Northampton County Council Prez Ann McHale, already known for a haughty disposition, has done nothing to diminish that reputation in recent days. Over the weekend, she allowed a handful of party insiders to endorse her candidacy over that of an incumbent county executive whose sole sin is to try to work with both parties. Now comes the news that her official announcement this Saturday will be at ... a country club.No union or social hall for her. No siree.
Long live the Queen!
Why do I call McHale imperious?
For one thing, she walked out on a Michelle Obama speech in September. After being denied a t front row seat for military families who are obviously her social inferiors, she walked out of a Cedar Crest auditorium in a huff.
"I don't have time for this!" Her Highness exclaimed, and stormed out. I'll bet they wouldn't treat her like that at State Theatre.
Long live the Queen!
Want some more? The Queen of Hearts tried to blame County Executive John Stoffa for council's own stupidity in attempting to force the county to pay $1.8 million more for an IT contract than what Stoffa eventually achieved. Wayne Grube told her this problem could not be blamed on Stoffa, and Angle pointed out that Stoffa was being courteous to council and was trying to keep them in the loop. McHale literally shouted, "Nice guys finish last."
Long live the Queen!
Want some more? McHale spent nearly $650,000 of your money for needless "renovations" to its council chambers. She's made sure each council member has his or her very own lap top, although I have yet to see one at a meeting. Although remodeling was done over a year ago, the Queen of Hearts has yet to plug in to the web. When Rev. Mike Dowd asked her why there is no video set up, McHale just answered "The first thing is we all have to learn to use the microphone." Clearly, she's reluctant to let the public see just how bad council has become.
Long live the Queen!
Believe me, I could keep going. I got a million of 'em. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Queen of Hearts would embrace a machine pol like Joe Long. They both think they know what is best. You exist to do what you're told.
What exactly is she going to run on? I mean what has she done? She has a good political name but so did Reibman and that didn't turn out well. She has a ton of monied friends but I am curious, what does she bring to the table?
ReplyDeleteIs she smart? Does she have a platform of some sort?
Seriously, I know Stoffa will run on his record of low taxes and stable County governemnt. Heckman's friends told me he was running on extensive experience and working in partnership with Easton. But I have not heard of anything about Ann's campaign.
Stoffa isn't hurt by the lack of the Long kiss, if anything he benefits. Should be interesting to see who is running and what is said.
Well annon 12:30, I don't think she will run on the 70% tax increases she supported.
ReplyDeleteElect me because I supported a 70% tax increase? Is Jane Ervin running again?
ReplyDeleteI don't like McHale either, but it's a bit disingenuous to slam her so hard on the courthouse renovation boondoggle, given the soft glove you gave Wayne Grube for the same issue - and your posthumous worship of the horrible spendthrift and poor steward of county money.
ReplyDeleteFirst things first you retorically ask why do you find Ann imperious well mostly because you sit on Stoffas lap and time and again she beats him.
ReplyDeleteAnd to make a big thing of green pond is ridiculous the Easton Dem use the place for their events. Including this years St Patricks day breakfast in March ticket will be avaible soon.
It strikes me that NorCo has become a three party system with two versions of Ds, plus the Rs.
ReplyDeleteJoe Long has effectively split Ds and bestowed a potentially valuable gift upon woefully under registered Rs.
Will Shuman capitalize?
Off with their heads! Stoffa has nothing to fear as this is all smoke and mirrors. What will be her platform? It won't sell and she should know better!
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:07, Wayne deserves his fair share of criticism over that, but the renovation really was McHale's baby.
ReplyDelete"And to make a big thing of green pond is ridiculous "
ReplyDeleteWhen you're accused of being a country club Democrat, as happens to McHale, you really should think twice about having your opening campaign event at ... a country club.
"Elect me because I supported a 70% tax increase?"
ReplyDeleteGood point. Ann "70%" McHale. Bringing you the best county government that money can buy.
"It strikes me that NorCo has become a three party system with two versions of Ds, plus the Rs."
ReplyDeleteYou've got machine pols, headed by Dertinger, Joe Long and Wally "Let's impeach Dent" Garvin.
Then you've got real Democrats, headed by Rich Grucela, Sal Panto and John Stoffa. They may differ about individual issues, but hate the idea of party bosses deciding things.
Green Pond isn't really a country club. Its a public golf course and a banquet type facility.
