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| Lisa Boscola with John Brown at Corbett visit |
I believe his main problem is poor communication, and he may be the only elected official I know who made that problem worse when he selected a PR consultant for $84,000. That, the Sletvold nomination to PD and Zosky business consultant contract, were major gaffes made worse by an Executive who is used to flying solo. Human Services Director Allison Frantz has already got him into hot water with the judges, and he took the blame when she should have been the one falling on the sword.
Those are problems, but he can turn that around by improving his communication skills and being more transparent.
On the plus side, his outreach to the workforce is stronger than I've seen in any Executive. He actually attends union meetings, and has been making the rounds to different county departments. He may have a better handle on what bothers workers than most Council members. Also, he has made some good appointments. Bob Eyer as PD, Vic Scomillio as Solicitor and Richard Young in Public Works are all well respected and hit the ground running. Although he should sever all ties to Matt Deibert and Richard McAteer, who know nothing about County government, I believe he has tried to be nonpartisan.
What do you think?
So far, just seems to go in one ear and out the other so politics as usual.
ReplyDeleteWill this be a do nothing administration?
Only more time will tell!
We can choose only Good or Bad? Nothing else? Fine then. I choose ...
ReplyDeleteBad.
He is still pone beautiful man/. A hunk of love toy.
ReplyDeleteMy taxes haven't gone up, yet. That's always a good thing. That's all that really matters to those of us who actually contribute and pay the bills in this county. Callahan would've raised taxes already and bragged about it.
ReplyDeleteHe hasn't negotiated one employee contract or addressed budget shortfalls yet. If you are using the three months he is in office, sorry, he fails terribly. He haasn't intorduced one cost saving measure. He hasn't suggested one cost saving program or initiative. He has proven he can take care of his buddies by creating jobs for them. He has two public works, directors, he has no director of administration to speak of, he has a loser for a director of court services, he has appointed a know nothing as the human services director, and has a poor Economic Director (and unproven) and you say he is doing good? By the way Bernie, I garnered all this information from your previous "Blogs". I suggest you reread them and then again ask the Question, how do you think he is doing?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, congrats on you award winning blog. You truly deserve that honor. Everyone knows your blog is the best. That can also be proven by going back and rereading the articles.
You mean agreeing with you? You have your points, especially about me being great. I have been highly critical of Brown in his first three months. I know what I have written. the point of this thread was to tell both sides of the story. I highlighted what i think is his biggest problem, i.e. a lack of transparency, and argue it has led to his other gaffes. On the other hand, I think it is important to be fair and point out what he has done that is right. His outreach to unions is remarkable and thinking out of the box. Also he is less partisan than I thought he would be.
ReplyDeleteEvery piece of your own criticism is fair. But nothing is completely black or white,Brown has made mistakes, but has done things right as well. Trying to present both sides.
his maim attribute is that he's making muller look good
ReplyDeleteNot good or bad, but awkward. He was clueless and made some mistakes he could have easily avoided. Some cabinet picks were good, others weak. This is all just preseason, the real tough decisions will need to be made soon enough. The budget surplus is gone, Gracedale is losing $6 million/year, labor contracts are expiring, there hasn't been a reassessment in 20 years, and there are still some old building that need repairs.
ReplyDeleteIt is earli in the game to be sure. Gracedale remains a money pit, but that's what the people wanted. Thanks to the Easton commuter tax, many courthouse workers are earning less after their most recent raises. It's going to be hard and unfair to keep them down. A reassessment is badly needed and now is probably a food time to do it, but would five council members go along?
ReplyDeleteI think taxes need to go up. You moght skate this year, but next year it will be impossible.
It was also a mistake to spend the reserve, as McClure and Zbarron wanted.
Bernie thank you for the article and for being fair.
ReplyDeleteI think Browns strength is what he has been doing. You are right to point these out.
As far as appointments and a couple of misguided or not wrong decisions, well this is where he needs to learn. He surely is smart enough to. He is not a politician and I think that helps us in the end. He will need to think like one though and in time he will. He is fighting that right one. I don't blame him because it is not a proud label to wear these days.
He is woring on a relationship with the employees and when the hard decisions have to be made they won't like him for it, but maybe they don't hate him for it. Although this is not a deciding factor by any means.
He will raise taxes if he needs to but he won't do this willy nilly. Having taken the time to understand how the county is run and what we can do without is more important right now.
How would some of your haters feel is he came into office and started shaving the budget first? They talk like this is what he will need to do and they give him no time to learn the job and had he done this they would be all over him just like they are now.
A year is more of a learning curve. 3 months is nothing. He has a plan and when he is ready he will make the hard decisions.
Knowing he is doing what you said first makes me feel better that when he is ready and feels he has a better handle on the county business then he will take this bull by the horns and do some of the things he believes are necessary.
I trust someone who takes his time over a seasoned politician. I always think this type of politician does everything for political reasons and to insure his next run.
