Kevin Deely is the Easton Area High School teacher who was asked to leave a conference at Gettysburg College in 2009. A security guard was beckoned to Deely's room, which he was sharing with two other teachers, by the pungent aroma of marijuana. The guard could hear the toilet flush, over and over, as he waited for the door to open When it finally did, the poor guy was nearly knocked over by a cloud of Acapulco gold.
Now do I think Deely was bootin' the bong? Heaven forbid! I'm sure it was all just a terrible misunderstanding. After all, Deely was at the time President of the teachers' union. As a union boss, he's known for rejecting federal funding when it was tied to teacher performance. We can't have that. Last Spring, he organized a rally when school administrators balked at an average 12.57% average raise for teachers.
Between 2009 and this year, Easton teachers saw average raises of $20,000-25,000, more than many of us make.
Now he's running for State Representative against incumbent Justin Simmons in the 131st District. Unable to raise money for his campaign, he's become a modern-day Fagin. He's actually sending kids out, armed with cans, to pick up dough for his warchest.
That's what Deely did on August 2, when he opened up his campaign offices. Naturally, it's at the UAW Local 677 building in Allentown.
What is he, the frickin' Miracle League?
Amazingly, he did this right under the noses of union bosses, local Dem party bigwigs, gay rights advocate Adrian Shanker, State Rep candidates Mike Schossberg and Leslie Altieri, and Congressional candidate Rick Daugherty.
What were they thinking?
Not one of them bothered to remind Deely that campaign finance laws require him to account for every penny received, even if it is under $50 and obtained from people who think they're donating to the March of Dimes.
I wonder if any of them had anything to say about our child labor laws being too strict.
These are Democrats?
Putting laws aside, sending kids out to collect cash for a political campaign is tacky.
Updated 11:30 AM: I have decided to remove a picture of the three boys holding "Deely" cans from this blog because they are not the issue, and there is no reason to draw attention to them in an negative way. The candidate who promoted this activity should be the focus.
Updated 8:30 PM: I decided to remove the picture of Mike Schlossberg, too
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
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Wednesday, August 08, 2012
44 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
When/where did this happen? Are the kids going door to door? This was light on details... Really light.
ReplyDeleteHe did it on August 2, when he opened his campaign HQs at the UAW Local 677 building.
ReplyDeleteThis post... As a matter of fact this whole blog is tacky. Why not post about Simmons accepting donations from the NIZ crowd he claims to be fight against.
ReplyDeleteOops that might be actual reporting.
Sorry, Dude. Sending little kids with cans out to pick up campaign dough is scummy. And I have reported Reilly's contributions to Simmons. Notwithstanding that, Simmons actually voted to remove the EIT from the townships, while Deely ran and took cover, refusing to answer whether he's support a rollback of the EIT out of fear he might offend the unions or Pawlowski.
ReplyDeleteAnd Deely sends little kids with cans like he's March of Dimes. Come on!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"It's a hard knock life!"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0bOH8ABpco&feature=related
ReplyDeleteDeely is a complete mess.. As my former union pres, he destroyed us and the district. He helped get the EASD in this mess and then he ran off to run for this position...
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but can anyone tell me what connections Deely has to the 131st district? I've heard he just moved into an apartment in the district a year ago. Why is this guy even running other than to be a puppet for public sector unions? As a voter in the 131st district I have a request: Please go away Kevin, you will be lucky to get 40% of the vote even if Obama wins.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a legitimate charity that "cans" to collect money, I would be infuriated. Legitimate charities and the people who help them raise money this way (college fraternities/sororities, etc) have spent years building up goodwill to make canning work and now Kevin Deely steps all over it with this action.
ReplyDeletePeople rarely look at the cans when kids are raising money on street corners, etc. and this is just a classless way to raise money for something most people NEVER want to give money to: a political campaign.
Forget about anything else, if Deely is this classless and clueless as a candidate, why would anyone ever support him to actually be a Rep?
Is it 4:20? I'm hungry.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the problem here?!
ReplyDeleteGotta have them focus group-tested "props".
The only proper criticism here would be to note the lack of signs for the children to hold that play well for the Lame Stream Media.
Stop the shameless hate-blogging and get the facts of the matter right, O'Hare!
;-)
LOYAL A-TOWN DEMO UNQUESTIONABLY SUPPORTING MRS. P AND HER TRANSFORMATIVE MAN
Kudos for removing the photos of kids. Kids don't get to choose their idiotic parents, who would lend them to scrape for a sleazy, alleged pot head's campaign.
ReplyDeleteThanks. This is why I wish I had an editor, who probably would have pointed that out, in addition to correcting my grammar and spelling. .
ReplyDeleteWhat are the chances of any challengers winning against an incumbant? I heard there is usually a 2% chance of beating the incumbant advantage. Deely and Altieri will probably lose. Schlossburg wins by default. Who else is ther
ReplyDeletemacKenzie has an opponent, but he is now an incumbent, too.
