Northampton County Controller Steve Barron is Executive John Brown's biggest public enemy right now. So much so that he attempted to block his right to send emails to county workers. So much so that he temporarily removed a fraud reporting link that Barron had installed. Last Thursday, he unsuccessfully asked Council to muzzle Barron during Courtesy of the Floor.Brown's Republican allies on Council would love to see Barron out of the way, too. Hayden Phillips, Seth Vaughn and Mat Benol proposed a resolution calling on the Kilted One to resign. Benol even secretly contacted Barron's staff to find out if they had any dirt on him.
"Does he wear anything under that kilt? asked Benol.
Instead of diming Barron, staff dimed Benol.
Pam Colton, Bangor School Board Prez, was supposed to be the Republican who would remove the Curious Controller. But she's circulated no petitions.
I learned yesterday that no Republican is circulating petitions against Barron. Now that could change, but the last day to circulate in March 10.
50 comments:
Early sign that Brown has poisoned the Republican well. Voter disgust with the Brownstain administration will ensure a Barron victory regardless of his opponent.
Forget about Brown. It is a shame that Barron an incompetent and ethical waste dump is unopposed fro this office.
Any Republican or Democrat on the ballot would beat him. His past has been nothing but shameful.
People know not to run against Barron - because he'll KO the competition by demonstrating his ability to batter them with the truth.
"batter them with the truth"
The only batter Barron VonFootinmouth does is the deep fried bear batter on his onion rings.
The guy is a skirt wearing disaster. His running unopposed is a disgrace to democracy.
Not surprising. It has nothing to do with Brown's poor performance. The salary $65K (before Sal's cut) is too low to attract anyone qualified for a full-time position.
Tired of hearing the comments about the kilt and Barron. If he wears a kilt during a heritage celebration, so be it. If Barron wore a Dashiki or a Kurta during heritage celebrations and comments were made by council about that, guaranteed the local NAACP and Muslim communities would have those members out of office the next day. Tax payers need to ask council for Benol's resignation. Peg F needs to act like a president and make that motion. Perhaps there is an office in Harrisburg that the conduct of council and rights of our heritage can be contacted. Enough is enough.
There's a petition signing event in Bath tomorrow. We'll see....
Bath needs to bathe!
Lighten up. Even Scots are humorously self-deprecating when it comes to their kilts. The kilt stuff is a riot; almost as funny as his hilarious lisp and penchant for stomping flowers. I remember when he battered us with the truth about being a full-time controller before he was caught sneaking off to NCC to teach a daytime class. He's a dishonest clown who simply cannot be trusted.
Steve has turned over a new leaf. The guy is now a golden boy. He can do no wrong. We love the new improved Steve Barron. what's not to like? A public advocate who gets it and does it. He will win in a landslide!
"There's a petition signing event in Bath tomorrow. We'll see.."
Post a comment here and let us know, unless it is supposed to be top secret.
I will admit that Barron seems to have turned oveer a new leaf Bernie. Would you agree?
He is really working hard and has taken it to this administration when they are wrong.
I have heard he still is friendly with folks in fiscal affairs, Human Services and Gracedale and that even Brown's people are working with Steve and it has provided some pretty amazing results.
Brown may not credit Barron, but he is working through people for good government. That is a true leader in my book!
Why have a petition signing event that is top secret. Isn't the point to advertise, get people there so you can obtain the required signatures?
I'm joking when I say it is top secret. I'd agree Barron is more mature and serious than he was a few years ago.
I don't know what Barron used to be like, but he and his office are doing a very good job in this taxpayer's opinion.
Who cares if he wears a kilt at a heritage event? That's just being petty. Probably coming from the same immature person who talks about people's looks all the time.
And wherever the "foot in mouth" snipe comes from - whatever, he's speaking well on issues now. He stood up to the ridiculous nonsense that council threw at him quote well.
I must admit that Barron von Footinmouth aka Little Stevie Blunder has undergone an extreme makeover! The goatee, less shucking and jiving at council meetings, etc. has rehabilitated his image of being a childish opportunist. The Brown administration has become a perfect foil for Steve. It is like a comedian who credited Bush for providing eight years of material. Brown is tripping over his own feet trying to govern. He has to hire consultants to do work his highly paid administrators should be doing. There is an unethical undertow with this administration that needs to be investigated. Taxpayer dollars are being wasted and the county is setting itself up for numerous lawsuits with favoritism in its recent hiring practices, and staffing shortages in the county jail. Steve needs to expose these fraudulent activities. Glad he has matured to the point where he can be considered credible. Now if he would just stop referring to council as "you guys"!
John brown makes everyone else good better. He's like the grenade (the ugly chick at the bar). The closer to 2 AM the better he looks. Pol Pot is beloved compared to this clown.
Barron is a buffoon. Timmy you can post for him all you like, that does not change the facts of his incompetence. You want to keep your county gig and we get it,
The Republicans can and should run someone. That combined with four or at least three Republicans running for county council will ensure victory.
