Bradford County Comm'rs are suing their own Prothonotary because she used $18,000 in County money for a digitalization project to renovate her offices.
In the meantime, Legal and Judicial Chair Lamont McClure has yet to schedule any hearings on proposed changes to the Home Rule Charter in Northampton County, which would make these offices elected positions once again. That's no shocker. He hasn't bothered conducting a meeting of the Legal and Judicial Committee for over three years.
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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Tuesday, February 05, 2013
34 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.
So? In Northampton County, John Stoffa used taxpayer money to fund a private lawsuit and should be indicted.
ReplyDeleteGive it a rest. This has gone thru the DA, Controller, surcharge proceedings and suits against me that went to the Supreme Court. Your claim is nonsense. McClure's characterization is baloney. It never was anything more than a political witch hunt against a man with more integrity in his missing finger than McClure, you anonymous goons and fake reverends have in your entirety.
ReplyDeleteRMM has more integrity in his mustache than you give him credit for BOH
ReplyDeleteDo I get to do the appointing?
ReplyDeleteI'm anonymous - it's ok.
I could also appoint the mayor, town council, and solicitor...
It is crazy to elect Row oficers..To find one example of why is easy to find anywhere..You could find examples somewhere else of the opposite, I'm sure..The main reason not to do it is professionalism..If you elect these positions, those being elected might have a politically popular name but have little experience..Once they are in, you are screwed.They are accountable to no one for four years..At least if they are appointed , they are accountable..It's just a bad idea to change this.
ReplyDeleteAndy Roman, who has never been in law enforcement, almost beat a professional cop to become sheriff. Glen Eckhart, who doesn't have a college degree, beat a professional auditor to become controller. I think that is all the evidence we need to appoint professionals.
ReplyDeleteRMM has more integrity in his mustache than you give him credit for BOH"
ReplyDeleteRMM is a reference to Mario Marinez, who often refers to himself with the Royal We. In conversations with Sal Panto, Martinez repeatedly claimed to have voted for him. That was a lie. Martinez does not even live in Easton. He lives in Forks Tp. He posts numerous comments anonymously, so does not know much about honesty, either. He's a false prophet, the kind of person we were warned about by JC himself. He attended no seminary but insists on calling himself Reverend. When I point out his phoniness, he calls it "persecution." No I call it phoniness. He is a fraud.
OK so no elected row officers. Didn't they table that idea?
ReplyDeleteThey tabled that idea, but only so that elected row officer supporter Lamont McClure could schedule hearings on the topic. He has not done so, and I question why he chairs a committee that has conducted no meetings for over three years.
ReplyDeleteBernie, What prevents a political power player from running for coroner and winning.I was made aware of the power play in the Lehigh County Sheriffs race.Not to criticize Mr. Roman however a popular person let's say Julio Gurity could run for Sheriff and win.
ReplyDeleteTricia are you here honey ???????
ReplyDeleteYou know Martinez is lying through that ridiculous Spencer Gifts mustache. Nobody in Forks Township can stand Sal Panto.
ReplyDelete"Politicians who generally speaking don't like referendum questions on ballots, usually have self serving schedules...Not We The People agendas.
ReplyDeleteThat is why County Executive John Stoffa (who is all about himself) is so adamant in keeping the system the way it is. How many of his cronies will be in line for his position?
In We The People's opinion, the bi-partisan proposal by Councilmen Ken Kraft and Tom Dietrich relating row offices being elected as opposed to appointed is an excellent proposal.
Why so? Some like Stoffa may ask...Because We The People are not idiots. We know how to push the buttons and pull the lever. We also know who we want to be in elected seats as opposed to having someone shovel appointed choices down our throats.
"If approved by county council, Kraft's bill would let voters decide this spring how row officers are chosen. The primary election is May 21." from Mcall
Our question is: Why wouldn't council pass a bill that has DEMOCRACY written all over it? When this question arises in tonight's County Council meeting...We The People will be watching the council vote closely. We know that Barbara Thiery and Bruce Gilbert will most likely vote against the bill for two reasons 1) they are Stoffa/Angle supporters 2) supposedly they will not be attempting re-election so they have nothing to lose.
