Brown's Three Cabinet Picks Go To Council Tonight

Luis Campos

Three cabinet appointments from Northampton County Executive John Brown sailed through Council's Personnel Committee yesterday, and are on their way to a quick and possibly unanimous confirmation tonight. Under the County's Home Rule Charter, they must be confirmed by a majority vote.

These appointments were first announced late on Thursday, July 10. Brown selected Luis E. Campos as Director of Administration (salary $87,838); James W. Hunter as Director of Fiscal Affairs (salary $87,838); and David Dalrymple as Sheriff (salary $91.422).

Prior to that, Brown had been criticized at several Council meetings for waiting so long. On July 2, Council member Scott Parsons told Brown "the process is taking too long." Fellow Democrat Lamont McClure agreed, and added that Brown had failed to provide "the blocking and tackling of county government."

James Hunter

Ironically, the same Council member who told Republican Brown that he as taking too long yesterday complained, "You didn't give us that much time." Democrat Bob Werner agreed, condemning the "last minute notice" on a Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm, though the appointments were actually announced on a Thursday,."I just think we need a little more time to review things," he lamented, calling it a "professional courtesy."

Part of their ire was undoubtedly the result of the absence of Democrat Ken Kraft, the Chair of the Personnel Committee. He was unable to make the meeting as a result of a work conflict, and Council President Peg Ferraro elected to run the meeting without him instead of postponing the matter.

Lamont McClure, the fourth Democrat, was absent.

David Dalrymple

Hayden Phillips told complaining Council members that he had "zero difficulty" reaching the conclusion that these are excellent appointments, and suggested a google search would tell them everything they need to know.

All three nominees attended yesterday's confirmation hearing.

Phillips asked Luis Campos to list the highest budget he's ever worked on. He answered that when he worked for Governor Rendell, he worked on budgets of about $8.9 billion. In the private sector, he's managing a $20 million budget.

Fiscal Affairs nominee James Hunter told Council he's "very excited and very honored to work for the County where I live." He is a Slate Belt banker.

Sheriff nominee David Dalrymple, a retired Major in the New Jersey State Police, was grilled by Phillips over the differences between Pennsylvania and New Jersey law regarding licenses to carry firearms. Pennsylvania is a "shall issue" state, meaning that most applications must be granted. New Jersey is much more restrictive.

"It's not my job to interpret or make laws," answered the former cop. "It's to follow laws."

Though Parsons conceded that Dalrymple is more than qualified and intends to vote for him, he believes the Sheriff's position should be filled by a County resident.

"That's something we should look at changing," he said.