I agree with 753 in that the first year is a learning curve, but of sorts. That bring said, I'm glad to see him getting his ass handed to him on an almost daily basis. I disagree with 753, because he did come into the job like a gangbuster as evidenced in his complete disparagement of the former executive in his first press conference. This, Mr. Brown, is not W. Bush v. Obama, take 2.
ReplyDeleteGranted, Brown is farely new to politics, but having all the right answers just because he won an election, is not (sic) "politically correct". He won more by default than anything else and I still don't think he realizes this. Perhaps, when he gets his ass handed to him more often in the next 9 months, he will understand this more.
At this point, he reminds me more of former mucungie mayor Rick Hoffman who also had his ass handed to him until he quit, all because Hoffman knew better, too, and used more brawn than brain. Brown is just slighty more savvy at masking his passive-aggressive brawn.
Brown won his election because he had no record and told people what they wanted to hear. Callahan had a 10 yr record of governing with tough choices to defend. Brown promised he could be trusted to lower our taxes lets see him make good on that one! The first 3 months have been an unmitigated failure. He is not ready for prime time and has spent 3 months trying to hire people to do what we hired HIM to do. He also has a smug arrogance about him which is even more upsetting because he does not seem to know what he does not know. That can ultimately be dangerous. Any out reach he has done with the employees will be undone when he has to start making some tough decisions. Since he has not lead by example but rather has proposed hiring almost $1 million in consultants any claim to fiscal conservative will be hollow. The employees will see he is not making the same tough choices when it comes to himself. They will hate him even more. At some point who can blame them.
ReplyDeleteToo early in the game yet to tell, he's still learning. Would like to see him lead from the front a little more instead of trying to do such behind the lead block of a consultant.
ReplyDeleteBO Given his miserable start I actually thought this was a late April Fools joke. Sadely it is Brown who is the joke.
ReplyDeleteHey c,
ReplyDeletelet him learn on his own dime. I want some ready on day one. I am admittedly a Callahan voter but would have given Brown a chance if he showed he could get it done. Callahan did a great job as mayor and would have hit the ground running as Exec. He had the experience and would have built a great team. what is going on now is amateur hour.
Bad. Rivaling Muller for most self inflicted wounds in the shortest period of time which shows a lack of judgement.
ReplyDeleteAs another poster astutely points out, we have yet to get to the real job of executive with budgets and union negotiations.
One for bad
ReplyDeleteTwo for good
Bet two for good
Charlie Babbitt
Callahan had a10 year record of sleaze and unkept promises.
ReplyDeletethe fact that he thought it was even remotely ok to hire a PR firm for the county given the finiancial condition shows just how tone deaf this guy is
ReplyDeleteSo one is going to piss off people while he learns and the other Callahan would have pissed off the rest of us because he knows exactly how to play the game. He proved who he was and people did not want to reward him.
ReplyDeleteBrown never said he would lower taxes he said he would keep them low.....he has time to fulfill promises made and you don't have any choice about that....
If you were a Callahan supporter or just wanted him over Brown then you like people who purposely break promises because he never meant to keep them and who is also sleazy. Either that or you are just a party sheep.
Brown was unknown and therefore he had a head start..doesn't say much for your guy now does it ?..he will be fine in the end but haters will never see this. Also the unions who wanted Callahan will never like or agree with Brown. By nature he is not a union lover. That makes me happy. Levels the playing field.
When James Gregory is released from prison you will start to see more rapid gains in the Brown admin, Unity PAC swung the election his way and O'Hare knows it.
ReplyDeleteYes! Jim should be appointed as the head of PR team for Brown. Gregory pumped tens of dollars into the Brown campaign and convinced the masses who faithfully listened to his powerful AM broadcasts that Brown was the man!
Deleteanon 12:07 you are wrong. Brown's mailer said " He was the only one we could count on the LOWER our taxes" Stop making excuses. He said it now lets see if he gets it done. Do you agree with all the consultants he wants to hire? You seem to have a lot of anger. maybe you should go for a walk or something.
ReplyDeletecallahan has a record of billions in new investment, thousands of new jobs,safest city in PA, smallest work force in history, and 3 straight surpluses for bethlehem. Brown has a record of .....Bangor? I will take callahan. But alas it is not about Callahan, the election is over. it is about Brown and the incredibly poor start he has gotten off to.
ReplyDeleteI'd give Brown an incomplete. He's made mistakes, but none so costly as a budget breaking bond or keeping a financial black hole of a nursing home. His opponents are few but noisy. It's like Stoffa never left. Haters gonna hate. Losers gonna be sore.
ReplyDeleteThe successess you point out amount to, at this point, hall-walking. Lots of bosses show up at meetings, roll up their sleeves and have a coffee with the folks in the trenches. What happens over the next 3 to 6 months will reveal whether he is going to be the proactive government efficiency (reformer and reducer) monster he claimed to be during the campaign.
