Topix

I have not lived in Glassport long, I had a good opportunity to purchase a house and make a life in this little town. I have learned many things about Glassport and its people over the years and unfortunately not much has been good. Yes there are good hard working people here but it is a minority. Too many good-hearted citizens have either moved away or passed away, and we are left with worthless piles of flesh coasting through life.

I started to think that maybe it was me; maybe I have just become too cynical in my old age, but then I discovered Topix Glassport. It is a website that allows people to post comments and really anything they want. Just google Topix Glassport and you will find it. It does not take long to just give up, after reading the posts. If you don’t feel like reading, then I will give you a play by play. Most times a decent person brings up a topic or question, which at first might be answered or commented by a normal person, but then it goes down hill fast. You usually then get some smart ass that decides to just screw with the poster and wants to start a fight. Now that the purpose of the post has been thrown out the window and we are down to just calling each other names, we get the “dumb ass” poster. It is usually a person who just complains about people complaining, which is funny in its self; or a person who decided to tell the decent person that they are a joke for even trying or being a useful member of society. The “dumb ass"goes on a rant about how horrible this town is and picking up trash and doing anything constructive is useless, but then goes on to say something needs to be done.

After just losing all hope from Topix and thinking about how the local government does not have a clue and the people are not much better. I have realized the Mon Valley and Glassport are dead, not because of the loss of mills in the 70’s or the years of miss management by government, but by the out right stupidity of the people who have lived here and decided to allow this to happen. The people of this town continue to just complain and argue why doing jack shit. This town must be the highest concentration of stupid and worthless people in the whole world.

Not a very Merry Christmas Gassport!

Christmas in Glassport is like that aunt that gets you a fruitcake for Christmas every year and it does not even taste very good. Well we received that fruitcake at Council’s December meeting. At that meeting two things happened, the first would be the appointing of Councilman Foster to Councilman Zebroski seat. Yes it was like they where playing a game of musical Council chairs.

Now you will say, what’s the big deal, they did it in accordance to the law. Yes that is true, there was nothing illegal about it, but it was still wrong. Councilman Foster was appointed to fill the seat of the late Councilman Pasinski. This seat’s term ended at the end of this year. Mayor Terry DeMarco will be filling this seat in 2010; please read “Glassport’s Puppet Government” post for my view of that mess. In November Councilman Zebroski resigned and the posting for applicants to the vacant seat went in The Daily News. According to The Daily News, the borough received three letters from residents; one was from Councilman Foster and one was from David Kowalski. Many of you will remember Mr. Kowalski as the write in candidate from the general elections. Mr. Kowalski was 4th in votes for the three open council seats in November. Getting the number of votes that Mr. Kowalski did, it would make sense that he would be appointed to Councilman Zebroski’s seat, since the voters clearly gave him a mandate to run for office. The appointment of Councilman Foster over Mr. Zebroski would not have been as bad, if Councilman Foster was not already on council and had to resign his current seat to take appointment of Councilman Zebroski’s seat. Laughter was even heard form the resident when this took place at the Council Meeting. It really is ridiculous if you think about it and is an example of the good old boys club, like when a state rep or senator is voted out of office and the Governor pulls some strings and gets them hired in his administration or state agency. It all might not be illegal, but it is wrong!

The second issue is that I believe council voted illegally on the borough budget. The legal notice was posted in the Daily News that Monday and was stated that the ordinances where to be read at Wednesdays Council Meeting. The ordinances where not read, but voted on! A reader pointed out this issue to me; so I do not have hard evidence, but what I do have confirms what was stated to me. We do know that this was not the fist time something like this has happened. A couple months before, council was set to vote on a new ordnance for landlords that, again was not posted in the required time before the vote. A resident brought this to the attention of the council and the vote was postponed to the next meeting. Now these situations could be nothing more then administrative mistakes by borough employees not submitting the legal notice in time to The Daily News, but what ever it is, it needs to stop because it does not allow the public to review and comment on action being taken by council. Furthermore, it can bring the borough up for lawsuits; in which a person can challenge ordnance or budge as illegal.

