LC Comm'r Race: Candidate Chicken Lady Cries Fowl

Amy Zanelli is the establishment candidate for Lehigh County Commissioner in District Three, which includes west Bethlehem and Allentown's east side. Incumbent Tom Muller endorsed her on the very night that he decided against seeking re-election himself. Two other Democrats, opportunist Basilio Bonilla and longtime citizen activist Dennis Pearson, were also running. Muller shoved them aside without doing his homework. Had he done so, he would have learned she was fired in 2012 for failing to show up at her job as a caseworker for child protective services in New Jersey.  He would have known that she was fired from a similar position in Northampton County in 2015. Muller told the crowd that Zanelli had been an announcer with the Lehigh Valley Roller Girls, but this is what Lehigh Valley Roller Girl Michelle Torte MessaHess said on her Facebook page: "DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS WOMAN. I care too much for Lehigh County and its residents. She is mentally unfit, financially irresponsible, and devoid of familial accountability. She has caused tyranny in several, local non-profit organizations within Lehigh and surrounding counties. DO WHAT'S RIGHT. SHARE THIS POST AND VOTE NO TO AMY ZANELLI."

Muller failed to mention that Zanelli is Hanover Township's chicken lady. Before she got canned by Northampton County, she lived in Hanover Township.She showed up at a Supervisors' meeting one night, asking them to do something about the Township's ban on backyard chickens She received permission to make a presentation at the following meeting, but never showed.

I spoke with Zanelli about these allegations, which she said were dismissed by the newspaper and WFMZ-TV69. She told me her termination in New Jersey was the result of discrimination. In Northampton, it was a misunderstanding about her hours. My own view of the information I had is that there are too many red flags for her. So after some thought, I posted a story entitled, "Why You Need to Vote for Dennis Pearson for LC Comm'r."

Zanelli published this comment, I wish to share it with you.

Greetings Mr. O’Hare and friends. My apologies for being late to the game here, but I didn’t realize this piece ran until I received a message from Dennis this morning. I will be the first to tell you that I have the utmost respect for Dennis and have no qualms about your endorsement of his candidacy. However, I think it’s important to note that the allegations regarding my raising chickens and my former places of employment are unfounded. For the record, I did not need to show up to the next township meeting. I was granted permission to raise my chickens into adulthood and re-home them for the sake of the children who were helping to care for them. And I did. In addition, the controversy surrounding my previous employment is untrue. In fact, it was at the hands of my competition that several news sources in the area received this false information and this was the only website where it appeared. Several days ago, I spoke to Mr. O’Hare and offered to meet with him to show him proof that in both instances, I was exonerated of all false claims. He refused. Neither case involved FMLA and since leaving Northampton County, they have since sent correspondence offering me two similar positions of employment, both at higher levels and pay grades. I have proof of those as well. I do not know who made a post on my behalf last night, but for that I am grateful. I can assure you it was not myself and my camp is too busy working to get me elected to spend their valuable time entertaining false accusations and fake news. With that said, this would not be the first time in history that an intelligent, well-spoken, beautiful woman has intimidated a man who then feels the need to spread rumors and lies in an attempt to tear her down. But as my grandmother used to say, if you have a target on your back it’s only because you’re so far ahead that it’s all they can see of you. See you all at the polls.

Unfounded claims.- Nothing I wrote is "unfounded." She was terminated in 2012 from a child protective services agency in New Jersey at a time when  staffing shortages and increased complaints had reached crisis levels. She appealed her Jersey termination and an arbitrator ruled against her. I have a copy of the lengthy decision. She simply refused to work, letting our most vulnerable element, our children, go without protection.

While refusing to come to work, she was being treated for a mental illness of some kind and was both receiving medication and undergoing therapy. Though too sick to work, she was still selling Avon products and brought them in for other workers.

The same thing happened in Northampton County, where she was terminated before her probation was up because of a disagreement over the number of hours she would work.Once again, she let down the most vulnerable element of our society.

Newspaper coverage.-  With limited exceptions, newspapers run for the hills from election stories. While there is always the danger that they are being played, failure to report at all is in my view irresponsible.I believe voters have a right to know that Zanelli was terminated from two positions and that some people take a very dim view of her role in ventures like the Lehigh Valley Roller Girls.

The chickens.- Zanelli now claims she had no reason to return to the Supervisors because the Township made special accommodations for her. She had50 people sign a petition for her and then let them all down because she was given whatever she wanted. Are you beginning to see a pattern?

Refusal to meet her.-  She did offer to meet with me concerning this matter, but she answered my questions so I saw no point. She may have concluded that I refused to meet her, but why would I call her if I didn't want her side? She gave it to me, and those flags were still there. I certainly would have met her if that is what she wanted.  

Sexism. - Zanelli finished by asserting that she is "an intelligent, well-spoken, beautiful woman" who "has intimidated a man who then feels the need to spread rumors and lies in an attempt to tear her down." Actually Amy, what you look like is irrelevant to me, as is your sex. There were no lies. No rumors. Just facts.

Dennis Pearson and Bob Smith are both head and shoulders above these other candidates They have integrity something missing from Zanelli and Bonilla. They have their roots here,and do not move every three seconds.