"First, Mr. Stoffa has much more experience in county government than Mrs. McHale. He has served for 30 years in both Northampton and Lehigh County; Mrs. McHale has been on county council for about 11 years. As for executive experience, Mr. Stoffa ran Lehigh County's Department of Human Services for eight years and is in the middle of his fourth year as executive. Mrs. McHale's experience in a family insurance business doesn't match up with the varied demands on a county executive.
"Second, Mr. Stoffa better articulates a vision for the county. He puts modernization of the prison at the top of the list, and has been willing, in spite of political risks, to explore public-private and regional options. That includes the proposed Bethlehem Township treatment center, something Mrs. McHale has voted against. The prison is the right priority. Mr. Stoffa can list a series of cost-cutting steps in his administration, but Mrs. McHale is not clear on how she would cope with a rising demand for county services and declining state funding.
"Finally, there is the politics. Mr. Stoffa has run afoul of the Democratic establishment, partly because he appointed Republicans to top positions. So, the county committee endorsed Mrs. McHale in February. Good, clean fun, we suppose. But, if going lockstep with party leaders is to be the qualification for county executive, we'll support the bipartisan man. Nominate John Stoffa on the Democratic ballot."
53 comments:
ann mchale has vision,she has real integrity is honest and hardworking. i'm voting for her. john stoffa broke his promoise's to all union members he knows it,he said what he needed to to get elected then turned around and did the oppisite he is dishonest and lacks integrity.
Translation: We wanted more taxpayer $ and thought we'd get it from Stoffa. When we didn't, we turned on him like we do to every county exec. We don't care about the people, just ourselves.Two of 11 unions do not determine this election. Stoffa was elected to represent the taxpayers, not deputy sheriffs or the residual unit.
The Unions need to start bringing their standards up to non-unionized employees and their benefits down to non-unionized employees. County employees have no idea how good they have inside their bubble. We in Corporate America would kill for those benefits.
translation: when he wanted to win the election last time he pandered to the unions now you say he doesn't need or want there vote. we hear ya ohare, by way were taxpayers to. true stoffa form throw em under bus isn't that right ohare?
McHale lying about her support of the Beth. Twsp. treatment/wr center. Trying desperately for votes is all it is! The prison board meeting minutes prove she was well aware of every aspect of the prisons and the exec's plans and was fine with that plan up until she decided to run against Stoffa.
im not sure what she knew or didn't know, but as far as a treatment /work release center in bethlehem township i don't want it in my back yard. stoffa may want it he doesn't live there. there must be a better place for it, i'm not sure where but it's enough reason to give her my families vote.which is around 25 of us.
people determine elections all these people you choose to alienate speaks volumes about who john stoffa . apparently these folks have a valid point.
Is he still heavily medicated? last time i saw him he looked in failing health.
now thats an endorsement we can believe in.
All these Anons.
And BO is arguing with them.
Don't bother with them, if they had a point they would be proud to type their name.
The hecklers are paid.
Mean-spirited remarks about Stoffa like Anon 1:11 demonstrate why he will win. People don't like and react poorly to vicious remarks like those.
In addition, they are untrue. The latest Stoffa video shows John plowing a field and looking pretty chipper.
NOTHING MEAN SPIRITED HERE SAW HIM ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO LOOKED TERRIBLE.
it's hard to get people out to vote in a primary, be careful who you insult ohare.
I saw him about an hour ago and he looked like he needed to be hooked up to 02.
McHale looked very healthy when I saw her a month ago stuffing Stoffa signs into the trunk of her Lexus.
That's a worthy endorsement of Mr. Stoffa by the Morning Call!
Written by Will Power
Stoffa is a fake, fraud and phony. The only Council member he cooperates with is Rong Angle. Stoffa will limp past McHale and will increasingly be ignored by Council. He is the definition of weak.
i think ann mchale will come out strong and victorous she has excellant backers and people i respect don't underestimate her.
weak he is. i think ohare and angle run this county which is why they want him to win.
