Jeff Warren Attack of Giovanni Photo: Petty, Phony and Partisan

Last week, I told you that Tom Giovanni, who represents the northern part of Northampton County on its Council, intends to run for County Executive. Today, I told you that Tara Zrinski, the County Controller, also intends to run. Like it or not, these are two good candidates. They have experience with county government, which is a different animal than most local governments. Yes, Zrinski struggled in her infancy as a County Council member making the transition from activist to elected official. But she has grown, and it shows in the job she has done as Controller. Yes, Giovanni is quiet during meetings, which I actually consider as plus. He has also been everywhere in his district and spends more time at the courthouse than any other council member, serving his community. On this blog, both of them have come under heavy criticism with partisan attacks that are either anonymous or use sock puppets. I'd like to address one of the few partisans who necessarily had to reveal himself because his attack came at a County Council meeting last week. 

This partisan is Council member Jeff Warren. Near the end of Thursday night's Council meeting, Warren used the soapbox to complain about Giovanni's campaign announcement. Giovanni's announcement included a headshot that was apparently taken at county expense, and Warren ostentatiously argued that this use of public resources for politics is wrong and that if he had done it, people would be all over him. "You shouldn't be using public resources for campaign-based activities," he piously declared. 

It's unclear to me that public resources were used at all. When County Council members get their photos taken, it is done by an outside vendor. If they want, they can buy one like Warren did for his "I like me" wall. It would seem to me that the outside vendor might have grounds to complain, but not the county.

In any event, Giovanni said he would refrain from using it. 

This is a very petty complaint, as Warren himself seemed to acknowledge. It is also phony. Warren is complaining about the use of public resources for political reasons, yet that is precisely what he was doing himself. He used county cameras to launch a political attack against someone from another party over a perceived violation. If he felt this was a violation, he should have contacted the DA but chose instead to play politics himself with county resources. In essence, his attack is petty, phony and partisan.