Outside Erie

11 Responses to “Becca Martin’s About-Face”

1. Dale Hannah
   July 10th, 2008 at 10:08 am

   It will be to Erie’s advantage to fit Becca Martin into a top leadership spot ASAP. Her experience makes her a keeper.

2. Matt
   July 10th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

   Becca Martin’s return is no surprise, neither was Pontillo’s.

   In fact, I predicted when Martin left that she’d be back fairly soon. What happens with these kinds of people is that so much of their success is based on their local network of contacts. Take Becca Martin for instance. She’s part of the same “in crowd” network that contains people like Jake Rouch, Ray Schrekengost, Jim Barker, Spaulding, the Meads, etc.

   When Becca arrived in Michigan she found that so much of her support and network was nowhere to be found. So Becca had to start from scratch–not an easy task FOR a middle-aged transplant in ANY community, let alone Erie.

   With Pontillo I’m sure the reception he received in Texas was somewhat different. … I seriously doubt the sure the laid-back Texans (once they got to know him) ever really warmed up to him. So where could Ralph go? Back to Erie of course where the little kingdom he built welcomed him back with open arms.

   The same type of thing would happen if someone like Jake Rouch left Erie and took a job in some other community–far from his network. If Rouch went elsewhere he’d all of a sudden have to rely totally on his COMPETENCE (or lack of it), not his contacts. That would spell major trouble for Jake. Rouch has done a horrible job over the years in economic development. But he’s always had the newspaper plugging him and giving him high marks. He wouldn’t have that elsewhere, and it wouldn’t too long before Rouch was coming back to good-ole Erie.

   When many of these people talk about how they have given up offers to work in other cities, take it with a big grain of salt. There is a reason why so many of them stay here in Erie: their contacts and network. Most of them could not work anywhere else and enjoy the same cushy positions that they do here.

   Watch for Becca Martin to immediately be placed in a high-profile job with some Erie place that is close to her previous network.

3. Mike
   July 10th, 2008 at 1:12 pm

   As negative as Matt’s post sounds, it’s unfortunately true about the networks in Erie. They seem to run deep in this town, and you don’t always have that in other cities. That doesn’t mean that Becca Martin isn’t a good worker, but it helps to be “in” with the right people in Erie. Looking at the people on boards in Erie that have been listed on this site and the repeat names that show up helps illustrate that.

   That irritates a lot of young people in Erie. Could a recent graduate from one of the local colleges with a degree in finance or economics, or an MBA graduate do just as good a job as Becca Martin, or even better? Maybe, maybe not, but we’ll never know because they are never given the chance to prove themselves (at least not in Erie), where there are some that are given opportunity after opportunity.

   I’m not trying to bash Martin here, but Erie is definitely a city that could use some new blood in government/economic development positions.

   Just out of curiosity, are Becca Martin and Jim Martin related?

4. Peter Panepento
   July 10th, 2008 at 1:22 pm

   Mike:

   You articulate a point of view that I know is shared by many others in Erie. It becomes a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem — but it would be nice to see some new faces in key roles. That’s not to say that Becca Martin should refrain from returning to a city she clearly enjoys.

   To be fair, there are some outsiders who are making a difference in some key positions in Erie. Monica Brower, for one, came from western New York. John Oliver at VisitErie came from Niagara Falls. Antoine Garibaldi was an out-of-towner who came to Gannon. And the new leader at the Center for eBusiness has a long history of working outside of Erie.

   Those are the exceptions, though, and the community could clearly use some more fresh eyes and minds.

   Finally, Becca and Jim are not related. Merely a coincidence (though if you take a look at the Erie Regional Chamber’s board on our Authorities Guide: http://www.globalerie.com/blog/authorities/ , you’d think the Martin name is taking over the town).

5. Dale Hannah
   July 10th, 2008 at 3:18 pm

   Mike and Matt–isn’t it true that in almost any field one must network to climb the ladder? I don’t see a lot of college grads in any disipline go from the frat house to the front office. Even though the newbies may have a piece of paper that says they’re ready to go, that means only that they have the basis to build their careers on. You aren’t going to get ahead much of anywhere without knowing who can do what for you.
   That said, I do agree that some new blood and new ideas are just what Erie needs to move ahead. Now how do we get past the political machine to make it happen????

6. john morris
   July 10th, 2008 at 11:53 pm

   Does the community really acknowledge and support the need for new blood and new people comming in.

   In Pittsburgh, elections always bring out a contest of people showing there long yinzer bloodlines and credentials. Everyone competes in playing the “I’m one of you”, one of the boys rackett. I’t’s like lack of knowledge, and lack of perspective is sold as a big asset.

   The result is a leadership that knows a lot about Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh’s history but almost nothing about anywhere else.

   Even more scary is that this moronic trend permeates national elections. God forbid we find out, the candidate has a degree in Physics or speaks French. Everyone loves a moron.

7. George Vietze
   July 11th, 2008 at 5:59 am

   How do we get past the political machine? interesting question, In the end, the political machine does not vote, albeit they have a huge influence on political contributions. Citizen apathy and lack of involvement in the community have some responsibility for the political climate. Erie has an array of organizations working for the benefit of the community and education and enlightenment of the residents through the expansion of media and the internet are another way but unless the residents of the area take responsibility for their own welfare
   and shape the politiical direction not very much will change. There seems to be a swelling in the Erie area of concerned residents trying to find a path toward a more vibrant future and a better political climate.
   Not an easy road but some have embarked on that trip, how long the journey becomes is up to the community.

8. Matt
   July 11th, 2008 at 10:51 pm

   Peter, you mention Antione Garabaldi and the fact that he came here from outside Erie. I’m not so sure that’s a positive thing and I’ll explain why. As of this writing, Gannon is the only school in Erie that has contributed NOTHING to the city in either property taxes or payments in lieu of taxes. Absolutely nothing. Zero. Not a cent.

   At least Mercyhurst and Lecom took a look at Erie’s financial situation and decided to contribute some. Gannon (under Garibaldi) has not stepped up to the plate. They own a huge amount of property in downtown Erie and use a lot of city services. Yet they contribute nothing.

9. Matt
   July 11th, 2008 at 11:18 pm

   A friend of mine who works at the school district said he wouldn’t be surprised if Becca ends up being placed in one of the recent “vacated” administration positions at the school district main offices.

   I suppose that would make sense too. Remember when Becca was on the school board? There was probably no other school board member who kissed Jim Barker’s rear end as much as Becca Martin did. Becca, while serving on the board, was little more than a rubber stamp for anything Barker wanted to do.

   Perhaps she’ll be paid back for her loyalty with a job at the school district.

10. Matt
    July 11th, 2008 at 11:26 pm

    Speaking of the school district, I would love to see Kevin Flowers or Ed Palatella (two great reporters) do an investigative story exploring the donations that school district board members receive.

    New school district employees are “appointed” by the school board.

    Years ago, in New York, there was a scandal involving the connection between donations to school board campaigns and “appointments” to jobs.

    It would not surprise me if this has happened in Erie.

11. Jim
    July 13th, 2008 at 9:07 am

    I would be more interested in what Barker receives to make hiring recomendations to the board. Erie’s board is not that inventive.