Harrisburg 2.0

==A Vision for a New Harrisburg==
: Source: Written by Mayoral Candidate Jason Smith. Official version of Harrisburg 2.0.
==What is Harrisburg 2.0?==
Harrisburg 2.0 (or H20) represents a revolutionary new way of looking at public
engagement and urban renewal in Harrisburg. As much a process as it is a plan, H20 provides the approach we need to transform our city from a place of unfulfilled potential and unfocused development to a place that offers residents a true urban lifestyle, attracts the right businesses, and entices visitors to areas of interest throughout our city. 
H20 is not a tourism development plan. That effort will be conducted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and funded through Wild West artifact sales.
The plan will recommend strategies on how to market current attractions to potential visitors.
H20 will envision new attractions--renewed neighborhoods and commerical corridors offering a range of residential, retail, and entertainment options. The goal of H20 is to improve life in Harrisburg for every single resident and visitor. Moreover, we will turn every resident into a tourist--by giving them the opportunity to make and spend their money close to home.
H20 is comprised of three interwoven ideas:
# We will transition our City Government Center from a place of bureaucracy to a place of innovation and collaboration. The goal: relocate city hall to the site of our failed and economically draining Civil War museum, forming a true civic center where public forums, community meetings, cultural events, and a customer-focused city government come together.
# We will think broadly and focus narrowly in our quest to renew Harrisburg. The goal: Establish a series of "development beachheads" where public-private partnerships will be focused on localized challenges--creating areas of distinction, each with its own blueprint for ongoing renewal.
# We will create active, livable neighborhoods for every resident. Life in our city should be more than a home, a sidewalk, and a street--we can get that in the suburbs. The goal: provide opportunities for culture and convenience that we can't get anywhere else--as well as distinguishable attractions that make each urban community unique. To build a better Harrisburg, we must creatively reframe the debate about our city's future. When we talk about reducing crime, we are really talking about increasing economic opportunity. When we talk about improving education, we are really talking about giving kids the kind of lives that liberate them to focus on their future. When we talk about fighting ignorance, we are really talking about turning cultural differences into assets. All of these ideas tie together: smart development of our community has the power to bring in new residents, create new jobs, and improve the lives of everyone in Harrisburg. Much grander than a museum dropped from the sky or even Restaurant Row, H20 can enable us to think proactively, creatively, boldly--and to welcome our entire city to a conversation on our future.
==A new city hall==
Let's envision a city hall that overlooks our city, rather than our citizens.
===Background===
Creative solutions have a way of sneaking up on you.
For many years, the people of Harrisburg have scratched their heads over the Civil War Museum. We've wondered why the mayor secretly and illegally spent $12 million on Civil War artifacts. We've wondered why such a museum is appropriate here in Harrisburg, distant from Gettysburg and on a site that is difficult for non-residents to find. We've shaken our heads at "The Civil War Museum is in Harrisburg, PA" billboards. And we've shrugged our shoulders hearing that the museum has lost hundreds of thousands--nearly $400,000 in 2002 alone--forcing annual bailouts from the County and even the Congress (plus an attempted $100,000 City bailout, hidden in the mayor's 2004 budget under the misleading
heading "Grants to Other Units.")! 
Unlike most city residents, I have been to the Civil War museum, and was struck nearly as much by the tragedy of the museum as by the tragedy of the war. Meanwhile, our downtown city hall leaks every time it rains. Our city council has offices in a dark basement. Space is awkward--meeting rooms shaped like triangles and a city council chamber with the proportions of a locker room and no space for large, town-hall style meetings. Golden shovels and yellowed newspaper clippings crowd narrow balcony/hallways. Parking is limited--and people are not greeted and assisted when they enter the building. Many feel that our city places its emphasis on downtown rather than our neighborhoods--and with city hall where it is, these feelings are reinforced.
