Local Government TV

Monday, September 24, 2012

More Names in NorCo Council Race

A few weeks ago, I gave you a rundown of who might seek one of the five at-large Northampton County Council seats that are up in next year's race. Incumbents John Cusick, Tom Dietrich and Peg Ferraro - all of them Republicans - plan to run again. But Bruce Gilbert and Barb Thierry, two more Republicans, have reportedly had enough. This means that if Democrats win just one seat, they will have a majority.

Former Executive Jerry Seyfried and former Human Services Director Ron Heckman, both of whom also served on Council, are reportedly interested. So is the Northampton County Bulldog, former Council member Ron Angle. Even the current Exec, John Stoffa, is toying with the idea.

Jeff Warren, currently a member of Easton City Council, is mulling it over. So is Randy Galiotto, an architect who is very close to Easton Mayor Sal Panto.

But that's not all.

Dr. Chris Amato, a great chiropractor and former Lehigh Township Supervisor, is weighing his options, I'm told. Deb Hunter, a Northampton teacher whose bid for NorCo Council just missed four years ago, is being asked to run again. So is Easton area resident Bill Wallace (not to be confused with Scotland's William Wallace).

It's way too soon for any of these possibles to acknowledge their interest, so I have not pressed them.

But it's a large, and mostly good, field.

58 comments:

  1. Bernie, I thought Seyfried and Heckman were running for Executive. Jerry has been telling everyone he is running. What about McClure, do you know if he is running for Execuitve or not?

    I find it hard to beliecve that after all the early rumors Callahan will run unopposed. I don';t think Callaahn is as sur ea bet as some think and he would be vulnerable in aa primary.

    If in fact Seyfried, Heckman and Stoffa are running for council, why are the Long Dem machine pols running? Why would they be begging Hunter to run, she lost the only time she ran? Do the Long Dmes understand the point of elections?

    Does the Dem machine want to ensure they only have "their" Dems in office?

    All of this is confusing.

    Add to tha,t I heard that Cusick is not running for council but for County Executve.

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  2. Jerry is considering running for either Exec or Council. I've heard Heckman's name in connection with both offices as well. Same with Cusick, although I think it is unlikely he will be re-elected in any capacity.

    I would not by any means classify Deb Hunter as a Long Dem. She was fairly independent in her last race.

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  3. Last I heard was from someone in the Callahan camp and they seemed pretty sure McClure will run for County Execuitve. I guess he has nothing to lose.

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  4. Callahan will win in a heartbeat. The hanger ons will be out, Community and Economic Development will be swept out the door as real administrators take over, and the unions will learn what collective bargaining really means.

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  5. Anon 6:05:

    I am unclear as to what your concerns are regarding the DCED, but welcome a chance to discuss these concerns with you directly.

    Lori Sywensky
    Northampton County Community Development Administrator
    610-559-3200 x 2

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  7. 6:35,

    what have you done?

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  8. "Anonymous said...
    6:35,

    what have you done?

    7:00 AM"

    More than some anonymous troll, who's bashing the accomplishments of a talented group of individuals, and lamely attempting to make it look like it's coming from Callahan's people.

    I mean REALLY? You think we're all that dumb? Amateur...

    and Lori----Shame on you for feeding the troll. NEVER get into a wrestling match with these tools. they always win, because their anonymity frees them from the earthly restraints of truth and decency.

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  9. doth protest too much?

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  10. More people in the races the better the opportunity to get decent representation.

    Seamus

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  11. Why Seyfried and heckman, aren't they like 80 or something. Stoffa is barely alive.

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  12. Make sure you wear your Spandex to the next meeting...

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  13. Jeff Warren? I'll drink to that!

    Rock on,
    Kevin Deely

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  14. Seyfried? Heckmann? Stoffa switching chairs?

    That's change we can get excited about!

    Warmest regards,
    NorCo Recycling Coordinator

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  15. Lori, Anyone who knows you or Alicia knows what good work is done by your office. I can list a very recent example of something you did that really helped a person in need, and that is something you did not have to do. Alicia has earned the respect of people in both the private and public sector.

    The person who posted that comment is trying to scare you and the unions in a fairly transparent attempt to trash Callahan. It's disinformation. The person does not really give a shit whether your office functions well.

    I am heartened that several people saw the comment for what it is.

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  16. McClure for Exec?