Well let's see if we can do the math - two support, two do not...that leaves five to make the decision; in favor or opposed. Again We The People say: we will be watching closely. Of the remaining five, three are up for re-election next year.
Some may argue that we are brow-beating Council (because that's a tactic they use), we say: we're doing no such a thing. We are merely expressing the truth. And the truth is in a democracy the voters decide. So while we can't effect immediate change with those on council not up for re-election next year, we can cause positive change for democracy with those that are.
Ladies and gentlemen of Council - this is an easy bill to decide. The way we see it is: if you vote in favor...you are voting for democracy - if you oppose the bill...you are opposing democracy.
To the three who's term is up we say:
Vote in favor of the bill, and we will vote for you...
...vote against it - And we will vote you OUT!!"
The Saving Private Gracedale comment comes from Mario Martinez He is the Fake Rev who runs the Gracedale blog and who is usually too cowardly to sign his name, is much more than a false prophet. He believes Jesus talks to him thru his TV and told him that a tornado that killed children was God's punishment for something Obama did. He has told Easton Mayor Sal Panto that he voted for him, when he actually live in Forks Tp.
ReplyDeleteBut what I find more offensive than anything is his constant reference to himself as "We, the people." He has never been elected by the People to anything, and 99% of the County would not know him if they tripped over him.
He is nothing more than the lynch mob, holding a rope in his hand, and is pursuing personal vendettas against Stoffa, Angle, Marcus and even low-level county employees.
It is no surprise to me that this bully would want to a direct say in the selection of row officers, even though they set no policy.
The act that this demagogue supports it and calls opponents anti-Democratic, should be enough to kill this idea.
Notice how he uses the Royal We, too. He is close to delusional. Looks like he'll be voting against Peg Ferraro. He'll be voting against Scott Parsons, who called this the most stupid idea he's seen. He'll have to vote against Werner, too, since he thinks this is a foolish idea.
ReplyDeleteSadly O'Hare this only became an issue because your hero, "Mr. Integrity" John Stoffa played games with an appointment. You kinow it. Once again an action of the Stoffa Aboimination has created a strong backlash. From Gracedale to the Home Rule Charter, from an unneeded and overcost Human Services building to a warehouse in Forks Twp., the guy is the personification of trainwreak. Of course he doesn'r care. He will go home and collect his multiple pensions and paint birdhouses.
ReplyDeleteIf this ends up on a ballot, we all have John Stoffa to thank again for screwign things up. The man couldn't lead a parade much less a county.
You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Stoffa made a bad call in one appointment, bc of some test that should have been prepared in part by the outgoing Register of Wills. You fix the problem. You don't return to a system that is far worse and led to scandal after scandal. And if you want to attack him, why are you so afraid to identify yourself?
ReplyDeleteStating yhre facts is not an attack. Unless you read it that way.
ReplyDeleteCalling it the Stoffa Abomination is name-calling. The accusation that he played games, and the use of the word integrity in quotation marks, are personal attacks. You are not stating facts; you are smearing. Identify yourself, or make it clear that you are a coward. I think we already know that.
ReplyDeleteReverand M champion of the devil. Acts like one,looks like one,is one.
ReplyDeleteBradford County Commissioners actually debated whether or not to accept proceeds from the shale impact fee.
ReplyDeleteStoffa is right on this..To threaten to vote people out for voting agaist this is crazy..Gracedale has many supporters now on Council who also think electing row offices is crazy.They are right.Mr. Parsons, Mr. Werner, and Ms. Ferraro are supporters of Gracedale and most issues surrounding its continuation as a private facility.
ReplyDeleteTo threaten them is foolish. This is all about hatred of Stoffa..he'll be long gone before this is even considered..There are some good people in these offices who could never win a political race because they aren't politicians..There are some truly inexperienced people out there who could win these posts because they are politicians...Not good..bad idea to elect row offices..
Of course it is crazy. And the threat to oust people who oppose this crazy idea is equally insane.
