The dawn of a new era

ThompsonforMayor is the nickname LT's campaign used in the closing days of the race to post on PennLive forums.  Early in the evening when it became evident Linda would win the election, ThompsonforMayor posted the following on PennLive:

7565. So much for Pathetic Bloggers
by ThompsonforMayor, 11/3/09 21:02 ET

guess you guys really are pathetic and the voters of Harrisburg are showing just how pathetic you are.

7567. Whatever!
by ThompsonforMayor, 11/3/09 21:12 ET

You guys are just mad because after all that negativity that you did, after all the bad press she received the people have spoken. It is over. the Good guys win. The forces of evil can crawl back to the west shore. To think you actually thought you could win this, now that is funny.

7573. Come Together?
by ThompsonforMayor, 11/3/09 21:40 ET

I absolutely agree. But that is for Tomorrow. Today all of you hateful Mindlin supporters get to eat your arrogant prognistications. Even with the cross over Reed and Les ford Democrats, your guy is still getting spanked. i told you that Les Ford's endorsement was the equivalent of a warm pitcher of spit.

7573.1. terrible
by danwxman2, 11/3/09 21:49 ET

Re: Come Together? by danwxman2, 11/3/09

and this is the official word from the campaign... you guys are just terrible, awful people.

Mindlin is going to get around 43-44% of the vote. That's pretty respectable in a heavily Democratic city. The real story is why didn't Linda get more votes in such a staunchly Democratic city? It should have been a landslide and it is not.

7573.1.1. That is not the story
by ThompsonforMayor, 11/3/09 21:53 ET

we know why that it. White Steve Reed democrats crossed over and voted for Mindlin. Not all of them but some of them. Enough of them to give him more votes than he deserved. The story is that agaisnt the odds, slammed for 10 days in the PN and with white democrats killing her on Penn Live she still beat him soundly.

". . . the content of their character."

"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character...."

For the first time in a generation, the outcome of the Harrisburg mayoral race is in doubt.

 

Such wasn’t the case two weeks ago. Linda Deliah Thompson was not only going to be the next mayor of Harrisburg, she was poised to shatter the office's race and gender barriers.

Then something happened. Troubling questions about the Democratic candidate first surfaced on local blogs and then in Harrisburg’s mainstream media. In the past several days a very different Linda Thompson has emerged. 

A few highlights:

• Thompson’s answers are by turns vague and contradictory.
• Her conduct under pressure is unbecoming. She is contemptuous of those who disagree with her and has shown tendencies to be petty and vindictive.
• Thompson’s grasp of ethics is tenuous as evidenced by the selection of the Harrisburg Authority chairman as her campaign manger.
• Her nonprofit agency, LOVESHIP, promotes home ownership, yet Linda rents.
• She has taken a zero interest $5,000 loan from LOVESHIP, yet tells the media the nonprofit is financially struggling.
• LOVESHIP’s tax returns for 2008 are still not filed.
• Thompson provides LOVESHIP clients with personal financial management counseling yet she’s had an outstanding student loan for 24 years and was sued by a credit card company this year for failure to pay a balance of $1,483.71.
• Her employment history is murky and she’s collected unemployment compensation under questionable circumstances.
• Linda’s $20,000 salary on City Council and $10,000 in rent LOVESHIP pays her for office space in the house her parents gave her allows her to drive a Mercedes-Benz and rent a luxury apartment.
• She claims “transparency” yet bars a reporter from her press conference and declares questions about her nonprofit to be “off-limits.”
• An alleged equipment malfunction while pumping gas has left Thompson too emotionally fragile to refuel her Benz and is the subject of lawsuits totaling $150,000.
• Thompson is unapologetic in the fervor of her faith and her belief she has been anointed by God to preside over the City of Harrisburg. The separation of church and state is not a doctrine to which she subscribes.
• Linda will play the race card without hesitation and frequently.

Now that Linda’s masks are falling like autumn leaves, many in the African American community are horrified at the prospect that Linda Thompson may well become the first black and the first female mayor of Pennsylvanian’s capital city.

Thompson is not worthy of that honor. If elected, she will be a source of entertainment to the region and a shame for us. She will be a particular source of embarrassment to Harrisburg’s African American middle class who can turn this election in favor of Mindlin.

Thompson’s negatives are legion. She would be unqualified were she a white male.  Let's face it . . . she wouldn't even still be in the race. 

If she takes the election, it will because ballots were cast based on race or party rather than merit or character.

Dr. King’s dream works both ways.