Son of Glackin; Supervisor-Elect Mike Z Arrives With Anarchy and Threats
The Free Press, November 20, 2003, With additional unedited text

I told you so. I told you so. I told you so. Mike Zowniriw hasn’t even been sworn in as Richland’s new supervisor, but he and his supporters are already unruly. The current board has joined the fray. It’s the 1990’s all over again. Tom Glackin reborn.

If you need a refresher on who Tom Glackin was, and how he ruled Richland through threats and intimidation, re-read my column of September 25 (on my website, Woldow.com). It was the bad old days of this township, but for the past six years it looked like they were behind us. Residents have been treated with respect and civility. No more. The Z era has taken us back to the future, and I am afraid that Michael J. Fox will not be coming to our rescue.

The last Board of Supervisors meeting was anarchy. Zowniriw, and his posse, made comments anytime the spirit moved them. They attempted to bring up issues not in the jurisdiction of the Board, and refused to yield the floor. Another local newspaper has already taken an editorial stance against their actions. And they practiced the worst kind of politics - accusations without any attempt at proof, saying they would have their proof “in the next few days”. Shades of Senator Joe McCarthy.

Glackin lives! Deja vu all over again. Richland has been cast back to infighting, nasty politics, and a Board that may be spending more time at odds with each other than doing their jobs. The purpose of leadership SHOULD BE to properly administer the township. But two weeks after the election it’s been nothing but backbiting. There is plenty of blame to go around. The current board members, who are not used to such interruptions of their meetings, handled the situation poorly, reacting with hostility and gavel-pointing. No one played nicely together.

Z has been interviewed by several newspapers, both before and after his election. He has continually stressed that it is the OTHER supervisors who have been rude and uncooperative toward him. But his website, on which he congratulates himself for his election, is filled with attacks on them. His followers were out of control at the meeting. The truth about his campaign distortions of township waivers and trails is starting to come out. The supervisors feel provoked, and show their anger. Everyone needs a time out.

Z seems to pride himself on being a man who shakes up the establishment. A child of the 60’s, power to the people, rage against the machine. But he is going about it all the wrong way. As a supervisor, it is now his job to work WITH the others to assure the prosperity of Richland’s 12,000 residents. That means everyone cooperates on positive programs, economic stability, and understanding issues. So far, we have seen only Philadelphia streetfighting. On September 25, I wrote that it appeared Z was relying entirely on negativity. Enough already.

It’s time for an attitude adjustment all around.

“I know for a fact that your Farmers Market is sitting on toxic waste. My well is within a quarter mile from the Q-Mart and I have it chemically tested once a year. I shop at the Farmers Market faithfully - and for now, I’ll let it go - until you piss me off. Ask Pat Keller what happened to the last person that pissed me off”.

Say something negative about this supervisor, and he will misuse his power to attack you and your business. In how many ways has Z been unethical, defamatory, illogical, and bullying in the same short paragraph? A sneak peak into the mind of the man who you have elected to help guide Richland for the next six years....

The Farmers Market is sitting on toxic waste???? It was built on a farm in 1932. The new Strayer Middle School is being constructed on the same land, after extensive environmental testing. If Z knows something that even the professionals have not discovered in 72 years, why didn’t he come forward with his claim two years ago, to protect the schoolchildren of the citizens he now represents? And why does he shop “faithfully” at our toxic waste dump? The answers are obvious. There is no harmful waste. There is just harmful attitude. Clear threats that if I write anything that Z doesn’t like, he will attempt to damage my business, and the livelihoods of the hundreds of merchants in the Farmers Market who have served this area faithfully for seven decades.

So much for freedom of the press. So much for trusting your new supervisor. No one has ever found anything toxic anywhere in our end of the township. Z, and all of us with wells, have them tested. He does it every year, we do it every week. Nothing toxic has ever turned up. And, worst of all, if he really does “know for a fact” that there is toxic waste, why on earth would this Green Party candidate, and YOUR new supervisor, “let it go”?

You have elected a man who says he would keep a dangerous condition quiet, apparently as an ongoing threat to me, rather than reveal it to the citizens. If you oppose him, he’ll go to any lengths to retaliate. No matter how you feel about me, my writing, or my business, this kind of unethical behavior from a supervisor is beyond unacceptable. And we’ve got it for six years. Tom Glackin has come out of his grave, and is dancing for joy. I told you so.