NorCo Council Unanimously Approves Human Relations Commission

Last night, all nine members of Northampton County Council voted to establish a Human Relations Commission (you can see the original version here) to resolve claims of discrimination in a timely manner pursuant to the county's police powers. 

The purpose of the ordinance, as stated in the bill itself, is to "declare [the county's intent] to promote the rights and opportunities of all persons to participate in the social, cultural, recreational, and economic life of the County and to assure equal opportunity for all persons concerning employment, housing, education, health care, and use of public accommodations without regard to actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, physical marital status, familial status, GED rather than high school diploma, or mental disability, relationship or association with a disabled person, source of income, age, height, weight, veteran status, use of guide or support animals and/or mechanical aids, or domestic or sexual violence victim status."

The Commission envisaged by this ordinance consists of seven members appointed by the Executive, which County Council can confirm or reject. Members will reflect the diversity of protected classes. If the commission finds that a complaint of discrimination is substantiated, it can fine the offender up to $600.

Among the many members of the public who spoke in support of this ordinance was Liz Bradberry, who chairs Lehigh County's Human Relations Commission and is herself the CEO of Keystone Equality. She stated that Lehigh County's Human Relations Comm'n can resolve complaints in two days, much faster than the two-year average with the state. 

I was a bit concerned about cost, given that county finances are tight. But Bradberry explained that in Lehigh, their Commission has spent only $136 over the past two years. 

Bradberry also informed Council that 76 municipalities have established human relations commissions statewide, including 6 counties. She also reviewed case law supporting human relations commissions. 

In addition to Bradberry's factually based oration, Council members themselves made some impassioned arguments in favor of the ordinance. 

Nadeem Qayyum, the County's first Muslim and Asian American elected in the county, said that the Human Relations Ordinance is more than a legal text. "I see a promise," he said. 

Theresa Fadem said her family (great grandmother) was brought here as a slave from West Africa and that she herself "has suffered a lot of discrimination in my lifetime." She was proud of the members of the public who advocated the ordinance. 

Dave Holland, who announced that he has a husband, stated that "when people are treated differently, they struggle at another level than people who aren't treated differently. ... If we're treated differently just because of who we are, it takes a toll on the individual, not only the individual, but the whole family. ... When somebody has to deny who they are, it crushes your soul."

Lori Vargo Heffner gave no impassioned speech, but instead acted as a scrivener to tighten the language of the ordinance with a series of friendly amendments, all of which passed. 

This ordinance also was supported by Executive Tara Zrinski. "Our strength as a county comes from the diversity of our residents," she said.

I only wish that bloggers were a protected class.  

NorCo Public Defender Seeks Full-Time First Assistant

Nuria DiLuzio, Northampton County's Chief Public Defender, asked County Council last night to create a new position in her office for a full-time first assistant. That position currently exists but it is part-time. She assured Council that she has money in her budget to pay for that position this year. She added that if Council creates this position, she will return and ask to eliminate the part-time position. 

Her office currently consists of 13 part-time public defenders, 4 full-time public defenders, a support staff of 3 and a client advocate. Her office handles 75% of the criminal cases filed in the county. 

She said that her office is very strong and winning a record number of criminal cases. 

Amazingly, up until now, clients who sought a public defender were unable to do so online. She finally persuaded the county's outside IT department to make that option available, and it "really has streamlined our service" with the public and defendants awaiting trial. 

She also answered questions about the county's problem-solving courts, where her office assigns a defender. 

County Council will vote on her request tonight.  

She's doing much better than most Public Defenders throughout the state. According to Pittsburgh Courier, Pennsylvania faces a shortage of about 30% of the public defenders it needs. This results in criminal defendants sitting in jail longer than necessary and clogs dockets

Lehigh County's DCED Director Tapped as Allentown's Managing Director

Frank Kane, who has been Director of Lehigh County's Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), has been tapped by Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk as that city's new managing director. 

Kane, a graduate of Moravian College, has spent 20 years with Lehigh County and has been DCED Director since 2013. Prior to that, he spent three years as the press secretary for Pennsylvania's General Services Administration when Don Cunningham was the Director of that department. 