One of my personal mottos is: From limitations come inspirations. Here we are, a cash-strapped city with a population just over that of York, carrying $740 million in debt with a dying $47 million museum, a city hall that leaks, and a population that feels cut off from the workings of their government. What to do?
Since John Luciew of the Patriot-News reported my idea to move city hall to the site of our failed Civil War museum, the idea has caught on like wildfire. Everywhere I go, in every neighborhood, people tell me they like the concept.
===Vision===
Moving city hall to Reservoir Park would create a true civic center for the people of
Harrisburg. Accessible and with ample parking, the site could enable such amenities as:
* A clear point of welcome with single-stop access to any city-related question. (Ross Karchner: a good complement would be something like New York City's 311 service, a single phone number for access to city government services. http://www.nyc.gov/html/doitt/html/about/about_311.shtml )
* Televised town hall meetings on topics including school district progress, the County prison system, AIDS awareness, neighborhood renewal, and more.
* Rotating display space for local artists or to tell the story of Harrisburg.
* A small gift shop to sell Harrisburg branded merchandise.
* The office of the mayor and the offices of city council on the same floor, joined by a meeting space for frequent meetings to brainstorm ideas and build consensus.
* City offices clustered together to encourage better communication, cross-germination of information, and a sense of common purpose.
* The police department in its own wing, coordinating neighborhood substations throughout the city.
* Wi-Fi internet access throughout the site for public use.
* A privately operated on-site cafe.
* Rentable event space for community events. Moreover, all of Reservoir Park (perhaps renamed "The People's Park") would be used for community-minded purposes. Building on the park's current uses, I envision:
* Two major new festivals per year located in the park rather than the riverfront.
* Major parades beginning in the park.
* A Harrisburg Symphony lawn concert.
* A summer outdoor film series.
* Launching 4th of July fireworks from the park (people can lie in the grass and look up, just as our elderly residents remember from the 1950s). Some of the existing civil war displays and artifacts could be preserved for use in the Camp Curtin Corridor (described later). The rest would be dismantled and sold to fund the renovation and reduce city debt. The current city hall building would also be sold, creating further income as well as a site for construction (favoring local workers) and a new office, creating new jobs (and new residents).
===Logistics===
Moving city hall to the new civic center would be accomplished over several years.
While the relocation occurs, we would make the best of the current city hall--moving city
council to "higher office", providing a single-stop answer area in the atrium, and in all ways
working to make the facility as user-friendly as possible.
Meanwhile, a substantial planning phase would be required where public input would be
sought and interviews with all departments and council would occur. A professional interior
design would be developed and approved, and a relocation plan would be created.
Once renovations and the move is completed, the existing city hall would be sold and
developed.
==Development beachheads==
To renew our city, we must think broadly and focus narrowly.
===Background===
When one looks at our city government's efforts to renew our neighborhoods, one sees a
basic disconnect. There are plenty of programs spending tens of millions in city, state, and
federal funds spread all over the city. FaÃ§ade improvements here, a mural there, a
renovation here, a new business there. But all of it seems to lack a grand design.
Developers I talk with are frustrated because the city keeps the plans it does have
secret--or leads them to believe one thing and then does another. Residents are frustrated
by the lack of basic services like bulk pickup and emptied city trash cans--but they are
even more bothered that Harrisburg lacks the kind of pedestrian-friendly urban culture
they've seen elsewhere.
Those who choose to live in the city make that choice because they believe city life can be
enriching--and they yearn for a Harrisburg filled with culture and convenience, not one that
always seems to do things halfway, with a mayor who tells us this is as good as it gets.
When the city does have a plan, it is often just for individual projects. Although a forward-
thinking land use plan existed in 1998, created by consultants from Urban Research and
Development Co. of Bethlehem PA, the plan was replaced by a more bureaucratic, less
ambitious one that few have seen.