Barron will not pull out the Dem vote in November. Many Dem's think the guy is a joke.
His past is no different than his present and future.
Wow 2:35. Anon coward
John Brown is a major disappointment. Very sad show so far. That being said it does not excuse the moral train wreak that is Barron. He is not only incompetent but showed his arrogance when stomping flowers and his unethical behavior during college classesgate.
One would hope some Republican would run against him. They can't be worse than he is and they have a very good chance of winning. Even level headed Democrats think Barron is a clown.
Too funny. Petition signing at all pizza joints. May go just to eat the free pizza and see if John Brown's fried, Pam Colton is on any of the petitions. He probably just wants people in certain positions so he can control them. Funny too how 2 pizza joints are right down the road from Bangor. Maybe Bangor should become the county seat and the tax payers can save money on Allen's car. Brown can stay up in Bangor where he can continue to hide from tax payers and press.
If Colton wasn't good enough to get her resume even seen by Bangor council to be manager of the office..how in the world is she now qualified to be county controller?
Brown,Allen,Hunter,Jones,and Ceraul..Bangor is the very generous town that keeps on giving and giving and giving..
"how in the world is she now qualified to be county controller?"
Neither is Barron qualified and he is unethical and incompetent to boot.
Keep dreaming, any opponent and he is gone along with his dress collection.
Barron graduated Law School. You can't even distinguish the difference between wreck and wreak you idiot
Did parsons have petitions at the pizza joints?
Colton is a tax and spend school board prez. She has no concept of financial issues as all she does is write checks and send the bills to the tax payers. Just look at this district and all the expensive projects she has stuck us with. She has no regard for the common people who foot the bills she helped create.
What arrogance and nastiness form Barron and his flower stomping circle of thugs. Let us hope we as voters have an alternative to such a person.
The petition signing is no secret. Information is easily found on the county R's website. There are several in the next week. They've been pretty good at their ground game in the last few cycles. Don't take my word for it, though. Just ask John Callahan and every D who ran for council last time.
http://www.northamptoncountygop.com/events.html
Then if it is no secret, please let us know if there are any Controller caNDIDATES. I also have not heard of an opponent for Kent Kraft.
I don't think there will be a candidate against Kraft in district one Bernie. Very smart. Don't stir the Bethlehem pot. Werner may even get a pass because of the Easton pot. However, if Panto is unopposed then without an Easton turnout in November, Werner would go down. It was only Easton that got him in the first go around.
All other offices should and will be contested. Brown is his own island. Voters want alternatives in November and Republicans will vote this year. Barron is a shameful disgrace and will be voted out, as will at least two county councilmen. Actually District three McClure saw the writing on the wall and pulled out because his district will go Republican. He is saving himself for an Executive run, so Brown does have a chance. In fact McClure is such a poor vote getter, he is about the worst candidate the Democrats could run. Know many Dem's who think the guy is a real ass.
Amen to that. McClure was toast in his district and knew it. The guy is the greatest and smartest, just ask him. He has labor because he talks a lot and says the right things to them. He hasn't done anything on council, when he bothered to show up. Morganelli may be pushing him but John is pushing dead weight.
If this is the Democrats best candidate for county executive, Brown can order the drapes. Are there no other Democrats out there that can actually win, hopefully they run. This guy is just a labor union fantasy much like McHale was.
Not all that long ago, anonymous readers were saying that Rs would challenge every seat. Now they are patting themselves on the backs at how smart they are when they have no candidate against Kraft or Barron. Then they go on to say that Werner might get a pass, too. Very clever. They are running two candidates in the slate belt, one a religious outsider and the other a tea party nut with his eyes on Congress. They slam McClure for not running when his district has become more conservative and his father recently passed away. They're so clever.
Ordinarily, I'd agree Dems are going to have a tough time. But the voters have had one year of John Brown's goverment by consultant and solicitors who don't even practice here. Let's see what voters say on Election Day.
Werner,Kraft and Parsons will win fairly easily. Who will take McClure's seat is the real question now. Could a Dem emerge and win? Brown's ineptitude has really hurt the R's chances here and their charge to raise taxes despite Brown's looniness also hurts their chances. A conservative Dem. could win the seat now.
McClure had decided not to run before his father passed away. He barley squeaked by his last two elections against unknowns with no money. He knows he would lose and ruin his executive run. Although he has a snowballs chance in Hell of winning that given his record. Even with Bernie's new found affection.
If the Dem's are dumb enough to live in a bubble and think John Brown will influence voters this November, good. That is the kind of bubble head thinking that killed them in 2013. Keep thinking those thoughts.
You are right all the hate for Brown, and Bernie's conversion to loving Barron and McClure over his hate of Brown will result in a Democratic sweep. Absolutely!
Please rest easy you are right the Democrats will sweep the county races.