    Get ready for a unionized, county-run mud hauling operation funded by a poorly conceived bond or fee or tax that will exempt rubber rat manufacturers who move to the county.

    Sincerely,

    The jobs that used to be here before dopes like McClueless began to fix thngs

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  17. Heckman, Seyfried, and Stoffa. Aren't they all on Social Security? Senility isn't part of the requirements to be a County Council person. Seyfried has no accomplishments that I can remember, Stoffa pissed away 15 million by not making a decision on the swaption, and Heckman has been on the public Teat forever. Like the old race horse that they are, it's time to go out to pasture. Callagahan I understand is buying everyone off. I hope this isn't true. Dent proved he has a lot of baggage in Bethlehem.

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  18. Oh, I hope very much that McMud McClure runs so his abysmal attendance record and some of his even more abysmal decisions, can be spotlighted by candidates who are known and actually have some money.

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  19. "Heckman, Seyfried, and Stoffa. Aren't they all on Social Security?"

    Hey, If you hate old people, don't vote for them.

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  20. Heckman and Seyfried have more years of Government experience than most, if not all, of those others combined..Since when did age and experience become a bad thing..Must be coming from one of the teabag nutcakes..If most of these Dems run that you mentioned and if Stoffa runs as a Dem that wont leave much room for Angle..If he vcan't win his own district, what makes you think he'd have a chance county wide..Also, as much as you hate Cusick, you are being foolish to think he couldnt win again..he did well last time and embarrassed the hell out of Angle with his coup..That might even help him get Dem votes..Stop letting hate blur your vision Bernie..

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  21. I don't "hate" Cusick. I have nothing against the guy, and think many of his decisions are good ones. I don't believe he can win for the following reasons: (1) It will be a year for Democrats; (2) Cusick's own style is rather aloof; (3) The only person who funds Cusick is Cusick, and he will need much more $ to win an Exec race; (4) Cusick alienated himself with some Rs bc of his alienation of Angle; and (5) Cusick alienated himself among many Ds bc of his stand on Gracedale.

    If he just runs for Council, he might have a shot, but i think even that is in doubt.

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  22. "1) It will be a year for Democrats"

    Maybe. But Obama won PA by 20 last time and is down to a two-point lead in state where he should be rolling. He has a problem, suddenly, in a state that elected Pat Toomey and has Casey in a close one against a guy nobody has heard of. I think his name is Smith or Jones. He's supposed to be putting commercials on TV this week. This is going to be a bloodbath for Ds. The media are having difficulty weighing and swaying and spinning worsening polls for Ds. Bernie, you'll be proved wrong and Romney wins the election by 6 points. And the Smith or Jones guy stuns Casey, too. That's the real shocker.

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  23. When i say it will be a year for Ds, I am referring to next year's County Council races. Although the at-large seats are influenced by whatever is going on nationally, I think Ds will take back Council next year. They only need one seat. I suspect Ferraro will win, but Cusick is in trouble. Hey, I'm no expert.

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  24. Long Dems, has Long been retired for several years now? and you still use the Long Dems term.

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  25. Dear 11:58,

    Obama is winning by at least nine in Pa. Romney has since ran from pa. and has taken his advertising with him..Casey is crushing Smith, Jones, or whoever that guy is, and Toomey barely won in a year that most Dems were getting crushed..You gotta stop watching Fox news and pay attention..
    As far as County Council goes, it doesnt matter whether Cusick wins or not. Council will be mostly Dem next year and they'll control the agenda. They'll have some tough decisions to make if Stoffa raids the reserves and doesnt raise taxes this year..The state keeps cutting back on Human Service programs and is putting more pressure on the Counties to fund more in that regard..Gracedale will continue to be costly especially if the Feds slice and dice funding with this sequestration that's coming up by year's end. So whomever gets the job, I wish them the best..Not going to be easy.

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  26. still don't know what they've. Not much as it seems they can't own up to anything.

    that will change soon

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  27. norco doesn't have a recycling coordinator

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  28. NorCo doesn't have a sewerage treatment Center either. Put Callaghan in charge of that program. He has lots of experience with dregs and sludge and waste.

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  29. The Long Dem's are embedded, they are everywhere. They always appear on modern Dem tickets. They rarely win anyhting but they are always there.

    Remeber, Callahan, McClure, Barron, etc., are all Long Dem's.

