Good Question
I was corresponding with another local blogger-Ruz- and he asked a great question that doesn’t seem to have been brought up all that much-
Being that I have a theory- but not a concrete answer, I thought I’d put it up here- so you- the readers- (and I know that plenty of you work for the admin) could more clearly answer this:
Hey, let me ask you a question on a different subject. With the City Council elections coming up I’ve been trying to get a little bit of a handle on the way politics works here. Since Harrisburg has a “strong mayor” system in place, can the City Council ever have any real power? Does it, or any other part of the city governance, act as a check to Reed in any way?
The more I learn about Hbg, the more I get the feeling that Reed was really good for the city when things were bad here, but that he might not be the right person going forward. Is there anyone who might pose a credible threat to him as mayor, or does he run more-or-less unopposed every time?
If you look at the City Charter (and not at the nonsense that the powers that be spew) the City Council actually has aproving authority for any of Mayor Reed’s recommendations. In addition, I read somewhere that state law gives City Councils in PA appointment authority for Boards of Control and other activities related to utilities and city functions.
The problem with trying to find someone to beat Mayor Reed is that Central PA LOVES living in their rut. Look at the number of “surf and turf with some pasta thrown in” restaurants that are here and KEEP cropping up. Central PA has a tendency to fear change. Maybe it’s the result of having the State Capital here, maybe it’s just the area. Either way, people are probably better off wishing for emphysema to strike than to wait for the apathetic people of the city to make a change. Not that anyone should wish emphysema on the mayor…
My hunch is that should Brad Koplinski win a City Council seat (gag) then he will be running instead of Mayor Reed next election, which I believe is in 2010. Plenty of time for him to make a name for himself as a “reformer” or a “visionary”.