Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

The Next Mayor of Harrisburg: From financial recovery to the role of mayor, the two candidates give voters a clear choice.

In recent decades, the general election for Harrisburg mayor has been something of a snoozer.

Most of the action rested in the primary, where this heavily Democratic city nominated the clear favorite come November. Could this year be different?

Indeed, it’s been a fascinating race.

The primary saw the late entry of businessman Eric Papenfuse, who quickly lapped incumbent Mayor Linda Thompson and her principal challenger, city Controller Dan Miller, to capture the Democratic nomination.

Then, just as the Democrats were rallying around their candidate, the saga took another turn. Independent Nevin Mindlin, regarded as the remaining credible alternative to Papenfuse, was tossed off the ballot following a petition challenge.

So up stepped Miller, who, while losing the Democratic nomination, had won the unchallenged Republican nomination by getting 196 write-in votes. With Mindlin off the ballot, Miller declared himself back in, setting up another Papenfuse/Miller contest for the Nov. 5 ballot.

To help Harrisburg voters, we asked each candidate four questions that we believe are relevant to the city at this time. We hope their answers, which we limited to 1,200 words for each candidate, will help voters who remain undecided make this important decision.  –Lawrance Binda

Screenshot 2013-10-30 20.45.26Dan Miller

It was a Thursday in early August, and City Controller Dan Miller, who only days before had announced the end of his mayoral campaign, was appalled by what was happening to the November ballot. The nominating petitions of independent candidates Nate Curtis and Nevin Mindlin had been challenged in court. If the judge agreed, Eric Papenfuse’s only competition on Election Day would be write-in candidate Lewis Butts, who had reaped a mere 64 votes in the primary.

In a sense, it was politics as usual in Harrisburg, a solidly Democratic city where races are usually foregone conclusions by November. But Miller, who had lost by a 6-percent margin in May, saw a political opportunity. “It’s a civic responsibility for me to get on the ballot,” he said the next day at the county Bureau of Elections, where, with his $25 filing fee in hand, he posed for photos before accepting the Republican nomination. “Let’s have a choice.”

In the weeks since, that choice has sharpened. On Aug. 26, the state-appointed receiver, William B. Lynch, submitted his updated recovery plan for the city of Harrisburg. In the wake of that 350-page behemoth’s unveiling, the public sphere clamored with voices of celebration and dissent. Where Papenfuse joined the chorus of approval, no one objected more forcefully than Miller, who claimed he saw in the plan’s various forecasts and provisions the same shaky accounting, and the same abuse of the local taxpayer, that had afflicted city government for years.

Miller, a native of the area, is a partner at Miller Dixon Drake, an accounting firm at the corner of N. 2nd and North streets that he founded after he was fired for being gay. (The ordeal was the subject of a lengthy profile in the New Yorker.) In 1994, he ran for a Democratic Party committeeman post and won. In 2005, he was elected to City Council, and four years later, to his current post of city controller—in a race during which, it must be observed, his opponent was successfully thrown off the ballot by a challenge to his nominating petition.

On council, Miller had been a fervent critic of Mayor Steve Reed’s intemperate borrowing. As controller, he found himself in repeated squabbles with Reed’s successor, Mayor Linda Thompson. The acrimony, over issues such as the city’s direct deposit system, the Act 47 process and the sale of museum artifacts, lasted through the entirety of Thompson’s tenure. It even extended to the virtual sphere, where Miller maintained a website for his office separate from the city’s.

The site, which contains a useful trove of documents about city finances, reflects the common thread that runs through much of Miller’s career. His leadership style may look stubborn or stalwart, depending on where one stands. It can be summed up in a slogan that, like many slogans, carries a double edge: if Dan Miller wants a thing done, he’s going to do it himself.

Miller Q&A

Q. We’ll start with a broad one. What do you think is the proper role of Harrisburg’s municipal government, and how do you perceive the mayor’s function within it?

A. The role of any municipal government is to serve the needs of its citizens in the most efficient and effective way possible. That means providing basic city services that enhance the quality of life for the entire community. The mayor serves as the chief executive of the municipality and is therefore responsible for establishing an achievable vision, appointing staff who share that vision and who work cooperatively toward its implementation. The mayor is also responsible for ensuring that the entire workforce understands his or her goals and expectations, and that success can only be achieved by their cooperation and dedication to their jobs. By leading a workforce with high morale and pride in their accomplishments, improving basic city services and operating in an open and transparent manner, the mayor establishes an image for the city as a welcoming place to live, work and play.

Q. One of the problems that the current mayor has confronted is an inability to retain city employees. As mayor, how would you ensure that the city keep and attract top-notch professionals to perform its various services?

A. I have had to confront this issue for the past 20 years as a small business owner, city controller and consultant to hundreds of businesses. To attract the best and the brightest, we must offer a competitive salary. Beyond that, we must treat people fairly, with respect, and make them feel valued. I have had great success retaining employees in living wage jobs. Three of my four full-time associates have been with me 11 or more years. As controller, I was able to recruit the most knowledgeable finance professional in city government. We need to create an atmosphere where city employees feel appreciated and get satisfaction from doing their jobs serving the public. By achieving those goals, we will be able to attract and retain the high quality employees the city seeks to staff its resurgence.

