The Thompson campaign's reaction to our foray into the blogosphere was enlightening: Silence. Absolute silence. Thompson’s minions who routinely sing her praises in PennLive’s Harrisburg forum were notably absent for an entire day. One PennLive contributor saw the deafening silence of the Thompson camp as instructive:
The campaign has seen the postings on PennLive but for whatever reason has been unable to change the Loveship website.
An incident like this in any campaign is very bad.
The fact that the page was still up after LT announced her candidacy is careless and foreshadows a predilection for poor planning.
The campaign's inability to pull the embarrassing webpage speaks to the competency of the candidate and those who surround her.
One wonders if the Anointed One will emerge from her bunker to attend a candidates' forum scheduled tonight. The local TV stations reported this morning there had been no confirmation from her campaign.
Most gratifying was the shout out from By the River one of Harrisburg’s première blogs. David DeKok takes a hard look at LOVESHIP’s finances here.
Should Linda be using LOVESHIP as her personal ATM, it would certainly impact the operations, such as they are. Lowering the bar may have been the motivation for an Patriot-News article this past May where Thompson whines that LOVESHIP has seen a decline in funding. Gotta give it to the girl, LT's good at this!! Not only does she lower expectations, she manages to claim a little martyrdom as well.
But watch her lips. Nowhere does she accept any reponsibility. She has cast herself in a familiar role . . . once again, Linda is The Victim.
Maybe, just maybe the grants dried up, not because of Linda's "combative city politics" but because the people she was shaking down finally saw through her scam.
As detailed in the article, Thompson took a salary from LOVESHIP of $60,000 a year from 2000 - 2003 plus an additional $10,000 in rent to herself! That amounts to $210,000 in the first three years of operation straight into LT's counterfeit Louis Vuitton bag.
Most gratifying was the shout out from By the River one of Harrisburg’s première blogs. David DeKok takes a hard look at LOVESHIP’s finances here.
Among the curious things Mr. DeKok uncovered is this: “Thompson's financial disclosure statements to the city reveal she . . . took a loan of unspecified size at zero percent from Loveship in 2008. Whether that loan was for her campaign isn't disclosed.”
If Thompson is using the LOVESHIP loan for her mayoral campaign, the IRS takes a dim view of such shenanigans and the nonprofit’s tax-exempt status would be in serious jeopardy.
Should Linda be using LOVESHIP as her personal ATM, it would certainly impact the operations, such as they are. Lowering the bar may have been the motivation for an Patriot-News article this past May where Thompson whines that LOVESHIP has seen a decline in funding. Gotta give it to the girl, LT's good at this!! Not only does she lower expectations, she manages to claim a little martyrdom as well.But watch her lips. Nowhere does she accept any reponsibility. She has cast herself in a familiar role . . . once again, Linda is The Victim.
Maybe, just maybe the grants dried up, not because of Linda's "combative city politics" but because the people she was shaking down finally saw through her scam.
As detailed in the article, Thompson took a salary from LOVESHIP of $60,000 a year from 2000 - 2003 plus an additional $10,000 in rent to herself! That amounts to $210,000 in the first three years of operation straight into LT's counterfeit Louis Vuitton bag.
Harrisburg mayor candidate says politics hurt her nonprofit service
By JANET PICKEL, The Patriot-NewsMay 12, 2009, 8:00PM
Harrisburg City Council President and Democratic candidate for mayor Linda Thompson said nearly eight years of combative city politics have hurt -- not helped -- Loveship Inc., her 10-year-old nonprofit.
"I'll be quite frank, politics played a great role in Loveship not being able to sustain some of its grant funding," she said.
Loveship aids area homeowners facing foreclosure and offers informational seminars for first-time homebuyers.
Thompson's statements are in contrast with recent cases in which former Democratic state legislators Mike Veon and Vince Fumo have been accused of using their political posts to enrich their nonprofits for personal gain.
A review of Loveship's tax returns bears Thompson out. Loveship took in $32,425 in 2007, including $20,425 in grants and contributions -- too little to pay Thompson a salary for her work as CEO and the organization's only licensed mortgage counselor. The group took in as little as $5,935 in 2004, the tax records show.
Thompson said she hasn't collected a salary since 2003. Previously, Thompson earned $60,000 annually from Loveship for three years in the early 2000s. Thompson said Loveship's paltry income is barely enough to cover the $10,000 in annual rent she charges the organization to rent space in her building at 2320 N. Fifth St. and meet its utility and overhead costs.
Despite Loveship's relatively low income over the past five years, Thompson said she's battled what she described as persistent rumors that the organization was profiting from her political career.
"It was unfair, unfounded and untrue accusations that I embezzled funds and that I was using my political clout to bring in thousands of dollars for Loveship," she said. "Loveship is not rolling in thousands of dollars."Linda's still rattling her tin cup on the LOVESHIP website.
In an unwitting bit of truth in advertising, the graphic appears to be of money going down a drain.
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