On a different note, do we have to put up that ugly and broken, Santa sign up at the honor roll? If you don’t’ know what I am talking about, it is the back lit sign that is in the shrubs and usually has a flag on it. This Santa sign is cracked and has been fixed from behind with duck tape, which since it is a back lit sign, can be clearly seen. This year it looks as if there is also a big chunk taken out of the side if it. Now how do we expect to bring in new residents and business when the borough itself puts up a sign that should clearly be thrown into the trash? It clearly sends the message that we just don’t care anymore if this town becomes Trashport and falls apart. So I will probably make some people upset, but as far as the rest of the display, it is really kind of pathetic. I know people worked very hard on it and new displays where purchased on a very tight budget, but could we have something classier then the Wal-Mart clearance rack. Again, it just does not send the right message.

Idiots Please Leave!

I have solved all of our problems in Glassport. We just need to deport all the idiots to another town. Wait that might not work, considering the whole town is full of idiots. If you are wondering what I am talking about, just start reading comments on Topix Glassport. You can google it.

It does not take long to figure out that many people in this town love to belch out tons of hot air about how we need to do this or do that, and how this sucks and that sucks, but the second you suggest these people to join a volunteer group or support local groups through a fundraiser, they come back at you with the argument of, what's the point. I even had one person post that doing clean ups and park and rec activities are "feel good" events that last about an hour or two. They argue that until jobs come into this town or people move here to increase our tax base, anything else is just a waste of time.

Listen up all ye idiots! Why would any decent middle class family want to move into a town littered with trash, with rusted out parks, over grown public spaces, and no community activities or recreation? NO ONE! The only people who move into a town like that are trashy, slumlords, and criminals.

So yes if you want this town to continue to go down hill and really become hell on earth, continue to do nothing as you continue to complain. Oh and if one more person says we need jobs and new industry I am going to scream. We do not live in the 50's anymore! People do not Live, Work, Shop, and Play in the same town. You could put in a huge plant with tons of good jobs and people will commute from Washington Co, South Hills, or anywhere else that is nice to live. Clairton has had the coke works for decades and that has not saved that town.

The best thing Glassport can do is turn into a bedroom community for Pittsburgh, it will take a lot of work and some luck, like getting 43 finished to Pittsburgh, but it can happen. We need to take the dump and build new homes, we need to destroy the left over factories and build condos and a waterfront. We need unique stores to come in and take over our vacant store fronts, not more places that serve pizza and pasta.

Welcome To Trashport.

So you are probably thinking that this will be a rant on how much trash is in and around Glassport and how we need to pull together to clean up our town, well it is not. I do agree that we have too much trash thrown everywhere, and that we need to all do our part to clean it up. There are two great Glassporters who have started the "Keep Glassport Clean" program; which is them walking the main street picking up trash. These are great-dedicated people, and I am horrible because I forget their names.

What I really want to talk about it are the people of Glassport. The old days of Glassport where we had hard working, stable, responsible middle class families are gone. There are still decent people in Glassport but unfortunately, like some WWII beach invasion, we are getting Trashporters! These are people who just don't care, they will let their homes fall apart, allow their kids to throw trash, and are more interested in complaining about how the government is not providing for them, then helping themselves. These people are trash and are worthless members of society.

Glassport could be handed a Christmas present like a huge new plant in town; which would increase our tax base and allow us to reopen the pool, redo all the parks and playgrounds, help build new baseball and football fields, and create a new community center and borough offices. Unfortunately all of it would look good for six months, maybe a year. The Trashporters and their offspring’s would just end up trashing it while they complain how this town sucks. We are in a war, a war that we need to win.

The blue-collar families of the 50's 60's and 70's, have now become the college educated families of today. We need these families to purchase run down houses for cheap, and then fix them up. By attracting these young couples and families, we will push the trash right out of Glassport as housing and rental prices increase. It sounds harsh and rude, but it is what it is. These worthless Trashporters are taking over our town; destroying our community and I have no hard feels with throwing them out on their butts. These people don't want to be respectful or responsible, they don't show us respect by trashing our town, so why should we show them any?

More Election Please!