Stoffa will win and go on to re-election. His ability to steer the ship has been further undermined by his own party in this campaign. He'll be even less effective in forging coalitions on important issue. And..........
Taxpayers Win!
This executive, if given a supportive council, would have indebted, or will indebt our offspring for generations with some of the outrageous debt spending plans he's proposed and peeled back and proposed and peeled back. He's big on being deliberate, but rushed to support the swamp purchase and demonstrated how to abuse an open space program.
Council is simply a cross between incompetent and evil. They get most of the blame for the hasty swamp purchase; not to mention other wastes, including "nice" new council chambers.
Gridlock is a blessing at this point. This group is the most dysfunctional municipal body around. They should not be permitted to decide important matters. I understand there are important orders of business to be conducted. But doing nothing is still better until we can get competent, open, fiscally responsible government in place. This could take a while.
i have to believe we can and will do better. i think everyone is underestimating mchale supporters, i've talked to people in grocery stores even a yard sale this weekend they support her, they really think stoffa has had next to zero accomplishments and seriously don't want the prision/ work release center in there back yard i don't blame them.
She's been around for 11 years and the county is in the shitter. Her record is quite clear.
well she wasn't county executive now was she that was stoffa so if the county is in the shitter stoffa gets the credit.
Stoffa has always been the darling of the media because he says such nice things about everything. Problem is as a social worker he accomplishes nothing in government.
He has done zero and so far has cost the County millions and still has not addressed the major issues facing the County.
After four years he wants to be re-elected so he can plan what to do as County Executive;only in Northampton County.
Stay classy John.
"it's hard to get people out to vote in a primary, be careful who you insult ohare."If you think I'm going to mince words just bc it's election time, think again.
In fact, the papers read these blogs, including the exchanges with people like you. That's why the MC endorsed Stoffa. So thanks.
"there must be a better place for it, i'm not sure where but it's enough reason to give her my families vote.which is around 25 of us."Well, if you decide on who you sipport based on a single issue, good for you. Stoffa would rather lose an election than be pushed around by 25 NIMBYs. By the way, McHale is deceiving you. She knows damn well that treatment center is going to Bethlehem Tp and has no intention of stopping it. That vote was meaningless and was just intended to make it appear as though McHale and McClure oppose the facility in Beth Tp. They don't.
No one outside of Bethlehem that remembers her as a barmaid knows who she is.
I agree, there is a better place...joint venture with Lehigh County, but Bernie and I have already gone around on that in earlier posts. While I somewhat fault Stoffa for not standing up to the alleged influence of the judges, I fault Council more...they control the purse strings, and the joint venture would likely have been cheaper in the long run.
However, Bill White also called McHale on her recent vote in an April 9, 2009 article:
''I don't know how this has become not only a treatment facility but a work release facility,'' council President McHale said. ''My impression was that this was strictly a treatment facility.
''All of a sudden it turned into a work release building. I don't know how this came about.''
YET
'' Northampton County hopes to build a $10 million work-release facility for nonviolent inmates with drug and alcohol problems on the site of a vacant Fritch Inc. warehouse in Bethlehem Township.'' -- Morning Call story, Feb. 22, 2008.
In otherwords, citizens of Bethlehem Township should not be basing their vote on this singular issue. And don't forget the winner of the primary still faces a Republican candidate, of which I know very little about outside the traffic reports.
I see pros and cons to the proposal. However, NIMBY alone is not a valid objection. If we want to "be tough on crime" (and what judicial candidate has not touted that in his/her junk mail??), then the facilities need to be provided.
The Stoffa/McHale primary has led to action among Democrats in Bethlehem who want the county committee and state committee to STAY OUT OF LOCAL POLITICS. Sparks flew at tonight's Bethlehem City Dems meeting. Joe Long was directly challenged by a member of the group for being a leader of the Party Machine, instead of encouraging Dems to decide for themselves whom they should support in primaries. This same Dem suggested Joe should resign!