ReplyDeleteTo the anonymous person who called Wayne Grube a spendthrift and poor steward of the county's money...if you had the "class and courage" of Wayne Grube you wouldn't hide behind being anonymous and if Wayne were here to read your comment I'm certain he would laugh...my guess is you have never done anything positive with regard to public service in your lifetime but be a critic and finally thousands of people agreed with Wayne given his vote totals over the years...normally I don't do this but since you had the audacity to defame someone no longer with us, I'll defend Wayne til my last breath......Rich Grucela
ReplyDeleteIt's called Green Pond Country Club. I understand your point, but it is incredibly stupid for someone tagged as a haughty, country club, Democrat to make her opening announcement there.
ReplyDeleteRich, Thank you for comment. Wayne & I had a love hate relationship. I loved him and he hated me. He was a good man who always followed his heart. He also was right far more often than he was wrong. Not many pols can say that.
ReplyDeleteTo the anonymous person who called Wayne Grube a spendthrift and poor steward of the county's money...if you had the "class and courage" of Wayne Grube you wouldn't hide behind being anonymous and if Wayne were here to read your comment I'm certain he would laugh...my guess is you have never done anything positive with regard to public service in your lifetime but be a critic and finally thousands of people agreed with Wayne given his vote totals over the years...normally I don't do this but since you had the audacity to defame someone no longer with us, I'll defend Wayne til my last breath......Rich Grucela
ReplyDeleteWow, an elected official besmirching a constituent using baseless accusations. First off all, just because you typed in "Rich Grucela" makes you no less anonymous than the person you are attacking. (See, I am clearly Andre the Giant, look at my NAME!) Second, you attacked this poster with the assumptions and speculation that the poster next did anything "positive in his lifetime." How DARE you. An elected politician suckling at the teat of the taxpayer lambasting a constituent with groundless attacks. You should be ashamed.
Andre,
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt in my mind that remark was posted by Rich, and he was right to take you to task. If nothing else, you've displayed a complete insensitivity to the memorty of a great man who only recently passed away. And you did so anonymously, like a coward. I had my share of disagreements w/ Wayne. He and I could fight and I would sometimes go months with him refusing to even look at me. He always got over it. He always followed what he thought was best. He was a voice of independence. His illness and death are the real reason Northampton County Council has fallen apart. He was the glue that held that body together.
In case you haven't noticed, Rich was Wayne's freind. He would defend Wayne with his last breath.
Your remarks do not diminish either Wayne or Rich: they diminish you.
Have a little respect.
Wayne Grube called the outrageous overspending on the boondoggle project "nice." This, while the county was struggling with budget issues, a dysfunctional council was accomplishing nothing and people in the county were starting to lose their jobs and homes. Sinful.
ReplyDeleteIf Rich Grucela agrees this lack of versight was "nice," I want to perform repairs at his house or office and run up a "nice" bill. He seems a loyal friend, but an easy mark.
Dude,
ReplyDeleteYou are out of line.
Wayne Grube did call the renovation "nice." But at the time, he was waging a number of other battles. If you look at his entire record as council member instead of one remark, you'd see he was pretty tight w/ the public buck.
But the topic here is not Wayne Grube or your evident hatred. The reality is that those renovations were pretty much 100% McHale.
For a guy who has taken a lot of taxpayer money over the years, Rich was rather disrespectful to a constituent who pays his salary.
ReplyDeleteNo personal attack was made against Wayne. His record as a public servant was criticized.
I guess Rich would rather use insult to quiet dissent on an issue of public record rather than defend the indefensible to someone who pays his salary.
We're not your customers. We're your boss, whether you like it or not, Rich.
Anne McCale's attitude when speaking to those of us beneath her and her sense of entitlement is insulting. She truly is Pelosi Lite!
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I did not post anything about Wayne Grube. I just took exception to the elected representative's tone.
ReplyDeleteI have no love for Ann McHale but Green Pond is far from being a "country club" despite its name. Is is a well-played, public course with a nioe, but very reasonalby priced banquet hall. I have attended many events by non-profits there and it is in no way "exclusive". Time to fess up to overhyping that point O'Hare. Your credibility suffers by making the location of her kickoff an issue. Focus instead on her imperious behavior and incompetence. That is totally on the mark, and has traction!
ReplyDeleteNobody spoke a word about anything other than Wayne Grube's record. The criticism was met with attacks about personal hatred and cowardice. Bernie, you're a phony here. Wayne was as responsible for wasting the money as was McHale. So were the rest of the money wasters who chided Angle for even mentioning it.
