October 06, 2009

Mayoral Debate

It will be replayed today on WCRN. I did, however, read about it in the $1.00 retail Telegram. I have a couple questions:

First, when Mayor says Joe O'Brien wants to "shift some of the tax burden to homeowners". What is she talking about? I read Joe O'Brien's Economic Development ideas, there was no shift to the homeowner. Ideas like the Citizens for Business Philadelphia idea are all incentives to increase the commercial tax base to take the burden off the homeowner? Maybe in the next debate Joe O'Brien should ask what ideas has she passed while in office to increase the commercial tax base?

Second, Joe O'Brien said "three previous mayors were associated with key development projects in the city, while Mrs. Lukes has none'. Can someone tell me what three developments were associated with the last three mayors:
  1. Murray
  2. Mariano
  3. Levy

Seriously I do not know. Is Joe giving Tim Murray credit for City Square?

8 comments:

David Z. said...

Bill,

I don't know about Ray Mariano but yes he is giving Tim Murray credit for CitySquare. Remember he was the first public official to champion the reconnecting of our downtown streets and blowing up the mall.

As for Jordan levy, imagine what downtwon would look like right now if the Worcester Medical Center / St. Vincent Hospital complex was never built. He sold them on relocating to downtown.

Bill Randell said...

Dave


I like Tim Murray alot but I really do not think it premature to give anyone credit for City Square.

Bill

Anonymous said...

Murray-Union Station Garage(wrestled old post office away from UMASS Memorial records storage division), commuter rail advocate, Union Station bus station (busses were stuck on mADison Street due to a long term lease) wrestled day to day control of Unin Station from former WRA director Mike LAtka
dismatled fromer OPCD who treated federal block grant money like it was their own personla piggy bank
got city manager to hire a city planner, got city to setup a housing division
Marianao raised alot of money for teh schoosl out of the mayors office

David Z. said...

Bill,

CitySquare groundbreaking will be announced next week!

Jahn said...

Methinks St V's let Levy think that he sold them on the idea of relaocting to downtown......so that way Levy could run around thumping his chest like the foreflushing demagogue that he is.

David, I think with all due respect, I think that by saying Murray was the 1st public official to tout reconnecting to Washington Sq that you'r leaving out or forgetting that the idea to re connect with Washington Sq area was put forth by a local architect whose name i cannot recall. Bill might remember. Clealry the guy wasnt a public official but it was his idea and Murray would have the proletatiat believe it was his.

"IMagine what Downt would look like now if Worc Med Center was never built". Could it look any worse......just kidding...[g]

Maybe JoeObrien-McGovern thinks Mariano was responsible for Mass College of Farm-a-sea??

Imagine what city deficit would be like if Med City was not bot out by a for profit entity ,resulting in a nice, unexpected boost to the city property tax rolls.

How about we Give Murray credit for The Hand It Over Theatre???.....( City Sq is still a mirage at this point)......and the miilions the city gave them...and now these two guys are deemed Worc heroes for taking my tax $$$$$ for their own private investment. While we're at we can give Murray credit for reducing our property taxes.........right?? Together We Can. Translation: "Together Ee Got Canned" and summarliy kicked to the back the bus.

David Z. said...

Bill/Jahn,

Notice I said PUBLIC official. I know the idea of CitySquare was not Murray's idea but Dan Benoit's.

Bill, you can finally buy me that beer next week after the groundbreaking announcement.

Jahn said...

David, my perception of a GB'ing ceremony is a bunch of pols standing around with gold plated shovels and heavy equipment everywhere in the background.

Is there any heavy equipment on site? If so get a photo opp of palmieri pulling on the hydraulic controls on an excavator...a la Mike "Tank" Dukakis in 1988

Any permits pulled?

ANy pre demo work done like dis connecting utilities.

Have they manually removed the interior lighting which i sprob loaded with mercury. Call Worc Fire hazardous waste guys [g]).

ANy police details been booked for this undertaking yet?

Any temporary street closings?

David, if the real McCoy demo work doesn't commence immediatley upon all teh pols leaving the site, then IMO. thsi GB'ing ceremony is all a dog & pony show.........a proverbial false alarm.....the quintessential pre-mature adoration of something that still isnt ready to have a grapple and wrecking balls hovering over it.

SO much for a Green Mayor and a green city council........destroying a perfectly good structure that has only been standing for 39 years. What a waste of resources, man power, and energy.

Anonymous said...

I do hope they tear down that eyesore garage, maybe after the recession gents. Terrible way to enter Worcester after a foray down Shrewsbury street, with all their great landscaping. too bad more neighborhoods don;t put effort and dough into such medians as seen on chewsbury. and then there is the garbage-y unfinished mural on green which replaced a garbage-y perestoika-era mural that featured a guy who looked like reagen in a le tigre jacket. benoit championed the opening of a conduit from front to shrewsbury, i believe, and even if that is accomplished, it would be great. "tear down that wall, mrs. lukes!"