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Philadelphia Mayor John Street shows us that Republicans have no monopoly—much as they would like one—on arrogance, knuckledragging stupidity, and boneheaded intransigence. Here's the latest on the Love Park scandal:

DC Shoes, a $100 million company based in California, announced yesterday that it will give $1 million over 10 years to pay for future skateboard damage in LOVE Park, if the city reopens the park to skateboarding.

So, you'd think with city services being slashed, that $1 million would be pretty welcome! But n-o-o-o:

But it appears that Mayor Street and Managing Director Phil Goldsmith, who have long objected to skateboarders, pretty much told the shoe executives to shove it. Philadelphia is not about to let the skateboarders back in.

"There's never going to be any skateboarding in LOVE Park, period," Goldsmith said yesterday.

Ken Block, president of DC Shoes, said Goldsmith even called him in California to try to block his company's offer.

"He told me that [Mayor Street] was never going to let skateboarding into LOVE Park no matter what we did," Block said yesterday. "[Mayor Street] said this subject was really just 'a pimple on the ass of an elephant' compared to everything else he was dealing with...

Like the coming Federal indictments?

... and that the way it was being handled didn't seem very professional.

Heh.

The skateboarders do have some support. John Dougherty, who is the city's Democratic Party treasurer and one of the city's major power brokers, has been converted to the skateboard cause.

"This kind of investment in public resources represents the type of creative thinking and public-private partnership that will push our city forward," Dougherty said in a prepared statement yesterday. "In the end, this means more jobs for our members, more commerce on our streets, and more vitality for our City."

And City Controller Jonathan Saidel, fiscal watchdog for the city, said yesterday that Street would be foolish to pass up this offer.

"Frankly, a million-dollar check is something I could really use right now", Saidel said.

"I looked at the managing director's statement, and read how he wants the park to be used for a chess tournament next week, that's it's soon going wireless, and that these are reasons why we can't have skateboarding," he continued. "Well, how in the world does that conflict with young people skateboarding? It doesn't. Skateboarders wouldn't even be here during those hours. Why not just let them have their time?"

City Council Majority Leader Jannie Blackwell and Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown also support the skateboarders, as does the Logan Square Neighbors Association.
(via Daily News)

Philly is supposed to be a city of neighborhoods. I live two blocks away from Love Park. Letting the skateboarders back in will improve my neighborhood. Doing the right thing would bring in a million dollars, make the city look good, and if we get the X games back, bring in millions more.

What is hard about doing the right thing here? Philly! WTF? It's enough to make me vote Republican!

NOTE Readers, if you want to vote for doing the right thing with LOVE Park, do it here. Voting was 85% in favor, last I looked.