Q. If you are elected, what will be your top three priorities upon taking office?

A. The next mayor’s highest priority must be taking steps to improve public safety and ensure delivery of basic city services in an efficient and effective manner. While the mayor has no direct control over the school district, it is essential to advocate for and improve city education as much as possible. He must provide steady fiscal stewardship while making the city cleaner, greener and more attractive. He must be a vocal advocate for the best interest of the residents of the city of Harrisburg within the context of the receiver’s plan.

Q. Perhaps the most significant development since the mayoral primary has been the unveiling, and subsequent confirmation in court, of the state-appointed receiver’s recovery plan for the city. What positives and/or negatives do you see in the Harrisburg Strong Plan, and how do you view the next mayor’s role with respect to the plan’s implementation?

A. The next mayor will be required to execute the terms and conditions of the receiver’s plan. It brings much appreciated state financial aid to the city but does so at a very high cost. The optimistic financial projections on which the plan is founded would not meet the standard set by most financial professionals. The loss of so much future self-determination about infrastructure investment and economic development is a major concern for me and should be of concern to every citizen. I have substantial concerns about the plan’s long-term economic viability. Creditors, as willing participants in the incinerator retrofit financing deal at the root of many of the city’s financial woes, should be required to make as many concessions as the city’s taxpayers are being asked to make.

Despite these problems, the plan will have to be implemented in the most advantageous manner benefiting Harrisburg residents. This will require a skilled financial professional to balance the budget within confined limitations. I am the only candidate with the knowledge, experience and ability to achieve this goal.

Screenshot 2013-10-30 20.45.37Eric Papenfuse

Upon winning the Democratic primary in May, Eric Papenfuse, who had seen his share of electoral losses, seemed poised at last for success. He had run unsuccessfully for City Council in 2009, and again for county commissioner in 2011, where he lost by a mere 12 votes in the primary. But on the night of May 21, when he announced his victory at the Midtown Scholar bookstore, the business he built over the past dozen years, he all but assumed the mantle of mayor-elect. After saluting his former opponents, he spoke of plans for transition, including a series of public meetings on the city’s most pressing issues.

By the end of the summer, Papenfuse’s general election victory had begun to look less certain. Dan Miller returned to the race on the Republican ticket, taking with him a slice of traditionally Democratic voters. The late write-in candidacy of Aaron Johnson threatened to gobble up another chunk of that constituency. Meanwhile, the race began to be dominated by another development: the release of the receiver’s financial recovery plan.

In October, at the Harrisburg Hope debate, the opening question reflected the newly polarized terrain: were the candidates for or against Harrisburg Strong? The recovery plan had become a test of the candidates’ sympathies, which were measured by the same bitterness, hopes and suspicions that had defined city politics for years.

Papenfuse, meanwhile, tried to steer the focus to the issues he’d outlined in May. He held his public meetings on crime, blight, economic development and education, which he tended to conduct in a classroom style. The meeting on blight was essentially a two-hour policy discussion, where a handful of experts fielded residents’ questions on trash, utility rates and sewer mapping.

Papenfuse, a Baltimore native, has been increasingly involved in Harrisburg politics since settling in the city with his family in 1999. In his previous campaigns, he was a vocal critic of former Mayor Steve Reed. On more than one occasion, he testified about predatory loans knowingly entered into by the Harrisburg Authority, a process he witnessed as a member of the Authority’s board. His mayoral campaign, in contrast, has been defined by a technocratic approach. He has built his campaign around a promise to govern the city with informed, forward-looking initiatives.

Of course, the dominant issues of a political contest are rarely a candidate’s to choose. Since May, Papenfuse has had to navigate a series of surprises. Months ago, he expected to face independent Nevin Mindlin; he now finds himself in a heated rematch with Miller, who has portrayed him as an ally of moneyed interests and Harrisburg’s familiar power brokers. It must be a frustrating reversal for Papenfuse, long the crusading outsider. His challenge, in this fractious capital, is classically political: to run the campaign he always wanted while standing on shifting ground.

Papenfuse Q&A

Q. We’ll start with a broad one. What do you think is the proper role of Harrisburg’s municipal government, and how do you perceive the mayor’s function within it?

A. Harrisburg’s municipal government’s primary role is simple: to serve the city’s residents. The municipal government fulfills this responsibility by ensuring people within the city limits are able to live and work in safety and security. To effectively carry out its mission, the city needs a mayor with a broad vision, one who fully embraces the importance of collaborative relations with neighboring townships and counties.

