About Me

My photo
Nazareth, Pa., United States

Monday, January 14, 2013

NorCo Council Reorganization Redux

Barb Thierry is another Council member who wants to revote
When Northampton County Council met on Thursday night, the thought uppermost in most people's minds was whether they would redo the leadership vote they botched on Monday. That's when three of its nine members picked a President and VP, with one of them voting by phone on the high seas. Council failed to reconsider its vote Thursday night, but inside sources tell me it will happen at the next meeting.

Bob Werner ended Thursday's meeting by distributing a "top ten list" to some (not all) members of the press, detailing the great things that have happened over the last year. He missed Monday's reorganization and was one of the five who voted against a do-overon Thursday night.

Well, instead of reading about how great he was, Werner opened up The Express Times on Saturday to see that his new Council has been awarded a Turkey:
"[A] nine-member board can’t muster more than four bodies for one of the most important meetings of the year. Did everyone have the flu? Let’s see the doctors’ excuses — or better yet, hold a re-reorganization meeting and elect leaders who have true majority support of their peers."
Lamont McClure did try, but it was a poorly phrased motion. He wanted them to go into recess and have the Clerk prepare a resolution and then come out and re-do the vote. Nobody was entirely sure what the hell he meant.

Ken Kraft voted against it, which blew my mind. Ken is the Council member who was denied the right to vote by phone when that same right was given to another Council member who asked first. Kraft, still shaking off a bad flu bug, was confused. He reportedly will be asking for a reconsideration.

This is pretty basic stuff. Forget the motion v. resolution crap. When a Council member is denied the right to vote on any issue, it is the people who are shortchanged.

Where was everyone on Monday?

Ken Kraft and Bib Werner were both quite ill. Barb Thierry though it was the next day and raced down to the courthouse, arriving there just as the meeting ended. Peg Ferraro was on a privateer, although she made arrangements to phone in. Bruce Gilbert was teaching.

It happens. It just all happened at once.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

This crew reminds me of the old joke about the cross-eyed baseball pitcher.

Anonymous said...

Talk about the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight!

Anonymous said...

Much to do about nothing

Anonymous said...

This group doesn't deserve a turkey. They are much further down the intelligence chain than that, A vulture might do. Let's hope we can get some decent candidates to run for Council and get rid of some of these idiots. I rate this council amongst the worst we had in the last 35 years. It proves one thing. You get what you pay for. That is why they won't raise the salaries of the Executive or the Council. If they paid a fair rate, they would have a lot more qualified candidates seeking their seat. This group of self serving idiots are just that. Self serving idiots. I would let One maybe two of the present group out of that casting but for the most part, they are idiots.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Much to do about nothing"

Nothing to see here, eh?

I disagree. When a member is deprived of the right to vote, representative democracy fails.

Anonymous said...

Who is running for council?

Bernie O'Hare said...

There might be as many as 10 Dems running. It is really too early to say.

Anonymous said...

Load up the clown car!

Anonymous said...

The turkey means nothing... If anything it makes the person or people getting the turkey more likeable. Hell look at Steve Barron... He has gotten a few, destroyed his opponent and people still love him.

Anonymous said...

Throw out all the incumbets they are a disaster. We just have to keep doing this until we get it right.