Location of Pottstown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Pottstown political cesspool has claimed yet another victim. Man of the People and Sixth Ward Councilor, Jody Rhoads has called it quits in a two sentence email to Borough Hall. After banging his head against the table, serving approximately four and a half years on Pottstown Borough Council, Jody has had enough. The man who dared to fight City Hall wants his life back.
This is a huge loss for Pottstown on the heels of Jason Bobst’s recent announcement that he has accepted a job as the new West Norriton Township Manager. Both of these men have worked to make Pottstown a better place and have tried in their own way to look at the big picture and find a way forward. However, the “good old boy machine” is just too strong. Mr. Toroney and his sock puppet majority on council like Pottstown just the way it is and have no intention of letting things change. If you read the Fishwrap on a regular basis you see Pottstown is in need of sweeping changes based on the news presented. It’s generally not good news. The ULI Report may as well never have been written, since we constantly ignore it. There is no desire to move forward by the majority of the leadership in Pottstown. They say what they think people want to hear and do the opposite.
Jody was successful in neutralizing Thomas Hylton’s Shade Tree Commission and has been a tireless advocate for cutting costs, keeping taxes down and being a councilor at large for any citizen of Pottstown who needed assistance! Jody is not a politician. Instead, Jody is a concerned citizen who gave thousands of hours of his time to serve the residents of Pottstown. Seeing Jody walking the streets of his ward and talking to his constituents was a common occurrence. However, there comes a time when you have to cut your losses and move on.
Jody achieved a landslide election victory last November and was sworn in to serve another four years on Pottstown Borough Council in January. The Sixth Ward and the entire Borough of Pottstown have lost a champion for the people. It’s a sad day indeed!
We think losing a Borough Manager and a Borough Councilor so close together illustrate Mr. Toroney’s failed leadership as Pottstown Borough Council President. We think Mr. Toroney needs to do the right thing and step down as well! Somebody with some vision for the future needs to occupy that position as Mr. Toroney has no plan for the future of Pottstown.
Ask yourself why these two particular people would suddenly resign after being so involved.
Roy's Rants - For Your Information 
Excellent article, Mr. Roy. Couldn’t have said it better myself. I hear one of the reasons Mr. Rhoads got disgusted and decided to throw in the towel is that someone is passing a rumor that Mr. Rhoads is the reason Jason Bobst is leaving the Borough! What a ridiculous thing to say! Mr. Rhoads and Mr. Bobst were the only two who worked – TOGETHER – tirelessly to make Pottstown a better place. With Toroney at the helm and no one to oppose him and his puppets on Council, Pottstown is in deep doo-doo. This Boro stinks!
That is a ridiculous rumor! I know for a fact that Councilor Rhoads respected Mr. Bobst and is sad to see him leave Pottstown. All of Pottstown owes Jody a deep debt of gratitude for all he accomplished and all he tried to accomplish in the face of insurmountable odds. The smell isn’t just from the sewage treatment plant in the East End these days! Your right, Pottstown is in deep doo-doo!
Sad part of that? Mr. Rhoads will probably get bashed alot more than praised! Mostly by the knuckleheads and self-important people in the Boro. What a shame. Pottstown really doesn’t know what they’ve lost!
Like you said Roy, Toroney has played his cards and it’s been a rotten game. Now we have Comnuck with his nose planted squarely up Toroneys b.hind. And Toroneys nose planted squarely up Flander’s b.hind. You got Mark Gibson trying to be on the inside, cheering the asses from the sidelines and talking smack. And you got the slumlords singing the hallelujah chorus because the borough is a failure and they want to get their ace in the hole too. GET ‘EM ALL OUT. Let this be the opening bell in the race to CLEAN HOUSE ONCE AND FOR ALL.
Here we got a great economic development director in Steve Bamford and he has no cards to play with? Why? Because PAID, like everything else, has NO VISION. They’re gonna pay him ’til they can’t justify paying him no more then they’ll up and claim him a failure when really, he just got caught in the slammin’ door, set up by the not-so-good old boys whose time has come and gone 5 x’s over. Where’s their objectives? Where’s the marketing plan? WHO EXACTLY are you hoping to attract to Pottstown? Bodega owners who defraud food stamps, hair weaving salons that front for illegal drug sales? Bunch of losers. But wait….what are they getting out of this dysfunction? Think about it, what’s in it for the good old boys? Got any guesses? Gotta be something cause there’s nothing they can point their finger at in pride an accomplishment, gotta be something more valuable to them besides a feeling of pride and accomplishment. Think about it.
Let’s take this borough by storm and put the losers where they belong, in rest homes for the terminally power hungry, greedy and ignorant.
Pingback: Rhoads Resigns From Boro Council, Blog Reports | The Pottstown Post
Roy, we reported on this story today at 3:45 p.m., here:
http://www.pottstownpost.com/2012/06/04/rhoads-resigns-from-boro-council-blog-reports/
Joe Zlomek
The Pottstown Post
Yes,
Jody will be missed
Thank You for your dedicated and committed service.
PJM
Well stated.
OMG!!
I can’t tell you how sad this news is on the heels of Jason’s leaving, too! No one has worked more honestly and tirelessly for the Boro than Jody! He gained people’s trust by being nothing but himself and making himself available and accessible. He shared information with anyone he met and took time to listen and understand people – their concerns, frustrations, questions, triumphs and ideas!!
Who knows who will fill his shoes but the person trying most likely just won’t have feet big enough to wear them without tripping.
I can only hope that Jody has the ability to support someone from the 6th ward to continue his good work!
I do wish Jody ALL the best and know he did not make this decision without great difficulty. He isn’t one to let people down and so this must be a decision he felt he had to make. I hope he knows that people appreciate his service and genuine concern for the Boro of Pottstown!
We’ll surely miss you Jody. You inspire us to keep up the good fight in your honor. Relax, Enjoy and BE.