As head of city government, Harrisburg’s mayor is the face of the city. The mayor sets the proper tone and atmosphere to nurture pride in our history and hope for our future.  Harrisburg needs positive, inclusive leadership now more than ever as it emerges from financial and political catastrophe. As mayor, I will provide that leadership and create a new image for our city at home and throughout the nation. Above all, I will ensure Harrisburg’s municipal government stays connected to the people, transparent in governing and prudent in management of our budget and resources.

Harrisburg needs a visionary leader in City Hall to take advantage of the second chance the city has been given through the “Strong Plan.” Harrisburg needs a leader who can do more than simply add and subtract. We need someone who can inspire people and galvanize a community. As mayor, I will inspire a new birth in our city as well as ensure the efficient functioning of municipal government.

Harrisburg needs the kind of leadership I can provide. It needs a leader who understands the importance of promoting business and investment to create jobs and provide goods and services. It needs a leader passionate about promoting quality education for our children as the only path to economic vitality. And it needs a leader who will unite the diverse communities and cultures within our city so that we all thrive.

Q. One of the problems that the current mayor has confronted is an inability to retain city employees. As mayor, how would you ensure that the city keep and attract top-notch professionals to perform its various services?

A. Any successful businessman knows the best way to retain quality employees is to pay them fairly and treat them well. It’s no different for city employees. They need to be paid fairly, treated with respect and inspired to serve the people of Harrisburg. As a businessman, I know that my enterprise is only as good as the people who keep it running. I also know the importance of maintaining high morale, and the Midtown Scholar bookstore has been lauded as one of the best places to work in Harrisburg. Of course, as we nurture high morale, it is important to address the serious salary issues that impede attracting the best and brightest to Harrisburg. We must find creative ways to increase salaries for professional positions in city government while not overburdening taxpayers. I am investigating ways to enlist the help of corporations to supplement salaries of key city workers through public-private partnerships. This is an idea that has been tried successfully in other municipalities and that might help Harrisburg attract the kind of talent it will need to get the city moving again. Public-private partnerships have the potential to augment scant resources in city government and bring in expertise and talent that will be sorely needed in the years ahead.

Q. If you are elected, what will be your top three priorities upon taking office?

A. Our top three will be attracting business and investment, crime and safety, and advocating for education. Beautifying our neighborhoods also is a priority as it impacts quality of life and economic development.

One of the most important things the next mayor can do is create a business-friendly atmosphere to create jobs for the people of Harrisburg. Being hostile to business and negative to investment is the wrong message for any mayor to send. I am an advocate for restoring pride and prosperity to our city. We can’t do that by pitting “Main Street” against “Wall Street,” as some have done in divisive, political rhetoric. We need both business and labor working side by side with the common goal of making better lives for us all. I am a strong advocate of labor and unions, but I am not foolish enough to believe that Harrisburg can be prosperous again without ensuring businesses feel welcome. I plan to create a Department of Economic and Community Development that will support business and investment and make it easier for small businesspeople to thrive.

Unless we reinvigorate our police department and reduce the crime rate, businesses will continue to shy away from our city. Ensuring strong leadership in the police department and accountability of police officers are at the very top of my priorities.

And while the mayor has no direct role in our schools, I will be a tireless advocate for our children, teachers and parents. The mayor can inspire businesses to support our schools through creative investment programs and by helping teachers feel appreciated. I have called for keeping school libraries open late to provide a safe haven for youth after school. As father of three small children, being an advocate for education is not only a political priority, it is a personal mission.

Q. Perhaps the most significant development since the mayoral primary has been the unveiling, and subsequent confirmation in court, of the state-appointed receiver’s recovery plan for the city. What positives and/or negatives do you see in the Harrisburg Strong Plan, and how do you view the next mayor’s role with respect to the plan’s implementation?

A. The next mayor will have to implement the Harrisburg Strong Plan, which is essentially a business plan for Harrisburg’s economic development. I am the only candidate with the business acumen and expertise to be able to effectively institute a business plan for the city of Harrisburg. Right now, Harrisburg needs more than an accountant. It needs someone experienced in business development who can inspire and stimulate growth. I built a successful business from scratch and stimulated the economic revitalization of Midtown Harrisburg. I can do that for the rest of the city and carry out the vision of the Harrisburg Strong Plan. I am the only candidate on the ballot who has pledged to work with the receiver to support the Harrisburg Strong Plan. As a businessman, I have the experience to be able to envision the significant possibilities the Harrisburg Strong Plan represents for the residents. As a community leader, I am encouraged at how the city’s leaders and debtors were able to reach common ground; and as a city resident, I am heartened that there is hope for Harrisburg to rise again. The plan is not perfect, as its creators acknowledge. A compromise is never perfect, and some of the plan’s failings may become known only in time. But for a city facing the bleak prospect of bankruptcy and possibly decades of financial uncertainty, the Harrisburg Strong Plan is a political, financial and morale boost for the city at a time when it so desperately needs hope. What Harrisburg needs is a mayor with a “can-do” attitude who will aggressively work to help the plan succeed . . . not someone who wants to see it fail. What Harrisburg needs is a mayor who will look past his own self-serving interests and work for the good of the people of our great city.

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