The following is an email I sent to Northampton County Exec candidate Ann McHale yesterday morning concerning the sign war some goons in her campaign are waging against incumbent John Stoffa. If I get a response, I will post it. "Over the weekend, goons obviously allied to your campaign decided to do more than plant your signs. They also removed approximately 600 Stoffa signs by John's estimate. Two people in a red pick up were spotted doing exactly that on Saturday night near Moravian Academy.
"In addition to this outright theft, your signs have been placed directly in front of Stoffa signs to prevent the public from seeing them. This practice is widespread throughout the county, from Bethlehem to Bangor. In some cases, the signs are mere inches apart in areas where there are hundreds of feet. Is this how you run a clean campaign?
"I am calling on you to do the right thing. Will you order these goons to remove your signs where they block Stoffa's and plant them somewhere else? Will you identify these thugs so they can be questioned by appropriate authorities?"
43 comments:
THis is news. Ann McHale know how to use a computer?
Actually, in her defense, McHale did help a group of merchants on Hamilton Street in A-town whose businesses were suffering as the result of LANTA routing changes. She corresponded with me at that time.
Bernie,
Can I assume correctly that you wrote that email?
Peace, ~~Alex
Sorry, Alex, I just made it a little more clear that I penned that email.
How can you spew that much hatred for McHale not knowing if it is just some people that don't like Stoffa? How can you accuse her of something like that without any knowledge that she is responsible? You must have really been a great lawyer working on supposition and innuendo only, and no facts. You are the Pied Piper of Venom and have your followers hooked on your assumption that everything is as you say it is.
I've asked McHale for her side of the story and to condemn what has gone on. It is very clear that the people she sent out to plant signs are responsible for where they are planted, and many of them are blocking Stoffa signs. It is clear that Stoffa signs began to disappear the moment that Mchale's signs started going up. It is also clear that two dudes in a red pickup were planting McHale signs AND removing Stoffa signs. She can explain ... or ignore my request.
O'Hare deleted a defense of Ann McHale and a critque of the Stoffa camp tactics. He will claim it was a vicious personal attack but it was a mirror of his tactics that he and his posse don't like to look at.
Shame on you O'Hare.
Although you may believe that McHale's volunteers are goons and thugs, it isn't the best way to describe them through an e-mail. I understand your position but I must say that using such remarks can be considered derogatory and give McHale a reason to ignore your request. This rings especially true if she does not want to address the issue.
Good observation, Bryan. The note is a counterpunch that will create more heat (clearly intended) rather than get results. It's the old, "catch more flies with honey..." bromide. Bernie wasn't looking for flies here.
can't john stoffa take care of his own problems? why are you involved? he's a grown man he's the one running for county executive not you. i say if it doesn't bother him it shouldn't bother you.if your his answer to his problems then you should run for county ex. your running the county anyhow aren't you? from the sidelines of course.
how does john stoffa feel about this?are you out here to take care of his dirty work?your outraged why isn"t he?maybe this whole sign theft is just smoke and mirrors, meant to create bad feelings toward mchale,not sure ,saw the same stoffa signs as i did before. now i didn' count them but there are plenty there.
Bullshit. What is creating hard feelings is the outright theft of campaign signs followed by McHale signs slapped right in front of Stoffa signs.
I am no county exec. I already occupy the highest office - that of citizen. It gives me the right to speak out against those who step all over the rights of others, no matter how much it annoys the Joe Long/McHale Dems.
you are making John Stoffa look petty. He isn't.
She's going to need more than a day to figure out how to get out of this one.
Do you what is bullshit? It’s this whole tirade! It is a criminal offence to destroy another’s person/party’s campaign sign.
If there is proof then take it to the police, otherwise sit down and shut up!
There are a thousand reasons that these signs could be missing other than vandals.
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!
Anon 7:50,
Stoffa is NOT petty. On the other hand, he is not going to roll over and allow McHale's goons to play games. What they did is bad for democracy.
Fly on Shit,
There is one and only one reason why Stoffa's signs are missing. McHale goons were observed taking them. McHale goons also blocked Stoffa's signs. The sign theft is, as you note, a criminal matter.
Priority of best Sign placement/vision ability goes to the last person/candidate on the scene. That goes with the turf.
As someone said earlier, “Lawn sign do not win elections”, it’s pressing the flesh!
TellTale Signs. If McHale even before primary is out of sight, how much care and concern will she exhibit towards voters if elected?
Anonymous said...
She's going to need more than a day to figure out how to get out of this one.
8:29 AM
"Ditto"
Fly on Shit,
If signs do not win elections, then why steral them? Why block Stoffa signs w/ Mchale signs?
