Friday, May 18, 2012

A step backwards



 


Some people are questioning whether new South District Councilmember Chris Scanlon should be judged by the actions of his father. Hell yes.


Especially since Scanlon was not elected by the people, but appointed by the Common Council, whose reputation for incompetence is well documented. My job here from time to time is to inform people by using other news sources. Here are some excerpts from Geoff Kelly's column in this week's Artvoice Magazine. Much of the information here came from past Buffalo News articles involving John Scanlon written by James Heaney and Michael Beebe. In his heydey, Mr. Scanlon felt that he didn't have to follow the same rules as the rest of us. And these were only things that could be proven...


He has a full-time city job as a watchman but calls in sick on average once a week—frequently Mondays and Fridays and the day before holidays and vacations.

He has a city car for round-the-clock use—and is supposed to pay taxes on it, but doesn’t.

And he has every adult in his immediate family on the city payroll
.



Then Beebe pointed out how outrageous his work schedule was while he was in his late 50's...


John P. “Scanoots” Scanlon, like the lyrics from that old Cole Porter song, is there night and day, beneath the moon and under the sun.

On the job, that is.

By night, Scanlon is a parts clerk in the city’s Broadway Garage.

By day, he runs County Legislator Michael A. Fitzpatrick’s new district office in South Buffalo.

He starts the day at 8:30 a.m., working in Fitzpatrick’s district office in the South Buffalo Community Development Association center. He works through lunch and finishes up at 4:30 p.m.

At 10 p.m., he’s due at the city garage, where he works until 4:30 a.m.

Four hours later, he’s back on the job for Fitzpatrick. Then back with the city. And then again with the county and so on.




Scanlon's reputation for deceit is well deserved. Guys like Paul Flanagan, Ron Anthony, and Fred Langdon stayed loyal to Griffin during his later years. Not Scanlon. He was the first one to jump off Griffin's ship. People in the neighborhood despised those who supported the likes of Tony Masiello and Byron Brown. Scanlon and the rest of his entourage looked like helpless orphans as they marched with Byron Brown in his race against a South Buffalo
Democrat in 2009. It may have given them short term gains, but the damage they've done to their reputation is irreparable. 

Expect to see more articles like this in the coming months from the mainstream local media. Don't worry, I know. I'm crazy for standing here and telling you the truth. The Scanlon name represents the same old tired, status quo politics that have haunted this city for years. If you think his son is going to be any different, you are naive.

The Sins of the Father

11 comments:

  1. The nerve of mr scanlon! He worked two full time jobs to support his family ? What a scandal! ( sarcasm for the idiots who read this blog).
    Any guy who works 2 jobs for his family is stand up in my book. He used his contractually negotiated, hard earned sick time to take long weekends and extra time off durin the holidays? Good for him. Since he was working two jobs, taking the extra time off probably helped him to spend a little time with the family he worked so hard for.
    Patronage or not, mr scanlon is responsiblhundred erring hundreds of people jobs in this beautiful community. God bless mr scanlon and all the other stand up fathers in this neighborhood who work 2 jobs to put their kids through catholic school and give them a decent life. If Chris is half the man his father is then he has my vote!

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  2. Most people don't believe he worked two jobs. Most believe he collected two government funded paychecks and scammed the system. He was never in Mike Fitzpatrick's "office." He is one of many lifelong hacks responsible for all the young people leaving WNY. They should rename Seneca St after Scanlon because he's one of the reasons it looks like it does today. Scammer.

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  3. Bitter bitter bitter

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  4. y dont we see what he can do before starting talking about his father? if he did have a no show job thats a whole nother issue. mike ur just mad cuz u got shunned from south buffalo politics 4 life. ur like south buffalos ross perot, you might get some votes for ppls own enjoyment but ya aint gunna win nething. it clearly drives you nuts. ths scanlon kid wont be any worse/better than mickey was. just take a look at sb sports complex somewhere on ur page.

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    1. "mike ur just mad cuz u got shunned from south buffalo politics 4 life."

      I have no problem with that.I'm no politician. How do you know I haven't already been offered something from the other side to run? When it happens, don't come to me and ask me to withdraw my candidacy. Won't happen. If I'm not a valid threat, Kennedy has nothing to worry about. Correct? How come Brian Higgins, Hortons,Comerfords, and every other politician have approached my cousins and asked my to stop telling the truth about them? All of them are too arrogant to approach me personally.

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  5. can u plz post new crime reports. the only fun stuff u post. also, u missed an arrest on an older crime post. your nephew markys dwi.

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    1. hate to break it to you Copernicus, but I don't have a nephew named Mark. I'm not concerned about anyone else. I rarely drink, and if I do, it's in moderation. Can't remember the last time I was even tipsy to be honest with you.

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  6. I hate to break it to you but Seneca st looked like shit 20 years ago too. It's always been a tough area. The difference today is a few more vacants and alot more coloreds. Alot of people left south buffalo to avoid the coloreds that moved in.

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  7. Why does the least qualified candidate get a chance to prove himself to voters? Why does he get paid to go campaign while the rest of us have to figure out how we're going to campaign and feed our families? His awesome idea was fixing sidewalks! Where's the outrage from residents? Young people take out loans to get a college degree,work internships for free and just hope to get a job. This guy does the bare minimum and gets anointed as the "leader" of South Buffalo and is rolling in $52,000 a year with incumbant status! I'm pissed and everyone else should be too.

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  8. Chris is having no problem becoming a politician as his previous work has been upgraded from a bartender to a tavern executive: see post below from newwnypolitics.net

    tavern executive and incumbent Councilman Chris Scanlon and the many connections the Scanlon family enjoys in South Buffalo, including support from Mayor Brown.

    Also see Chris's less than impressive resume:

    http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article850478.ece/BINARY/Resume+of+Christopher+P.+Scanlon

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  9. Mike,

    The latest rumor has Scanlon offering Matt Fisher his legislative aide job in an attempt to clear the field or buy him off depending on your point of view.

    This is moving fast as the "powers that be" see Scanlon as a way to return to the good old days in South Buffalo politics even if he is completely unqualified for the job. Stay tuned.

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