That will make it all the more fun when Barron and Districts three and four and maybe even two go Republican.
But please keep living in your fantasy world of victory through your hate of John Brown. It makes the job a lot easier.
Bernie I have a question and hoping you can answer it for me. How are four county council members allowed to be on a committee called Scomillio for Judge, yet most county employees can't be involved in any political activities and can be fired and told this repetitively?
They are elected officials, I wonder if their Districts approve of this involvement/endorsement.
5:18, I doubt that McClure would have confided his intentions to you.I do lnow that, though the odds were against him, McClure was considering making a run before the death in his family. Now i have nowhere predicted a Democratic sweep. I think only kraft is safe. But it is more than fair to point out your own problems. Rs were telling me they would be running someone in ever district. Now they are not. They were going to take out Barron. It appears they don't even have a candidate one week before petitions are due. The expert claims they may even concede Werner's seat and how clevert that is (although I happen to know someone is running).
Here's what I think. One year of John Brown has made Dems look very good. Employees will be voting. Vic Scomilio is already toast. In the slate belt you have a tea party nut who wants to seek higher v. a carpbetbagger who is running to build the Glenn Geissinger Kingdom. In McClure's district, the two Rs are going to sbe spending money to fight each other. And the winner faces a woman. It's going to be a race.
"Bernie I have a question and hoping you can answer it for me. How are four county council members allowed to be on a committee called Scomillio for Judge, yet most county employees can't be involved in any political activities and can be fired and told this repetitively?
They are elected officials, I wonder if their Districts approve of this involvement/endorsement. "
Most county employees can do what they want. Only those who work for the courts are barred from political activity, and should be. It creates an appearance of impropriety. I believe that police officers should be barred from all political activity as well.
You could argue this is core political speech and may be right. The best way to test it is to have an association sue on your behalf.
Personally, I support the ban.
"In the slate belt you have a tea party nut who wants to seek higher"
Would that be like Parsons who two years into his term wanted to fly to Harrisburg as a state senator and still has visions of higher office. Is that who you are referring to.
No, that would be Dietx, who already ran for Congress last year and got bounced out in the primary bc his views are too extreme. He has no interest in county government, either, though he recently dragged his little daughter to a meeting to pretend he cares. I'm pretty sure that forcing some poor innocent to endure a county council meeting is child abuse. The only idiot who does something like that is the one thinking about only himself.
I am not going to defend Parsons for his state senate bid. He's no opportunist, but he allowed himself to be used by some politicos. But he's learned and won't be making that mistake again.
Parsons would have done better than Aurand but probably would have lost to Mario's money machine. scott gave it a try in an overly crowded field and lost. Sometimes you got to give it a shot. I agree that his niche appears to be here at county where he excels.
He should never have fun for that office.i'll agree with any R on that point. He belongs here and is good at it.
Run, not fun
Funny how Parsons wants another office less than two years in and that was wonderful but a guy you hate is terrible. Your hatred of Brown has once again shown your all or nothing irrational non-logical view of things,.
Parsons is toast against a Republican. If he had run against anyone but Angle he would have never won.
Oh and as for how he should of, could've, would've won the state senate. He lost in he primary. Nuff said!
I never said he should have or could have won the state senate seat. I said he belongs in the county. Diets lost his primary, remember? Has he ever been elected to anything? I understand he was appointed to Wind Gap's Planning Commission, where he has a record of not showing up. The other R is a carpetbagger who will fit right in with Brown's team, if that's what people want. but I think they are sick of Brown and his bobble heads.
Scott is leading the way among his districts elected officials..of both parties..and is well respected by all. He has unilateral support among all the local people who set policy and look to the county for assistance and direction. Beating Ron Angle was not a fluke event. Scott has earned his stripes and will be reelected by a huge margin.
It is great that the Dem's are all arrogant and talking smack. It means sweet victory for the Republican candidates. Bernie's support is toxic, ask Callahan, so that is good. Also history is prologue.
After the Gracedale referendum, it was all over for Republicans, county employees and retirees were going to vote in droves for Democrats. In 2013 the Dem's did what they usually do, they talk a lot and not bother to vote. The Republicans voted and they vote
Republican. A Republican sweep. Even McClure is smart enough to know that and dropped out of running rather than lose.
This year you keep on talking smack and have Bernie attack the Republicans and praise your guys, thank you.
Every Republican that runs for county office will win in the Fall.
After that you can talk some more.
As I have indicated all along, I only consider Ken Kraft safe. I have heard Republicans boast that they would field a candidate for every office. Now it appears that they have no candidate for at least one district seat, controller and DA. After one year of Brown, the Democrats are awake. This was supposed to be a slam dunk. It no longer is.
DA?? Please stop writing so dumb. You know damn well no Republican is or was planning to run against Morganelli. Same with Kraft.
The claim was that every office would have an R candidate.
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