After 36 Speakers, NorCo Elections Comm'n Plans Up to Six Pop-Up Elections and Will Try Adding 2-3 More Drop Boxes

At yesterday's meeting of the Northampton County Elections Commission, conducted in County Council Chambers (and available on YouTube), the Board heard from 36 people. These included Democrats, Republicans, elections workers and the current as well as the former Chair of the county Democratic party. That alone took about 90 minutes. After the public was heard, the Board voted along party lines (Democrats yes, Republicans, no) to explore and implement the addition of up to 3 drop boxes in addition to 7 existing drop boxes. They also plan to continue up to 6 "pop-up" elections at various locations throughout the count. Their next meeting is scheduled for October 20 at 5 pm. 

The Elections Commission is a five-member body established under the Home Rule Charter. It consists of no more than three members of the political party that received the most votes in the most recent general election, with the remaining two seats for the political party that received the second largest number of votes. It ostensibly exists to administer elections, but since it has no power over the purse and no separate budget, it has basically been little more than a whipping boy for voters with grievances. 

The current members consist of Democrats Sharon Gavin-Levy, Becky Bartlett and Richard Groff as well as Republicans Scott Hough (who participated by phone yesterday) and Shawn Welch. They heard a lot of complaints as well as a number of requests. 

Complaints came mostly from Republicans and are best summed up by remarks made by Jay Martin. He noted that there have been numerous election mishaps extending back several years. He argued that before expanding pop-up elections or adding drop boxes, the elections office needs to "get the basics right. You do not fix repeated errors by adding complexity. Stop expanding. Stop experimenting."

Realtor Robert Dandi called drop boxes "glorified garbage cans." He complained that the county elections process fits the definition of insanity because officials keep doing the same thing, expecting different results.

One voter who works for the RNC complained that "if they find out you are a Republican, they won't listen to you." She called for the removal of the entire elections office.

On the other side of the ideological spectrum, former Elections Comm'r Margie DeRenzis responded to some among the 36 speakers who contend they are ignored. She said that during her five years as an elections commissioner, each and every complaint was taken seriously and addressed by the Registrar. "But as we all know, where there are humans, there will be human error. I don't know any way of fixing that in any field of life, not just our elections."

DeRenzis was among a cascade of voters who are seeking additional drop boxes, primarily in the Saucon Valley area. The main reason why Saucon Valley voters would like more drop boxes is because two voting precincts have been closed, and the closest replacement that elections official could find was at the Stabler arena, which actually is located in Bethlehem. 

They also expressed concerns over President Donald Trump's Executive Order and subsequent guidelines by the USPS that could interfere with Mail-in Voting. DeRenzis noted that Trump's threat to send ICE officers to polling places would have a chilling effect on legitimate Hispanic voters. Mail-in voting would alleviate that concern. 

After listening to the public, Comm'rs heard from Solicitor Michael Vargo. He said ballots will be printed once the courts rule on whether Andrew Tupone stays or must be removed from the ballot.

Voting Registrar Chris Commini apologized to the Board and the public for a meeting that had to be canceled because he failed to post the agenda, and said that miscue was entirely his own fault.

He then addressed some of the concerns raised by the public.

He noted that, except for a Deputy Registrar, his office is fully staffed. 

As far as drop boxes are concerned, he told everyone that drop boxes must be under video surveillance, indoors, chained and ADA complaint. 

He asked for help finding polling places, saying he would appreciate public input.

He explained the purging process, something he and his predecessors have done several times. A person basically has to stop voting for five years before becoming inactive.

He addressed the complaint of dead people on the polling books. He said his office looks at obituaries, receives reports from family members and gets periodic reports from the state Department of Health as well as the Coroner's office. 

He agreed to look into making the elections webpage more user friendly and to look for larger signs to direct voters to polling places. 

The four pop-up sites being considered for the general election are Upper Mount Bethel Tp Municipal Bldg (10/6), Pen Argyl (10/14), Lower Saucon, and Lafayette College (10/15).

