Because I was at county council I missed last night's
town hall among Easton's city council candidates. At this event, Easton mayoral candidate
Gary Bertsch demonstrated pretty clearly that he does not know the local area. Here's what
The Morning Call reports:
Bertsch mentioned that, after the forum, he was driving to Palmer Township to hear plans about a proposed 3,000-unit housing development called Kings Mill. [Sal] Panto quickly pointed out the meeting wouldn't be in Palmer.
"Mr. Bertsch, you better go to Forks Township because that's where the meeting is," Panto said.
The question I like best is the one Terrance Hand (
Easton Undressed) had for all city council candidates. He wanted to know how many city council meetings each had attended. Candidate Jeff Warren, who
could take bubble baths in the money that developers have handed him, had this helpful reply.
Warren said he attended one meeting, but believed the question was too personal.
"I would like to talk about public policy," he said.
"I wasn't trying to be personal," Hand said. "If you are going to run for council with your current schedule, will you be able to make time if elected?"
In the primary, Ken Brown spent 8 cents for each of his votes. Jeff Warren paisd $14.90 per vote.
Panto would know well the Forks Township details as he's had to tap dance quite a bit there as flak for an unscrupulous and unpopular developer.
ReplyDeleteEaston's GOP is a laughing stock. Hell, the last two RINO (Republican In Name Only) mayors endorsed the Philly Phraud for governor.
One party systems get you the kind of mess Easton has become. Electing an incompetent retread who presided over a significant share of the decline is about par for the course in Easton.
Panto will be an excellent and forceful mayor in Easton. I'll have more about Sal later.
ReplyDeleteWarren was up against the ropes from the audience last night.
ReplyDeleteOnly Rope a dope dosn't work in politics like it does in boxing.
Espically when your plan is not to get on the ropes.
Annon 1:11:
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should look into the Forks Township issue a little closer before you comment. A Republican Supervisor (It would not surprise me if you were him) for Forks is working for Gary Bertsch's campaign. Their beef is actually with Gary Strausser not Panto but this Supervisor only ever mentions Panto not Strausser. You can see right thru it if you attend the Township meetings. It's actually unfare as Panto has already stated for the record that he is just about completly phased out of the company. He mentioned this at a Township meeting a few months ago.
Annon 1:11 or should i say Gary Bertsch.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans are the only thing that destroyed Easton. History tells.
Keep in mind forks is a rather GOP freindly area.
ReplyDeleteIt is rare that I say something nice about a developer, but here goes.
ReplyDelete1) Unlike nearly every other developer, Strausser does not hand out campaign contributions like candy. he doesn't play that game.
2) Strausser is the first developer in this area to develop an open space plan. Every time a property in one of his developments is sold, even after he's out of the picture, and assessment is charged to fund open space projects in this area. Strausser started this before open space became a popular issue.
Strausser is a demanding and, I think, unreasonable person who goes through lawyers like candy. he's very abrasive and hard to handle. But he never let go of Panto because he is simply too valuable.
First, he's a very driven worker. I've seen him at the courthouse at 8 AM recording plans and then would see him later the same evening at some municipal meeting.
Second, Panto is a history buff. He can regale you for hours with story after story, and people who study our past tend to make fewer mistakes in government.
Third, he passionately cares about the city. When I sued over the bond, one of the items I attach\ked was a grant for the state theater. We had a public town hall about it, and the room was filled with at least 100 enthusiastic bond opponents. And in the back of the room, standing quietly, was Sal Panto. When I had finished braying, he proceeded to take me to task about the state theater funding, item by item. He was in a very unfriendly audience that night, but stood up for what he believed in. After that evening, I really respected Sal, and that continues to this day.
He is an intelligent man who loves the city and has integrity. I have nothing against Gary Bertsch, who seems like a very nice fellow. But this isn't even close. Panto is very clearly the better man.
100 anti-bond supporters my ass. you never went ANYWHERE without at least 200 anti-bond folks.
ReplyDeleteand bears. trained ninja bears.
Sal Panto is a retread who presided over a period of significant decline in Easton. His job as flak for Gary Strausser should only be factored in considering how long his nose grew each time he had to defend one of the most hated developers in Forks history. He looks good compared to his goofy competitor, but that's really not saying much.
ReplyDeleteEaston is a dark and dangerous place. Sal Panto was there for part of the slide. It is altogether appropriate that voters let him complete the job he so nimbly performed before being shown the street last time.
