undercover investigation headed by the FBI. The undercover investigation captured the former mayor accepting cash payments from vendors doing business with the city. In addition to the prison term, Judge Mannion also ordered Courtright to pay a $25,000 fine, and be supervised by a probation officer for three years following his release from prison. “In this County, in this Commonwealth, in this Country – our elected officials work for us,” said U.S. Attorney Freed.
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March On Harrisburg – Gift Ban Pennsylvania is 1 of 3 states with no gift Ban.This is A standard common-sense, anti-corruption policy.
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Gift Bans: Everyone knows “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” PA Governor missteps to the right at lunchtime CHLOE HUMBERT FEB 19, 2023 If free lunches were so nominal and irrelevant, why do shrewd pharmaceutical companies spend so much money on buying meals for doctors who are hardly likely to be scraping for lunch money? It’s because this tactic is not irrelevant. Free lunches are incredibly effective marketing tools in persuading people. It’s harder to turn down a gift lunch. We’ve all heard the old adage that states “There’s no such thing as a free lunch!” So I don’t buy the gaslighting of minimization of the gifts issue.
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NPR Scranton’s Public Workers Now Paid Minimum Wage JULY 7, 20128:55 AM ET HEARD ON WEEKEND EDITION SATURDAY Jeff Brady The city of Scranton, Pa., sent out paychecks to its employees Friday, like it does every two weeks. But this time the checks were much smaller than usual. Mayor Chris Doherty has reduced everyone’s pay — including his own — to the state’s minimum wage: $7.25 an hour. Doherty says his city has run out of money. Scranton has had financial troubles for a couple of decades — the town has been losing population since the end of World War II. But the budget problems became more serious in recent months as the mayor and the city council fought over how to balance the budget. Doherty wants to raise taxes to fill a $16.8-million gap. The city council wants to take a different approach and borrow money.
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Dad’s Gaming Addiction – Tropico 4: Wages & Housing – Posted by Vincent on January 26, 2012 You can be a cheap skate and pay your workers next to nothing to save on expenses, but you can expect a revolt on your hands if your approval rating drops too low. So each building has a wage slider you can set manually? In short, yes. There is also a button beside the slider that allows you to set the wage of workers of one type to the same wage so you don’t have to go from building to building.
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PA Homepage – Cognetti wins special Scranton mayor election – Posted: Nov 5, 2019 Cognetti, Kyle Donahue and John Goshleski were the three candidates who switched parties from Democrat to independent — after the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee nominated Chris Cullen for mayor. Charlie Spano was the Republican Candidate.
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I, Chloe Humbert, saw and photographed Kyle Donohue at a Fair Districts PA presentation at the Radisson Hotel in Scranton, Pennsylvania on May 23, 2017 where I was taking photos of the event on behalf of Represent Us NEPA.
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Fair Districts PA – Whichever party has control of the legislature has control of redistricting. FDPA is advocating for an independent and transparent redistricting process that includes public input.
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The Times-Tribune – Judges rule three candidates can stay on ballot for Scranton Mayor; Bolus again bounced – BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK, STAFF WRITER Oct 3, 2019 The judges ruled Bolus could stay on the ballot in Sheridan’s challenge, but dismissed him from the ballot based on a challenge by two Republican voters.
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Meet the Pennsylvania trucking business owner who plans to block DC Beltway by Kevin Lewis, Montgomery County Reporter (7News) Tue, February 22nd 2022 at 4:47 AM Updated Wed, February 23rd 2022 at 1:12 PM A Scranton, Pennsylvania trucking business owner plans to block the D.C. beltway on Wednesday afternoon to protest federal COVID-19 mandates, inflation, and illegal immigration. “Ultimately, it may be the whole Beltway that’s blocked down,” Bob Bolus told 7News Monday. “We’re making a statement for you people.”