My personal opinion is that while Lafayette College is fine in a primary, it is a bad choice for a general election because it will unfairly tilt the vote towards a heavily Democratic college crowd, just as a pop-up election at some field and game club would tilt Republican.  I think it probably violates the Pa Constitution's requirement of a "free and equal" election. 

I also agree that there have been too many errors in recent years to throw in pop-up elections. 

One of the 36 people who spoke last night was a gentleman named Phillip Godbane (sp?). He said his wish this election cycle is that NorCo stays out of the national news spotlight. 

Social Media Influencers Should Disclose Paid Political Promotion

The New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer have published identical stories noting that what they call "social media stars" are publishing vlogs and podcasts that promote candidates for public office without bothering to tell their followers that they are being paid. Wouldn't this be disclosed in campaign finance reports that candidates are required to file periodically? Not necessarily. As the Times article observes, these payments can be funneled through middlemen. 

I wonder whatever happened to ethics.

Only four states require social media influencers (which would include bloggers) to disclose paid political messaging. I am unaware whether any legislation is pending in Pennsylvania, but hopefully, someone who at least has a scintilla of an interest in preserving our democracy will take note. 

Federally, one Congressman is promoting legislation that would require social media influencers to disclose payments from foreign countries. I think all paid influence should be disclosed. 

I do not know how someone in good conscience could take money to promote a campaign while holding himself out as an independent voice. Failure to disclose a payment tells me the person is deceiving his followers. 

We live in a day and age when trust in our media is at an all-time low. This just makes us less credible. 

I can tell you I have never accepted nor have I ever been offered a dime for what I write. I know no local bloggers who have ever done this sort of thing. But it's hard to believe us when there are people out there who are selling themselves like hookers, although we all aim to please.  

Pa. 07 Congressional Candidate Bob Brooks Must Answer Fraud Case By September 14

Bob Brooks, Democratic nominee in the upcoming Pa. 7th Congressional District race against incumbent Ryan Mackenzie, is also the Defendant in an action contending that he fraudulently conveyed real estate to his current wife to avoid a $130,000 judgment owed to his mother-in-law.  In late July, NorCo Judge Jennifer Sletvold rejected Brooks' attempt to dismiss the suit and ordered him to file an Answer. 

In her ruling, Judge Sletvold makes clear that a fraudulent conveyance has been averred with sufficient detail to withstand preliminary objections: 

Plaintiff alleges particular facts to claim how Defendants actually intended to defraud Plaintiff, the judgment creditor. The Complaint alleges that the judgement in the 2018 lawsuit was entered on January 10, 2022, and the quitclaim deed, transferring ownership of the Property from Mr. Brooks and Second Wife to solely Second Wife, occurred in close proximity, approximately two months. The quitclaim deed was a transfer to an insider, Second Wife. The debtor, Mr. Brooks, still resides in the Property and uses it as his primary residence. The transfer of the property was for $10.00 when the value of the property was $413,200.00 at the time of transfer. Second Wife immediately encumbered the property with a $330,000 mortgage, and the loan proceeds were not used to pay the debt owed to Plaintiff by Mr. Brooks. See Compl. ¶¶ 21-31. We find these allegations to be pled with particularity and are legally sufficient to sustain causes of action under 12 Pa. C.S.A. § 5104. Accordingly, this preliminary objection is overruled.

After this, you would think that Brooks, who is after all a Democratic Congressional candidate, would quietly and quickly settle this dispute. It certainly does him no good to have this hanging over his head.

Instead, Brooks' plan is to delay this matter as long as he can. His Answer was due in mid August, but he sought and obtained an extension for his Answer. It's due on September 14. By that time, mail-in ballots should be going out. 

It's clear that whether he wins or loses, Brooks will string this case out as long as possible. 

That's because, as I've said many times, he's shady.