Taiba Sultana's Nomination Petition for State Senate is Among 41 Challenges Across the State

Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court has received 41 separate challenges to nomination petitions filed by statewide and congressional candidates. Locally, objections have been filed to Taiba Sultana's nomination petition for the State Senate seat held by Lisa Boscola. She is required to have the signature support of 500 registered voters who live in her district, but according to papers filed by Allentown lawyer Ray Lahoud, she only has 484 valid signatures among the 901 people who endorsed her candidacy. 

Lahoud, you may recall, paid for campaign signs calling Sultana "CRAZY, CHAOTIC CRIMINAL" when she ran unsuccessfully for State Rep. two short years ago. Sultana responded with a defamation suit, which she lost. There's no love lost between these two. 

The actual petitioners are interesting, too. They include Patti Hitzel, a South Side Easton activist who can be seen at every City Council meeting and who was the victim of some ugly attacks by Sultana. They include Easton First Lady Pam Panto, whose husband Sal was rather routinely and unfairly called a bigot and sexist by Sultana. 

In addition to the signature challenge, Lahoud contends that Sultana's required Statement of Financial Interests, which must be filed with the nomination petition, is also invalid. 

Under the State Ethics Act, a candidate must report all direct and indirect sources of income in excess of $1,300. She must also report her "occupation or profession."  She reports that she is "self-employed", but that denies the public the right to know exactly what she is doing. The public is this deprived of knowing the sources of her income. 

Although no court has ruled on this question, the Pa Supreme Court threw out a nomination petition filed by a law school graduate who was not yet a practicing attorney. The court concluded that this misled the public. So if someone lists her occupation as self-employed, but fails to state how this person is self-employed, does this mislead the public, too? That's what the Commonwealth Court is being asked to decide. 

Lahoud also raised some questions about the circulator affidavits 

Tiburcio Nomination Petition for Pa. State Rep Under Siege

Locally, two nomination petitions for state senate and the state house have been challenged. The objections to Taiba Sultana's quest for the Pa State Senate are discussed above. This post is about the challenge to Ana Tiburcio's attempt to make the ballot as a Democratic candidate for the 22d legislative district in Allentown. Tiburcio was required to obtain 300 signatures from Democrats who live and vote in her district. Her petition contains 578 signatures, but papers filed by Attorney Elliott Love contends that 317 of them are invalid. 

Love's suit was filed on behalf of Jessica Lee Ortiz and Paulette Hunter, who are obviously doing Ce-Ce Gerlach's dirty work for her. 

In addition to challenging the validity of signatures, Attorney Love contends that several of the circulator affidavits are defective. 

Among those who circulated Tiburcio's petition are State Reps. Michael Schlossberg, Steve Samuelson and Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk. 

Lawsuit Accuses Congressional Candidate Bob Brooks of Fraudulently Ripping Off Mother-in-Law

Bob Brooks is one of four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the upcoming Pa. 7th Congressional District race against incumbent Ryan Mackenzie. Brooks portrays himself as an Everyman. In a way, he probably is. He presents himself as a woke liberal to the Bernie Sanders and Jamie Raskins of the Democratic left, while simultaneously positioning himself as conservative Democrat to Josh Shapiro and his herd. He tries to be all things to all people. I'd call him shady. 

A lawsuit filed in Northampton County on February 17 (you can see it below) alleges that he and his current wife (who has pretty much the same name as Wife#1), have engaged in what amounts to a fraudulent conveyance to avoid a judgment he owes his former mother-in-law. 

Let me give you some background. In 2008, his in-laws transferred a residential property to Brooks and his Wife #1. They even fronted the cost of subdividing the property to the tune of $55,000. Everyman Brooks promised to pay the money back but never did. Eventually, he and Wife #1 signed a promissory note for the money, but he never paid a cent. He was sued, and a $130,000 award was entered against him in 2020. In an effort to string things along, he appealed. He lost in a unanimous Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling. In 2022, judgment was entered against him for $130,000. 

That judgment remains open of record. 

After screwing over his in-laws, he and his wife eventually parted ways, with a divorce being granted in 2018. Then, in the midst of two mortgage foreclosures and lawsuits by two credit card companies, Brooks quitclaimed his interest in the property to a person who I thought was Wife #1 in 2022. But according to the lawsuit filed against Brooks, he actually quitclaimed his interest to Wife #2 in a Quitclaim Deed that both he and Wife #2 executed. 

