Here is Tim Grier's letter applying for the brand new Luzerne County PR "job" that was in the papers yesterday, addressed to the new Luzerne County Manager/Chief Clerk Doug Pape, who replaced Sam Guesto of debit card debacle fame, who just applied for and got a $78,159.80 job after leaving the job Pape has...
I understand this is a newly created position, which tells me that the powers that be, think that Luzerne County needs "PR". They are thinking of a lot of new things lately in Luzerne County, like the protest ordinance! Maybe Luzerne County needs "PR" because of all the stupid things they're thinking of in Luzerne County!
Will this job pay $78,159.80, like Sam Guesto's (picture below on right) new job? Will Judge Ciavarella appoint someone to this position?
In my opinion, Tim Grier is perfect for this job, he is a walking, talking PR person who is always in the news, and what better way for Luzerne County officials to "keep an eye" on Tim, than to hire him! It's a match made in heaven! They won't have to look for Tim, because he'll be staring over their shoulder! All Day long!
I think there ought to be questions, if Tim Grier is not granted an interview. And if he is granted an interview, I think there ought to be questions raised if he isn't hired for this position!
Here's the letter:
Mr. Douglas A. Pape
Luzerne County Manager/Chief Clerk
Luzerne County Courthouse
200 North River Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711
Mr. Pape:
I am writing in response to your recently published RFQ in which you advertise for “an experienced public relations consultant to provide PR counseling and services to the Board of Commissioners and to assist the county in developing and implementing a comprehensive public relations operation.”
You have listed the following as required qualifications:
I. Demonstrated experience in message development and PR strategy
II. Media experience, preferably in Northeastern Pennsylvania
III. Established contacts and relationships with members of the Northeastern Pennsylvania press corps
IV. Experience representing government agencies and/or elected officials or political candidates
In regards to the first qualification:
I have a fair amount of experience in what I consider a unique approach to PR strategy: being honest and forthright with the public and the media regarding issues affecting the community. My strategy when I ran for mayor of Wilkes-Barre this past year was this: Call it like I saw it. Tell the voters and the media the truth about what is/was going on in Wilkes-Barre City government. This was no easy task; the City of Wilkes-Barre has its own public relations campaign designed to paint a rosier picture than what truly is/was taking place in the city. Nonetheless, I managed to get my message out to thousands of voters effectively; I spent approximately twenty-five cents on campaign materials for every vote I received, my opponent’s campaign spent approximately fifty dollars per vote. It is true, my opponent proved to be the victor, but my approach was clearly far more cost effective and over 1000 people came out to the polls in support of me and my ideas. Additionally, I managed to restore a fair amount of confidence in the process by letting the public know that there are individuals in the community willing to step up and do the right thing by being honest with them.
Concerning my most recent actions against misspending in Luzerne County, I again employed my technique of being honest about the goings-on within the county government and have had a tremendous amount of PR success. The general consensus among Luzerne County residents (as noted by polls conducted by The Times Leader and WYOU-TV, as well as numerous letters to the editor in support of my actions and opinions) is that the county is in the wrong with its deceptive behavior, atrocious misspending and poor personnel hiring decisions, and I am in the right for holding the county accountable. By being honest and forthright about county misspending and hiring practices (my message development, if you will) I have convinced, or better yet - enabled the general public to see the county for what it truly is. Personally, I consider this to be a great personal success; one that can benefit the community as a whole.
Regarding your second and third qualifications:
I have a fair amount of media experience here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I have appeared on live and recorded television broadcasts. I have been interviewed numerous times for print, radio and television; in person, over the telephone, and in the studio. I have established contacts at all major media outlets in Luzerne County. Individuals in print, radio and television know how to reach me day and night, and they also know that they can count on me to return their calls at all hours. Additionally, they know when I speak to them that I will not dump on them some prepared, canned speech, but rather they know that I will shoot straight and be honest about what I see transpiring in our government. I believe that this is exactly what Luzerne County needs to restore its tarnished image – honesty and accountability.
Regarding your forth qualification:
While I do not have experience representing elected officials, I have worked tirelessly on campaigns for a number of individuals, including myself, here in Luzerne County. My plan every time: be honest with the electorate. By bringing that positive attitude to Luzerne County, I think restoring credibility to the courthouse may in fact be a possibility.
You seek assistance in message strategy – rather than wait for you to hire me, I will give you my trade secret - BE HONEST AND FORTHRIGHT WITH THE CITIZENS OF LUZERNE COUNTY. In all honesty, I believe that is exactly what the county needs to get back on track. (See how that honesty thing works?) If you feel that coaching and counseling is necessary for the Board of Commissioners and other administrative personnel regarding this “message strategy”, I am happy to offer this service to you, and quite honestly (there’s that word again!!!), I think that my established position with the residents of Luzerne County and the local media regarding government accountability is something that no one else locally can offer Luzerne County. I suppose you could say that I am offering both you and the residents of Luzerne County a unique opportunity.
You seek to develop “policies, procedures, and protocols that will facilitate effective communication…” I don’t mean to be redundant, but allow me to give this one to you for free, again: tell the members of the Board of Commissioners and the members of the administration and the courts to stop trying to deceive the public. The public knows that not everything is as rosy as the county might like us to believe; the trick is to be honest about it and tell us what the plan is to repair the deficiencies so we can move forward as a community. The county’s current method – deceive the public so that certain candidates will be re-elected, certain people will be hired, and certain individuals will receive contracts – is an outdated method that continues to plague our county government. I must warn you, hiring a professional wordsmith to paint an even rosier picture of that which is actually in need of repair is not only not the answer; it flies in the face of everything the new Board of Commissioners has promised the citizens of Luzerne County.
Please be advised that I have eight weeks left in the current semester at Penn State before I graduate. I know you seek someone “24/7”; I hope you are not in any rush. If you are, and my current enrollment conflicts with your needs, I again suggest – JUST LET THE COMMISSONERS AND THE COURTS AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL KNOW THAT IT IS TIME TO START BEING HONEST AND STOP WITH THE DECEPTION, THE LIES AND THE LIES BY OMISSION. By taking this approach, you may, in fact, eliminate the need for this position altogether, thereby saving the residents of Luzerne County tens of thousands of dollars every year. Maybe I am talking myself out of a job, but if you are not interested in honesty, perhaps I can at least convince you not to fill this position with some slick, propaganda-spewing individual whose sole purpose will be to further confuse and deceive the citizens of Luzerne County. In the meantime, if you wish to proceed with your plan, I would be happy to work with the Board of Commissioners and administrative personnel on a part-time basis until graduation. When I am available to come on board full-time, I am willing to accept this position at the average salary of Luzerne County’s hard-working residents. The U.S. Census Bureau calculated the mean per-capita income for Luzerne County was $21,346 in 2006. I would be happy to work with the county on getting out the truth to the residents on that salary. Should you require references or any additional information from me, please do not hesitate to contact me at tjg5050@psu.edu or 570-970-0238. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely Yours,
/original signed/
Timothy J. Grier
● Times Leader: Grier’s PR job application takes jab. Watchdog puts his own spin on what he believes the role of consultant should be.
