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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Allentown Gov't Needs Cops, Not Crminals

Heffentrager's mug shot
Historically, people have always complained about retired cops serving on Allentown City Council. But without them in their ranks, the Queen City went to hell in a hand bag in a hurry. I am delighted that former police chief Roger MacLean is on Council. Daryl Hendricks, a former Captain, has Fed Ed's number. He deserves re-election. So do Ed Zucal, a retired APD SGT, and Dan Buglio, a Deputy Corner and part-time police officer in Coplay and Slatington. These guys put their their lives on the line for you, and know what it means to serve. Though he's a newcomer, Republican Mayoral candidate Luiz Garcia is very impressive, too. I prefer Ray O'Connell, but Allentown government needs cops, not more criminals. Unfortunately, a criminal is running, too.

Not just Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski. As you know, he's the bull's eye of a federal investigation into political corruption. Six people around him have already entered guilty pleas. Three of those are ex-City employees, including a Controller who had just been re-elected. In such a climate, the last thing Allentown needs is another criminal. Yet Kenneth Heffentrager, a self-proclaimed political activist who attends nearly every City Council meetings and insists on pontificating on every topic ad nauseum, wants a seat behind the dais.

He apparently needs the money.

In my initial assessment of Lehigh County candidates, I devoted just a single sentence to Heffentrager. I wrote, "I can exclude Heffentrager, not for his criminal past, but because he is a demagogue who attempts to monopolize every meeting and is always angry." By my standards, that was relatively benign. But it was too much for Heffentrager, who peppered my blog all weekend with the very kind of rants that just prove that what I was saying is correct. It was also too much for Allentown blogger Michael Molovinsky. "i [sic] don't recall you ever going after a city council candidate with such rancor," he disingenuously wrote, knowing full well that my criticism of Heffentrager was mild in comparison to that of at least 100 other candidates over the years.

On Monday, Molovinsky kicked things up a notch and accused me of "[c]rucifying* grass roots in Allentown." Molovinsky apparently thinks that because Heffentrager has appointed himself some sort of faux voice of the people, he's somehow immune from scrutiny. I completely disagree. Every person seeking office has to expect scrutiny.

Heffentrager is, as Molovinsky himself observed on my blog, a "second tier candidate." But since Heffentrager and Molovinsky have both made such a production of this matter, let me explain in detail why he deserves no place in government.

1) Heffentrager is a criminal. - Heffentrager was initially charged with a drug infraction in Northampton County in 2008. He applied for and was accepted into ARD, a special program for first offenders in which the charges are dismissed after a period of probation. But he was removed from ARD in 2011, which is what happens when a drug user continues using. That year, he was charged with a drug infraction in Lehigh County, to which he pleaded guilty.

2) Heffentrager has no remorse.- I'm all for giving a criminal a second chance, and in some cases, a third chance. Many of society's most productive members have turned their lives around. As Miyamoto Musashi would say, "Fall down seven times, get up eight."  Not Heffentrager. He has no remorse, and has thumbed his nose at the fines and costs imposed against him. In Northampton County, Heffentrager has paid just $10 towards $1,145.25 in fines and costs. In Lehigh County, he's only paid $200 towards $802.10 in fines and costs. He's also failed to pay $45 room and board for an evening at Lehigh County's slammer.

3) Heffentrager has no visible means of support. - He is unemployed. A man who comes from a drug culture claims to be living off savings and the sales of antiques. Sure.

4) Heffenrager lacks transparency.- When asked about his employment status, he responded with "[A]re you paying my rent, no I didn't think so and no one else is either." Under the States Ethics Act, all candidates and public officials must disclose all sources of income, direct and indirect, in excess of $1,300. If there are none, they must say so. Heffentrager initially refused to answer what the law specifically requires, and when he later did so, he was evasive and complained.

5) Heffentrager lacks personal responsibility. - Judgments abound, both for his unpaid fines as well as unpaid rent. He's been evicted several times, which likely explains why he has such a hot nut for landlords. He insists those judgments are unjust, just like most deadbeats.

6) He is a demagogue. -  Allentown City Council meetings always include a bevy of public speakers like Lou Hershman or Don Ringer who can make their points with a touch of humor and without alienating half of the audience  Dennis Pearso is more serious, but is very earnest. Heffentrager has no humor or sincerity and instead sallies forth with bloodshot and glassy eyes to rant on and on about nearly every item in the agenda. I'm all for grass roots activism, but Heffentrager is there to hear himself speak,not because he cares. .  

