Koplinski is part of a City government on the brink of failure, and perhaps he should focus on that distressed City before screwing up the rest of the State.
Morganelli, DA since 1993, is a proven administrator who has run his office with tight budgets, and has professionalized it. He has gradually phased out the part-time assistants, who tend to be political appointees, with career prosecutors like his top assistant, Terry Houck, a former Philly cop. Two of his former First Assistants have gone on to become judges, a role that appears to have no appeal to this tough product of Bethlehem's South Side.
As DA, one of his biggest innovations was convening a grand jury for cold cases, which has solved at least three murders and is on its way with leads in other cases.
Politically, Morganelli is something of an iconoclast. He has taken a tough stance on illegal immigration, but is a free speech purist who dismissed charges against an anti-war protest assembled outside the Palmer post office. If I had to classify him, I'd call him a blue collar Democrat.
His $260,000 warchest is a good start, but he needs ten times that amount to be competitive statewide. I only have about $10.
I have not spoken with Morganelli about this race, but hope he takes the plunge.
26 comments:
AGAIN! When will this guy give it up?
You give him too much credit Bernie. Time will prove this out.
it's a race between him and orloski to see who can lose the most
He's the Gerry Quarry of PA politics, The Great White Dope. What a miserably unhappy, soon to be four-time loser. Will his kids be sending nasty, unethical emails on his behalf this time? While he sit like a cross between Willy Loman and unpaid whore in a Pittsburgh hotel room waiting to be paid for his "service" this time? I sense a train wreck already. This should be a blast. I'm strongly with Bernie on this one. I hope he runs.
Pennsylvania really needs a better way to pick its Lt. Governor. Most voters truly have little idea who these candidates are, so it comes down to geography, name ID, and sometimes gender.
Anyone remember Catherine Baker Knoll? She was basically senile. She won the nomination as she was the only woman in a crowded field.
Allowing gubernatorial nominees to pick their running mates would hopefully help weed out people like Knoll and make it more likely that the two actually get along.
A better way is to allow future governors to do the picking instead of the people? I'm not seeing that, Kevin. You're basically saying making an argument against democracy. I doi not think it is the fault of the candidates that the people do a lousy job informing themselves, and then get the government they deserve.
The running mates can run as a ticket in the primary. Voters would still choose.
The voters will vote for the Guv and the other guy, just like they vote for the prez and the other guy. I actually think this is one thing Pa. has right.
" What a miserably unhappy, soon to be four-time loser.:"
He seems like a happy guy to me. It is hard to win a statewide race from the LV. So I guess we should not try, eh?
Who cares who the Lt. is? Meaningless job. Good pay, nice bennee's but that is about it.
I vote for Jim Gregory!
I would agree with Mr. Cerino on this point. I usually agree with you Bernie, but I do not think that running as a team (as is done in a number of other states) would be "an argument against democracy." As a representative democracy, one could argue that we the voters would know more about what agenda they are voting for if they were genuinely running as a team, and not a forced marriage borne out of the primary. For example (using the other party), under our current system an establishment Republican could be chosen selected as Gov. candidate and for reasons observantly noted by Cerino ("geography, name ID, and sometimes gender") could be paired with a Tea Party "save us from Agenda 21" LG running mate. As a voter looking for who will represent my views, I might be afraid to vote for such a contradictory team. If the Gov-candidate wants to run that way feeling he/she is "balancing" the ticket, that is a calculated choice, and we the voters will judge accordingly if we agree. Otherwise, its a forced mismatch.
I like Morganelli, and think he has been an effective DA, and would be an acceptable LG. Any change in our current system would take several years at minimum, so he is not affected either way. Quite honestly maybe he would have had a better chance if the Gov. candidate(s) could pick who he/she feels is qualified.
Why not have the gub candidate choose several choices from which the public can vote for.
Unless you have an approval rating of 80 plus and the big money donors behind you forget competing with the high profile philly or pittsburg candidates with their voting block.Pawlawski has pipe dreams.Scranton/WB has had some success but usually with favorite son types.