ReplyDeleteRich Grucela's (if it was his) response was outrageous and indicative of a guy who has slopped from the public trough for a long time. What a thin skin from one of Harrisburg's all-time glued-to-the-seat incumbent problems.
Go back to wasting our money, Rich. You've shown it to be your political specialty. Why don't you volunteer to attempt private employment and reduce the size of your ridiculously bloated legislature.
If you don't like this heat, get out of the taxpayer paid kitchen. Stick to arguing issues, if you handle a little dissent. Some of us can't stand the job you do.
Bonie O'Hara. Your man Stoffa is an incompetent Administrator. When he was Human Services Director in Lehigh County, he was so bad that the State had to come in and take over. This was after two children tragically died in CYS custody. Stoffa is a fake, fraud and a phony.
ReplyDeleteIs Stoffer the guy who tried to see the swamp across the street from his house to developers ?
ReplyDeleteAnon 6:12 - it's YOUR legislature - the folks you elect work there. If you want it changed, let's see you organize an attempt or, better yet, run for office if your ideas are so good.
ReplyDeleteAnybody can pontificate (myself included, but I DID run for office).
Your turn.
Anon 6:30 - Are you capable of telling the FULL story?
ReplyDeleteYou won't because doing so will make you look awfully dumb.
You know, yesterday, I met Debbie Hunter's husbad, a nice fellow named Gene. I asked him how he felt about the Long-Dertinger-McHale machine Dems, and he told me that there were complaints that John Stoffa backed Rs.
ReplyDeleteJohn Stoffa did back Rs in the last election. I think Gene, who seems like a decent guy, would back Rs too if he saw what Stoffa saw.
What Stoffa saw was a vicious smear machine, out to win at all costs. He saw election laws ignored. He witnessed anonymous robocalls that viciously attacked two R candidates. He witnessed Democratic candidates like John Maher and Tony Branco, who outright lied about their connection to sleaze consultant Scissorhands Severson.
I might be wrong about Gene, but I saw the peace sign on his car and he seemed so sincere. I doubt he would tolerate party bosses who chop down all the trees in the forest to get at who they think is they devil. When they do that, they have nowhere to hide when their enemy turns on them.
In the comments here, I can see that Long's anonymous smear machine is already hard at work, posting blatant lies about Stoff to counter the truth about Ann (64% tax increase) McHale.
Lie #1: Stoffa was a terrible human services director. The truith is that in Both Lehigh and Northampton County, John Stoffa was widely recognized as the best human services director in the state. My source for this is not just the people who worked for him, but judges who presided over the programs. Some of those judges sit on our appellate courts. Were there unfortunate tragedies? Of course. That will always happen in any program involving human beings. But Stoffa was the best. I'm sure another excellent former Director of Human Services, Ron Heckman, will readily agree.
Lie #2: The mythical Stoffa development. That spurious accusation has been made here before, and I spent about eight hours getting the truth. The reality is that John Stoffa briefly considered selling a piece of land across the road from his home. He is 70 years old, and it would take him 7 hours just to cut the grass. He was worried about getting hit by a car while cutting the grass. Fortunately, his son returned home and assumed the grass cutting chores.
Finally, to the Anon who claims Green Pond is no country club, I say look at the name in the phone book. I mean no disrespect to the establishment. I even worked there in my youth. My point is that the last place a country club Dem should choose for a campaign announcement is a country club. It was a stupid thing for McHale to do.
8:18
ReplyDeleteWith space wasters like Grucela glued to seats with all the incumbent advantages that guarantee 98% re-election rates, the legislature won't ever be shrunk and really hasn't belonged to the people in years. It'll take an elected official with guts, not the usual plan to punch the clock, waste taxpayer dollars and collect the goodies. Grucela is one of those politicians. He's a problem that'll never be part of the solution. Time for him to be "changed" out.
The subject of this post is Ann McHale's decision to announce for county executive on Saturday. The remarks about Grucela are OT. I actually wrote a post about Grucela today. If you'd like to complain about him, have at it there. I will disagree completely bc I consider him one of the best public servants I've ever seen and know how hard he works and the legislative initiatives he has tried, which include a unicameral legislature. Feel free to carry on your conversation there, and I'll be happy to join you. But on this thread it is OT and I will delete additional OT rants here about Rich. I don't want to do that bc I think you have a right to your opinion and welcome it at my post about Rich. But it does not belong here.
