Remember when I posted about the Bradford County Commissioners coming to Wise County on a fact finding mission to see how drilling in the Marcellus Shale might impact their constituents?
Bradford County, PA Commissioners, What Happened to That Fact Finding Mission?
Bradford County, PA Commissioner McKlinko Goes Klunk
Man! McLinko’s spin is so lame! Check out this letter to the editor.
Doug McLinko, Gas and the Family Farm. A Bradford County PA Resident Speaks Out
Busted!
Updated: Here is the link to paper. The comments are great! I love how Bradford County citizens aren’t easily fooled.
UPDATE
McLinko Responds
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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Doug McKlinko klunks again! It boggles the mind how anyone could come up with this one- that gas drillers are saving farmers and preserving farmlands! Can he say that with a straight face?
McKlinko is a BBO! Just like Booger county, Tx! This is pretty common practice. Next time just vote 'em out!
No doubt commissioner Mcklinko is bought and paid for by the gas industry and is done representing the people of Bradford County.
Mcklinko was recently in Harrisburg lobbying on behave of the gas industry against a severance tax to cover the damages done by the industry to roads, bridges and the enviroment not to mention the additional strain that is being put on our social services and the criminal justice system. Mcklinko does not understand that the industry is EXEMPT from the clean drinking water act and has failed on several occassions to address these mis-leading statements "his" industry representatives have made at public meetings. Many of the farmers that I talked to would gladly give back their measily bonus money if the industry would just go away.
If you want to know what others think, read the comments.
http://thedailyreview.com/articles/2009/06/20/editorial/letters/tw_review.20090620.a.pg4.tw20letters_s1.2612845_let.txt
I see the link doesn't work so I posted the here.
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of thedailyreview.com.
A Republican wrote on Jun 20, 2009 8:48 AM:
" WOW I have said from the day he paid for himself to go to Texas that he is in this for himself. I also see the way he has the Republican Committee under his thumb and it is great to see that others are seeing the light. EXCELLENT write-up. "
Sue wrote on Jun 20, 2009 9:19 AM:
" I think Mr. McLinko was referring to financial benefit. Financially this is a boon to small farmers.
Lets not make more of this, than it is meant to be.
Out of context we can make almost any comment seem irrational. "
No fan of drilling wrote on Jun 20, 2009 10:39 AM:
" Chris Bradley is right on with his assessment. So many of Doug's comments have been illogically pro-drilling. If he would present a balanced, accurate and logical viewpoint, then we would not mistrust his judgment. The way it is, Doug has lost credibility with folks who value logic and are not out for the big dollar grab. Even folks who wholehearted supported him for re-election as commissioner are expressing remorse. "
Cmon Sue wrote on Jun 20, 2009 11:02 AM:
" Don't be so nieve. Mclinko has been basically working for these people for a year now. He has been using his position as a county commissioner to promote one particular private business, the gas companies, and he is lobbying in their behalf. If people can't see this so clearly as this Bradley charcter this county is in serious trouble. It is transparent as can be. It didn't take this well written and on the point letter to convince me because I've been paying attention. "
TroyResident wrote on Jun 20, 2009 11:38 AM:
" The author forgets to mention he is a friend of Mark Smith. While Doug is working to ensure the county benefits from natural gas drilling, Mark Smith is crying about day care. "
Dem agrees with A Republican wrote on Jun 20, 2009 11:53 AM:
" Looks like me and "A Republican" agree on an issue. See there is always common ground somewhere! Mclinko is by far the most self serving commissioner I have ever seen and yet some buy into his grandstanding nonsense on a regaular basis. Apparently there are Republicans who can see through him just as much as a liberal like me. I find that encouraging! Especially in this case. Maybe they can take care of this guy in their primary once and for all! How this guy EVER made it through one republican primary, let alone two of them is beyond me. Good Luck to "A Republican". "
Another GOP wrote on Jun 20, 2009 12:52 PM:
" The question I asked at the time was – did he represent himself there as a commissioner from another county, or as a private businessman expressing his own views? He had no right to speak as a commissioner unless he made it plain he was not representing our county. Few county residents believe as he does, I would bet. "
Jen wrote on Jun 20, 2009 1:24 PM:
" Thank you, Mr. Bradley, for expressing the feelings of many citizens who can not understand why Mr. Mclinko would be such a champoin of the gas companies from day one. We have always thought it was because his restaurant would stand to benefit from the outsiders moving in but more and more we think there are anticipated political contributions for the next campaign. Why else would he be so gunho for an industry that is clearly going to have a negative effect on this county? He represents the citizens who are affected, not the gas companies moving in from outside and he seems to have forgotten he should be overseeing the welfare of this county, not his own. Too bad he has turned into such a self-serving politician. There are too many of those kind in politics today and it's time to weed them out. Thank you, Mr. Bradley, for your well-said thoughts. "
Thank you Sharon for posting this editorial. It is clear from the comments that Mclinko does not represent the majority of the people of Bradford County. He is only interested in promoting "his" and the gas companies self-serving interest. This is why he will not be elected as commissioner again!