ReplyDeleteKen Kraft proposed this Ordinance. I have told him, several times, that it's a terrible idea. But I would not dream of voting against him merely bc he and I disagree over one issue. If that were my standard, I would not be able to vote for anyone bc there are few elected officials with whom I agree on everything.
Martinez has become delusional. He thinks he is the Voice of the People, when in reality, he is a crackpot full of hatred.
When you first read this, you get the impression that it was used for plush carpeting and mahogany desks and original paintings.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Daily Review:
Vaughn said she is "100 percent sure" that the automation fund could be used for the renovations, which she said consisted of purchasing and installing a few cabinets in the public-service area of the office and creating "privacy partitions" that separate members of the public from the clerks who serve them.
Automation funds can be used, for example, to purchase counters that have computers on them, and all of the cabinets will have computers and printers on them, she said. To save desk space, computer monitors are mounted on the privacy partitions, she said.
Moreover, the renovations were needed to accommodate the planned installation of a $186,500 computer-based system for managing the records of civil cases in the Prothonotary's Office, said Vaughn, who added that the installation of the new management system is a much higher priority for her than $35,000 microfilm project, which involves converting older microfilm records to computer-based ones.
That gives somewhat of a different perspective, However, would it surprise you in the least that the Board is a Republican Majority,and the Prothonotary.
A slightly different perspective, maybe? Don't public patrons deserves the same facilities as the Commissioners?
That's not the point. The point is whether she had the authority to make the expenditure and the danger of all these little fiefdoms when row offices are elected.
ReplyDeleteIf Stoffa ahd not played favorites on what should have been a standard appointment we would not even be discussing this.
ReplyDeleteI criticized Stoffa more than anyone over this appointment. But as I said, you don't know what you are talking about. He followed a system. But the system was broken. It all boils down to a test that should not have been used and undue influence from certain people in the Solicitor's office. I understand an appeal has been filed and the matter is headed to the Personnel Appeals Board. If they do not rule in favor of the affected employee, the next step is the courts who wanted to appoint her in the first place.
ReplyDeleteBottom line is Stoffa fu#ked up and this is the result.
ReplyDeleteBottom line is you hate Stoffa and will blame him for everything, even things you know nothing about.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Moussa has ALL the local PD's covered? Most of them are parishioners at the same church. And he probably has most of the attorneys on the DA staff and conflict counsel and some federal offices too covered because they all go to the same church. This guy is connected and has a lot of them on the take. Follow the money and it will stick. This one goes way mad deep and covers a lot of people. To take these guys down you are going to have to take done a LOT of people. Some on each sides of the law. This is definitely a case for Serpico!
ReplyDeleteThe public policy view seems to be - elect policy makers, appoint administrators. Makes sense to me. If you disagree, how do you decide who to elect? Why elect row officers? Why not every manager in the county?
ReplyDeleteAgree with 7:37, let all Row offices be elected. Now they are just appointed hacks. Elections can be no worse. Rahter than a County Executive have County Council hire a professional maanger.
ReplyDeleteJob done!
First and foremost, there would be no need for elected row officers if Stoffa had some balls. Onembo runs the entire Courthouse and you know this Ohare. If Stoffa would stop cowering to Onembo, this topic would have never came up. Criminal court just passed this week, and by Tuesday there were no cases on the docket. The new addition to the Courthouse gets so little use that it will never need repairs. Stoffa even commented once that he can't understand why the parking lot is never full. McFadden and Onembo have to have a say in everything that goes on. Electing these officers will put an end to this. Their is a "fiefdom" in Norco contrary to what Ferraro believes, and it is the Onembo Empire. He threatens people with their job if they do not obey, but he is able to shield himself from any backlash. Sheriff Miller is going to find this out once rulings are handed down by the PLRB.
ReplyDeleteMuch of what you say is true, but you have some things wrong. Between you and the Sheriff, I will take the Sheriff. Onembo became too powerful when Reibman essentially created a vacuum, with no leadership. Onembo stepped in. Stoffa has resisted Onembo, but has to pick his battles carefully.
ReplyDeleteI will have more later. I'LL bet you lose the PLRB appeal. Wanna' bet?