Oh my God! I'm sitting here now watching the re-broadcast of the League of Women Voters' city council debate on Channel 61 on Comcast, and I nearly spit my juice all over the floor when incumbent city councilwoman Janet Evans, when asked about her ideas to capitalize upon the incoming Commonwealth Medical College in the Lower Hill neighborhood, stole an idea I pitched to city council back in 2007 for her benefit. I only ever approached the city council podium one time, as I didn't think I truly had any business being there as a non-resident of the city. However, my idea was what I deemed to be a very solid one to help the city in the long-term and deserved to be shared so I went up there to pitch it.

My proposal was for the University of Scranton and the city of Scranton to each pay 1/4 of a student's annual tuition bill in exchange for that student signing a contract promising to stay in the city of Scranton for "X" number of years after graduation to pay taxes, purchase homes, start their careers, raise families, etc. in a "pay-for-stay" sort of program. In this sense a student could only spend 1/2 as much as they'd normally pay to attend the University of Scranton, and the city would gain by having a progressively larger and larger proportion of its population being college-educated with each passing year, making it more feasible for better-paying employers to come here to tap that intellectual capital. I saw some drawbacks to this as well (with one being where would the city find the money to support this program and the other being an "ethical" one of should we be "bribing" people to live in Scranton), which is why I opted to not pursue it further after I pitched it. When I sent follow-up e-mails to council members introducing myself as that speaker only Judy Gatelli got back to me and offered to speak to me over lunch so she could learn more about what she thought was also a great idea. The other four, as has been the case with every e-mail I send, ignored me. I assumed then that Janet Evans had no interest in this idea either, which is why I was so angry to learn that she apparently made a mental note of my idea to pounce upon it for her own political gain in this election.

Granted if the idea IS implemented and benefits the city then I don't care WHO gets credit for coming up with the idea as my love for the city trumps my own pride, but talk about poor taste on Mrs. Evans's behalf to ignore my follow-up e-mail after that meeting and then pocket my idea to pass of as her own for an election-related pitch. Anyone who votes for this woman is just shooting the city in the foot, as she'll throw anyone under a bus to advance her own agenda. If I lived in the city I'd probably vote for Pat Rogan (I don't like the fact that he appears to be racist/homophobic but he's very intelligent and has some good ideas), Doug Miller (despite his youth he has an uncanny willingness to WANT to learn the ropes and to WANT to serve his city, and I find that to be admirable for an 18-year-old), and yes, I WOULD re-elect Judy Gatelli as well (despite what many on this forum think she has been the ONLY incumbent council member to ever be responsive to all of the ideas I pitch). I'm by no means a fan of Sherry Fanucci, Lee Morgan seems a bit scatter-brained, Joyce is obviously trying to ride the popularity of Mrs. Evans's coattails to victory, and after seeing Mrs. Evans take credit for a solid idea that I pitched I would never vote for her either.

That's exactly my point. This was brought to council's attention in 2007 not only to the podium but also via e-mail, and the only council member to respond affirmatively was Judy Gatelli. If it was a good idea in her eyes back then, then why would she wait now for an idea she thought might have benefited the city? I came up with the idea on my own accord and then did some follow-up research using what I think was the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee (but my memory is fuzzy so I could be mistaken) as a case study. I pitched it. Even pitching what some may consider to be a BAD idea is better than pitching NO ideas, as is the case with 75% of council speakers. I probably had no business as a non-city resident being at the podium, but this was a very tame and very sparsely-attended summer meeting, so I wasn't "stealing time" from other people by any means.

What kind of politician would I be if someone brought what I thought to be a beneficial idea to my attention and then sat on it until it became politically advantageous for me to capitalize upon it?