Democrat Frank Daly claims that Delaware County is at risk of having dozens of criminals freed to wreak havoc on their communities because he was never allowed to take the bench after being appointed by Gov. Ed Rendel.
The claim is laughable on its face. The judge that Daly would have replaced was Harry Bradley who worked civil cases not criminal.
Not too long ago it was Republicans who were trying to scare voters by alluding to County Council candidate David Landau's past with the ACLU.
Next thing you know Daly will be accusing our DA and judges with being too soft on crimes like DUI and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Let's hope not.
Frank Daly has not been shut out of the courthouse because he is a Dem, as he weeps. The reason is more likely because he is unfit to be a judge and sit in judgment of others. It is because he is a viciously partisan LibDem. And he has a shameful record to prove it.
ReplyDeleteLet's also remember that Frank Daly has done his part to keep the sex offenders ON the Streets of Media by not having the balls to pass an ordinance in the borough despite several other townships in the county having their own.
ReplyDeleteThis is what you get when you have lawyers, not, leaders, in these positions. Shame on us...
Randal:
ReplyDeleteYou are right, he has been shut out of the Courthouse because he is a partisan democrat. As one of the lawyers who had an outstanding petition before Cronin, it is unfortunate, as was revealed in the testimony I got out of the Judge's law clerk, that Judge Wright has a larger inventory than the other judges and noone came to his aid. Even more shocking is that the DA's office remained silent as many of its prosecutions have now been jeapordized.
However, the real sad part about what happened this year is that the republican party bosses picked the candidates for Judge and told the municipal leaders who they had to support. There was no vetting of qualificatins or a forum with municipal leaders where the other candidates could attempt to gain any support. If you weren't hand picked you were ignored, even though some of the candidates had superior qualifications to the ones chosen.
Right, Steve. Not only did he not have the balls to pass that ordinance but he sided with the pedophiles by actively opposing it. Such misplaced sympathies are hallmark Liberalism anymore. How could he be trusted to render sensible and unbiased rulings after such a show? And his resume of Lib credentials is long.
ReplyDeleteAny Repub, even if handpicked, would be a more fair jurist than Daly, Mr. S. ANY one.
Daly clearly opposed the ordinance when a kid-toucher showed up to the Borough council meetings threatening suit against Media if it were to pass. His followers on the council were trained (like seals) to vote with him.
ReplyDeleteWho knows what will happen if he's elected judge. Will his decisions be for us or against us?
randal, couldn't agree with you more. Best of luck to delco in two weeks, take the judicial election seriously!!!
The very last thing we need is more Liberal judges sympathizing with the criminal element. He’s whining about how the criminal docket has become backlogged being short a judge, hell, that’d be better than having a Lib in there.
ReplyDeleteLet us also not forget that Frank Daly was responsible for bringing the fiercely biased Michael Moore movie “Fahrenheit 911” to the “Local” Film Festival at the Media Theater just before the 2004 Presidential Election. And he stubbornly, smugly, refused to budge when townsfolk protested this blatantly partisan stunt.
I like how Libs think they can spend years being Lib/partisan/Socialist/etc and then expect us to just set that aside when they want to ascend to a position that requires them to be neutral.
That’s almost as funny as how radical Liberal newspapers editorialize, well, radically Liberal, and then turn around and expect us to accept the “news” as unbiased that these same partisans present us.
Now Frank Daly is trying to score some political points by going to bat for that Kangas kid. Only, in his rush to score, he’s going about it wrong…
ReplyDelete“Petitioner’s (Daly’s) policy argument should be addressed to Congress, not the (Supreme) court.”
-- Solicitor General Paul Clement, arguing against a high court hearing on the status of late junior firefighter Chris Kangas.
Hardly judge material, that.
Somehow I doubt Mr. Shields would make such a fundamental mistake and for political expediency...
ReplyDeleteHello Gil,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the dialouge. Let me respond by making the following points:
1. Judge Cronin has over 20 Petitions pending to dismiss serious felony charges (including weapons and drug dealing offenses)for failure to try the cases within 365 days as required by the 6th Amendment of the Constitution.
2. All of these cases stem from the unfortunate illness of Judge Robert A. Wright and the failure to fill a judicial vacancy.
3. The DA's office is the agency charged with the responsibility of keeping track of the time and has an affirmative duty to do something about it before the time runs.
4. The DA's office is pointing to the unavailability of Judges to handle these cases as a defense to the dismissal petitions.
5. A conscious decision was made by the GOP party bosses to leave Judge Bradley's seat vacant for a full year. When I spoke to Sen. Pillegi he informed me that I didn't have the support in the Rep. controlled Senate. I then asked the Gov. to withdraw my nomination and proposed that an experienced Republican who would not seek election be appointed to fill the seat rather then just leave it vacant. This suggestion was refused by the County GOP leaders and the seat stayed vacant.
6. President Judge Zetusky has the power to assign any judge to any division if the need arises. Whoever was appointed could have been assigned to the criminal divison to help clear up Judge Wright's backlog. So it's your assertion that because Judge Bradley sat in the civil divison than there's no connection with these petitions in the criminal side that's laughable.
7. The bigger issue is that alleged felon's could walk free because everyone in the judicial system was asleep at the switch. Why are you shooting the messenger instead of the message? Why has no one else spoken out about this possible catastrophe? Because it's a closed group.