    His influence was vwery deep. The new Chairman is his legacy pick. We stil have a lot of Long Dem Manchurian caniddates out there.

    No one is fooled.

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  30. Obama is not winning PA by 7. Casey's lead is gone. Obama may win PA. But he should be winning by a lot. That's not good for him nationally. He's about to lose. Casey will survive.

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  33. Seyfried for Exec and Col. John McGeehan for Sheriff. These are two no nonsense guys. Seyfried bloodied someone's lip when he was in office and McGeehan is the hammer needed to straighten Jim Onembum out. McGeehan has more manhood in the finger he lost than "chooch" Miller has in his whole body

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  35. BO 1:37,
    dementia reigns supreme in norco

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  36. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  38. I have also heard that Geoffrey M. Roche, a Moravian College graduate and Moore Township resident is considering a run for Council.

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  39. Geoff's linked in profile certainly sounds interesting. Currently, he is the government relations guy at Pocono Medical. His profile states he is "responsible for advancing the federal, state and local legislative interests of the health system." If he is being paid by Pocono Medical to promote their interests on a local level, who will be representing everyone else? His resume is very impressive, but isn't there some divided loyalty here?

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  40. I have deleted a few comments that are off topic, or engage in anonymous personal attacks, or that are sinmpl mindless.

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  41. obviouly lori do nothing and alicia do even less are on BO hot list - do either have a pig he can kick?

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  42. They are on my hot list, to be sure. Both have rejected me several times. But discussing a woman's hotness, especially publicly, demeans and objectifies her. They are two of Northampton County's best and brightest, who do their jobs well, and with very limited resources.

    Now you are both off topic and are engaging in anonymous personal attacks. All you have succeeded in doing is making yourself look like an ass, or perhaps, a pig. Additional comments from you will be deleted without comment.

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  43. Some dickclown took cheap shots at Heckman and Seyfried. First, Seyfried is the,only Excutive NOT to raise taxes and Heckman worked lponer in the private sector.

    If you are going to go after people, you Long Dem's, at least get your facts straight.

    Tell you this, if either/or Jerry and Ron run for county council, they win, I don't care who else is running. But keep throwing shit, you are better at that than actually winning elections.

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  44. I would not think that there would be any divided loyalty considering Pocono is located in an entirely different county. It really seems like his experience could be extremely beneficial to our county and its citizens.

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  45. Dear 6:20 PM..You are right..Obama is not leading by 7 points in Pa. The last two polls have him leading by 9 and 11 points..So much so that Rove pulled his money from Pa. and is looking for greener pastures elsewhere..Casey is still cleaning that other knucklehead's clock..Stop watching Fox news and come back to the real world already..Geez!!

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  46. You and your new patron Calahan will be mighty dissapointed. Lamont McClure will be the next County Executive and it drives you crazy.

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  47. Bob Stem the football coach is going to run.

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  48. why doesn't bo run? he seems to be all knowing and all seeing.

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  49. Those are some good names. Very strong newcomers to boot. It will be interesting. Coach stem ? Doubt it

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  50. Berhnie is pissed that Lamont is going to be moving him out of county bathrooms.

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  51. McClure has no shot at Callahan, I'm sure the polling he did showed that clearly. Hell he must have near zero name recognition outside of this blog. I wonder how he will even raise funds. Once A Callahan or ilk announces no one is going to give a dime.

    Seamus

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  52. Word on the street is Heckman will not seek county executive position, county council unknown; Seyfried is bluffing as a misdirect for someone else or to get something.

    Botton line, the race for the
    Dem's county execuitve is MacClure and Callahan. More word is McClure has the money to reprint the Dent mailers nailing Callahans lousy recorsd.

    The odds have it as McClure wins in a close race.

    Back to work.

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  53. I heard a rumor that the Dem's are trying to add Rich Grucela to the Heckman/Seyfgried mix and with Callahan win in a landslide and restore the county and Gracedale to the professional status once again

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  54. Grucela, really? Isn't he like ninety? Besides the building isn't big enough for his ego and everyone else.

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  55. Word is the Northamtpon County
    Dem's have a super ticket for county council, Grucela,
    Dertinger, Hunter, Wallace and Warren.

    It's called the Long Dems dream team.

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  56. Seyfried isn't running for anything. It was a bluff to help one of the candidates. You will see who, soon enough.

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