The Thompson Express derails

It’s been quite a week in the Harrisburg Mayoral race. One week ago today Linda Thompson was the shoo-in for the next Mayor of Harrisburg. She was poised to become the first African-American and the first female mayor of Pennsylvania’s capital city.

In a three way primary race this Spring, Thompson defeated Steve Reed, a seven term incumbent in what was regarded as a stunning upset. Two weeks ago, she told the NAACP, "I am pleased to stand here and tell you that I’ve already been presumptuous in my win." She has been assembling transition teams and presumably selecting a color scheme for her new executive office suite.

Her opponent is Nevin Mindlin, a middle-aged Jewish Republican in a city with an overwhelming Democratic voter registration edge and population that is over 60 percent black. The guy has credentials and experience -- he’s smart, thoughtful, steady, calm, totally reasonable and apparently quite sane. He wants to talk about ideas and is unwilling to engage in negative campaigning. He is utterly boring. Conventional wisdom holds he’s gonna get creamed at the polls.

Linda, on the other hand, can work that “amen corner” into a frenzy. Not surprising, since on her website she claims “evangelist” as one of the things that qualify her to be mayor. What Linda has is stage presence in abundance; the girl knows when those TV cameras are on and she works ‘em like a pole dancer. Her secret weapon is Righteous Indignation which she snaps on in an instant.

What Linda lacks is: ideas, plans, solutions or anything that will help us keep this Potemkin village propped up under crushing municipal debt. Her vague ideas involve recreational facilities, neighborhood job training centers and mini-movie theaters. Oh yeah, and hiring 200 additional police officers and forcing them to walk beats so they can cover less area. No word if her “very generous” brother is going to picking up the tab for any of this; but one thing certain is we taxpayers can’t.

That was the lay of the land until one week ago today when the click of a pathetic blogger’s mouse knocked the Thompson express off the tracks.

By Wednesday’s candidates’ forum, a resident who had been reading the blogs asked Thompson about the “Success Story” on LOVESHIP’s website. Transparent Thompson gave an stunningly evasive answer along with a display of Linda's Heapin' Helpin' o' Righteous Indignation.

On Thursday she was blasting “pathetic bloggers” who had the nerve the question her living arrangements and were spreading lies about her.  A Patriot-News story gave her an opportunity to explain her finances which didn't go as well as it might have.

By Friday, Thompson had kicked a newspaper reporter out of a press conference she scheduled to further explain answers to the previous day's questions about her finances.  The media's reaction was muted and Linda probably doesn't yet grasp that she will no longer get a free pass from any reporter.

Friday went further downhill when  the Pennsylvania Department of State, confirmed there would be legal issues if deceptive statements had been posted on Thompson's nonprofit website.  "If something that was deceptive came to our attention, we would conduct the appropriate inquiry," a department spokesman told Channel 21.  The  department's Bureau of Charitable Organizations has the right to levy fines, or revoke the license of any charity it finds to be posting misleading information.

Saturday brought more front page stories about the failure of LOVESHIP and her convoluted financial and employment history.

Suddenly people are paying attention, the media is doing its job.  Some of us had nearly given up hope on the local fourth estate.

One thing is certain: Linda Thompson lost a significant number of votes this week.  She seems determined to lose even more.