If the comments on this forum are any indication of who the residents of Bradford County think Doug is working for, I'm pretty sure Doug won't be getting re-elected again.
Here are a couple more comments from The Daily Review.
Doug – o – nomics wrote on Jun 20, 2009 11:16 PM:
" Mr. Bradley definately hit a point in his article. The sad thing is that if we look at the larger picture, Doug is doing what representitives, senators, judges have done and still do. It is nice to think that people get elected to serve the people, but in reality there are always financial, personal, etc…. reasons for getting elected. Doug is making money renting to gas company officials, owns a restaurant, and is friends with some local businessmen who will also benefit from the gas companies. Is this whole thing immoral, illegal, imcomprehensible, etc… Only Doug will be able to answer why he is in office – for himself or the people who elected him. On a side note it has seemed to escape comment that Mr. Sullivan once favored taxing clean and green once drilling started – he later changed his vote to say that people should only be taken out of clean and green after they receive royalties. Mr. Sullivan owns roughly 500 acres and is expecting a well on his property. Did he vote for financial reasons or was he voting to do the right thing. Politics will never be the same in this county – if you think it is bad now wait until there is some royalty money coming in. This will change why people get into politics, why certain laws are passed, and maybe that is just the way politics was meant to be. Regardless why any of our politicians voted on or acted on any issue, people need to be aware of these things when our elected officials come up for re – election. "
reader wrote on Jun 20, 2009 11:51 PM:
" Thanks Chris S Bradley for expressing your views. The county commissioners post is not for personal gain but for serving the citizens of the county. I understand that politics and personal gain have gone hand in hand for thousands of years. This isn't a new issue but it is obvious that a line has been crossed with current affairs in Bradford County. Gas companies really don't need that much help. We have a resource they want. It's not like their going to leave and go else where. Our region is loaded with so much natural gas that companies are pulling stakes and coming to Pa. Doug's personal trips are just that personal but with his position as commissioner it does create a conflict of interest. In essance no matter what he does it's a lose lose situation. If anyone has a problem with this situation then vote Doug out. Money at elction time is important to stay in office but remember actions speak louder than words at the pulpit. So come election time judge Doug on what he has done to help the the local citizens and if his peronsal agenda has interfered with his job then vote for change and a new commissioner. "
Mcklinko responds to criticism
http://thedailyreview.com/articles/2009/06/22/editorial/letters/doc4a3ee9370d1b5161994432.txt
I posted a response to McLinko's response. Since that paper has refused to post my comments in the past, I'll post it below.
Citizens sign leases without being fully informed about the impact of natural gas production on their land and communities. How many knew about the pits, the trucks, the eminent domain for pipelines and the compressor stations just a name a few impacts other then the pristine pictures of one rig sitting in a green pasture that is the typical sales pitch used by industry?
McLinko could have informed citizens about these additional impacts. He did come to Wise County so he has seen for himself that the following is a false statement:
"While a small fraction of land in the drill unit will be utilized during the drilling process, the vast majority of land in the parcel is left untouched and agriculture production is not affected."
Pictures are worth more than words here. If you want to see what McLinko saw, do a Google search using these terms: "Barnett Shale: An Aerial View." About 2:04 minutes into that video you will see the Newark East Field in Wise County. This is what a mature natural gas field looks like. The picture at 2:08 minutes in shows over 70 red markers indicating well sites. This picture was taken over a portion of my friend's ranch. They do not own the mineral rights but they have about 80 gas wells on their property. Unless a mineral owner knows to restrict the number of wells when they lease, the operator can drill as many wells as allowed by state regulations. In Texas, they can drill one well every 20 acres.