Allentown has enough problems. There's no need to add Heffentrager to the mix.
_______________
*  His use of the word "crucifying" is a trap. I refuse to take the bait.

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

All Allentown locals automatically disregard him and his agenda. Even the local press ignore him and his fake 2 person "association", (which is just an excuse for him to speak longer during meetings); failing to give any credence or coverage to his rants. BOH's scrutiny is justified. Ken is irrelevant and politically a non-factor. He is a complainer and nothing more.

Anonymous said...

I happen to believe Bernie O'Hare is unfairly targeting this man. Mr. O'Hare is mad that he attacked someone and the person was not afraid and stood up to his malicious attack. Be fair Mr.O'Hare and treat the other candidates the same way. You know you do not.
You are also not letting people defend this man. What are you afraid of?

Anonymous said...

SUGGEST that 5:01 read and memorize 1:37. A'town already has a Mayor that pilots the clown car. No need for redux.

Anonymous said...

I guess will see how the "real" voters in Allentown think in May. An affirmation of Pawlowski and Heffentrager as elected officials will show how far the electorate has come in that once great city. Sad, but true!

Anonymous said...

Maybe it's time to look a little more closely at his cohort with the Allentown Tenants Association , Julian Kern. What's his story? Where does this so-called association get their funding? That's Mr. Kern work? If you look at their Facebook pages you would think not. He's been in and out of the hospital the past couple months probably getting free subsidized care for some mysterious ailment he thinks he has.

But back to Heffenfarter. I admire his passion for anti-littering and dumping in Allentown. I applaud him for that. Other than that, I think this guy is a nobody and a hero to the stupid.

Anonymous said...

What street corner does he work on? My dope dealer just died and I need a new source ASAP!

Robert Trotner said...

Bernie,I think we've disagreed only twice in the years I've been following you. I see Heffentragger as a poor man who puts every ounce of his being into accomplishing something good for the qualify of life in the city. He does this in spite of chronic and severe back problems that would cripple almost anyone else. That to me is a sign of character. That's why Let's Build the New Allentown has endorsed him.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bernie O'Hare said...

9:34, if you want to attack a reader, ID yourself.

michael molovinsky said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

as long as there's no rag heads or more pork chops

Bernie O'Hare said...

Robert T, we definitely disagree. I know plenty of people with chronic back problems. I am one of them. I don't think that means I deserve a seat in gov't. I also don't like how his group tries and convicts landlords. They'll find out the hard way when they get sued for defamation.

Bernie O'Hare said...

MM, if you want to attack one of my readers do it on your own blog . I have previously warned you about this . City council candidates are fair game here .

Anonymous said...

Judging from his lack of response I guess he learned his lesson. Good job shutting up a hateful loudmouth Bernie. He's probably stoned out if his mind right now.

Anonymous said...

With Pawlowski as mayor anything seems acceptable.
Hell, why not another criminal?

Anonymous said...

So who do you like for city council? Who's your picks?

Anonymous said...

There's criminals from the 5th floor of City Hall on down.
It's the City Without Limits.

Anonymous said...

Ken Heffenfarter: Hero of the stupid.
He had people asking him on his Fakebook page where to park during the storm. The people didn't know where to park their cars and they were asking him, it shows the mentality of some of the residents of the city who don't know how to find basic information and ask a stranger on Fakebook.

Julian Kern said...

What do I have to do with this? I am a lifelong resident of the city and I don't have a criminal background at all. I work a full time job as a security site Supervisor with a national security company. I get my health benefits through my employer which gets paid out of my paychecks every week. Yes I have been having some health issues the past year that doctors are trying to figure out which is why I decided not to run this election.

pathfinder said...

I regularly attend City Council meetings and while I am not a supporter of KEn Heffentrager for City Council he brings up many problems at council meetings. The problems range from landlords that only care about the money and not keeping their properties in compliance, slow city inspections and/or cleanups, illegal dumping on vacant properties, and acknowledges bad tenants. Bernie, you are not being fair to KEn. What did he ever do to you?

Yocco's Sauce said...

Watch as a taxpaying property owner DESTROYS Kern & Kenny Heffentrager and his band of less than a dozen protestors at one of their disgraceful freeloading squators.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waWa03ZU298

Verbal castration at it's finest!

Anonymous said...