My record as an elected official on crime:
1. I ran for Media Boro Council in 1979 because my home was burglarized 3 times in 2 months and I wanted to do someting about it. For 3 straight years Media had averaged over 200 residential buglaries. There are only 2700 homes and appartments in Media. After being elected Mayor in 1981 we have lowered burglaries to less that 20 a year and most of those are domestic matters (boyfriend coming back and stealing a mattress etc.).
3. Media has an outstanding police department, is a safe place to live, work and shop. No one has ever accused the media Police as being soft on crime.
Record as a Liberal?
1. I am proud to be the grandson of a Congressman who was a sponsor of the Social Security Act in 1935, from which my family has already benefitted. As a result of my father's death in 1950 when I was six month old my mother collected SS survivors benefits for her 6 children. I was able to get my education because of PHEAA grants and loans. I don't forget my roots and know that things happen in life beyond your control. We need a social safety net. But yes I do believe in personal responsibilty.
2. I've ben portrayed by your bloggers as partisan. Yes I admit that I'm a Democrat. I'm also not part of the pervasive culture in Delco of "to get ahead, go along" with the GOP party bosses. I think that the success of Media today is because we hire the best person we can find to fill a position (without regard to political affiliation), do the necessary planning for the future and follow through and implement our plans.
My observation is that the County government and the GOP controlled communities aspire to mediocrity and view all positions and jobs as an opportunity to reward their supporters and not as a method to improve the community.
3. I've won 5 strongly contested elections in Media. In my first election in Media the Republicans outnumbered the Democrats by more than 3 to 1. Since then the registration gap has narrowed but even today there are more registerd Republicans then Democrats in Media. Obviously the voters have liked what we as Democrats, independent of the Couty GOP bosses have done with the town over the last 25 years. And I suspect so do you since you frequent Media.
4. In May I crossfiled for Judge and finished in either 1 or 2 in the Republican Primary results in Middletown, Upper Providence, Media, Nether Providence and Rose Valley. The areas that knew me best. That says something.
Residential Restictions on Sex Offender's
1. Media strictly enforces "Megan's Law" which means that residents and schools etc. are notified by the police with a photo and the record of any registered sex offender moving into a neighborhood.
2. A geographic restriction on where Sex Offenders can live has been proposed and rejected by the PA state legislature on at least 2 occasions. There is no statute that permits a town to enact its own restrictions. Two towns in NJ have had there restrictions declared unconstitutional. We didn't want to be another Hazleton.
3. Media is the County seat and home of the Media Courthouse and the hub of many forms of public transportation. Every accused and convicted Pedophile and Sex Offender (as well as murderers etc.) in the County comes here for trial, probation and parole. I think we do an outstanding job of protecting our citizens. In a very walkable town, having a questionable artificial residency restriction is a feel good ordinance that adds no protection to our town. BTW the Ordinance was voted down 4-3 and it wasn't along party lines. I've NEVER spoken to a council memeber about their vote on a matter either before or after a vote. That's not my role.
My fitness to serve as a Judge:
1. While I'm best known to the public from my elected parttime positions I have been a succesful practicing attorney in media for over 33 years. It's how I earn my living. I've tried cases in every level of the American Judicial system, both state and federal, including the US Supreme Court in the Kangas case. I was voted "well qualified" by my peers in the DCBA plebicite, despite the fact that 90% of Delco lawyers are registered Republicans, which is truly gratifying to me.
2. There is no R way or D way to pave a street. Just as there is no Republican justice and no Democratic Justice, only Justice.
But having the Republican party bosses in Delaware County be the ones to pick those judges on the basis of party loyalty and without regard to qualifications is an injustice.
You may not agree with everything that I say or do but even you must admit from your own experiences and observations that I am my own man and that there are no strings attached to my candicacy. I look forward to meeting with you and the Daily Times Editorial Board tomorrow.
“We didn't want to be another Hazleton.”
ReplyDeleteSure we do. (And this was a partisan shot on your part.)
And what about your bringing that movie to our “Local” Film Festival and your smug refusal to pull it, Mr. Daly? Hmm? That was unquestionably, blatantly partisan.
what a load of crap. The ordinance went down 4-3 - four democrats against it, two republicans for it and one independant who is NOW on the left running in his first election.
ReplyDeleteYes, thank God for Megan's law, now we can use the state police website to see how Frank and followers symbolically opened the floodgates for all offendors into the borough ("give me your pedophiles, your rapists, your kid touchers"). Let's all watch the website and see the numbers grow in the borough as opposed to the municipalities that have more guts to protect their youth. Your vote was a clear symbol to tresidents with small children that we can go hell. You are more concerned that a Kenyan makes $5/hr for coffee that is sold in Media, but our own kids are open targets.
Classic Liberal dishonesty and misplaced sympathies.
ReplyDeleteJudge material??
Watch next for the Dems to follow Philadelphia’s lead and designate Media as a gay welcoming town, a so-called “Gayborhood”. Or did the LibDems already do that here?
ReplyDeleteSomeone ask Daly how he feels about things like private gun ownership and gay marriage. Such questions need to be asked and answered definitively.
Some people aspire to positions like judgeships so they can make a positive influence on society. While partisans aspire to such positions so they can inflict their ideology on others. Judging by his history, I’d say Daly was of the latter. The burden should be on him to prove us wrong.