The Re-Packaging of a Boondoggle
Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman’s “State of the City” address on Monday provided us with a glimpse of how a truly devious mind works. For several years Tilghman and her “Dream Team” promoted the idea of a revitalization of the “North Prong” area of the city. The unstated goal has seems to be the gentrification of the West Side of Salisbury. To those of you not familiar with the term, gentrification usually has the end affect of driving the poor black folks (and Latinos) out and replacing them with nice, well coiffed white folk.
To date Tilghman and her minions have been unsuccessful in their pursuit. Their desire to subsidize developers through a Community Development Corporation (CDC) have been a bust. Too many of the unwashed see it for what it is (a bureaucratic boondoggle designed to consolidate Tilghman’s power while funneling city funds to her friends). The state has, so far, refused to fund Tilghman’s attempts to push a large portion of the minority community out of the city. Oh, what to do?
To get around this little problem Tilghman has devised a brilliant solution! The North Prong project is no long an economic development issue. It is now an “environmental disaster”! Tilghman is now seeking federal funds, with the help of Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (?-MD).
I have to give the old gal credit. No one can slap lipstick on a pig like Barrie! By relabeling her little scam an “environmental issue”, she may be able to get the funds she desires. She may also be able to attract some of the more moderate tree huggers to her cause (Tilghman already seems to have the radical WET crowd firmly in her pocket).
Peeling off some of the opposition is key to her plan. She’ll need help for STEP 2 of her minority eradication program.
STEP 2 involves a new “task force” that Tilghman has established. Their first charge will be to replace the “Fitzwater Street townhouses” with “Workforce Housing”. Translation - she wants the city to take over those row homes west of the Perdue plant and replace them with housing that will sell for somewhere between $150,000 and $250,000. Who will be living there? It certainly won’t be any of the hourly workers at the Perdue plant.
Of course this brings us to STEP 3. Tilghman didn’t discuss this while telling her little story. STEP 3 will be coming up with a way to get Perdue to leave the city. Why? You can’t have a Yuppie heaven on the West Side with that big ol’ smelly chicken plant. Who wants to buy a $400,000 condo that overlooks those steam pipes? Forget how much Perdue pays in taxes and how many people the company employs.
Again, I have to give credit to Tilghman. She has done a masterful job of re-packaging her boondoggle. She may even get her funding.
Whether its two, five, ten, or fifteen years down the road the poor folks of the West Side will be able to thank Barrie Tilghman and Shanie Shields as they are being evicted from their homes.
cross posted at Salisbury News
Technorati Tags: Maryland, Salisbury, politics, Salisbury politics, Barrie Tilghman, Shanie Shields, environment, affordable housing, neighborhoods, redevelopment, Barbara Mikulski, Ben Cardin, Wayne GilchrestSphere: Related Content
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