Reading Mayor Wally Scott: If I fail, it's your fault!

by Steve Reinbrecht

It’s clear that Wally Scott will be a failed leader. He’s following the Trump model – claiming he has simple solutions to the city’s problems and that critics and opponents and other leaders are incompetent or evil and haven’t been smart enough to think of them.

The difference between the two men is – Trump has not been elected.

The main message in Scott’s State Of The City address: “If I fail, it won’t be my fault. People are working against me.”

For Reading to improve, facing the obstacles it does, leaders will need to behave professionally and work together for a common goal, trying to rise above petty, emotional differences. The best thing a mayor can do is fairly explain the facts and the costs and benefits of very tough decisions to the public. It's not really his job to make those decisions. 

Instead, from the start, Scott has blamed City Council and called out its clerk, Linda Kelleher. That seems to be his tactic – he doesn’t defend his decisions with reason, but attacks the other side for its evil motives.

He’s made it abundantly clear he will not work with Council.

"I will either put you in your place or I will ignore you," he said.

City Council will have to try to stop him, and in doing so, will appear to demonstrate that he is correct.

In his speech, he repeated again that City Council should have picked his nominee, Rei Encarnacion, for managing director --the most important job in the city – no matter his qualifications.

Encarnacion had a lot of support in the community. But that’s not good enough! The city needs qualified, professional administrators – more than any elected officials! It was never made clear to me that Encarnacion has the qualifications, and Scott never made them public. Why doesn’t Encarnacion run for office?

And Scott has appointed Encarnacion’s sister, Josephine Encarnacion, as director of human resources. Such a coincidence, that the best-qualified candidates for two top positions, in Scott’s opinion, are in the same family!

That move echoes former Mayor Joe Eppihimer, a Scott protégée, who appointed the brother of a major supporter, Ricky Peña, to run the human-resources department.

Scott blamed former Mayor Tom McMahon for leading the city into financial distress. He said McMahon got the city into Act 47, and explained that the city's problems are the fault of this council and that mayor.

In reality, the city’s problems are those shared by most small cities – the incapacity of the tax base to properly fund operations.

And most news organizations would have made some effort to get comment from McMahon, so publicly and unfairly dissed.

Scott perpetuates the unproductive “us vs. them” mentality, pitting city residents vs. “outsiders,” by dismissing the needs of commuters to have streets plowed.

"I don't feel I have to answer to anyone but the people of the city of Reading," he was quoted. But to succeed, he will have to negotiate with business leaders and Berks County and state officials, at least.

Scott said many city ordinances - such as its quality-of-life rules and tickets - are meant only to make money for the city without doing anything for the people.

Does he have alternate plans to enforce laws requiring weeds to be cut and trash to be disposed of properly?

And Scott is going to have the understaffed police department give out parking tickets.

He seems to be reinventing a lot of wheels on a train that’s mostly off the track.