What's America's Second Most Corrupt City?

Wshington, D.C. has to be #1. But which city ranks next in terms of corruption, or as a menace to the nation (and the world)? I'm very prejudiced in favor(?) of Seattle, though Houston probably comes to mind for many people.

Someone posted a list of Houston's problems on another thread, and I was struck between the similarities between the two cities. Here's my annotated list:

1) Enron in Houston.

> Seattle is cursed with Microsoft, which is probably a bigger global menace than Enron ever was.

2) scandalous police and prosecutorial racism in Tulia, Texas.

> We've got that in abundance in Seattle.

3) DNA test labs unlicensed and incompetent in Houston.

> Our Department of Social and Health Services are derelict.

4) Prejudicial redistricting in the State House.

> Something similar was recently passed in Seattle.

5) Fraudulent school numbers in Austin, Texas.

> Seattle's Education Mafia is all over the map. Amazingly, Seattle Schools Superintendent was being groomed for a position as U.S. Secretary of Education under the Clinton administration. I feel certain that he also would have been nominated by George Bush had Stanford survived leukemia. After all, he was a retired GENERAL and a pal of Colin Powell's, and he claimed to be apolotical. He was also an African American who was only to happy to do the white master's bidding.

6) A president who will be remembered as either the biggest crook or the most stupidist man on the face of this planet.

> Some people think Bill Gates is more powerful than George W. Bush, though he isn't as stupid as Bush.

Keep in mind that Seattle is, at least superficially, a very liberal city. Since corruption seems to hand in hand with power, which relates largely to size and concentrations of money, I imagine cities like Miami, Chicago and New York City also rank high on the list. But Seattle has a far smaller population than any of these cities. Pound for pound, I think it packs a bigger punch than Houston.

And this goes back over 100 years.

I think I have heard stories about New Orleans' high crime rate. But is it a national power broker, comparable to Houston's Enron or Seattle's Microsoft? Off the top of my head, I can't connect any major corporations to New Orleans.

You're kidding, right? You really think there's a number one in this category?

Miami. Los Angeles. New York. Chicago. Denver. Dallas. Detroit. San Diego. Las Vegas. (How could I forget Vegas?!)

No pikers on the list!

Or try "Personville," if you think the small towns are better. (Thanks Hammett.) Or go to one of the religious empire headquarters (Lynchburg etc.)

I think he was quite progressive in handling the SSD. Certainly, we could use his leadership today. I just really sincerely doubt that * would have nominated him for Sec. of Education had he survived. I had the opportunity to meet him several times, and I simply cannot picture him being embraced by the BFEE.

I was in the Seattle Public Schools from 1974 to 1986 and during that entire time, the district was mismanaged up the wazoo. Certainly Olfscheske was a complete disappointment - esp. for someone with his so-called financial skills. The jury is out on Raj Manhas as super - we shall see if he can help turn that ship around with help from a lot of new folks on the board.

I feel like Seattle is more ineptly than corruptly run, but that is just my take on it. Things move way too slowly in Seattle due to the infamous "Seattle way" of negotiation and discussion. As a result, things like light rail and the monorail take a geological age to come to fruition.

You say you worked for Seattle Schools from 1974-1986. I worked for the district from 1985 to 2002, so I was on board during the "Stanford Era." I also met the bastard face to face.

My research indicates that the Seattle School District was very corrupt by at least 1970 - the year of the "Garfield High School Conspiracy" - as your comments seem to point out. 1985 was also a landmark year. That was the year the "Black Mafia" appeared to really blossom. I think it was the year the teachers went on strike, partly because of Alice "Hurricane" Houston. (I didn't have a clue about the politics at the time.)

Under Stanford, things went from bad to worse. He ruined two of the best schools I ever worked at - Loyal Heights and Dearborn Park - unleashing derelict principals on both schools and offering the teachers and parents no support.

Don't forget that Stanford ushered in a new business mentality. They began calling princpals CEO's. Stanford was recruited by Don Nielsen, possibly the most sinister member of the "Education Mafia." Stanford is also remembered for the many experiments that blew up in his face - like Meany Middle School and QFC's "The New School." I don't think any supe in Seattle Schools history inspired so many protests - and for good reason.

Also, the general public wasn't aware of Stanford's stormy past. There was an incident where Federal Express was apparently bilking the U.S. Army out of millions of dollars. I corresponded with someone who filed a lawsuit, and he was convinced that Stanford - who was a general at the time - was involved. I was involved in a major lawsuit against the Seattle School District that saw Stanford take the witness stand. Only later did I discover that he was fighing another lawsuit in Atlanta almost simultaneously. He lost that case, which made Paul Harvey's show.

"The jury is out on Raj Manhas as super - we shall see if he can help turn that ship around with help from a lot of new folks on the board."

No, the jury is not out. I can tell you right now: They're all derelicts. I've been studying the district long enough to know that it's organized crime. They would NEVER recruit an honest person to serve as superintendent or on the school board. What we witnessed a few days ago was nothing more than a frightening example of manipulation. Four knights on white horses suddenly appeared out of nowhere and got elected to the school board - with scarcely any objections from the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. That, along with many other things, doesn't add up.

"I feel like Seattle is more ineptly than corruptly run, but that is just my take on it."

No, it's very corrupt. It isn't immediately obvious to the casual observer, but if you start taking notes and following the news, it becomes obvious that it is indeed an "Education Mafia." It's hard to even list all the major scandals - SPICE, Clint Webb, the "4th of July Burglary," John Stanford's blackmail attempt and on and on - let alone discuss them.

Jersey City, Newark, Elizabeth, Camden, Linden....

and a couple of dozen more in this state alone can vie for the title.

We even have whole counties in the running for the prize.

Having lunch in a local diner, ran into my slob of a councilman the day after the election. Three people came up to me and told me to watch my wallet.

Thanks to the Daley family! ;-)

the city where those 3 repukes got 'elected' with 18,181 votes each. Defintely the most corrupted

The corruption in these two cities is nearly unbelievable.

At the County level, this punk Alex Penlas--the county mayor--changed the building rules (which are extremely important and prominent in S Florida), so that the inspector of sites would not be from an independent agency--but that the builder itself would choose the inspector.

That's just a glimpse.

It hasn't changed that much since the days the mafia ran it.

IMHO. Legendary history of election fraud; home to scores of retired Latin American generalissimos & dictators, pathologically aggressive rightwing Cuban lunatics, CIA operatives and their best friends the Mafia & drug-runners -- Miami's got it all.