 |
| Hayden Phillips and Phil Lauer |
Lamont McClure suggested that a change of this nature might require a government study commission or a referendum vote. But Solicitor Phil Lauer pointed to the Supreme Court's decision validating term limits on Bethlehem's Mayor. Although he agreed that it would be safer to go the referendum rote, his opinion was that "it can be done."
And so it was.
The debate, if you can call it that, was marked by some good-humored jabs. When Peg Ferraro announced that she had served for 21 years, McClure immediately joked, "Well, then I'm for [term limits]."
Ferraro went on to say that she was once "term-limited" at the ballot box because of a controversial vote on 911 some years ago. She complained about signs all over with her name and an "X" running though it.
"I might have one in the garage," deadpanned Kraft.
Despite their humor, McClure and Kraft agreed with Ferraro. Kraft suggested that Seth Vaughn, the Bill's sponsor, could term limit himself if he wanted. Peg Ferraro added that, at this level of government, term limits are meaningless unless you want to send a message to the state and federal government.
Term limit supporter Hayden Phillips told Ferraro that's exactly what he wants to do. "I do want to make an example," he argued. He also criticized elected officials who use the "position of incumbency to perpetuate their careers."
Review of campaign finance reports reveals that incumbents do attract more and larger donations than challengers.
Mat Benol proposed making the ordinance even tighter by banning anyone from serving more than three terms, regardless whether they are in succession. Bob Werner, Glenn Geissinger and Seth Vaughn agreed with him, but Benol was unable to get the five votes needed to make this change.
In other business, an attempt to put off an important review of wage hikes unilaterally granted by Executive to 14 top-ranking County officials has been rebuffed.
When Council last met on May 21, they unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Executive John Brown to provide them with his justifications for those salary increases so they could be reviewed at Ken Kraft's Personnel Committee on June 17. Brown has complied with this request, and Kraft stated he plans to review them, one-by-one, so they can be approved retroactively or rejected.
But Peg Ferraro sought to have this review postponed a week. This is because both she and Glenn Geissinger, who are both members of the Republican State Committee, have a conflict in Philadelphia at that time.
"If anybody votes for this, you should resign," roared Democrat Ken Kraft, who was shocked, shocked to learn that the president and VP of Northampton County Council wanted a postponement for "partisan political reasons."
Piling on, with a slight smile on his face, McClure said he was dismayed to learn that "the people's business is being moved for a cocktail reception party."
Knowing she had a loser, Ferraro still defended herself. "Number one, I don't drink, and number tow, I'm in bed by 8:30 pm."
Ferraro and Geissigner abstained, and all remaining Council members save Hayden Phillips, voted against delaying the review of those wage hikes.
33 comments:
What is it about Republicans in general and teabaggers in particular. They bray on and on about personal freedoms yet strive to limit them the minute they have power. Terms limits for a part-time local county council, really? The evidence shows it has never been a problem and seems to have policed itself quite well, thank you very much. However, limit the voters freedom they will, those freedom loving Republicans. Yet even they realize it was not necessary. It was merely to send a message to Washington and Harrisburg?? Whaaaaattt???? What is it with these guys.
In Lehigh County they wanted to turn down grants to send a message to Washington.
They are big into meaningless messages and little into meaningful substance. Remind me of the Billy Joel lyrics, "pointless point of view".
This is what people do for headlines when they show they have very little else to contribute or no record of any real accomplishments of merit.
What a clown show. They truly are the Party of Brown.
Sorry Bernie. Totally unnecessary and once again pandering to the lowest common denominator.
I hope there is a suit.
I'm a limited government Democrat. Pass no law unless it will have a demonstrable and desired impact on a societal ill. This nonsense is a solution search of a problem.
Guess they have nothing better to do.
Oh, wait....
Council needs to change the HRC alright, but putting in a referendum and the special election to oust an executive and/or council member at any time during their term. This is a democracy, right? I'm confused how in this day in age, there is no method to get rid of someone. Truely self serving BS.
Who is on the Personnel Committee? Does Ken Kraft have an MBA and a specialization of jobs and their monetary worth? For that matter does anyone in HR or anyone on the committee? After all this is done, maybe the Personnel Committee should look at the positions that didn't have any review in years and ask why not? Isn't HR to review all positions every 2 years? There is Mr Brown with his increases, other departments going to council and getting their jobs changed all while nothing is looked at for others. Someone really needs to step up in HR and council, and each employee and position needs to be treated equally.
An MBA and a Doctorate, why do you ask.
Schwingg...education burn
NorCo is stuck in the '70s, the 1870s that is! Full of self serving, do nothing, despots.
Then you should run for office 7:38, and bring your super brainiac ways to us all in Norco and save us.
Easy FIX vote for new members this November that are NOT for term limits, then the new council can over turn this vote in January and let the Northampton County voters make the decision who should be on Council.
I dont see what the issue is with term limits. Especially with the inherent advantage that incumbents have, it is good to put a cap on the amount of terms a member can have. Brings new people with maybe a different viewpoint on how the county should be run.
Support a Referendum to oust the HRC and go back to a 3-commissioner form of government! HRC doesn't work with an idiotic Executive and part-time Council, all playing partisan politics against each other and in bed with the unions.
2:39, A limit on a term in office is hardly a limit on personal freedom. That kind of reasoning is just nuts. Incidentally, two Dems - Scott Pasrsons and Bib Werner - supported the ordinance. When I look at campaign finance and see the gobs of money poured into hacks whose only virtue is that they are the incumbent, I think this is good legislation. Our new Governer, a Democrat, is all about reform, too. Trolls who comment at 2:39 am are hardly reflective of their party, so I supsect most Dems would go along with term limits.