ReplyDeleteWow, The Long-McHale faction is really coming out hard. I still want to know what exactly is she going to run on. She can say Stoffa stinks but if she offers no alternative why vote for her?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think she is the weakest candidate of all that have been mentioned in the past.
Sal Panto will be our next County Executive. That is a strong rumor circulating and i hear Long is shaking in his boots. Is Panto part of the Dem machine?
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think Sal loves being Mayor of Easton and will not be giving up that job anytime soon, I'll agree he would be excellent as county exec. That job would probably be easier than the one he has now. Sal certainly is no Long Democrat.
ReplyDeleteIf Sal wants to run, he should do so. Same for Ron Heckman, Ann McHale or anyone else. People should always have a choice. No group should try to deny that to the voters. That's my problem with the Long Democrats. They actually discourage good people from seeking office.
Who the fuck is Joe Long? Who the fuck is Charles Dertinger? From what i can see Charles is dork who probable sleeps next to a photo of McLure.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think he's warm for my form. He always is asking me about changing in the men's room after a long bike ride.
ReplyDeleteBernie, What is the process to getting Joe Long the boot?
ReplyDeleteHis office is up next year. We need people who care to run for the Democratic committee next year to reform that bunch.
ReplyDeleteI don't ever remembering his name on the ballot.
ReplyDeleteJoe Long is God in the Democratic Party, ask him he will tell you so himself.
ReplyDeleteApparently McHale was the only Dem willing to go into the bag for Long. All the other people just laughed at his desire to call the shots.
Some Easton folks were leaning towards Heckman but if he is out I can see the draft Sal movement picking up steam.
ReplyDeleteSal Panto would win in the primary. He wouldn't even have to raise money. People are pulling for him but i have not caught word that he is running. Sorry Bernie, but Sal would unseat Stoffa. Has Mr. O'hare confirmed that he is running?
ReplyDeleteI have not contacted Sal, who would be a formidable candidate. If he wants to run, he should not let the Joe Long Dems stop him. Nor should Ron Heckman or anyone else.
ReplyDeleteI'm not from Easton, Who is Sal Panto?
ReplyDeleteI'm from Forks. We know Sal Panto well from the Strausser days. Not a fave in this hood.
ReplyDeleteSal worked for Gary Strausser he didn't own the company. Everyone knows how Gary is. I'm assuming thats why Sal left and ran for Mayor.
ReplyDeleteI'm not from Bethlehem, who is McHale?
ReplyDeleteI hear Long personally guaranteed McHale she would win big.
ReplyDeleteWill you be at the announcement? I hear all the important Democrats plan on attending and singing praises.
ReplyDeleteI'm an unimportant Democrat.
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:49
ReplyDeleteJoe Long should leave campaign politics and predictions to the experts. His track record is certainly less than sterling, and he is going to be embarrassed this time around as well.
It's time Northampton Democrats realize the Joe Long does NOT have the public's best interests at heart. I urge everyone who posts here to consider running for the Democratic Party Committee next spring so we can vote Joe out and get some *real* leadership for a change.
Anne is a friend of mine. Know her all too well. She may very well win. And Joe Long has nothing to with that other than to feed her ego to run. Should be interesting. Stoffa is a horrible campaigner but taxes are level, nothing has happened (because he really isnt a leader but a brownie for the paper boys). However, I bet he is smart enough to compare/contrast tax record with McHale --outside of Bethlehem where she will win--taxes on property should kill her. Ask Reibman.
ReplyDeleteAnnon 9:00. I agree completely. That is why I was surprised the Party stiffed Heckman. He has run and won County wide. He has an excellant voting record on Council, he told me he never voted for a tax increase. But he did say the Unions and the County must face the reality of today.
ReplyDeleteHe also knows a hell of alot more about County Operations and is a nice guy to know besides.
I know both Ann and Ron and I am not dissing Ann but she will have not only a tough Primary fight but an even toughr General just on the Tax issue alone.
Someone said the young Turks may have actually set Ann up to lose so one of their ranks has a shot in 2013.
Team Dert is devious.
More sexist articles. Are there any woman who get positive reviews on this blog?
ReplyDeleteHey look, I don't look at somebody's sex whern I decide whether I like him or her. Antonew who does that is sexist and that sure sounds like you.
ReplyDeleteThey stole all the land they Are Associating with development.
ReplyDelete