Moreover, the people of Harrisburg often feel cut off from any kind of public process. This
was made clear in February 2005 when residents gathered at a planning meeting were told
that no public comment would be allowed on the city's role in preserving historically
significant homes in the 2900 block of Front Street and elsewhere. No explanation. No
setting of another date to discuss the issues. No, "Here's my phone number." Just: no.
And as for marketing the city, well, there's no plan at all for that. As the Patriot-News editorial
board put it on March 21, 2005: "no broad or long-range plan has ever existed, except
maybe in the mayor's mind."
Could it be possible to address our urban renewal issues, quality of life issues, public
process issues, and long-term marketing with one solution?
Yes. I think so.
===Vision===
The idea is to create a series of "Development Beachheads" in the city, centered around
areas of need and focused on a key creative idea. In my business, we use a creative idea,
or "concept" to give each advertisement or publication an "edge"--making things simple,
memorable, and meaningful. Harrisburg needs that, too.
I call them beachheads because I believe that if you want to tackle a problem, you need a
base of operations. Before we reclaimed France in WWII, we first established a presence
on the beaches of Normandy. Then, we moved purposefully inland, not giving an inch, until
we attained our objectives. The war on poverty needs beachheads. Urban development
needs beachheads. No more random firing into a general area. Time for the assault.
We must do three things to set the groundwork before any beachheads can be
developed:
First, the zoning codes of our city must be open to dynamic mixed use in every
commercial corridor and underdeveloped neighborhood. That means live-work
options, mixed office use in traditionally residential areas, and more.
Second, we must ensure our tax abatement program reaches all areas of our city
and consider reinstating the ability to purchase homes owned by the city and the
Redevelopment Authority for one dollar each, provided the new owner agrees to
rehabilitate them.
Third, we must clearly and evenhandedly communicate the services of our city so
that investors fully understand all programs and can easily navigate the process.
We must provide these three tools to empower our investors with the flexibility and
financial cushion they need for urban renewal.
===Logistics===
Here's a six-step process the Mayor's Office of Community and Economic Development
would follow to form a Development Beachhead:
# Select the area. A development beachhead should have a shape determined by the streetscape, culture, and need of a particular area. A beachhead is larger than a single project, smaller than an entire region of the city. It is a place of contiguous character that has the potential to be redeveloped as a whole, providing for the needs of the entire surrounding residential base.
# Get focused. Each Beachhead needs a core, driving concept that gives it an identity and a sense of community. The general plan should be professionally developed (building on experiences elsewhere in the nation) to a point where it can facilitate public discussion and should be compiled in a printed form that can be widely shared.
# Involve the stakeholders. Community forums should take place to expand, revise, and strengthen the plan. The public process is not a rubber stamp--it is as crucial to urban renewal. The bottom line is that the problems of our city are far greater than the government's ability to solve alone. For the beachhead to succeed, the stakeholders must take ownership of the idea and private investment must be tapped. Based on this input, the plan is revised.
# Spark ideas. Involving local architecture and planning firms as well as architecture students, such as the Urban Architecture Studio, a series of specific ideas is generated. These can be ideas for a mural park or an open-air market, way-finding signage, businesses, open-air theatre, lighting solutions, and more--all tied to the revised plan.
# Create social contracts. Social contracts are agreements between all stakeholders--city and state government, the business community, residents, investors, community groups--that each entity will commit to a certain activity, provide a professional service, spearhead a government program, or donate materials or goods for the cause (receiving a tax credit under the state's Neighborhood Assistance program). These are written contracts. (The idea for this stems from an idea forwarded by Fred Clark in Midtown. Although the idea did not take hold in Midtown, I suspect it was because steps 2 and 3 above were skipped. But Fred was onto something and he deserves the credit.)
# Market the beachhead. Good public relations will of course be a part of every step of the process. But at this phase, with development underway, the beachhead must be vigorously marketed to potential developers, businesses, and homeowners. The right kinds of businesses should be sought--to fit with the overall plan, and even the audience for residential ownership can be focused. For example, we could target empty-nesters and government employees, or younger families, or a combination of audiences. (I might add that a mayor who has owned his own ad agency is well suited to lead the charge on marketing not only a beachhead, but the entire city. As mayor, I would be an urban evangelist on every level.)