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Anti-mask Woke-washing. The moral distortion of social justice. CHLOE HUMBERT AUG 31, 2023 Patrick Fagan is a psychologist who once worked for Cambridge Analytica,12 and was later linked to anti-vax groups in the UK13 via messages revealed in the HARTleaks. In an exchange from 2021 between Tanya Kymenko and Patrick Fagan, reported by Counter Disinformation Project in 2022, Tanya Kymenko asked “So, if the “pro-mask” are particularly concerned about equality then they might in theory be susceptible to a message on raising inequality as a direct result of NPI (lockdown). Is that a reasonable assumption?” and Patrick Fagan replied, “Yes exactly… They are wearing the face mask to be fair to others and to reduce harm… If messaging shows that face masks are unfair and harmful, that would be very powerful.”14 Patrick Fagan’s assertion was that mere messaging would be powerful – if people are made to believe it’s masking that is unfair. Patrick Fagan also had some other weird and wrong ideas, but there was no question that he was engaged in planning deliberate manipulation with propaganda against masking. And Tanya Kymenko was already equating all NPIs (Non Pharmaceutical Interventions) as the same as “lockdown” – which has expanded to include just wearing a mask.15
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US Census to change disability data – Cruise ship outbreaks (plural) – Chatbot healthcare disinformation – Trucker convoy covid measure protester now seen giving away disinfectant wipes to charity. CHLOE HUMBERT NOV 19, 2023 I’m pretty sure this is the same trucker Bob Bolus who wanted to protest covid “lockdowns” on the economy by “blocking down” the DC economy, saying “Ultimately, it may be the whole Beltway that’s blocked down,” Bolus told WJLA. “We’re making a statement for you people.” Now he’s got a surplus of disinfectant wipes he’s giving away to charity.
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AP News – Judges Order Bolus Off Ballot In Scranton Mayoral Election; Three Other Challenges Rejected By Staff Writer, Borys Krawczeniuk Published 1:44 PM EDT, October 2, 2019 In an opinion issued this morning, the judges allowed candidates former school director Paige Cognetti, City Councilman Kyle Donahue and tattoo artist John Goshleski to remain on the Nov. 5 special election ballot. In a separate opinion, they ordered Bolus off the ballot.
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Judges rule three candidates can stay on ballot for Scranton Mayor; Bolus again bounced BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK, STAFF WRITER Oct 3, 2019 Updated Jun 9, 2020 In throwing Bolus off the ballot, the judges said the signed candidate affidavit he filed with election officials was “untrue” because he swore he could serve if elected when he knew he couldn’t. The state Commonwealth Court ruled in 2001 that Bolus could not serve if elected because his 1991 felony convictions bar him from serving under the state Constitution, the judges said.
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545 Pa. 103 (1996) 680 A.2d 839 COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Robert C. BOLUS, Appellant. Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Argued December 6, 1995. Decided July 23, 1996. Appellant, Robert C. Bolus, appeals from the Order of the Superior Court which affirmed the judgment of sentence of the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County. A jury convicted Appellant of two counts of receiving stolen property,[1] tampering with or fabricating physical evidence,[2] and criminal solicitation,[3] all in connection with his possession of a stolen tractor-trailer rig and an earth moving machine (“frontend loader”) that was transported on the trailer.
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WNEP 16 – Scranton Businessman Sentenced to Prison Author: Stacy Lange Published: 5:31 PM EDT July 11, 2012 Bolus owns Bolus Truck Parts and Towing in Scranton. He was convicted earlier this year of insurance fraud involving one of his company tow trucks. Wednesday, a judge sentenced Bolus to six to 23 months in county prison. The sentence came as a surprise to Bolus, who said after his conviction that a prison sentence would mean the end of his community service. Bob Bolus walked into Lackawanna County Court concerned, but not expecting to leave in handcuffs. A judge ordered the trucking tycoon directly to prison after his sentencing. Bolus was convicted earlier this year for filing a false insurance claim for one of his tow trucks involved in a crash back in 2009. Bolus’ trucking and towing business made him a lot of money, which he has been generous with. He put on a free Christmas dinner for thousands of people in Scranton every year. The dinners were something Bolus had hoped would keep him out of jail.
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GOP Vice Chair & Election Denier VOTED ILLEGALLY NINE TIMES!!! – Jesse Dollemore – Mar 29, 2024 Jesse Dollemore: “here’s the headline from the Atlanta Journal Constitution judge rules Georgia Republican party’s Vice chairman voted illegally Brian K Pritchard voted nine times while serving probation for felony forgery charges now that’s another matter we will set that aside for a later day the criminality that is rampant in the Republican party with no accountability whatsoever when a Democrat finds themselves in trouble finds that’s a little passive finds themselves in trouble when a Democrat let’s say Menendez from New Jersey uh does something criminal allegedly criminal and finds themselves under indictment they go the way of uh the dinosaur metaphorically speaking they’re no longer in power they they at the very least have their committees stripped um but it’s a different standard for Republicans this guy’s a convicted felon forgery of checks and uh he’s still on probation still settling with society for his wrong and he’s put in charge as the vice chairman of the Republican party”