Wow, I though I would be able to move away from elections and move on to something more fun, like why the hell do we have a borough events sign that you usually see on a used car lot or at a pizza shop. It seems like election talk will not die and you only have to look at the Topix Glassport to see what I mean.

It will be a fun primary season in 2010; we will have the much-loved Democratic Committee up for elections, and some Council seats. The biggest battle might end up being for the Democratic Committee seats, which really concerns me. Much was said in the Topix forum about the committee, but why? Yes I have talked about them in my first two posts on this blog, but I am not concerned about them as I am about the voters! The same people who are on the committee now can be on the committee for the rest of their lives and it would not matter as long as the voters vote with their minds, instead of an endorsement card handed out at the polls. If you are going in to the polls and need some person to hand you a card with some tag line on it to make your decision; I would rather you stay home and not vote.

That is why I am pushing for educated voters, by having more candidates like Mr. Evanovich that are ready to discuss with the public their ideas and positions. We need campaigning, forums, debates, and the Daily News to do its job. I promise right now to do my part by reaching out in May to candidates running for council and give my readers fair and non-partisan info. One thing in May that I will not care about, is the Democratic Committee. We are not slaves to the parties we are aligned with. Dem's voted in Mr. Evanovich with out any endorsement in both May in November. They do not matter people, we have the power to override them each and every time we go to the polls. Don't waste your time demanding a new committee, demand candidates that are open and ready to face the voters and speak their mind.

Our town needs major life support and that support is not going to be provided by our local, county, state, or federal governments. There is no bail out for Glassport; there is only hard work and each and every one of us doing our part to make it happen. It can be as simple as picking up trash around your house, supporting local business, volunteering with local groups, or even going to borough meetings. Having an open Mayor like Mr. Evanovich or voting in a new council is not going to solve our problems. Our borough's budget has no extra money and even if we cut out some fat, we still are not looking at enough money to really make a difference. We all need to pull together and get to work as well as face the fact that some major changes are needed.

Election Hangover.

Well it is all over with folks, and really not much has changed, or has it? The Democratic Committee Puppet Government is in place on council. Mr. DeMarco, who was thrown out off office in May by the voters is now back in as a councilman. WHY? Well first off the Democratic Committee selected him and the voters put him back in office. We had no option Glassport Man, we had to vote Mr. DeMarco back in, there were only three people on the ballot and three slots. Really?

In a surprise, even to me, there was a fourth choice. The super secret write-in candidate! Well at lest that is what people on the Glassport Topixs forums where saying. This person was David Kowalski, and I applaud the man for standing up and trying to take back our government, but I also point a finger of shame on him. He was tardy and so his chances where not good. You cannot decide on a whim to run a write-in campaign. I wish Mr. Kowalski would have decided to run last week, so he could have gotten his name out there, maybe talked to some people. Although he was late, he did send a very important message to the Democratic Committee by receiving 214 votes in a very last minute write-in.

The Democratic Committee should be very scared at this point and time, because the voters spoke in May and they did once again yesterday. Not only did this committee decided to put Mr. DeMarco back in office, but they also did not endorse Mr. Evanovich for Mayor yesterday. Now not having the committee's endorsement did not hurt Mr. Evanovich at all, in fact it might have helped him. Mr. Evanovich has started something; he has put a wrench in the machine that has run this town for years. I would like to tell Mr. Evanoivch, Mr. Kowalski, and anyone else who would like to run for office in Glassport something. You don't need the Democratic Committee! Their endorsement is nothing more then a popularity contest, like when children vote class presidents in school. Take the high road; take the road that voters and this community need, run on the issues and ideas for rebuilding this town.

It also would not hurt if an Independent or Republican would run. OH MY GOD GLASSPORT MAN, NOT A REPUBLICAN! Really, are you so blind-sided to think that Republicans and anyone other then Democrats are Satan himself. If you do believe this, then please just leave the country, because it is just as stupid as someone thinking that President Obama is a Communist.

Local governments do better when we vote people in who have ideas, and are thinkers, not popular names, or they coached my kids baseball team. That is stupid! Just because the guy is your neighbor, or lived in the town all his life, does not mean he or she is qualified to be in office. Would you hire a plumber to do electrical work in your house? We probably spend more time finding a qualified electrician to work on our house then we do public officials. Many people just go in and find the little D's and R's next to the name and vote.