Only by engaging in a full and open process can we truly gain a foothold in the war against
low expectations for Harrisburg. Only by building a strong mental model of what we aim to
accomplish--and committing to make it happen--can we reduce the risks for investors and
arrive at the kind of comprehensive solutions we desire.
What follows are initial concepts for four Development Beachheads in the City of
Harrisburg.
====Beachhead #1: A Barrio District on Allison Hill====
Harrisburg's Latino population stands at over 5,700 people. That's one Latino for every
two Caucasians. A small but thriving Latino community is already rooted on Allison Hill, in
the Mount Pleasant area centered on South13th and Derry Streets. The Mount Pleasant
Hispanic American Center, located at 301 South 13th St. is a natural anchor in this
community and offers numerous social services to assist the Spanish-speaking community,
including language classes, small business development, fellowship, and more. The Center
also coordinates the annual Festival Calle Treze (13th Street Festival). The Community
Action Council is also here, another key partner. And PNC Bank has recently signed on to
create a branch right in the heart of this community at 13th and Derry--a bold move that
represents the kind of activist investing Harrisburg needs more of.
The raw components are in place to create a coherent and distinctive Barrio District in
Harrisburg. The Barrio (which means "neighborhood" in Spanish) would include not just the
commercial corridor, but would extend several blocks in every direction, including garbage-
strewn back yards, numerous abandoned buildings, and small, graffiti filled side streets (like
the street with no name--Thompson Street--discussed in my February 23rd campaign
newsletter). Let's reclaim this entire area and create a safe, business and investment friendly
attraction noted for its Latino culture.
When city residents have a desire for Latino food or merchandise, they will think of the
Barrio District. When Spanish classes need an immersive language experience, they will
go to the Barrio District. And when Spanish-speaking immigrants need a welcoming home
in Harrisburg and a hand up to a better life, they, too, will go to the Barrio District.
I believe this neighborhood could become a major cultural destination for our city and region.
====Beachhead #2: A Gaslight District in Midtown====
The New Midtown, a region stretching from Forster to Maclay, Front to Seventh, has seen
residential investment in the last two decades. Yet the commercial corridor on 3rd St. is
sadly underutilized. Moreover, the Broad Street Market--a development anchor in
Midtown--has struggled with a decrease in use and has been tarnished in recent months
by internal disputes between vendors and the Broad Street Market Board, which
administers the facility.
A brief aside...
As a founding member of Friends of Midtown and as former chair of that group's
redevelopment committee, I have developed ideas for turning Midtown around. One of
those ideas was to create an African American Heritage Center in the site of the
Furlow Building and the building owned by the Historic Harrisburg Association. To that
end, I discussed the concept with Fred Clark, chair of the African American Museum
Board, and provided a 3-d rendering which was approved by the board and featured
in the Patriot-News.
However, the broader thinking of Harrisburg 2.0 has caused me to rethink that plan,
and I have a better idea which I will reveal in the section on the Camp Curtin Corridor.
I believe that Midtown's 3rd St.--or "Cultural Corridor" as Friends of Midtown calls
it--should become a gaslight district, forming an avenue of the arts where cultural venues
such as blackbox theatre, art galleries, coffee shops, smoke-free restaurants, antiques
stores, books stores, and a wide range of specialty shops may be found.
I envision gas lamps at the intersection of 3rd and Verbeke Streets, and I envision a tasteful
and appropriately scaled parking structure across from the Broad Street Market. I believe
the Furlow Building should be an arts co-op on the first floor where numerous micro-galleries
can become established--an arts parallel to the Broad Street Market across the street.