I've told you that Wives  #1 and #2 have virtually identical names. Wife #1 is Jennifer Lynne Brooks. Wife #2 is Jennifer Lynn Brooks. There is no "e" in "Lynne" in Wife #2's name. The lawsuit avers that the Quitclaim was a fraudulent attempt to obscure the real identity of Wife #2 in order to avoid paying a $130,000 judgment. As a bonus for Brooks, this alleged subterfuge would have enabled Wife #2 tro obtain a $330,000 mortgage. 

According to the lawsuit, the signature in the Quitclaim is different than the Note signed by Wife #1 and Brooks for the cost of subdividing their property.  

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the mother-in-law, now seeks $160,000 from Brooks and from Wife #2. In addition, punitive damages are sought for "outrageous" and "malicious" subterfuge that "shock the conscience"

He's no working-class hero. He's shady. While there might be an innocent explanation to these allegations of forgery, there's no denying that Brooks has adamantly refused to pay a family loan, not just a bank loan, for the home in which he lives.  

He's no everyman. He's shady. He was actually soliciting campaign contributions for fellow Democrat Lamont McClure. Before stabbing McClure in the back, Brooks called McClure a "strong Democrat with a proven track record of putting out fires and a long history of standing up to corruption." 

He's no Bernie Sanders or Josh Shapiro. He's shady.

In 2019, he posted the Clint Eastwood meme you see above, which stand for some well-known Republican ideals. I could understand a Democrat might endorse second amendment rights. He might think we need stronger discipline. He might want us all to tougher on crime. He might even think prayer in schools is a good idea. But if he supports all of these, it's time for him to change his party registration. What bothers me most is the skull with a Roman numeral III. This signifies the three percenters, "a decentralized, far-right, anti-government movement in the United States." 

He's deceptive. In his financial disclosure for Congress, he reports assets and unearned income of at least $963,000. This includes a residential rental property valued at between $250,000 and $500,000 and stocks in multiple mutual funds.  He reports salaries of $20,000 from Bethlehem, $50,000 from the Pa Professional Firefighter's Ass'n, as well as business income of $15,000 from his lawn care business. 

He reports debt of between $380,000 and $850,000 based on a residential mortgage, an investment property mortgage, and outstanding debt to Darrell and Linda Crook. He fails to list a $130,000 judgment owed to Carol Wiley, his former mother-in-law, since 2022. 

A title search of Northampton County records reveal that Brooks owns no real estate under his own name, nor is there any recorded mortgage in which he is listed. 

Something is very fishy about Brooks' disclosure. And hypocritical. SpotlightPa called him out for complaining about his investments in the very industries he complains about.

Of the four candidates seeking the Dem nomination, Brooks is clearly the most likely to be torn apart by Mackenzie in the general election. That's because he's no everyman. Just an opportunist. 

Lawsuit Claims Congressional Candidate Engaged in Fraud To Avoid Paying Judgment by BernieOHare

What Happened to Gracedale Former Administrator Jennifer Stewart?

Jennifer Stewart was Gracedale's Administrator between for nearly six years between 2019 and 2024, She had been employed at the nursing home in various capacities since 2005. In late 2024, former NorCo Exec Lamont McClure removed her from her position as Administrator to Admissions Coordinator. He told County Council that he did this "because there hasn't been a county contribution [to the nursing home] from the general fund for many years. ... One of the things that we think is necessary in order to continue to be viable as a county-owned and operated institution is to continue not to have county contributions coming from the general fund..... Jennifer Stewart is an expert at getting the census up."

What he failed to tell County Council at that time was that there was a simmering crisis in which monies that had been set aside for retention bonuses were spent instead on other Gracedale expenditures. What he also failed to tell Council was that Gracedale actually did get a county contribution of $9.9 million in 2024, a point highlighted by the annual independent audit. 

It appears that Jennifer Stewart, an unusual and special kind of person who actually cares about the residents, was scapegoated and sent to Admissions. 

She only remained at Gracedale a year, and currently is Administrator at Bethlehem North Nursing and Rehab Center, a four-star facility. 

NorCo Still Has No Fiscal Affairs Director

At March 5's Northampton County Council meeting, Executive Tara Zrinski revealed that she's still unable to find a Fiscal Affairs Director. She told Council member Lori Vargo Heffner that it's difficult to "drag someone away from a high-earning fiscal job to a not-so-high-paying job that will probably give them a headache every time they come up here. ... It's gonna' take a special person."