There's more to Northampton County government than the Executive and Council. There's also a dizzying array of authorities and boards, most of whose members volunteer. This includes the nine-member Gaming Board, which met last night.
To his credit, Executive John Brown attended. But he passed on an opportunity to address the Board or just introduce himself, even after the Chair specifically asked him if he had anything to say.
Most members, including the Republicans, don't know him.
Brown is new to the job. It will take some time to get his feet wet. But he should have thanked the Board members yesterday for their service. After working a full day, most of them drove to the courthouse in bitterly cold weather for a meeting that can sometimes be contentious. A simple acknowledgement would have gone a long way.
Brown also left as soon as the meeting was over.
This is meant, incidentally, as constructive criticism. Hopefully, Brown will do better with the next Board he meets.
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, January 28, 2014
15 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.
meow!
ReplyDeleteWhat, Brown didn't give you a kiss on the way out? What a petty report.
ReplyDeleteit is becoming increasingly more apparent as time goes on just how far JB is in way over his head! God help Norco!!Good letter to the editor this morning BO.
ReplyDeletezoid makes a very keen observation that sitting quietly at a meeting indicates being in way over one's head. what a stupid comment from a stupid asshole.
ReplyDelete6:36 and 6:42 can call this petty, and it is petty. But the fact of the matter is that Brown should have expressed his appreciation to these board members after being invited to speak. He should have introduced himself to these people, most of whom he does not know. His failure here is not the end of the world. But it's something a county exec should strive to do. He is the face of the county, and people like to know they are appreciated. My post is meant as a constructive criticism. You can arrogantly dismiss it
ReplyDelete"!Good letter to the editor this morning BO."
ReplyDeleteHeh, heh. Gotta' stick up for Ron.
913 It's not sitting quietly at a meeting that prompted my comments, it is the whole thing with him since he was elected, political paybacks, nominating a public defender who every knew was not the right thing to do, qualified or not, and would not get appointed, as BO stated lack of being out in front of all this. Obviously right now the county is running itself on auto pilot, why even have an exec?? Brown is a no show!! I voted for him! Wish now that I hadn't!
ReplyDeleteLehigh and Northampton will be known state-wide for having the worst executives within the year.
ReplyDeleteBrown starts out his administration with no political capital at all and makes downright awful cabinet choices.
Muller starts out his administration expending what little political capital he has supporting a woeful mall idea in the suburbs that's already been rejected.
Great start. Yep, real good.
Brown's initial month has been subpar, by any standard. He is obviously getting very bad advice from people who know nothing about county government. My hope is that he learns from his initial mis-steps and gets better.
ReplyDeleteMuller's first month has been pretty good. he made good cabinet picks, took it upon himself to address the homeless situation and is conducting an informational meeting about Hamilton Crossing so that the public can have their say. Whether you favor this or not, and I tend to oppose it, I like the transparency.
Translation; Brown is not kissing O'Hare's as like Stofffa. God for John Brown. Besides, why should Brown be obligated to introduce himself to Stoffa's old girlfriend?
ReplyDeleteIf you are one of Brown's advisers, I can see why he's in trouble. My criticism had nothing to do with speaking to me or Karen Collis, a former secretary you falsely accuse. My point was that Brown should have let these unpaid board members know they are appreciated.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, Ms . Collis is a very attractive woman. While Stoffa tells me he 's had about 5,000 affairs with just about everyone, I believe the only person he's been involved with is Angle .
Too bad you don 'to identify yourself. But with people like you inBrown's corner, it's no wonder his first month has been pathetic.
In regards to the Lower Macungie Malldoggle, I don't see why taxpayer funds are being spent propping up a private developer. I don't see it as transparency at all. There is nothing to be transparent about. Everybody knows Muller is in the tank for them.
ReplyDeleteIf they want a meeting, they should be spending the time and energy promoting it with their money, not ours.
I want Muller spending his time figuring out Cedarbrook and the budget instead of corporate shilling.
At least Brown is bought by the local guys. Muller is being bought by the boys who don't even live around here.
Where's the honor in that?
It is clear Brown is out of his depth and in over his head. It is amateur in Norco. Wish i could have changed my vote to and i am a republican. Callahan ran a good city here in bethlehem.
ReplyDeleteOld sex joke Stoffa and his antics are well known over here in Lehigh County land.
ReplyDeleteI see. You insulted a woman's dignity and reputation to make an old sex joke. How nice of you. Asshole.
ReplyDelete