Norco Council Does Its Best to Discourage Citizen Volunteers

Northampton County has no shortage of authorities, boards and commissions. Last night's county council agenda called for confirmation of numerous executive appointments, including Ralph Stampone (former Elections Commissioner to Personnel Appeals Board), Jerry Seyfried (former county exec to Retirement Board) and Cordelia Miller (to add much needed diversity at LANTA).

A few years ago, council members complained they were confirming people they knew nothing about, so Council prez Ann McHale (who then chaired the Personnel committee), sought out resumes.

That wasn't good enough.

Sometime within the last two years, other council members groused they'd also like to see these people, so most of them now show up at the council meetings in which their appointments are considered. Because there were so many appointments last night, the place was packed.

Before the meeting started, I met a few of them, including Cordelia Miller. She was all dolled up for the occasion with a very nice outfit and beautiful lipstick. Many of the men appeared in very nice-looking suits.

Service on most of these boards is pretty much a thankless task. All but a very few are unpaid positions. Very few offer junkets to Las Vegas. Amazingly, people still volunteer to serve their community, although County Exec John Stoffa notes it's getting harder to find people willing to sacrifice so much time.

I can always spot the nominees. In addition to being very well dressed, they usually bring one or two members of their family for what they think will be a Kodak moment. By the time they lerave - with no one offering a simple thank you - they've got to be asking themselves, "Why the hell did I get dressed up for this bullshit?"

Last night's session was particularly tacky. Appointments were vetted by the personnel committee on Wednesday, and council member Diane Neiper expressed reservations about only one of many appointments.

But last night, when appointees were asked to rise as their names were announced, council members Charles Dertinger and Diane Neiper began to complain. First, they wanted to table the new appointments. When that failed, they rambled on while well-dressed volunteers stood at attention.

"I really don't know anything about these people," Diane Neiper disingenuously claimed. She had already reviewed their resumes and could easily have called any one of them. Then council member Dertinger complained that Stoffa's picks for the Personnel Appeals Board were too administration-friendly. Neiper readily agreed.

Which is it Diane? Do you know anything about these people or not?

One of these appointees, Ralph Stampone, is a small businessman who owns an auto repair shop. He has kept my jeep on the road for twelve years, pretty much a miracle. He was a vocal opponent of anti-union Wal-Mart in Wind Gap, which Dertinger himself supported.

So how the hell is Ralph Stampone anti-union?

As nominees continued to stand rigidly, some of them now dripping beads of sweat, Dertinger decided it was time to launch into his routine complaints about the Stoffa administration. This time he whined that board member lists are always outdated.

County Exec Stoffa attempted to clarify a point about those lists soon being made available on the Internet and elsewhere, but Dertinger stopped him cold.

"Mr. Stoffer, I believe I was speaking ...."

- "It's Stoffa."

"Since you interrupted me, I can call you Stoffer."

Nominees remained at attention while Prez McHale and others explained that problem had been resolved at the meeting the previous day, which Dertinger never bothered to attend.

"I have to work, work, work."

I guess the rest of us have nothing else to do.

In the peanut gallery, I kept signaling nominees to sit down. Many were understandably reluctant to listen to some idiot in jeans, dirty T-shirt and a coffee thermos that looks suspiciously like a pipe bomb. Eventually, all nominees were approved, no thanks to council members Neiper, Dertinger and McClure. The only council member who thanked these newly appointed board members was the Evil Ron Angle.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this," Angle told them.

It is precisely this kind of petty behavior and incivility that makes people unwilling to serve in government, even as an unpaid board member. Most left in confusion. As he walked out, Jerry Seyfried, himself a former county exec, asked me, "Am I on or not?"

"You're on. Now get the hell out of here before they change their mind."

I really don't know, but they don't either. At the current rate, the county will soon be out of volunteers. Then Dertinger is going to have to work, work, work, work and work some more.

I'll bet Dertinger picked up a ton of votes tonight.