Guest Post: Kowalko’s Open Letter to Delaware’s Delegation
Dear Senators Carper, Kauffman and Congressman Castle,
As a Delaware State legislator whose focus and efforts are dedicated to the best interests of all Delawareans just as your efforts have always been focused, I am writing you to ask you to reconsider the consequences of your vote to cut-off “housing and community grant funding” to ACORN.
I fully realize the difficulty, despite the media portrayal that it was “easy”, in casting such a vote. However I feel it is my responsibility to inform you of the potentially disastrous consequences of such a vote. These consequences will directly impact many of the most vulnerable families in Delaware who are at imminent risk of joining the ranks of the homeless and foregoing any chance of participating in the “American dream”.
I also ask you to ponder that, as a representative of the people of Delaware, consideration should be given to the fact that Delaware ACORN is untainted by scandal and has acquitted itself well, throughout its history, as a servant of the most vulnerable and at risk people in Delaware.
As you are aware, Delaware Superior Court President Judge Vaughn recently signed an administrative directive to assist those desperate homeowners facing foreclosure proceedings on their homes. You should also be aware that Delaware ACORN was prominent in bringing this program to fruition. What you may not be aware of, and I ask you to consider, is the fact that ACORN had committed its resources and people to be the foremost outreach group responsible for notifying those affected homeowners so that mandated time constraints would be complied with. Violation of these time constraints could render the mediation program inaccessible to these homeowners.
ACORN’s ability to outreach in specific areas of the community is an integral part of the to the success of the mediation program. This program is consistent with the economic recovery for all residents of Delaware and specifically those families facing loss of their homes.
Your vote to cut off “housing and community grant funding” to ACORN neutralizes ACORN”S ability to participate in outreach and counseling and risks irreparable damage to a program, nine months in the making, that would not only boost the economic recovery for Delaware but also allow Delaware families to keep alive their chance to participate in the great American dream of independency and success.
I hope you will reconsider your vote based on consideration of the damage that will be suffered by Delaware families and see fit to somehow correct these unintended circumstances.
Respectfully yours,
John A. Kowalko Jr.
Delaware State Representative 25th District
Tags: ACORN, kowalko, Mike Castle, Ted Kaufman, Tom Carper
I’ve come to where I think casting the organization in a bad light is terribly misguided and terribly opportunistic of a very specific political viewpoint from the far-right. I don’t intend to say a “Republican” thing, but further along. It’s absolutely disgusting what happened and made it so feverishly into the media. The individuals involved were dismissed and rightly so. Cutting the entire organization at its throat, though, is a complete CYA move by politicos afraid of any potential backlash that could be created by even an assumed support of the organization. This potential backlash is rooted in a political agenda of an ideology itself trying to complete a coup d’etat of an entire political party. I say shame on the cowards who can’t remove their hands from their hind-sides and stand tall for the greater outreach of the organization and bigger shame on those who perpetuate the mal-intended and misrepresented image of the greater outreach of the organization.
While what happened certainly brings up a point of ACORN needing to rededicate its mission and image, it most certainly does not make it deserving of the virtual death penalty it received.
John Kowalko – good on you, VERY GOOD on you for standing tall! ACORN has done more good than its loud detractors try to claim its done wrong. There is much opportunity for ACORN to help itself from this mess, including reorganizing and refocusing, and I see very clearly an organization that is trying to do just that. The cowardly need to be educated, the opportunistic-activist detractors simply need to be shunned from this debate.
The battle in this country isn’t between the repubs and dems – it is between the powerful rich and the middle class, the poor, and the powerless. The brazen and ignorant crushing of ACORN for the actions of a few in a private sting operation illustrate this dramatically.
Clearly, the repubs and dems agree that any organization that threatens the wealthfare of the rich and powerful in this country are to be destroyed at any cost and for any excuse.
Good for you, John. Run for the Senate. I’d vote for you over Beau any day of the week. Run, John. I mean it.
Excellent letter. While I do believe there are some shady people in ACORN with bad intention. I also firmly believe that an entire organization ought not be punished for the acts of a radical few.
This must be a really bad organization if Barney Frank is distancing himself from them.
The biggest misstep they have made is suing the filmmakers. Now they will have to open the books for the court. This will truly show if they are corrupt … or not.
When I first heard the story reported on NPR they discussed the (at least handful, if not dozens of) other offices visited by these people to try and elicit the footage they wanted. Not only were the conservative film makers kicked out of many more offices than were shown in the video, apparently the Philadelphia office called the police to report the prostitution while they were in the office. They had to leave pretty quickly. Way to go for ACORN in our area.
I haven’t seen that reported anywhere else in the days it was covered on TV.
It’s such a shame that ACORN’s practice of hiring/training people in need resulted in some bad eggs representing them (here and in the voting issue). It’s even more of a shame those bad eggs are hurting a decent organization to this high level.
V,
It’s also come out that the person in the video advising on “Guatemalan girls” also called the police. The police called back later and told them it was a hoax.
It is disturbing to me that Congress should have taken such a knee-jerk position against ACORN, all over a few million dollars. Better to be politically correct, I suppose. For shame!
I am not aware of any Congressional investigation into the charges, and into the general behavior of ACORN over the years. Our three Congressmen ought to be ashamed.
Three cheers for John Kowalko!
Every time I see Kowalko I think of Welcome Back Kotter, whatever his name was. Kaplan maybe.
Thanks to John Kowalko for having the guts to stand up to this embarrassing McCarthyite episode. Its incredible how the drumbeat of the fringe rightwing has swept through both parties and the Main Stream media, tarnishing the most effective community organization in the country. The message in this great corporatocracy of ours: effectively confront real power, you will be destroyed. Have real power and abuse it, you will be forgiven if not rewarded.
ACORN: The Most Cost-Effective Investment the Government (and Foundations) Have Ever Made
By David Morris, AlterNet
Posted on September 23, 2009, Printed on September 24, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/story/142812/
Every time I see Kowalko I think of Welcome Back Kotter, whatever his name was. Kaplan maybe.
Yes, Gabe Kaplan. Hey, that hair is basically trademark. I only care because with the shine I give off, I am only jealous.
FRIENDS OF HARRY’S
“Here in Clark County, Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said last year he saw ‘rampant fraud in the 2,000 to 3,000 registrations ACORN turns in every week,’ with some 48 percent of those forms being ‘clearly fraudulent.’ The Las Vegas headquarters of ACORN, ‘a Democrat-allied organization,’ was raided after being ‘accused of submitting multiple voter registrations with duplicate and false names,’ the Washington Times reported last fall.
“The outfit claimed it had registered to vote in Nevada, among others, the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys. . . Mr. Lomax noted ACORN had hired 59 inmates from a work-release program at a nearby prison and that some inmates who had been convicted of identity theft had been made supervisors.”
– Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial, noting that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has opted not to open a Senate investigation of ACORN
RICO, one small point you’re(conveniently?) missing is that ACORN’s quality control team identified and tagged all those cards and turned them in to the election board as required by law.