Above would be high-end apartment or condominium housing as well as perhaps lower
cost artist studio housing. I envision a fine restaurant in the former bank building, run perhaps
by a successful local restauranteur who has already expressed interest in that venture. And I
envision the Historic Harrisburg Association perhaps relocating to the rarely visited National
Fire Museum, which could become a community center for the Midtown neighborhood.
Moreover, I envision a revitalized Broad Street Market that is integrated into the new
Gaslight District--a market with two parts; one a traditional market with traditional hours, and
another open into the early evening. I also envision a Broad Street Market that acts as a
small business incubator, where businesses that wish can "graduate" to permanent locations
on 3rd Street.
Finally, I envision that some of 3rd Street might be closed to vehicular traffic after 6PM,
creating a walking district and encouraging a cultural nightlife in Midtown.
====Beachhead #3: A Community Center in Southside====
Resting under the shadow of our unfortunate city incinerator, Southside Harrisburg is a place
that, amazingly, many city residents don't even know exists. Home to the largest housing
project in the city, Hall Manor, Southside is also home to increasing drug-related crime.
Sadly, the city police substation in Southside is not seriously manned, and drug use in a
Hall Manor playground prompted the city to close and dismantle the playground. Rather
than solve the real problem, we blamed the see-saws. There have even been calls by
some in the administration to close the Cloverly Heights Pool for the same reasons.
But there are beacons of hope. A small clinic, a small Community Action Council storefront,
a Boys & Girl's Club, and Just 4 Kidz led by community activist Richard Soto that offers
local kids hope through opportunities like playing flag football while keeping their lives on
track. Beginning with a pep rally at St. Paul's Baptist Church, the team recently returned from
Florida with a championship win.
My March 4th newsletter detailed some of my experiences in Hall Manor. I will never forget
when Luz Granado-Sagardia pointed through her window at a plywood-covered bar at the
edge of the projects and said, "That is the community center in this place."
We can do better.
We will establish a Development Beachhead encompassing all of Hall Manor. We will
bring back the police, improve relations with parole officers, and provide the training
residents need to make Hall Manor a first step and not a last one. We will do this by
planting a community center in Southside, with classroom and fellowship facilities, as well as
other functions deemed necessary by local stakeholders.
And we will rebuild the playground and feature the successes of our quiet heroes in our city
publications.
As we succeed, we will facilitate home ownership and rental opportunities in redeveloped
properties throughout the city.
Government exists to do what private industry cannot. Giving hope to Southside and other
fractured communities may seem impossible to some. But to me, this is our city's greatest
calling.
====Beachhead #4: The Camp Curtin Corridor====
Sixth Street Uptown, from Maclay to Division, is an area not unlike Midtown's cultural
corridor in terms of potential. Yet this long stretch of street has suffered from years of
abandonment. Homes are collapsing in on themselves, roofs are falling off, walls sagging
towards the street. Some businesses, like the Camp Curtin Barbecue, are beacons of
hope that better days may be ahead. But not without a focus and a commitment on every
level to turn 6th Street around.
There is a great irony on 6th St. While our present mayor planted his Civil War museum on
Reservoir Park, it was 6th Street, the site surrounding the Camp Curtin monument, that
really holds claim to Civil War history. This was the site of one of the largest encampments
in the Civil War--the place where regiments were gathered and supply lines
coordinated--as well as the site of a major hospital.
Now, I return to my concept for the African American Heritage Center. The Center was to
house a museum on African American History. The Civil War Museum contains some
excellent exhibits on the African American experience in the war--as well as an entire
panorama of Civil-War era Camp Curtin. Why not recycle these exhibits and bring them to
a Heritage Center Site located on what I call the Camp Curtin Corridor? The African
American Heritage Center can provide the development anchor 6th Street lacks--and can
provide a community center and base of operations for renewing 6th St.