UPDATED: British Newspaper Reports Mackenzie Embellished Work in Private Sector ... Mackenzie Demands Retraction

Incumbent Lehigh Valley Congressman Ryan Mackenzie (R. Pa.), who represents the Pa, 7th Congressional District is facing allegations that he embellished his work in the private sector. According to The Guardian,, the DCCC has accused him of "fabricating" a career that he never had. 

The article cites several sources indicating that Mackenzie claimed on several occasion to have a real estate license (he did have one for two years) and to have worked in real estate.

According to The Guardian, Mackenzie's LinkedIn profile showed him as having experience in real estate sales, but his current profile only lists his experience in the state house and Congress. 

The DCCC statement, in part, asserts:

“Ryan Mackenzie was already disgustingly caught lying about his age on his Tinder profile by nearly 10 years. Now it looks like Mackenzie and his allies have embellished his résumé and fabricated a career in real estate that never existed. ... The truth is that Mackenzie is a career politician who has seemingly never worked a day in his life outside of politics and straight up does not understand the challenges that working Pennsylvanians are facing.”

A Mackenzie spokesperson said that references to real estate sales were "passing mentions." 

This race is gonna' get ugly. 

UPDATED 10:20 AM :

Mackenzie has responded to the Guardian article written by reporter Michael Sainato, and is demanding a retraction. It does appear to me that those who suggested that the Guardian is biased are right, but it also appears that the news outlet got its facts wrong.:

Michael,

I saw your article published today and it revealed something you did not disclose when reaching out to us - that the accusation about Congressman Mackenzie’s early career experience was coming from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and that it isn’t backed up by anything other than their statements and opinion.

We have all of the documentation to support that Ryan Mackenzie did complete the required real estate coursework at Lehigh Carbon Community College, passed the real estate salesperson exam, carried the proper real estate license in Pennsylvania for 2 years, and entered into a contractual agreement with a broker to provide referrals to them while he worked full-time in two other jobs.

Like so many other young people, the congressman tried out different fields of work, including being a licensed real estate salesperson as a side gig while working full-time. Any accusation from the DCCC is easily refuted with the documentation we have and it is purely politically-motivated on their part.

We request a retraction of the article or update to reflect the factual information.

Mackenzie himself addresses the reporter:

“Your recent article driven by the unfounded accusations of a purely political organization (the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) whose identity you refused to reveal until publishing falls far short of any journalistic standards. and, more importantly, ignores the facts that entirely disprove your writings. As noted in our original conversations with you, those facts are clear: I completed Pennsylvania’s rigorous process to earn a real estate sales license; I signed a contract with a real estate company as a referral agent while holding two other full-time jobs at the beginning of my career; and I successfully referred clients for sale. I have never claimed more or less than those facts. Further, you chose – despite being shown that I was not responsible for their creation – to attempt to credit me with biographies and promotional items written by other organizations.”

"Documentation showing that I held a PA license for real estate sales, my contract with the referral agency, and an example of a completed referral sales contract are attached. Names and addresses have been blacked out to protect the privacy of private citizens. We would request a retraction of the article or update to reflect the factual information and would encourage you, in the future, to not rely upon accusations from a partisan political organization as the basis of your reporting."

Those Data Centers Are Evil ... Sez China

One of my many guilty pleasures is YouTube. At this time of year, however, it gets annoying. Political ads grow like weeds, and it's often the same one, over and over. Politicos present grainy images of their opponents, who look like mob figures from the '60s. Many have also latched onto the widespread opposition to those evil data centers, which will end the world as we know it.  Just a few years ago, warehouses were the enemy. Now, they're OK. It's those damn data centers. Throw in AI, and it's the apocalypse.

According to one recent poll, if polls can still be believed, anywhere from 61% to 75% of Americans oppose them. Whether reliable or not, they influence how politicians think, and this is pretty evident in the political ads. Move over, affordable housing. The backlash against server farms has become a focal point in this year's midterms. 

