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| Flisser before his last Council meeting |
Frank Flisser's last day was on Friday, December 19. He left the way he operated during his 37 years as County Council's only Clerk. Quietly. No parties. On his final day, as the seconds ticked away, he had just four cardboard boxes to take home with him. Occasionally, the phone would ring, and he'd say good-bye to one of the many people he worked with over the years.
Q. You were born and raised on Bethlehem's South Side, and grew up with troublemakers like district Attorney John Morganelli and Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez. Did that experience on the south side help?
My father was the Pastor of St. John's Lutheran Windish Church. For 31 years, I had the honor and privilege to live on Bethlehem's south side. I learned true old world values from people who came to this country from Yugoslavia and Hungary It gave me a good base for my value system.
Q. Who were council's best sparring partners, Ron Angle and Lamont McClure, Ron Angle and Charles Dertinger?
I'd have to say Bill Moran and Jim Hemstreet. They loved to spar with each other, were good at it, and and each was iconic.
Q. In all your years as Clerk, is there any single meeting that stood out as the wildest and craziest of them all?
I'd have to say the bond hearing in 2000, when a $110 million bond issue was approved at 2 am.
Q. That's the meeting in which Ron Angle's name plate was stolen, and found later in a urinal. Now that you're leaving, will you admit you're the thief?
No (laughing), I think [Jim] Hickey did it.
Q. Although you serve at the pleasure of council, you lasted 37 years. What advice would you have for your successor?
Be honest. Treat everybody the same, including members of the public. Be open and direct.
Q. Having seen a home rule form of government for 37 years, do you think it's time to go back to the commissioner form of government?
Maybe a Charter Study Commission should be convened.
Best of luck, Frank. You will surely be missed.
ReplyDeleteYeah it's all Browns fault. Maybe it was just this guys time. A real stretch bo
ReplyDeleteFrank, you're a good man.
ReplyDeleteAn employee leaves after 37 years and it's the executive's fault? 37 years! It's easily your dumbest statement of the year.
ReplyDeleteGood luck in retirement Frank. You earned it after ... 37. Years.
37!
best of luck frank
ReplyDelete"An employee leaves after 37 years and it's the executive's fault? 37 years! It's easily your dumbest statement of the year."
ReplyDeletePretty much. In less than a year, Brown's changes have pushed a record number of employees out the door. It's been the best and brightest. All that institutional knowledge is now gone.
Frank was ready for retirement regardless of who the CE was. But Brown's antics certainly made that decision easier to make. Frank is a good man and was a great asset to the county.
ReplyDeleteDoes the 120 plus number include employees that retired earlier in the year, or is it only those who retired after the changes in wages and benefits were announced?
ReplyDelete9:02, Ask Brown. As of October , it was 90-something who were retiring on or before the end of the year. Now it is past 120. Ask him to minimize it for you.
ReplyDeleteVery sad that so many good Norco employees hate working for their boss. At least the jerk who thinks he is the boss. The employees work for the public. The taxpayers are their true boss. Yet Brownie thinks they can provide good service to the public shorthanded and miserable. Every leadership principle in business has been violated by this clueless executive and his "high performance team." Too bad the electorate cannot retire Brown at the ballot box until 2017.
ReplyDeleteSo, Frank's inexperienced replacement will be as inexperienced as Frank when he started a fine career 37 years ago. Good thing Bernie wasn't there to ridicule your inexperience back then, Frank. The next Frank Flisser may only need that first opportunity Frank received back in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteFrank, congratulations on a well earned retirement. You rose above the naysaying Bernies of your day and persevered to become a giant. May your replacement do the same.
A class act.
ReplyDeletei like Frank Flisser. He's a class act and has been an asset to the county. I wish him an enjoyable retirement I also like John Brown, despite his warts, and would vote for him over John Callahan a hundred more times. If Ds want a better exec, they should nominate a better candidate. Not everybody fits into neat little folders. God bless our democracy.
ReplyDeleteRegardless how many votes you might cast for Brown [I thought only we Dems did that sort of thing], I don't see him getting re-elected or elected to any other office. What is more, he has given Democrats a good shot at keeping their Council seats next year. He has made it likely that Barron will be re-elected. His biggest blow is to his own Solicitor. From the illegal line of credit to the illegal no-bid PR contrAct to other illegal no-bid contracts, Brown's errors will be blamed on Scomillio. A Dem will capture the judgeship up nex tear. The guy has done your party no favors, and has also hurt the at-large GOPmembers of Council.
ReplyDeleteFrank is one of the best. Too bad NORCO could not figure out how to keep him. Replacing him will be a challenging difficult job. Hoping that Council will hire someone with demonstrated skills and knowledge in local government coupled with a drive and unquestionable want to be in the position. This is clearly not a position where a "hack" should ever be situated. Hoping that NORCO also keeps Frank on for a bit to train the new person.
ReplyDeleteWondering if there are any candidates that are being floated?
ReplyDeleteI too would be interested in knowing some of the leading candidates to fill Frank's vacated spot.
ReplyDeleteThe leading candidate is Linda Zembo, who is now Acting Clerk.
ReplyDeleteThey should rename Council Chambers as Flisser Hall.
ReplyDeleteLets stop naming things after everyone. How about the taxpayers hall.
ReplyDeleteFrank would be the last person who would want anything named after him. He was a modest, hard worker. A tough act to follow but Zembo would be an excellent choice.
ReplyDeleteYes, Frank is a lot like me, now that i think about it. Modest. A hard worker. Somewhat handsome. Soft spoken. Very kind to everyone. he probably modeled himself after me.
ReplyDeleteLinda, too.
ReplyDeleteAll kidding aside, I am going to miss Frank a lot. I feel like I'm the only old soul left of what was once a large crew surrounding Council. I miss Stoffa and Angle, too.
ReplyDeleteFrank's a great gentleman. You co-opting his retirement to continue your vendetta against Brown should not tarnish Frank by pairing him with you. Frank has a lot more class than that or you. Your constand yapping at Brown from the time when you handed your blog to the Callahan campaign until now has simply become backgrtound static. Blaming a 37 year retirement is a great example of how ridiculous it's become. Yap! Yap!
ReplyDeleteBrown would win again in a landslide. The same noisy dopes who hate whomever is the executive couldn't get their dopey guy in the last several times. They have marginalized themselves as endless whiners. Even Sal Panto had no problem kicking them, very publicly, twice. People who drag inflatable rats around are widely despised by the majority of those who pay taxes and vote. As it should be.
Take your drug cocktail Mezzacappa and hand over your car and house
ReplyDeleteGod forbid they modeled themselves after you Bernie , better it be Ron Angle.
ReplyDelete"I miss Stoffa and Angle, too"
ReplyDeleteThat makes one person.