I had the chance to chat with outgoing Rep. Phil English yesterday — and he had some rather pointed words about the quality of Erie’s political and economic leadership.

I’ll be running a full transcript of the interview soon.

I’m also working to finalize the details of a similar discussion with his successor, Kathy Dahlkemper.

In the meantime, though, I wanted to pass along this nugget from yesterday’s interview:

“There have been people floating around with a part of the puzzle, but not really focusing on the big picture. What we really need in the Erie area is a confluence of leadership that points us in the right direction in economic development and policy.

“Frankly, the inward-looking, self-destructive local politics and the tendency of a lot of people in leadership positions to run down the community is very unfortunate.

“We have to get behind a unified effort to promote the area, to attract people who have left the area to build careers and companies elsewhere to come back.”

I wouldn’t read this as a message that English is looking to enter the local political fray. He made it clear at several points during the interview that he isn’t planning any runs for public office any time soon.

I’ll have more to share soon.