ReplyDeletePlacating the feeders, and trading out Stoffa's for his own, was not Job One of his campaign agenda.
Not a long time in office, but a big F for the missteps so far, and no grade yet for what you list as positives. Activity is not accomplishment.
-Clem
1:18 anno.
ReplyDeleteNo anger here. You gave me a good laugh. I am happy Brown is in because he is not Callahan. You have the problem with this not me and all of the others who put Brown in. So why would I be angry. I just sense people like you are and I will give my opinion.
The fact that he was willing to pay 84k per year for a small-time pr consultant revealed something shocking to me: this guy doesn't know the private sector. I knew he didnt get the public sector, but always presumed he knew and understood the private. Now it appears he knows neither.
ReplyDeleteBAD, simply put he doesn't know how to surround himself with quality people and NO ONE is helping him deliver his message. He thinks the authorities are his own to manage and manipulate.
ReplyDeleteThe PD was a disaster and he thinks he's running a business. Nice thought but if it were a business, he'd close Gracedal and the Prison system. Both are money pits!
People are already pushing the Callahan Clan comeback in 2017. He is on facebook trying to be humble. Of course then he brags about running in the Boston Marathon, admitting he got in on a "special exception". Hundreds of "qualified" runners are turned down every year but again the Callahan knack for special privileges kicks in. T5he guy is still tone deaf as to why people picked a Brown over him. He will continue to complain about votr turnout. Yet the only real turnout that matters for a Dem is Bethlehem and there he failed miserably.
ReplyDeleteSo to the old Callahan Claners, look to a new hero because no matter what Brown does he will again beat Callahan in four years. The only thing Callahan can do is raise money and beat a more winnable Dem in a Primary.
He is an embarrassment politically. He's still into to insider deals and praising himself while continuing to brag about the perks he gets.
Mr. Brown is not perfect but he does not have the super sleaze factor Callahan and his cronies have.
Brown will be OK! Callahan never was!
@351: deflect much? This has nothing to do with callahan, and whatever he is or is not doing in boston. This has to do with the unmitigated, 4 alarm tire fire that theBrown administration has been, at least to this point.
ReplyDeleteWere you all over your former hero 0-bama like this?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI admit to not following the ascension of Mr. Brown more closely, even though I live in the County. Overall, I would agree his early term has NOT been inspiring to me.
ReplyDeleteThese are NO times to be throwing money around at new members of what is probably too big a bureauacracy to begin with. I am particularly disappointed by the urge to hire a special 'spokesmouth." Anyone truly worthy of leading the County HAS to have enough intelligence, skill, and courage to deal with much of this task themself.
But, I give the fellow more time to prove his worth than this.
Fred Windish
The good: the Eyer and Young appointments. The bad: appointing Kathy Allen as deputy director of administration, nominatinating Sletvold . The ugly: hiring PR consultants to do his job, his lack of leadership, government and business knowledge, transparency, etc. I could go on and on.
ReplyDeleteThese guys that win but don't have a lot of executive experience often stumble. I wonder how it will go if Tom Wolf wins the governors race. I think you will see a lot of the same mis-steps
ReplyDeleteJOHN M
@4:48 your assertions about Callahan's personal life are typical of the anon cowards that infest the local blogosphere, you disgust me.
ReplyDeleteElliot Carlton
Personal attacks should be deleted. As far as Tom Wolf, if elected he would probably stumble- true, but he doesn't hide his background/experience. He's an MIT grad, runs a successful business and was a cabinet secretary in the Rendell administration. Nobody knew anything about Brown- except that he's a Notre Dame grad, and a 1 term Bangor mayor- Believe me, I'm very disappointed in him.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and from this point, anonymous personal attacks directed at John Callahn will be deleted. He is no longer mayor, holds no public office, is seeking no office and should not have to endure these shots from people who lack the personal integrity to ID themselves. He has a wife and children, and they don't need to see their father ridiculed.
ReplyDeleteBrown is a good man. He will be the first county executive to put the taxpayers first.
ReplyDelete@401: you let us know the minute he starts doing that.
ReplyDeleteAfter being the worst mayor in Bangor history, John Brownpants is well on his way to being the worst executive in Northampton County history. And he needs teeth whitener.
ReplyDeleteTake that to the bank.
Brown like Brackbill will be a one termer. Sal Panto will be the next executive. Mark it down and remember this 4 years in advance.
ReplyDelete3:25- I will make an even bolder prediction. Brown won't even finish his term. He seems like thee male version of Sarah Palin. He will make some sleazy behind the scene deal for a lucrative job offer and it'll be sayanaro Northampton County.
ReplyDeletePanto will not run. He is happy in the city. In the county he will just get angry and his famous temper tantrums will destroy his Admisntration.
ReplyDeleteEnough with the Panto nonsense. The county doesn't need all the taxes Easton has.
Somebody sounds scared.
ReplyDeleteThose glasses - bad. Really bad.
ReplyDelete