The state Dem committee decision to financially support City Councilwoman Jean Belinski and Northampton County Judge candidate Barbara Hollenbach were openly criticized, and the committee (which normally allows itself to be lulled into the long-winded empty rhetoric of "Boss" Long) voted "Everyone to Two" to renounce the practice of favoritism toward secretly selected candidates in primaries. Plans are being made to take back control of Dem politics from the Bosses and other backroom dealmakers.
Jeepers! It made me believe in the party again!
The Treatment Center is a "JAIL". All the fancy names won't change the fact that within in two years anyone will be sent there.
Stoffa wants to get $$$ to buddy Abe Atiyeh and is doing the "poor addict" and "save you money in the long run", song. Bullshat.
Stoffa billboards at all the Atiyeh Senior warehouses. One hand washes the other.
Another Stoffa plan to add to the 30 other things he has proposed but never completed. Even if this abomination occurs, the Prison in Easton must still be expanded. Stoffa shows his incompetence or dishonesty and you folk show you ignorance by pretending that that is something that may be avoided.
Lets get a real Executive who can assemble real Administrators and come up with a real plan.
Look at the bright side, when McHale wins in November the Press including Bill White will again report real news about Northampton County and not the Press releases Stoffa sends them.
What does this Harp guy do for his pay??
Beth. Twsp. board ADMITTED in open hearing..go read it..that this IS NOT a jail! What a load of crap..pay attention and attend a meeting now and then before you shoot your mouth off about stuff you have no clue about!
if your in work release don't you return to jail ?
In name only as the WR section of a jail is totally seperate from the regular population. The Lehigh County WR population lives in a seperate building at a different location than the main jail. You want to split hairs and play semantics? LOW LEVEL crimes only at WR..drunk driving,drug abuse,non support,..you getting the picture yet? No killers or rapists or molesters are in WR.
Both have been in county government for years and should be rejected for the mess the county is in.
a jail is a jail is a jail, do you want drug dealers in your backyard?
why are we obligated to accept drog dealers, addicts etc.... in our nieghbohoods we fight to keep them out.
Because they ARE your neighbors! And when they win their release..they will be your neighbors again! Open the Bible..Love thy neighbor! Justice AND MERCY!
i don't want them near my kids.
We're even then cause I don't want my kids near YOU!
if you want your children around drug addicts thats your buisness, i worked hard for what i have and moved into an area where i could limit my childrens exposer to this sort of thing, would you move your family to drug infested area if you could help it? i wouldn't.
you must be an addict yourself. if you think for one minute that this so called work release treatment center won't become a prison the second the other one is overcrowded your kidding yourself.
The treatment center/work release facility is located along fritch drive in an industrial park. It is nearly a miles from the closest home. The objection about this location is emotional, not logical.
Thanks Bern..ignorance is a terrible waste of brain matter and apparently the condition is rampant in these parts!
the only ignortant thing here is the fact that you want us all to believe that the treatment/work release center isn't really a jail.
Are you the Dumb Bunny I've heard tell of? You type Dutchy!
Dave refuses the idea of Foster Famlies for Addicts. He claims that is silly. Yet he wants taxpayer money to read his Bible to Junkies.
The studies show you can't force someone to quit the junk unless they want to.
This is a payoff to Atiyeh under the table. Human Services is in a deficit right now and it will only get worse. But hey, lets spend millions on junkies the Hell with Kids and the mentally retarded and aged. Dave won't get paid to read a Bible to them.
It's a Dumb Bunny explosion! Where do they all come from? Millions? Yes..that is the price tag and more for another prison..I'll have them send the bills to you and your retributionist friends!
Hey this is The County of Dave. Identical Christ jumpsuits and Bibles will be handed out to all.
Hey Dave, Why do they call them Junkies?
I love Dumb Bunnies and they multiply..seemingly overnight! Very prodigious little fellas and gals.
If ignorance was a crime..how many new prisons would we have to build? What's worse..an addict or an ignoramous?
An Addict!
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