Nearly 200 people attended the semi-annual luncheon for retirees at Northampton's Memorial Community Center on Tuesday. Executive John Brown failed to appear. He has been a no-show at every retiree luncheon since he was first elected, though he and Council are always invited.
Because Brown was invited, so was Lamont McClure, a ten-year Council veteran who is Brown's Democratic opponent in the Executive race. McClure received a very friendly reception,especially from former Gracedale employees.
Peg Ferraro and Ron Heckman, a retiree who is running for Council, were there. So was Matt Dietz, who represents the slate belt region on county council.
Peg was questioned on her vote against a cost of living increase (COLA) last year, and she explained that she got no COLA last year and was primarily concerned that the funds are stable.
21 comments:
Mrs. Ferraro gave a very lame explanation of her vote against the retirees. She was refuted by Mr. McClure who stated the pension fund is doing very well and not in the danger she represented. Her basic excuse was she does not get a cola so why should county workers get a cola. She turned a lot of people off.
But give her credit for being there.
Yes she showed, but she is still part of the establishment and blindly supports Big bad "Leroy Brown". She is not a supporter of the retirees or the employees of NC.
Why should Lord Leroy Brown or his minions break bread with the unwashed masses? He claims Norco employees are it's greatest resources. But do not fine with them out of respect for their contributions. It is far more important to reward your cronies by overpaying them, allowing them to cheat on their expense accounts, and to take unwarranted junkets to Vegas and New Orleans at taxpayer expense.
Expect brown to raid every penny he can horde during his last months in office.
Excuse me, but how do you know these are his last months in office? It is very likely he will be re-elected unless Dems come out and vote,something they just don't do in municipal races. If you are concerned, you need to vote and you need to bring ten friends with you. Are you? Will you?
Peg made a mistake. This retirement fund is one of the healthiest in the country.She has her school pension so what does she care...?
Maybe Peg will give her daughter another $20K increase this year.
That raise was well deserved and overdue.
If you want to slam her daughter, I insist you ID yourself. It is extremely short-sighted to be jealous of a county employee whose abilities are recognized. Instead of slamming her, you should seek to have the labor of others recognized.
Time to vote Hayden Phillips, Glenn Geissinger, Peg Ferraro and Seth Vaughn OUT ! They have done nothing to support the taxpayers of the County not too mention the counties workforce.
I am not a partisan Democrat and will vote for the person best suited for the job, regardless of party. That includes both Hayden Phillips and Peg Ferraro.
Hayden, called the Colonel by his fellow council members, lacks Geissinger's money or Peg's institutional knowledge, but is far and away the most dedicated person on that body. He also brings a great deal of personal integrity. He is his own man, and has been willing to stand up to Brown several times. His views are more conservative than mine, but I have tremendous respect for his transparency and accountability.
Peg, unlike many Dems who pretend to care about the worker, really does. She is a compassionate and caring person who brings decency and common sense to Council. She did not vote on the COLA the way I wanted, but she stood with workers on Gracedale and in so many other ways. She also knows the county inside out and it would be impossible to replace her.
Phillips and Ferraro are easy choices for me.Vaughn and Geissinger need to go. They are Brown's yes men. Vaughn phones into meetings from his house,and Geissinger is in this for himself,not to serve. He spent a year running for Congress and still does not understand the county.
Over her r8diculus number of years in county government how many of her relatives have worked for the county? You know it has been more than one. She has been very good at taking car of her family members at the taxpayers expense. A 20K raise is a nice gift to a family member. Anyone else and you would be screaming bloody murder. When it came to Gracedale she gave a weak speech or two but was neither critical or effective in her so-called opposition. For all her years she knows little about county operations and is more into insider republican politics than real government.
Her real feelings about the retirees have been overheard and that is that since she doesn't get a cola, no one should get one.
Your praise of her is hollow compared to the reality of her tenure in government.
I do not agree with your choices. You will obviously wholeheartedly push Ron Angle and with these two that means you will only support two democrats ensuring republican control of council. You hate Brown so you will push McClure.
These are not people on council that are friendly to employees.
They are not there to hold your hand or wipe your ass. Their job is to be transparent, accountable and represent ALL the citizens of Northampton County. There are some very weak Rs running and some very weak Democrats. The five best candidates will be a mix of both, not all one or the other. I am no partisan. I am willing to be persuaded, but almost never vote straight ticket. Peg Ferraro will be the top vote getter, so drop your complaints about her already. Angle is going towin, too. He has a strong base of support and only needs to be in the top five. Phillips deserves re-election,He has integrity, something you don't see every day. Focus on the weak candidates - Seth Vaughn and Glenn Geissinger. If you win just one seat, you can claim victory. I think you can win two.
You ain't talking about us in the slate Belt. Ron Angle won't make it back to the county council he will lose big time. Between his illegal alien prison pitch, screwy will, poop farm and of course his overwhelming desire to sell Gracedale, he will be lucky to come in last amongst republicans.
The guy ahs more baggage than a Kardashian. Employees are wise to his desire to dump Gracedale. Other people are tired of his circus life.
Thanks but no thanks. You and a few alt-right fanatics will vote for him but trust us memoirs are long with that guy.OMG
In a five-way, he wins. So does Peg. You are wasting everyone's time.
Word on the street is the leaders of the Norco Dems are going to do a complete exposure piece on the history of Angle.
Yawn.
Bernie, it is no shock that the Northampton County Dems leadership would waste money on going after Angle, they are not very effective. One of their committee people said a candidate for county council showed up at the last meeting and they wouldn't even acknowledge his presence. Sounds like the democrats are too busy trying to mess with each other than mount an effective attack on Ron Angle.
I believe it. Wonder who it was.
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