With all due respect bernie you are a great person and we thank you for all you do but please check Mr buglio he is sneaky check out pae.docket you will see wat I mean

Bernie O'Hare said...

Yocco's Sauce, Hilarious!

Bernie O'Hare said...

4:45, I have been more than fair. At Council meetings, he is a jerk, and I am just being honest.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Bernie's integrity should be questioned in reporting on this blog . If he is going to report candidates past I think his long list of charges should be shown along with his mug shot and his disbarring so you know the type person suggesting viable candidates

Anonymous said...

I think MaClean lives in the house along the walking path in Trexler Park. I wish I knew how he acquired the house and what he pays. Just seems a bit fishy....

Anonymous said...

Obviously you don't know these two people and make yourself look really stupid

Bernie O'Hare said...

I consider what I wrote a public service..

Anonymous said...

If I read your links correctly, he was arrested a few years ago for drug possession, but NOT for drug sales, distribution or manufacture. That is an important distinction.

How many other candidates used drugs but were never caught?

Bernie O'Hare said...

Electric days that he is a criminal who has failed to pay his debt to society.

Julian Kern said...

Yea and he edited the video so it doesn't show all of our responses to make himself look good. I will be posting evidence soon proving his lies. Stay tuned!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bernie O'Hare said...

This is the third time I've deleted your attempt to change the subject.

Anonymous said...

Bernie @ 6:10. At City Council meetings in the past Ken has been very disrespectful in the manner in which he addressed City Council. Recently he has calmed down his presentation. But it still does not make the message he sends any less valid. Allentown has many landlords that are absentee, or don't care about their properties and conditions their tenant live under. By the same token many tenants don't respect the property where they reside or the neighborhood they are in.

If your going to comment on his past are you willing to open up about yours as anon 6:17 stated?

Bernie O'Hare said...

My past has been written about extensively. It is mentioned every time someone does not like what I say..

Jeffrey Anthony said...

I've gotten to know Ken over the last year or so. Not *very* well, but well enough to see that he's a fine guy with a moral code he adheres to better than quite a few of the people who would be described as upstanding on this blog or in the press.

Did he make a mistake in the past? Yes. And he's the first to admit it. But I think he's put it behind him, and only day-to-day financial struggles have prevented him from getting up-to-date on his outstanding fines.

I'm only familiar with the two Facebook groups that he and Julian run, but I've seen them perform quite a public service by providing information that at least I wasn't aware of (and wouldn't otherwise have been) and providing a forum for useful public debate -- in much the same fashion that your blog does, Bernie, just in a narrower niche.

Nothing at all wrong with pointing out the facts on a candidate, Bernie, and you do a fine job of it, but let's not editorialize to the point of crucifying.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Jeffrey, Ken has had five years to pay his debt to society. Until he does that, he is entitled to no b=consideration for public office. Also, I have seen him at those public meetings. You have not. I have seen how negative and hostile he is in his comments from the floor. He would be a terrible representative on Council. I am quite comfortable with what I wrote. I can't help it that someone you disdain shares my point of view.

Anonymous said...

Wonder when Julian will try to refute the video testimony? Still waiting ...

Anonymous said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9wbBU2kzyc

Julian Kern said...

There will be a post coming soon proving all the lies.

X said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bernie O'Hare said...

Redd, I cannot allow you to be vulgar.

Cara Lelang Mobil Aman said...

I personally agree, in any government we need a cops for monitoring the activity. There is lot criminal accident who might damaging our country from the dirty hand of some ignorance politician or someone who using a dirty method to clear a jurisdiction.
In my city, there one police who got transferred just because he reporting some corruption case.

Jeffrey Anthony said...

Bernie,

You and I were having a polite exchange despite disagreeing, but your last sentence was uncalled for. I haven't formed my opinion of Ken (or my opinion of anyone else) based on the rantings of a hate blogger. I don't appreciate the implication that I did, and I'm confident nor would you.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I made no implication. That is a fabrication in your mind. You have not seen Heffentrager at meetings. I have. He has not paid his debt to society. You keep referring to the hate blogger, not me.

Jeffrey Anthony said...

If that's not who you meant in your last sentence, I retract. I'll take you at your word if you say you were referring to someone else.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bernie O'Hare said...

I have no idea whether this anonymous slur is aimed at me or someone else. The fact that it is anonymous says all that need be said. If aimed at me, the comment is defamation per se.