About a hundred of us braved the windy conditions last night to listen to the Mayor expound upon the city’s troubles for 40 minutes (no notes) on Bardstown Road at the Metro Democratic Club’s meeting. Of course, Jake provided some entertaining play-by-play detailing the fact that Jerry’s pants were too high.
Gabe Bullard of WFPL had a big old mic there to record the whole thing, so you can listen here.
We were reminded repeatedly that this wasn’t the full-blown, postponed “State of the City” address. It couldn’t have been, since no TV stations bothered to cover it. Check that, Julie Tam of Fox41 (she’s really short) was there, but left before things got started, presumably to go stand outside somewhere and talk about the wind.
Dan Klepal of the C-J and Stephen George of LEO rounded out the media contingent.
Once he got through patting everyone involved in the storm cleanup on the back, the Mayor talked about hanging with President Obama and how important the $789 billion stimulus plan passed in Congress yesterday is to the economy. He thinks those guys in Obama’s administration are really smart. He said if we actually get the $650 million in projects we asked for, it would create 18,000 jobs and reduce unemployment by 3 percent. But then, he added, not everybody wants to learn how to drive a backhoe, so there’s going to have be some re-training of the workforce.
Guys like the 45-year-old former global outsourcing director at Yum! Brands, who he met at the unemployment office, aren’t good candidates to build bridges and fix sewers.
But after talking about how close to “the edge” our economy is, Abramson got back to the “glass half-full” stuff, talking about growth in health care, ZirMed’s new building, the positive news at U of L, growth in logistics business. Happy happy joy joy.
He also talked about his day in Frankfort, neglecting to mention the progress made in a bill designed to curtail his power. Instead, it was all about keeping the Jefferson County delegation together to keep those rural legislators from taking too much away from us.
Notables in attendance were three Metro Councilers — David Tandy (he loves us bloggers), Vicki Welch (Iroquois High! yes) and Jim King (who cruised in a few minutes late). Also a couple of district court judges and UAW official Rocky Comito (spotted after the meeting at Steak N Shake).
No one, not even 8664’s Tyler Allen, really challenged the Mayor when he talked about the bridges project (not part of the stimulus package) and the necessity of tolls to make it work. There’s some “nationally significant projects” money that could find its way to the project, but who is he kidding?
4 responses so far ↓
1 James W. Moore // Feb 12, 2009 at 9:24 am
David Tandy’s not the only one who loves you bloggers. We love you too, man! Y’all come back to the Metro Dems any ol’ time…
Hugs,
Jimmy
2 btucker // Feb 12, 2009 at 11:13 am
The guy from that crappy Valley Report blog was there, too.
All the happy talk about Humana jobs and Zir-Med’s new “high rise” ignores the fact that as people lose jobs, they lose health insurance, too.
As Ray Crider told me, “The mayor has had a tough year.” He’s right. But so have we.
3 Chuck // Feb 17, 2009 at 1:11 pm
It is time for the current mayor to lose his job. The only problem is that he is already well vested in retirement unlike most of his constituents. So it won’t hurt him other than his ego. I’ve been employed at three jobs this past year all of which I was laid off. So he should tell me about how great everything is.
When you can walk into work and do your job day after day and still get laid off, something isn’t right with the productive economy. Meanwhile, people are in a lot of cases in worse shape than me so this college grad will try not to complain incessantly.
What I will say is that the current people in the Metro Council need to be replaced an a more business friendly organization needs to be put in place. When people keep losing jobs through no fault of their own well something does not make sense. Some of that is the national economy but a lot of it involves the local marketplace and the crappy local economy that for years has been a loser.
4 Shane // Feb 18, 2009 at 4:37 am
Let’s ask Jerry if he wants one of those temporary jobs working as a temp logistics person for the local temporary agency. I’m sure he’s such a great guy that he would step down from the 100 K mayors schtick and do that. After all, hes all about working to promote our best interests. Even as Louisvillians of all races, stripes, religions, orientations, etc are working for 8 to 13 dollars and hour in many occupations.
Meanwhile those ways are considered by anyone with half of a brain to be poverty level wages. So much for that economic prosperity that we have in the Metro. So much for professional competence in the Mayors Office.
Tell all this crap about ZirMed, the medical center, and Museum Plaza to everyone that is not from here. Tell something that is true to the local college grads who are facing the choices of leaving here so that they can find jobs somewhere in this poor economy. Much less to listen to a guy that has for years obfuscated the decline of the local job market. The taking over of the city by temporary agencies based on ripping off employees to stuff their pockets full.
Meanwhile, a guy named Jeff is out there slaving away for some temp agency getting screwed over for 8 dollars an hour working his fingers to the bone while guys like Abramson and the owner of the temp agencies are yukking it up at some social function.
Tell me how great that is that this so called Possibility City that one of the Blues bragged about in their last propaganda piece in the CJ. No wonder the young are clamoring for the next bus ride out of here or by any other means.
Noticeably our locally based media interviewed one of these temp agencies and didn’t bat an eye when they mentioned that the local college grads are having a horrid time finding jobs and the only real jobs they were advertising for were as either welders or some box flipping job. The leaders of this city are really incompetent when all this city has to offer is low wage food service jobs, retail jobs, box flipping jobs at some warehouse or some other nonsense. Thats what the youth of this community is being trained to do? Come on. And get some leadership here that aren’t clueless idiots and total incompetents. In that case, we might have to dismiss half of the Metro Council.
Leave a Comment