Ron Angle Makes Friends & Influences People

"Why are you shaking your head?"

"I'm not. I've got a crick in my neck."

That was the exchange yesterday between Northampton County Executive John Stoffa and Council member Charles Dertinger. In his laconic way, Stoffa was telling seven members of Northampton County Council (Dowd and McClure were absent) how he felt about Council member Cusick's idea of floating a $26 million bond next year for an ambitious list of capital projects. Stoffa prefers a smaller, $8 million bond, mostly to cover the cost of a new juvenile justice center. As he explains it, "We're trying to pay as you go rather than borrowing. It's not the time to be borrowing."

While Stoffa spoke, Dertinger was shaking his head. But he gave that grade school excuse about a crick in his neck for one and only one reason - The Eye of Mordor was in the house! That's right, folks. Morning Call columnist Bill White, whose name strikes fear in the hearts of local pols, was at a Northampton County Council budget hearing.

Maybe he has trouble sleeping.

The second I saw Bill, I plopped my fat ass right next to him, blocking his quick exit. He's actually a very nice guy, just like me. But council members were still on their very best behavior, nervously glancing at Bill from time to time, especially when he would pull out his official notepad. They were really trying to avoid the constant outbursts and petty behavior that have made them the most dysfunctional legislative body on the planet. They don't want to end up in the Hall of Fame like Angle.

But Angle could care less. You see, he's still really miffed at Bill's blog slamming him for being "utterly ineffective" when it comes to "forging coalitions and getting things done." Bill knows it, too. Right before attending yesterday's budget hearing, he said, "I’m off to be publically berated by Ron Angle."

Publically? Is that the opposite of privateally?

Angle actually ignored Bill, but pretty much proved Bill's point. Angle is clearly exasperated. Like Stoffa, he opposes a $26 million bond in this economic climate. "It's the wrong time to be floating big bonds." But aside from Peg Ferraro, council is pretty much oblivious to financial concerns. Dertinger, for example, insists that council should be doing all sorts of things. "At one point or another, we've got to do something."

Why? Does he want his name on a plaque?

Council members whittled things down to a $13 million bond to include a new parking lot at Gracedale, even though Director of Administration John Conklin had just told them the county won't be doing that project for another year. Upper Nazareth Township zoning officials want things done their way, and that will take time. So if this bond is ever floated, we'll be paying debt service on proceeds that are just sitting in the till, collecting dust.

Frustrated by a council hellbent on spending money, Angle eventually took his papers and chucked them into a nearby waste basket. "I'm wasting my time here," he said. Off he went. I think he jumped off the courthouse roof.

Angle missed Diane Neiper's amazing proposal. After advocating spending money we don't have for things we don't need, Neiper proposed sticking $2.7 million of operating expenses in council's slush fund, politely called a contingency fund. When a department wants a new copy machine or rolls of toilet paper, it can come up and request it from council. She wants to do this to "send a message" to county employees. What message is that? That you're nuts? I think they already got that message.

As the meeting ended, with a whimper, my cell phone was ringing. Ron Angle, who survived his jump from the courthouse roof, had a message for Bill White. "Tell him he works for a bankrupt paper."

Update: Ron takes a few swings at Bill White in today's Morning Call, and blogger Michael Molovinsky states anyone who can do that while simultaneously defending Emma Tropiano is OK with him.