About Me

My photo
Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Northampton Voting Registrar's Lawyer Also Represented Local Dems

I told you earlier today about Larry Otter, and his representation of Voting Registrar Deborah DePaul. The county never hired him. H.R.H. DePaul denies retaining him as well. So who got this Bucks County lawyer involved?

Ron Angle has an answer. On his WGPA 1100 AM radio talk show this morning, he suggests Larry Otter and Northampton County Democratic chair Joe Long are quite friendly. And Otter did not suddenly call H.R.H. DePaul out of the blue from Doylestown. That would be an unethical direct solicitation.

A few years ago, Joe Long and Northampton County Democrats sued eighteen local communities over campaign sign rules. Guess who represented them? Larry Otter.

Is this how H.R.H. DePaul shows us she's impartial?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

So you think you got all the answers, don't you. Angle's a shoplifter and your a drunk.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Oooh. A personal attack! Haven't been nailed in a few days. Tell you what. I'm hiring a lawyer to defend me against all the "lies and falsehoods." I'm meeting her in Easton for crabcakes, and then we'll send the county a bill. Wanna come?

Anonymous said...

And anonymous didn't finish 5th grade, so he's not as smart as a fifth grader!
It's not "YOUR a drunk, it's
"YOU'RE a drunk! relax Deb, Joe, or Larry whoever!

Bernie O'Hare said...

Anon 6:15, OK, now you can join us for crabcakes, too.

Anonymous said...

wow. venomous. even on my worst days, i may have called you a bed-wetter and suggested you had carnal relations with your mother, but i never called you a drunk.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Anon, I always enjoyed your personal attacks. They at least had style. And unfortuinately, they're all true. Now excuse me while I change my sheets.

Anonymous said...

i've gone to depends. they're really convenient in the middle of a good football game.

LVDem said...

who cares who represented the party against those signs that violated the 1st Amendment of the constitution? Its the first amendment for crying out loud.

LVDem said...

Besides, you pointed out yourself that Otter represented the Green Party candidate for US Senate, somebody who received funding from GOP donors. This seems to hurt Democrats by most accounts.

Otter's a lawyer. He works for whomever pays him. That's what lawyers do.

Still, changing the costs to the county was plain stupid. If DePaul wanted a county paid for lawyer, she needed to go through the proper channels.

Bernie O'Hare said...

LVDem, Otter didn't represnt the first amendment. He represented Joe Long's Dems. He';s not even local, but somehow ends up here with Joe Long. That doesn't riase your eyebrows? If not, I want some of what you're smoking.

LVDem said...

Bernie, Joe Long was challenging an unconstitutional ordinance that silence free speech. Yes, he was representing Joe Long and Democrats. I don't care if he was representing Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. Those ordinances were unconstitutional. I'm glad Joe Long took them on. I know you can't stand him, but give the man some credit at the very least. You can't be that miserable.

Let's say for a minute that Joe Long is still so horrible that even his challenge to those ordinances was a terrible thing, how do you explain him defending the Green Party candidate in the face of the Democratic Party challenging petition signatures. If this guy was a Democratic hired gun, wouldn't he have been out there working for the State Dems? Instead he worked for Romanelli who received help from Santorum's network. I'm sure Joe Long was involved in that.

And I don't care if the guy is from Doylestown. Lawyers specialize and clients seek them out as a result. Otter happens to represent political leaders/officials. That's what he does. And he's licensed to practice in Pennsylvania so it doesn't matter where he is from.

I honestly can't tell you how many lawyers run around doing this kind of work and are sought by both sides. I'm sure if I did some digging I could find Otter working for some Republicans.

Some other notes: Otter challenged now Congressman Patrick Murphy's petitions in 2006 (Otter supported former Republican Andy Warrne over Murphy)... in this case Otter was hired by Jane Faust, a Republican Committeewoman.

Yes, he's familiar with Joe Long, but his actions in helping Green and Republican efforts only confirms to me that he is more interested in getting paid than in whom he helps.

Bernie O'Hare said...

LVDem,

Joe Long is no first amendment fan, believe me. And no, I don't care for someone who physically threatens me. I'm funny that way. But you know I don't let bullshit like that get in the way. I hate EVBERYBODY.

My attitude toewards Joe doesn't change what I saw, or at least I hope it doesn't. I saw a nonlocal lawyer represent DePaul, and he seemed just a tad too friendly w/ Long.

I agree some lawyers specialize. That's a good point, and it seems Otter does a lot of elections work. But No lawyer, especially a former state prosecutor, will call a prospective client out of the blue to offer his services. Direct solicitation is unethical.

So it's clear to me that Otter was put in touch w/ H.R.H. DePaul. I suspect it was Long who put him in touch wih her. It's a fair guess. I saw the two of them that night. I don't have solid proof but there's more than a bit of smoke there. I'm aware Otter also represented Greens. I pointed that out myself. And I saw that Murphy bit as well. I suspect a connection and believe I was fair to point out what I pointed out.

You're right to challenge this because I can't prove it. But I think I'm also right, in this very bizarre case, to look at the facts that we do have and publicly wonder. I think it's a fair guess.

True, Joe Long's unrequited love for me has made me somewhat biased against him, but this is all very suspicious to me.

Bernie O'Hare said...

In his column today, Bill White claims that Otter was one of the lawyers recommended tyo DePaul bu Long. Bingo. Looks like my guess was right, and your'e trying to defend a county chair who has been an embarrassment.