By: Bradley Vasoli , The Bulletin
Linwood - Delaware County Council candidate David Landau gathered with members of area labor unions at Steelworkers Local 10-1 in Linwood Thursday to criticize the economic leadership of the current all-Republican council.
Landau said that Delaware County's economy has been in an unenviable state in the last few years, demonstrated by a declining population and a loss of manufacturing jobs. He explained the problem as a matter of what he deemed Republican cronyism.
"What we got from the courthouse in Media is what I call George Bush-style government," Landau said.
Council members, he continued, have focused heavily on political patronage, neglecting to take advantage of state grant programs to support the job growth of businesses in high-paying sectors.
"Good-paying manufacturing jobs are leaving Delaware County, and everyone at the Media courthouse is okay with that," said Jim Savage of Steelworkers Local 10-1.
According to Landau, the county lost more than 8,000 net jobs in the period between 1998 and 2005. He also said that one out of five manufacturing businesses had either shut down or left the county between 2003 and 2006.
Last month, 125 workers found out they would lose their jobs when a Foamex plant in Eddystone announced it would close.
"Our population is stagnating and we're losing business establishments," Landau said. "This trend does not bode well in our favor for the future of Delaware County."
Republican Council candidate Christine Fizzano Cannon disputed the precision of the statistics Landau cited, stating that about 5,500 of the 8,000 lost jobs were WAWA occupations that were never based in Delaware County. For a long time they were classified as such because WAWA's headquarters is in the county. The state, Cannon said, merely adjusted its records to reflect where the jobs actually existed.
"This was a non-economic-data shift done by the state, and David Landau is being dishonest to Delaware County voters by making this statement," Cannon said.
The Republican pointed out that the county gained 7,482 jobs in 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The opening of Harrah's Chester Casino, she said, created even more positions.
Cannon also said that Delaware County gained roughly 1,000 manufacturing jobs between 2004 and 2006 and the average wage for jobs in this sector is over 50 percent higher in the county than in the state overall.
"These are good-paying, high quality jobs for our residents," Cannon said. "It is sad that Mr. Landau has to make misrepresentations about Delaware County to attempt to counter his lack of experience and absence of any record of service as a public official."
Landau also criticized the county council for failing to avail itself of assistance that Harrisburg provides to stimulate job growth. In particular, he said the county has underutilized the Opportunity Grant Program and the Small Business First program. He mentioned that in the judgment of the National Association of State Development Agencies, Pennsylvania's programs created to help businesses grow are the most generous in the U.S.
"This seems to be a disturbing reoccurring theme with Delaware County Council," he said. "The money is available to us, yet we're lagging behind our peers."
Tom Killian, director of Delaware County's Commerce Center, said that the county has taken advantage of other forms of assistance from the commonwealth, such as capital grants, that have amounted to $8.3 million in the past three years.
"We have a wonderful working relationship with the Governor's Action Team," Killian said.
Andrew Reilly, the current county council chairman, offered a severe assessment of Landau's portrayal of the economic state of the county.
"This is David Landau manipulating facts," Reilly said. "Manipulating facts was a tactic that David Landau was taught in Washington, D.C., as ACLU lawyer. Deceiving the public is what ACLU lawyers do best."
The Democrat also objected to the manner by which the Commerce Center provides free banner advertising on its Web site, noting that the private companies of Republican officials in Delaware County have gotten much ad space on the site. He cited Sheriff Joe McGinn's Photo Express, Inc., as an example.
"We are trailing our neighboring counties in creating good, paying jobs," Landau said. "Yet this Republican administration seems more concerned with giving handouts to their friends. It's right off the patronage playbook, authored by George W. Bush."