We have to stand up and demand anyone running for office actually campaign in this town, and not just a sign at the end of the street. I am talking about going door to door and talking with people, I want to see debates and forums where the public can go and get information, and each candidate should have a website. We must also point a big finger of shame to The Daily News. Here is our local paper, which I receive daily, and their main purpose is to report local news to us. I can read every day who died and who was arrested, but I can not get any info on my local races other then so and so is running for mayor. Not that I agree with the practice of Editorial Boards and papers endorsing a candidate, but at lest it would be something. Please Daily News, help us out and run some candidate profiles next year for local races.

Well I am glad the election is over, cause now I can get down and dirty and start to address real issues and even some bone headed moves in this town that has put us where we are today. Stay tuned readers; the real fun begins very soon!

Glassport's Puppet Government.

The General Elections are just days away, but they already do not matter! I don’t understand how a town can be comfortable with the fact that the elections are settled in the Primaries. Our government system is based on check and balances, with each branch acting as a counter weight to the other. The same is to be said about the political parties, but in Glassport we only have one Political Party.

Now I am an independent, because I feel that our two party system is a big failure, but that is a different blog. Our government has three branches, our political system really has two, and Glassport has one. With no checks and balances, the Democratic Party of Glassport has been able to run a muck. Now before you Dem's get your panties in a up roar calling me the Rush Limbaugh of Glassport, I hate both parties and if the GOP was in control of Glassport I would still be writing this blog. This argument has nothing to do about D’s and R’s, but about a system that has failed our town and us.

Think about how people get elected in this town, are they elected by the public as a whole, no! As an independent I do not get a vote in the primaries, and that is where the elections begin and end. General elections are just a formality in this town. The most disturbing part is how candidates get elected in the primaries. Do they campaign, are there debates or forums, do we get to learn about the candidates or their positions, no! The Glassport Democratic Committee endorses candidates and year after year people go into the booth and vote those candidates in. That means we have a puppet government in Glassport. The real power and leaders of this community are the people in charge of the Glassport Democratic Committee. They pick who are endorsed and most of the time these people are elected, and so if you are an official who was endorsed by the Committee and you need that endorsement to stay in office, well then you are going to do what the committee wants so you can ensure their continued support. If that is not a puppet government, then I don’t know what is.

A prime example of this is with our current Mayor Terry DeMarco. Mr. DeMarco was thrown out of office this past May by the voters when in a stunner, they voted for the non endorsed candidate Mitch Evanovich in the primaries. I would say that this was achieved through Mr. Evanovich being well known in the community as former Post Master, and the fact that he actually campaigned and informed the voters of this position and ideas. Back to Mr. DeMarco, who is no longer going to be mayor; but due to the recent death of a councilman, which allows the Democratic Committee to then nominate someone on the ballot, Mr. DeMarco is now up for election to council. Here is the puppet government at work. The voters spoke in May that they no longer wanted Mr. DeMarco in office, but the Democratic Committee has just put him back in office by selecting him and endorsing him for council. If the voters did not want Mr. DeMarco to retain his office as Mayor, then why would they want him as a Councilman?

This is a dangerous situation that we as voters allow to happen over and over again in our community. I am not saying that there is widespread abuse by elected officials, but with no checks and balances, with no ability for other candidates to win other then Democrats, we have a local government that answers to the Democratic Committee and to them alone for the most part. We need to more forward; we need to allow the GOP and other candidates to be elected in our town. The counter balance of forces is what makes our government work best. You just have to look at communities and cities that do well, they are balanced and the community is represented equally through both parties. The city of Pittsburgh has been in control by the Dem’s for decades and the health of the city government is very poor. They have been in Act 47 for years, and their pension system is failing. Elections should not be decided in May, but in November, and we should not blindly trust the endorsement of the Democratic Committee, but demand the candidates to state their position and participate in debates. Wake up Glassport, if we continue to do nothing in our community, it will not be long before we are the next Braddock, Clairton, or Wilkinsburg. We are on the edge and only we can save our town.