"Hi, I'm Bob Levy... And Craig Callaway Approved of This Message"


A Fictional Tale By
DON P. HURLEY
Contributing Editor
HarryHurley.com
 
January 31, 2006
 
The new Mayor in Atlantic City gave his "State of the City" Address before a "non-political group", consisting mostly of an audience of politicians and those who think that they are or would like to be politicians. (Don't you need to know what the state of a city really is in, before you can truly deliver it to others?)
 
I was not one of those in attendance, so I have created the following event in a fictional manner, that some might even consider to be real, if they were endeavoring to discover the true "State of the City" of Atlantic City.
 
You all know by now that political advertising must always either precede or end with a disclaimer about the approval of the message or the particular ad.
 
In the case of Bob Levy, I have to surmise that his speech this afternoon started out something like this:  "Hi, I'm Bob Levy....and Craig Callaway has approved of this message that I am about to read to you".
 
From this point, Bob Levy must have said for the thousandth time how he intends "to bring Atlantic City together". This from the would-be Mayor Levy who has fired more than 60 Atlantic City residents from their jobs in his first 30 days in office. That's a real positive way to bring people together and help real working families in Atlantic City.
 
No State of the City Address would be complete without at least acknowledging the rash of more than a bakers dozen of shootings that have taken place since Levy became Craig Callaway's personal assistant on New Years Day.
 
My only unsolicited advice to Levy, is to stop blaming the citizens of Atlantic City for not "diming out" the shooters involved in this violent crime spree. Put your police, (who really know their jobs), in the right places and allow them to operate without your political interference, or that of your Political Captain/Chief.
 
Levy...you have created a blanket of fear in City Hall with many of the political thugs that you have surrounded yourself with. Many City Hall employees are in fear to speak out against you and your cohorts. YOU are the one, Bob Levy, that created a "gag order" for ALL city Hall Employees, so that no one is free to speak about any of the outrages that you and your cronies are perpetrating upon the people of Atlantic City. So...can you imagine how innocent people, who are being victimized by gun-slingers, are feeling when they are reluctant to speak with you?
 
Speaking of City Hall Employees...Bob Levy....how many is enough when it comes to Craig Callaway's family and Friends plan that you have created for employment in Atlantic City Government? This is one "State of the City" item that I am quite sure Bob Levy would like to have left out of his speech today.
 
It must be certain that Bob Levy, at this juncture, must have spoken in favor of his fellow Political Poacher, Craig Callaway, and his attempt to create a full-time position for himself and double his own salary from $30,000 $60,000 per year. (It should be noted that this is the same Craig Callaway who attempted to orchestrate a one dollar per year salary for Tom Foley for his real full-time job as Emergency Management Director).
 
This would have been a good time for Bob Levy to have outlined the "merits of hiring a Public Works Director, who not only has no management experience, no real documented skills in public works, or most importantly, does not possess the (required by law) Certified Public Works Managers Certificate". "So What"! Bob Levy might have said.
 
In fact, this is just the point that Bob Levy must have outlined in his speech of the "nation-wide search" he conducted and the numerous interviews he completed to find the most qualified people to serve in his new administrations cabinet. Levy, I am sure was as surprised as everyone else, when the top candidates just happened to end up being members of Craig Callaway's family and friends plan.
 
As for the proposal to raise yearly salaries for all Department Heads and certain professionals within Atlantic City Government, Bob Levy might have said:  "They only want to raise their own salaries from 28% to 100 % a piece, what's the big deal. This is not worth going to war over".
 
So, if none of this is worth going to war over, than no one should expect Bob Levy to go to war with Craig Callaway any time soon, for anything else worthwhile on behalf of the citizens of Atlantic City. This is referred to now as a Mayor and Council "getting along".
 
This would have been an appropriate time in the speech for Bob Levy to congratulate and properly thank the Citizens "Fiscal Responsibility Committee" for doing the job he was afraid to do for himself in standing up to his boss ,Craig Callaway, and most of City Council who have exceeded any political arrogance in history with their attempt to jack up their own salaries from five to ten times the city median average .
 
It can be guaranteed that Bob Levy must have made mention of controlling all of the law suits and litigation in Atlantic City. Does that mean that Levy intends to finally drop his own law suit against Atlantic City,(that many people think is frivolous anyway?) Or is this just another way for Levy to really control how he and Craig Callaway's lawyer pals are going to get even richer?
 
As for the real State of the City...please let me know when someone delivers a speech in Atlantic City that is true and that they really have some belief in.
 
Until then...the rest of us can now please return to the real world. And ,Bob Levy and Craig Callaway...you can please stay in whatever world it is that the two of you reside in.
 
Respectfully in Fiction,
 
Don P. Hurley