Allentown candidates call for reinstatement, and viola.
Both Roy C. Afflerbach, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for mayor, and Tom Burke, one of three Republicans seeking a seat on City Council, have suggested that a revived review board could play a big role in the fight against blight in Allentown. In a draft of a campaign brochure Burke plans to issue, he lists restarting the review board as one priority he would work on as a councilman, and Afflerbach last week told a neighborhood group, Center City Concerned Citizens, that he would bring back the board if elected mayor. Informed afterward that the review board is making a return, Afflerbach praised Allentown Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Michael C. Rosenfeld and Mayor William L. Heydt for pushing the idea. Still, Afflerbach could not help but wonder if this year's election had anything to do with the review board's resuscitation. If my support has helped to stimulate the sprouting of action this spring, I am delighted.