ReplyDeleteWhose kid's were they? Wasn't like 100 degrees last week? Someone should report their parents to Children and Youth services. What an a--hole.
ReplyDeleteWhen and where were these kids canning for money for Deely? Did they do it on their own initiative?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line in your post is
ReplyDelete"These are Democrats?"
yes Democrats, masters of tolerance and protectors of the weak and poor.
Riiiiiight
According to Kevin Deely's website the kids were with Bar Johnston Chairwoman of Lehigh County Democratic Party.
ReplyDeleteGuess we should ask what she was thinking too?
Just read the comments, wow.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, my kids weren't going around collecting money - it was a raffle and they got a pic just before the tickets were called for door prizes. Second, the way I teach my kids about governance is to have them participate in events and ask questions of office holders and office seekers.
Nothing illegal was happening, it was a great office opening with a lot of community support - so wagging the dog on this one is silly at best.
I do want to thank Bernie for removing the pic - it was causing some anxiety in my family - not a great phone call to get first thing in the morning.
Bar Johnston
Bernie doesn't care about your kids Bar. he want's to shame unions, so he uses kids as an illustration of how they are being victims. Kids go to events. they get bored. A smart parent gives them something to do to stay out of trouble.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Bernie and his followers would rather you tell the kids to stand in the corner and shut up. Clearly, government isn't for them.
The proper message is to get them involved, to give them a stake in their future and to then let them learn how to think for themselves.
Then again, Bernie's friends posting here would rather have you back in the kitchen making them some pie rather than acting as an independent woman.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteBar, I'll accept your explanation, although it is contrary to what I've been told.
ReplyDelete6:29, My post was critical of Kevin Deely, not women. Did he have a recent sex change operation? Do tell.
ReplyDelete7:08, I have no idea where bar's kids go to school and would not criticize someone for sending his or her children to private school.
ReplyDeleteYeah Bar, looks like he has a ton of "community support." In the pics, all I see is left wing nutjobs, public sector union hacks, and community activists. Did I mention there probably wasn't 6 people there that actually live in the 131st? Then again, Deely probably doesn't even know what the district lines are since he moved into the district last year. Deely seriously has to be a sociopath if he thinks he is electable.
ReplyDeleteThis article is Deely's candidacy in a nutshell.....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.city-journal.org/2012/cjc0807sg.html
Good article, and better point.
ReplyDeleteSimmons and Deely are both weak Candidates...is this the best we can come up with?
ReplyDeleteLet's find a good Independent Candidate, someone who is an independent thinker!
Simmons is a Dunce as a Legislator and is made fun of by his fellow Legislators.
What does that say about you then Karen? You lost that badly to a dunce?
ReplyDeleteJustin saved the Hockey arena and saved the townships their EIT and a lot of lawyers fees. If he is a dunce then glad he represents me. He has got a lot more done in his first term then the lazy drunk that was my representative before him.
ReplyDelete10:13, I think he can take rightly take credit for persuading Senator Browne on this issue. He was one of the guys who took the initiative, and did it quietly.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame the two political chairs in Lehigh County Wayne Woodman and Bar Johnston two bored trophy wives looking for a cause and meaning in their lives no matter who it hurts.
ReplyDeleteGuess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Don't understand this anonymous vitriol directed at Bar. She is a genuinely nice person. I'm letting it stand bc she is a party official, but come on.
ReplyDeleteNice Bernie, attack women in general and allow vicious attacks against a specific lady by annonymous cowards.
ReplyDeleteShame on you for allowing personal attacks that have nothing to do with the topic. Is it becasue she is a woman?
I don't attack women in general and defy you to point one instance where I have done that in all my years of blogging. I am allowing the anonymous attacks at Bar, not bc she is a woman, but bc she is a party official.
ReplyDeleteNow go take your drug cocktail.
I have decided to remove some comments concerning Bar Johnston, not bc of her, but bc they could expose some children to bullying or some kind of recrimination.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous misogynist,
ReplyDeleteAttacking people is small and doing it anonymously is cowardly.
Sadly, I let my kids read the article and posts - needless to say they were confused and shocked it's so easy to distort truth. Chalk that up to real life education at the value of giving back to the community. But, it doesn't stop me from working to get people with a shared value system elected.
Bar Johnston
More poor parenting. Don't let your kids read unfiltered material. Bernie provides fair warning. Do your job.
ReplyDeleteGuess we know who won't beother of the year!
ReplyDeleteSorry guess we know who won't be mother of the year!
ReplyDeleteHow is going to a political event giving back to the community? You people are seriously deranged.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder you can never beat Charlie. You don't know who you represent.
Have you talked to any of these "kids" one of them is a 20 year old political science major who is currently now living in Washington D.C. It's not like Mr. Deely was driving around in a white van and snatching children off the streets to go collect cash. They are all well educated students who have volunteered to help him. The fact that he is able to reach out to youth and get them involved in politics is fantastic. By joining his campaign team they are getting a learning experience.
ReplyDelete