Scranton City Council Unanimously Votes to Rename Roads After Joe Biden
The city council’s decision to rename roads after the former Delaware Senator, who was briefly a resident of the city as a toddler, was met with outrage from Scranton businesses.
The Scranton City Council, by a vote of 5 to 0, voted to rename the highly trafficked Scranton Expressway and Spruce Street after former Delaware Senator Joesph Biden.
The president of the city council, Bill Gaughan, said the expressway will become ‘President Joseph R. Biden Jr Expressway’ and Spruce street will now be known as ‘Biden Street.’
Joe Biden lived in Scranton as a child before his family moved to Delaware seeking better work opportunities, leaving Scranton in their rearview mirror.
The costly proposals come after the City of Scranton had already made an honorary name change in front of Biden’s childhood home on North Washington Avenue, where Joe Biden lived for a very brief period of time before moving on to Delaware.
Lackawanna County GOP quickly called out the move on Twitter, claiming the city government is putting partisan politics over its people.
Those most vocally opposed to the name changes were the owners of businesses along Spruce Street, WNEP reported, business owner John Heim and his wife own an ice cream shop called ‘Scoops on Spruce.’ The name change would mean the store would likely be forced to undergo a rebrand, putting an unecessary financial burden on them and their employees.
“All we asked tonight was to table the motion. Talk to more businesses. They said they spoke to businesses on Spruce. Which ones did you speak to?” asked Stephanie Grudis, another business owner.
Lackawanna County Republican Party Chairman Lance Stange Jr. released the following statement.
“It is poor public policy to name or rename public property in honor of politicians until they have left office or passed from this world and the full depth and breadth of their life and service can be measured. Additionally, based on reporting, it seems the officials who made this decision neglected to consult all the affected property owners and small business owners who now face additional financial burdens because of this decision. The City of Scranton should reverse course on this. Failing that, the City should reimburse all affected taxpayers for any and all costs incurred in complying with their edict.”
Best-selling author and conservative pundit Nick Adams also weighed in and called attention to Joe Biden’s questionable ties to Scranton.
Likely Republican frontrunner for the 2022 race for Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district, Jim Bognet, released the following statement on his Facebook page. Bognet blasted the Scranton City Council for its shameless political stunt, while at the same time drawing attention to the city’s current representative in Congress, Matt Cartwright, and his deep connections to Canada.
Do you think the city of Scranton is working for the best interests of its people? Do you think the renaming of streets for Joe Biden is a bad idea? Share your thoughts below!