Former Scranton mayor Jimmy Connors died Wednesday. He was 77 years old. Please allow me to weave together a few old stories here.
I remember sitting in my mom's kitchen in November of 1989. I was working for WARM 590 at the time, and I was about to embark on my election night assignment-- covering the race for mayor of Scranton between Jerry Notarianni and Jimmy Connors. Conventional wisdom had the Republican Connors losing to Democrat Notarianni in a strongly Democratic city. I told my mom that I didn't want to go to work because Connors was going to lose, I liked the guy and it was going to be a sad night. It turns out Connors won, barely, and it began a twelve year run in city hall. I should add that I liked Notarianni, too. His family and mine go back eons, and I have no doubt he would have been a fine mayor.
I first got to know Jimmy Connors in the 80's. He was running the Minooka Neighborhood Association, and I was doing the nighttime news at WARM. Some genius at what was then Pennsylvania Power and Light had the great idea to run power lines over a little league field. In case you're not familiar with the neighborhood, the field is long gone. There is now a Wendy's in its spot on Davis Street. Jimmy would call in frequently with the association's course of action as it fought the electric company's brilliant plan. Give the man credit. He know how to get on radio, television, and in the papers. The trait continued as he became Community and Economic Development Director under Mayor David Wenzel, and then as mayor.
Jimmy was an active guy, fighting an illegal garbage transfer station on Keyser Avenue and when Lackawanna County didn't want to pay for a permit to put a new roof on the courthouse.
The stalled downtown mall project was dropped on to his plate. Connors and several others finally made it happen.
I don't remember the exact date of the story that jumps out the most. It was likely 1993. I was at WYOU. I interviewed Connors, live, on an election night. It was in front of the Frances Willard School in west side. I was absolutely brutal-- asking exceptionally difficult and pointed questions. Maybe even mean. When it was over, I wasn't happy with myself. My bosses at WYOU weren't thrilled. Connors' people were livid. One person, and only one, was happy-- Jimmy Connors. He said the interview proved he could take a punch. Connors never held it against me, and he had every right to be angry.
There were a lot of punches over the years. Was Connors the greatest administrator in Scranton history? No. For many years, he was stuck with a city council more interested in personal agendas than good governance (a Scranton Times word). Connors would get bashed in the paper on an almost daily basis. There was always a money problem.
Jimmy Connors never raised taxes. He should have. The city just wasn't keeping up with expenses.
Now it can be told. Connors once related that he should have said the city was broke and asked the court for help, but he added he didn't want to be known throughout history as the mayor who led Scranton into bankruptcy.
This is not just one of my favorite Jimmy Connors stories. It is one of my favorite news stories. Period. Mid 90's. President Bill Clinton was coming to town, and Connors called us all in to city hall to talk about closed streets, every cop on duty, etc. I was with WYOU, a place that no longer exists. Chrys McCabe was handling the story for WNEP, and she asked every question in the book, wanting to know Clinton's second-by-second location and agenda. First, Jimmy Connors didn't know, and even if he did, he couldn't talk about it. Connors had a long fuse and after what must have been the tenth McCabe question, an exasperated Connors finally said "Chrys, that's why they call it the SECRET Service." I was on the floor. Connors shut her down, and that was the end of that news conference.
Something happened during his third term. Connors seemed to lose his passion for the job. I vividly remember a morning when there was a string of arsons in the hill section. The old Jimmy Connors would have been there, in front of a camera, to assure residents they were safe. He wasn't.
Someone shot up the home and car of a city employee one morning. I don't remember the employee's exact title, but this was the code enforcement guy. The old Jimmy Connors would have been there to say the city would not be intimidated. He was a no show.
I recall an election morning interview in 2001. He just sounded defeated, and the polls had just opened. City voters decided three terms were enough.
Connors and I bumped in to each other a few times over the years. He was always up, always happy, always vibrant. Running into Jimmy Connors always made your day better.
Speaking of which, you can keep your Emmys. A couple of former coworkers called after my obituary piece ran on WNEP Wednesday. Their compliments mean more than a statue. It meant the world to me.
Jimmy Connors remained active, always at a show or concert, always promoting something positive on social media. In these days when friendships vanish in an instant, Jimmy Connors was always a friend to the city of Scranton.
