The president and chief executive of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and Capital Region Economic Development Corp. has resigned from the capital city's municipal financial recovery advisory committee amid backlash over a video spoof that parodied Harrisburg's debt crisis.
"I do not want recent controversies of my making to stall or otherwise impede the clear progress that is being made in the financial recovery of Harrisburg," David Black said in a statement.
The video, shown at the chamber's awards night, satirized efforts by city officials to cope with Harrisburg's $340 million of debt, mostly due to bond financing overruns to an incinerator retrofit project. State-appointed receiver William Lynch is overseeing the city's finances.
The skit, which appeared on YouTube, featured actors playing Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson and her spokesman, Bob Philbin, accompanied by a parody of the 1980s song, "We are the World."
The committee meets every other week, advising Lynch on budgetary and other matters. Black served as Gov. Tom Corbett's representative. Because of the holidays, the committee will not meet again until Jan. 9, Lynch's office told the Central Penn Business Journal.