I envision a 6th St. that is thriving with small businesses, filled with restaurants, distinctive
housing, and shops--as well as murals and outdoor statues, gardens, and installations that
celebrate the African American experience and teach us about the underground railroad,
black historical figures, and more. I envision outdoor performance space and streets closed
for multicultural festivals.
I seek only to tantalize at this point--the final form of the Camp Curtin Corridor and the
Heritage Center would come about through the Six-Step Development Beachhead
process I described previously.
It seems clear to me that the Development Beachhead model may be exactly what 6th St.
needs--and what our city needs, too, if we are to turn urban tragedies into areas of
profound possibility and economic opportunity.
The renewal of Harrisburg will require a new way of looking at development. In the next and
final section, I will overview the philosophy of Smart Growth that will undergird our city-wide
efforts.
==Livable communities==
Harrisburg will adopt a policy of Smart Growth for every neighborhood.
===Background===
Smart Growth was the creation of a network of non-profit and government organizations,
including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It presents city planners with a series
of principles for urban renewal that fight suburban sprawl and make our cities the
communities of choice for homeowners and businesspeople.
I believe that the principles of Smart Growth should be the guiding principles of
Harrisburg's revised zoning codes, and the ever-present framework for our Development
Beachheads.
In this final section of Harrisburg 2.0, I will provide an overview of Smart Growth principles.
===Smart Growth Principles===
====Create a range of housing opportunities and choices.==== 
Harrisburg wishes to remain competitive in terms of its housing options--and that means choices. We need housing that meets the varied needs of potential residents--condominiums, garden apartments, lofts, stately homes, urban bungalows, even car-free streets with flowers down the middle and parking in the back yards. We must think boldly about our "product" and offer potential residents as many options in Harrisburg home-shopping as in shopping for a new car.
====Create walkable neighborhoods.==== 
One of the beauties of urban living should be the ability to walk to most of what one needs--to markets, churches, schools, jobs, shops, parks, libraries and more. Doing this means building in compact ways that mix land uses and provide a high density of interesting options--provided in a spirit of organized chaos, organically growing to meet the needs of the community. Long tunnels of single-use does not facilitate walkability (nor, I might add, do crosswalks that have not been repainted in 15 years).
====Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration.==== 
We must provide opportunities for citizen engagement in our planning process. The Development Beachhead approach does this in focused areas of the city. But the same spirit must pervade all city planning. Although citizen participation can be time-consuming, by involving the public in planning, Harrisburg can create partners who buy in to plans and invest themselves--and their resources--in the community.
====Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place.==== 
Harrisburg must not be a bland mash of largely historic properties with the same flavor, stronger or weaker, in every area. We must capitalize on what makes every part of the city unique--whether that is an abandoned anchor building, an interesting crossing of streets, a nearby school, a creek, a cluster of related businesses, or a sense of ethnic pride. We must build on our strengths, keep our eyes open to the opportunities under our noses. Again, the Development Beachhead plan will help us to do this.
====Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective.==== 
The funds needed to renew Harrisburg are staggering and far exceed our city, state, or even federal government's resources. If we are to reclaim our city, it will be through private investment--enticing developers and residents to sink their resources into Harrisburg. We must do all that we can to encourage them by providing open communications of city plans, streamlined services, and fair and equal application of city programs. Again, the Development Beachhead plan provides the blueprint we need to entice investors and give them the service they deserve.
====Mix land uses.====
By mixing land uses, we can create more variety in our neighborhoods and commercial corridors. That means more amenities close to home, reduced parking issues, and opportunities for entrepreneurism such as a home-based office. Commercial uses in close proximity to residential use generally increase property values and enable people to live close to where they work, increasing their quality of life and the perceived value of urban living. Harrisburg adopted its zoning ordinance in 1950 and has amended them in a hodge-podge fashion for half a century. It is difficult for the city staff to administer and is confusing to investors. It is time to throw out our city zoning ordinances and start over. This may seem like a tall order, but our city staff has ideas and simply needs a mayor who will listen to them and who will open a public process to get the job done.