God help us.
Anon 7:26, It was shortly after the litigation had been filed, and sentiment was high. The meeting was at NACC. Angle, of course, was there, and monkeys were flying out of my ass, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm new to the area and would like someone to explain to me why Easton would want to go "backward" and elect the ex-mayor? What can he bring to the table during these "rough" times that he couldn't bring during "prosperous" times? It seems to me that Gary Bertsch has more passion and as a former Marine Captain, that alone would get my vote over an unsuccessful ex-mayor, but, that's just me. PS: In this battle between decency and indecency, where the democratic party has clearly allowed themselves to be hijacked by the extreme of their party (there's still good democrats out there - they're just rare ie: Zel Miller, Ed Koch, Joe Lieberman), I'd be on the side of decency, and I'm not even a Republican. I just want to save Easton.
ReplyDeleteWell then i guess i need to share with you Gary Bertsch's background.
ReplyDeleteHe claims he worked for Ross Perot but he didn't. If he did it was a internship to perform grunt work.
He is a frequent to the local bars and I've heard that he ran into some DUI trouble some years back.
His nursing business that he owned and operated was sued many times for malpractice. I've been told that it went out of business.
He only gives out grant money to super voters and landlords.
He claims the West Ward is revitalized but in four years he hasn't even made a dent. Actually it has gotten worse. Alot worse.
He gets paid to be involved in the community. Everything he does he gets paid for. A big misconception.
He is a slum lord. He owns several properties in Easton which he rents but he claims to be a promoter of homeownership.
He mentions recruiting every fifth word. A mayor should not perform recruiting duties. A mayor should be focusing on the day to day operations. That is what got Easton into this bind.
It's October and he still does not have a platform!
Sal eats him alive at every candidates night (Bernie you should attend the debate at the state on the 17th to witness first hand)because Gary has no clue as to the mayors role in city hall.
He claims that you fight crime by fixing sidewalks and planting trees.
He and the CACLV refuse to allow the press to attend their meetings even though the West Ward Neighborhood partnership now includes the Elm Street Program (Public Monies). Too many politico's are afraid to shine light on a failing program.
He has stated that he moved to Easton to become the Mayor.
He ran against Sal's wife four years for city council and she beat him pretty badly.
He takes credit for alot of work that others have actually preformed...Weed and Seed (Nadine Loane). Nadine runs the program and does all of the work but somehow Gary claims that he is the reason that Weed and Seed has been successful.
West Ward Neighborhood Partnership has yet to realse to the public what they actually do and what they have done and whom they have done it for.
He has a small group of supporters and if you look into it, most of his supporters have new sidewalks or signs or trees or they were previously fired by Panto.
I live in Easton but with that large Panto sign on my porch it's very unlikely that i will ever see grant money.
Gary is slimy. He is a typical carpetbagger. The top GOP canidate for city council (Roger Ruggles) is supporting Panto. The same goes for the GOP candidate for controller (Tony Bassil). The only candidates that are supporting Bertsch are Timmans and maybe Melan. Both Republican.
I've known and worked with Sal Panto for decades. Easton folks should be very glad that their hometown guy desires to run for Mayor again. They should vote for, and support him, every step of the way. He is a quality person of the highest order, is my opinion. larry@kisslinger.com
ReplyDeleteannon 1:47
ReplyDeleteI take it you are endorsing Bertsch.
The fact about this campaign is not about the past it is about the future. I laugh at people who say "I am new to the area" but why we would want an ex-Mayor. If you did live here when Sal was our Mayor you would know that the whole attitude about Easton and our city was more positive. Did he make mistakes, of course and don't we all at some point. But, there were a whole lot of good things in this city beyond attitude. Things were not just discussed, they were put into action. First city in that valley to have mandated curbside recycling; hundreds of thousands of dollars of grant money he lobbied for to fix our city assets like our parks and recreation for our kids and widening the bridge to southsode to alleviate congestion from I78; downtown revitalization yes but more importantly neighborhood programs for the whole city; putting the pension funds on sound fiscal plans rather than just ignoring the $23 million deficit he inherited; and the not so good things like not being afraid to fire police officers that did wrong. He also left the city with a nice surplus and not the huge deficit the city currently projects. How do I know, I worked for the city at the time and retired several years ago. Sal's opponent has shown me absolutely no reason to think that he is capable of doing the job. Sal is older and more mature, he is exactly what is needed at this time.
ReplyDelete