Signs may not win elections, but I think that they just may lose them. People who are driving along roads will quickly see what McHale has done in blocking Stoffa signs. it makes her look petty and mean-spirited. She lost votes w/ her signs effort.
I can't wait to see her mailer.
is it ok for a certain judicial candidate to place her signs in front of stoffa and others ok....after all she is supported by lisa.....who cares about this bullshit. We still don't have a qualified candidate for executive. they both stink...excuse me..can't run the county properly.
you have a point there.
Mchale wants to debate Stoffa. Strategy: spray paint him with a red x, stand in front of him so no one can see him, and have a goon kidnap him. She wins. Simple.
Don't forget to tell them,
"Large Marge sent ya!"
(heh, heh, heh, ha! One!, Two!)
You and the angry priest both must hate women. You have zero proof that Ann McHale did anything and you attack her and ask for her to answer to you and your butt kissers.
This is Stoffa's big problem that many people now see, he is sneeky and devious. He plays the aw schucks, mamam game while he unleashes the hounds like you and Angle to do his dirty work.
If Stoffa feels he was wronged let himn come out and accuse McHale publicly. He hides behind you and Angle and plays Mr. Virtuous.
He is not only a lousy Executive who has accomplished absolutely nothing but he is also a political coward.
What an act, I hope people are wise to the game you guys are playing.
Back from the McHale fundraiser already? Don't you have some signs to knock over?
Bernie, that's slander! Knock it off and take down that blog!
All this time and I didn't know I hated women. I should call my mother and tell her of the new discovery.
Gee, maybe I will ask The Blessed Virgin Mary to intercede with The Lord on behalf of saving all of our souls?
Peace, ~~Alex
The cowardly Queen Ann has yet to apologize publicly to the Stoffa campaign for the outrageous acts of her pinhead volunteers who stole Stoffa signs and then had the audacity to cover up other signs of his with her pathetic knock-offs. This sneak attack in the dead of night has lost McHale votes among fair-minded citizens who believe in first amendment values. If she had any backbone at all she would speak out against this disgraceful incident and renounce dirty political tricks. She had little chance of winning to begin with, and those odds are getting longer by the day.
You're wrong. Her fundraiser wasn't tonight. She was buying red spraypaint cans though for all her donors in preperation.
I heard she plans to apologize as soon as Stoffa apologizes to the voters for having O'Hare and Angle as advisors.
Anybody with a brain would want to have Angle inside their camp, pissing out, and not the other way around. You want him in the foxhole with you.
As for me, I'm an idiot. I can blog, but that's about it. My skills consist of putting in signs here and there. Stoffa promised to let me build a birdhouse, too.
My signs and Stoffa's do look a lot alike, but I was shocked this weekend when 20-plus of my signs were stolen or trashed in a single night. I'm a big fan of John Stoffa, and perhaps that's part of why this happened, or maybe it's just that the so-called "goons" saw green signs and that was enough to rip mine out of the ground and either toss them into the woods or simply steal them outright. Weird, because McHale's signs are green too.
Karen,
Wow! Would you mind posting a comment on your F/B page to confirm that 20 of your signs were destroyed this past weekend? That way I can post something.
I'm sorry about what happened to you. I remember you from the days when I was opposed to you and Stoffa on the open space question. You folks won the referendum but ended up financing it the way that we had wanted instead of floating a big bond.
I saw your signs. They have a white background w/ green lettering, presumably bc of your love of open space. It's very possible that you fell victim to people who were just destroying anything green that did not have the name McHale attached to it. It's sad.
Good luck in your city council race. I'm sure you'll do well.
Karen, as an Angle and O'Hare supporter you just lost quite a few Bethlehem Democratic votes.
You are either misinformed or truely incompetent.
Read the comment. She is a Stoffa supporter, not an Angle or O'Hare supporter. Dolan is a liberal Democrat and member of city cvouncil, but the Joe Long Dems will toss her aside like day old bread for for daring to note her signs have been vandalized, too.
How about the mayor of Bangor. Didnt he "decorate" a sign a few years ago during a school board election? Drives a red pick up too.
Wow. What class on the Stoffa side.
how does john stoffa feel about this?are you out here to take care of his dirty work?your outraged why isn"t he?maybe this whole sign theft is just smoke and mirrors, meant to create bad feelings toward mchale,not sure ,saw the same stoffa signs as i did before. now i didn' count them but there are plenty there.Bingo. This reads to me like a well-hatched plan between candidate and attack blog. The formula worked for Charlie Dent, why not now?
Stoffa is the best we have had in years. I don't need a sign to vote for him again!!! Take that McHale.
If nothing is great and zero is infinity than stoffa is your man, no doubt about it.
anon 7:27... it is spelled then, not than.
Stoffa is lucky to have you on his Campaign Bernie.
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