====Preserve open space.==== 
This Smart Growth principal has fewer applications in Harrisburg, but it does have some. For example, we must be sure that Reservoir Park does not get turned into a cluster of buildings. We must protect Riverfront Park. Not over-develop City Island. Now, when it comes to the rolling fields of 6th St. Midtown, I believe that we can do with a little less open space!
====Provide a variety of transportation choices.==== 
How many times have you seen a poor soul on a bicycle weaving dangerously into traffic, or skipping out onto the road to avoid a snowbank? Have you ever wondered whether all those Restaurant Row partiers are really sober when they get in their cars to drive home? Have you thought it odd that the proposed light rail system touches on downtown but avoids the rest of the city? In our planning for Harrisburg 2.0, we must be open to supporting various modes of transportation in Harrisburg. (And, incidentally, we should seriously consider the viability of a regular shuttle service to our various commercial corridors, an idea under consideration for perhaps a decade).
====Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities.====
Although development in open areas--or knocking down neighborhoods to replace them with new, vinyl alternatives--may be the most cost-effective way to develop, we should embark on a path to guide developers toward redeveloping the buildings that already exist. And we should encourage the salvage of architectural elements--even whole faÃ§ades--to retain a sense of place and capitalize on the treasure of our architecture. I am not saying preserve everything exactly as it is. I say let's always adapt, but let's not bulldoze our resources. Revized zoning and providing tax and purchase incentives forms part of the answer to this initiative.
====Take advantage of compact building design.====
By building up rather than out, and by providing integrated parking solutions, we can preserve greenspace and create a denser, more interesting, pedestrian-friendly environment. We should consider new homes in empty neighborhood lots that offer new options and include parking. We should not be afraid to develop attractive multistory apartment and condominium facilities in empty sites--although we should do this to diversify housing stock, not compete with renewal of existing housing or in-fill possibilities. In all we do, we should attempt to fill our streets with a lushness and a diversity that provides new options for our residents and additional opportunities for our entrepreneurs. And finally, let's plant more trees and put the lids back on our trash cans, as required by law.
==The point of it all: our kids==
By renewing our city, we provide the life environment our kids need to succeed. H20 is a plan dealing with urban renewal on every level. When we succeed in renewing our city, the result is safer neighborhoods, stronger communities, economic opportunity, and a sense of hope.
Even as we strive to improve our schools, we must keep in mind that our community
produces the conditions for success or failure in the classroom.
The culture of blame engendered by the current administration--criminalizing and
segregating our kids--may appear to control the situation in the short term, but to what end?
Under my administration, school reforms will continue and expand, but in a new spirit of
cooperation and compassion. The goal will be empowering teachers and parents, and
returning our schools to home rule as quickly as possible.
The goal will also be to gain efficiencies to enable a reduction of school taxes (22 mills of
our total 36 mills goes to our distrtict) and a commensurate increase in city taxes--moving
realized school surpluses to broad-based urban renewal in the areas around our schools
themselves, in our Development Beachheads, and in every neighborhood.
We pay an astronomical $110 million each year for our schools and just $64 million for all
other city services. It's time we paid attention to the real priorities and give our kids the lives
they deserve.
==Next Steps==
If you like my vision and think that--after a quarter century of the same mayor--change is
overdue in Harrisburg, the next step is:
Vote SMITH on May 17th.
As your mayor, I will look at the big picture and will not horde power nor exclude people
from the process.
Together--and only together--we can usher in a new era, a new Harrisburg: Harrisburg 2.0.
Thank you for reading this document. If you would like to have me over for coffee to
meet with you and a few neighbors to talk about these ideas, you can reach my
campaign staff at customerservice@smithforharrisburg.com, by leaving a phone
message at 232-0267, or by visiting www.smithforharrisburg.com and clicking on the
Contact Us link. (If you accidentally click on the "Donate Online" link, that's OK, too).
Smith, Jason