Governor Josh Shapiro, who would like to be President Josh Shapiro, has obviously noticed those polls. The man who once embraced data centers and put them on a "fast track" for development now warns about predatory computer center developers. He's also released ads, complete with those grainy black and white images, portraying Stacy Garrity, his opponent in next year's gubernatorial gauntlet, as the wicked witch of those evil data centers.

All she needs is a broom. 

Locally, they are universally unpopular in both counties. A few months ago, I attended a packed house in Lower Mount Bethel for what was supposed to be an informational meeting but nearly turned into a lynch mob. Of nearly 500 people who came, every single person who spoke was opposed to data centers. 

I more recently attended a meeting in Upper Mount Bethel, although I got tired of hearing the same nonsense over and over and left after about an hour.

One of the loudest voices opposed to data centers in the slate belt is Tom Gilmour, who last year supposedly was being groomed as a Dem County Council candidate. His wife Courtney, who I'm told is a very nice lady, is the county party vice chair. At both of the meetings I attended, I heard him rail against data centers. In a recent Facebook post, he attacked Supervisors who were willing to at least consider the proposal. You know, be open-minded. He slammed Township Solicitor Ron Karasek for barely looking up from whatever notes he was taking. Gilmour is apparently unaware that the role of a municipal solicitor is to provide legal advice to Supervisors, not dictate policy. Gilmour also attacked Ron Angle, one of two data center supporters, as the "local pariah." Angle has often been willing to go against the current, and more often than not, has been proved right. But as the Good Book says, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. 

Speaking of countries, there's one place outside the U.S. where data centers are A-OK. China. While the Gilmour gang is out there with pitchforks and torches at municipal meetings, China is quietly expanding its AI data center push. The Middle Kingdom is pouring $295 billion into them. I imagine that NIMBYs there are few and far in between. 

China's data center expansion should worry us. Like it or not, these server farms are critical national infrastructure with (1) military and defense applications that provide the computer power to protect us; (2) provide artificial intelligence and intelligence gathering; and (3) enable us to engage in geopolitical and strategic competition with countries like China, which plans to double its data centers by 2030. 

Like it or not, people like Tom Gilmour are unwitting tools of China. According to Open AI, the People's Republic of China has been engaged in covert influence to promote the narrative that data centers are raising electricity prices for average families. I by no means suggest that we would love data centers were it not for China's propaganda. Of course, there have been terrible data centers. 

Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick, who recently was a guest on Aaron McLain's excellent School of War Podcast, said that the data center debate has moved dramatically over the past 12 months. He indicated that both China and Russia are trying to influence the debate (like they try to influence elections) because leading in AI requires energy and computing power. He also acknowledged that some of these developers have done a terrible job promoting these computer banks. 

He recommends that communities consider a covenant between the developer and the community to (1) protect residents from energy rate hikes, guaranteeing that the hyperscalers will bring more energy than they use; (2) guarantee the use of closed-loop water systems; (3) guarantee tax revenue that makes it possible to reduce property taxes; (4) guarantee that local labor will be used, both to build and work at the center; and (5) a community benefit agreement. As McCormick put it, "What else are you going to do for me? He suggested things like schools, roads, bridges, etc.

When people bray about the data disasters, they neglect to mention Loudon County, Virginia. According to The New York Times, 

Over the past two years, Virginia’s Loudoun County unveiled a sleek $102 million recreation center with multiple pools and hydro massage chairs. It spent $22 million to convert the estate of former President James Monroe into a park. And it opened two new schools, with another under construction.

While many communities are in fiscal crisis, Loudoun is flush. The source of its riches: data centers.

Pennsylvania's other Senator, John Fetterman, agrees with McCormick. 

"AI supremacy and energy dominance underpins our national security," Fetterman said on X in reaction to an article about the artificial intelligence race between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. "China continues to fuel and benefit from our overreaction. I reject the political pandering and hyperbole over data centers or AI doomsdaying."

I do not think any of these proposals deserve a tax break, but I do think they deserve a fair chance. That's the American way.