Well I support John 100% on this. It would be nice to have the Lehigh valley garner ther attention it deserves. We are the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the state and its about time someone from here wins. At least mr Morganelli has the balls to stand up and do something unlike the cowards who come on here just to piss on everyone's parade.
"Wow, lost my whole post again. Lina's mom is trying to frame me again, according to Leighton Cohen. Just so you all know. Give it up lady. You get SSD and use it for gambling and have a rug business on the side. Does the IRS know. Leave me alone!!!!!! I am not trying to contact Lina as you told Leighton!!! Go away. Is your pal Bernie paying you alot to do this?? Stop trying to frame me. Stop already."
Latest post on Gregory facebook. Here we go again.
This state needs an enema!
Pray tell, oh political sage, Bernie...how are those factual statements by Koplinski's campaign about Mark Critz "amateurish"?
They are amateurish bc it is a needless application of venom at the moment someone has stated he is announcing. It makes the dude look waspish and petty, not qualities voters admire in a position like that. But go ahead and knock yourself out.
Hope John's campaign flyer mentions the lawsuit the County settled with a former black prison guard that he discriminated against for employment as a county detective. Sure to win him the minority vote. This same employee is now being harassed by Sheriff Miller and his minions in the Sheriff's Department. Several harassment complaints have been filed in HR. "Can't believe this is the resume of a black man" is what I was told Morganelli said to this applicant.
If you are referring to the Sergeant, I am not too thrilled with that guy. I think other deputies have a poor view of him as well. I remember that, in the middle of the Gracedale lawsuit, and while I was questioning a witness, he yanked me out of the courtroom over my frickin' coffee thermos, and then came up again over some other matter that was bullshit. On both occasions, it distracted me from thinking about what i was there for, and I resented it very much. I did not complain to the Court about this needless interference, but should have done so. I have seen him harass other deputies and have heard horror stories about his treatment of one worker.
Assholes are assholes, and they come in all races, even black.
There is no way that Morganellie made a racist remark about this guy. he is just a troublemaker who likes to play the race card. And had he won his suit against Morganelli, why isn't he a detective?
Ask John yourself since you two are friends. His remark cost the County $25,000. Morganelli would not have settled this suit if he did not commit any wrongdoing.
Unfortunately, defendants often throw money at litigants because the cost of defending the case is greater.
The County would not have thrown money at this guy if his claim lacked creditability. John made the comment and the County bought its way out of another wrongdoing. And the reason this fellow is not a County detective is because he refused to work for racist Morganelli and instead brokered a deal to be given a Sheriff position where he rose to rank of Sergeant on his own credentials but is prevented from performing his job because he is not a puppet to the courts like Miller. Hopefully the NAACP will sponsor an hour on Gregory's show and have the two black deputies in the Sheriff's Department present their stories to the public. Gregory will make sure the story is told.
The word is credibility, not creditability. If this occurred, why isn't the deputy serving as a Detective? Why only $25k? And was it really $25k? or $5k? Or 0$. We are all aware of the sergeant in question. He is a troublemaker quick to play the racist card. If I were King, he would be long gone. If Gregory wants to look for a bigot, he can call Tricia and find one. But he's just a narcissist.
This Sgt. had the balls to discipline Deputy Todd Miller when he was given car blanch to steal working hours for years from the County, reporting time that he did not work. Now Sheriff Miller is attempting to have him fired because he bucked the politically connected system. This is the behavior Gregory will make publically known. Hopefully the 2 black deputies will appear on his show and air their struggles. The other deputy is a senior member of his division and is continually bypassed for "free lunch" trips by junior deputies. Sounds like discrimination to me. Lawsuits surely will be filed and the County will once again be paying. This is what is wrong with cabinet positions being appointed. When the top law enforcement official of Norco had to pay for his behavior, the wanna be Barney Fyfe Sheriff will surely pay more. To quote Miller, "I am a white man and would not do well in prison." Stop hating on your black deputies, and since Gregory survived prison, Miller is no match for him.
Just what we need, the petty squabbling inside a county department, presented by a person who can't identify himself but names other names.
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