"I dont see what the issue is with term limits. Especially with the inherent advantage that incumbents have, it is good to put a cap on the amount of terms a member can have. Brings new people with maybe a different viewpoint on how the county should be run. "
There is no issue and this should not be viewed as a Dem v. R thing. The arguments against term limits are not "personal freedom" or the necessity that there be a government study commission. Those are bullshit arguments. The arguments against term limits are (1) in a democratic form of government, the term limit is the ballot box; and (2) There is a great deal of institutional knowledge in long-term incumbents, and that is very hard to replace.
I'm not exactly sure how I would vote on this matter.
"Easy FIX vote for new members this November that are NOT for term limits, then the new council can over turn this vote in January and let the Northampton County voters make the decision who should be on Council."
If you think there is some popular hue and outcry in opposition to term limits, you're out of your mind. In polls, the popular sentiment for term limits in Congress is 75%.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/poll-75-percent-want-hill-term-limits-86378.html
"Does Ken Kraft have an MBA and a specialization of jobs and their monetary worth?"
Ken can read a contract better than most lawyers and his experience as a union agent in teh private sector has made him very knowledgeable about human relations. So far as I know, he has far more education than Cathy Allen, who was running that department (and everything else). He also has experience in that area. He's a good choice for personnel chair.
By the way Council members are supposed to be citizens who provide oversight, not managers who make day-to-day decisions.
LOL, they are lucky to find people willing to donate their time and service to the community. Yeah, let's limit that.
I see no shortage of "volunteers" lining up for the job, which pays somewhere around $9,000 per year and has a pension.
I always thought a mix of "young blood" and "institutional knowledge" is a healthy combination for any organization, electoral or otherwise. As such, I have never been a fan of mandated term limits. The election is the tool of term limits, and especially at the local level they are effective... just ask Dowd or Angle. This idea of "sending a message" to Harrisburg or DC is just a specious mask for whatever their real reasons are, unless they are so naive they actually believe that somehow Harrisburg and DC "heard the message."
As to the power of incumbency, especially with attracting money, campaign finance law is the solution and the problem, but the Courts keep saying money is speech and have eviscerated meaningful regulation. And besides, just look at some local wannabe king makers who have tried (and succeeded sometimes) at unseating incumbents by being willing to dump the money. No term limits were needed. Money is much more of the problem than incumbency is.
10:35 BO we're talking about local government, you're out of your mind to compare Congress with the lowest form of government, County, townships and Boroughs, you just saw it in this last election Write-in, Write-in, Write-in ect. ect. If your boy friend won re-election every 4 years you would be singing a different tone.
I'm making no comparison.i am just pointing out that any person who thinks he is going to depose Council members who support term limits is going against a view that is supported by 75% of the public.
I guess Bernie would love to see career politician Charlie Dent get the Hell out of Office. 11:31 made a valid point. Of all public offices this is the silliest for term limits. 'Gobs if money' for county council never was an issue. Stupid and silly legislation by silly people looking for a cheap headline.
"Protecting people from themselves for no good reasons"
Tea party nonsense.
County voters can institute term limits any time they vote. Peg Ferraro represents the worst a long time politician can be. But she wins elections fairly and voters richly deserve to be poorly represented by her. Allentown and Easton have chosen horribly poor government for decades. Democracy is often sadomasochistic. Some people like to be spanked. God bless America.
It was ludicrous and downright disgusting that Ferraro and Geissinger attempted to delay the next council meeting for a purely partisan, voluntary meeting in Philadelphia. The only "business" they would be missing at the Pa. Republican meeting by attending the council meeting was a cocktail party! What nerve! It is an hour's drive from Philly to Easton. They could easily haul their sorry butts to the council meeting without missing anything other than a friggin' cocktail party. Their first responsibility is to the citizens of the county, not their political party.
12:51. Bob Werner is currently the most liberal member of Council. He and Scott Parsons would be surprised to learn they belong to the tea party.
If you can't post a comment without being vulgar, expect to see it deleted.
Poor form to try and post-pone a serious topic over a political party meeting. Even worse form to try to claim Tea-Toataler status. You are elected to to a job first. I like Peg, she's a nice person, but this was very bad form.
Term limits will either do 1 of 2 things. It will either allow more to participate in their county, or create another step closer to the impossibility for the regular citizen to participate. I hope for the former, but put my stock in the latter.
Commrnts complaining about deleted comments are deleted.
As a Northampton County home owning taxpayer and voter this is my opinion about this law.
This was a silly hoping to pander law by a do nothing good county council.
This notion of sending a message is nonsense. It was nonsense in Lehigh County and nonsense here as well. Will one of these guys demand Pat Brown or Charlie Dent not run again?? Doubt it greatly.
Will Bob Werner demand Lisa Boscola not run again. That's a laugh. Maybe John Morganelli with his money empire should be stopped from running? They won't even talk about that.
The paper had a great article on this and how county council has never had a problem and seems to self regulate, without "tons of money" involved. Do the jobs you were elected to do, you know they ones you have ignored. So far the new county council has raised my taxes by 10% and passed a silly "look good to the masses" voter freedom limiting law. They know better than we the unwashed masses.
A free born American citizen
You're no free born American citizen. You're an anonymous weekend troll. Hate to break this to you, but in a democratic form of government, what "looks good to the masses" is what rules. Council has no power to set term limits for the DA or Congress, but can do so for themselves and did.
This is CRAZY! We have term limits, it called DO NOT REELECT. Start with the buffoons who passed this this piece of legislation.
Be my guest. Term limits are overwhelmingly popular with the electorate. I'd love to see you wage a campaign based on "He voted for term limits." But you don't even ID yourself bc not so deep down, you know you'd be crushed.
An inelegant solution to a problem that never existed. Good job council!
Post a Comment