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| John Stoffa never missed elections; John Brown never bothered. |
In his 2014 deposition, he was asked about his entry into politics.
Q. How did you get involved in politics?
A. Decided to run for mayor and that was my introduction to politics.
Q. Had you been actively involved in politics previously?
A. No.
Q. Are you a registered Republican?
A. Yes.
Q. When did you register as a Republican?
A. I don't know specifically.
Q. Approximately?
A. Within the last 10, 15 years.
Q. Prior to that time were you registered?
A. I believe I was registered independent.
From his deposition, we know that Brown graduated from high school in 1979 and from college in 1983. He should have registered to vote sometime in that period. But Northampton County's voting records show that he waited until October 3, 1995, before doing so. That's 12 years after his college graduation.
Brown said he registered as a Republican 10-15 years ago, and prior to that, was an Independent. The elections records show that he registered 22 years ago, and was always a Republican.
After registering to vote in 1995, he failed to show up at the polls and vote in the municipal races that year. Nor did he vote in the 1996 elections in which incumbent Bill Clinton was re-elected. He also skipped the 1997 municipal race in which Robert Janus was elected Mayor of Bangor. Two years later, Janus was arrested and eventually pleaded guilty in a drug sting in which he was accused of selling cocaine from a bathroom in the Sportsman's Bar and tipping off dealers.
A former Bangor Mayor, Duane Miller, said that "the townspeople abdicated their responsibility" in that election, and Brown was certainly one of them.
After being registered to vote in 1995, Brown cast his first vote in the 1999 municipal primary. But he failed to follow through and vote in the general election that year.
He also skipped the municipal elections completely in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007.
He only began voting regularly in 2009, when he himself decided to run for Mayor in Bangor.
He needed a job.
The conduct of elections is a county responsibility. He now administers an office he routinely ignored when he was in the private sector.
Prior executives have always taken this responsibility very seriously. One of Gerald "Jerry" Seyfried's proudest moments was when he and his lovely wife were honored for voting for 50 years straight. Glenn Reibman and John Stoffa have both received this honor. When he was Executive, John Stoffa often conducted ceremonies to honor 50-year voters.
Democracy, after all, is no spectator sport.
While I was at it, I checked the voting records of Lamont McClure and the candidates for County Council. All but one are impeccable. Bill McGee, for example, has voted in every election without fail since he first registered in Northampton County in 1996.
One Council candidate, solar panel salesperson and author Tara Zrnski, has a spotty voting record. She registered to vote in 2000, but has only voted 11 times. She skipped the municipal elections in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. That's right. She never cast a vote in the races in which John Brown was elected over John Callahan.
It is difficult for either Brown or Zrnski to claim they care about county issues when they've missed most of the elections.
35 comments:
Biome on now Bernie, as your picture shows. Stoffa and Brown share twin brass plaques in Stoffa's human service palace.
The smear Brown vendetta continues.
I looked at both sides. Brown just was never interested enough in county or municipal government to vote. Thanks to his apathy, Bangor elected a cocaine dealer as Mayor.
As usual your hate/ass is showing
This election is not about Brown. It's about rejecting the slithering reptile, McClure. Brown is a bum. McClure is fully rotten to the core. This is a lot like last November's presidential. We don't have good choices. But McClure is the worse of two distinct evils.
5:23 how do you base your anonymous hate ? McClure never voted for a tax increase, helped draft open space and always put the county people first when on council.
I guess you'd rather have a non voting tax raising cronie filled cabinet consultant hiring cheat?
Brown and his unqualified cohorts/cronies must go. This non-transparent, lying, inept, very unqualified executive has shown no ability to administrate over the County of Northampton. His disdain for the people of Northampton County was obvious when only after two years in office he wanted to leave for something bigger; Auditor General. This is a page from the playbook of the great deceiver, "Fed Ed Pawlowski". This con-man, just like "Fed Ed", must be shown the door!
This is why boy Legislators go right from mom and dad's house to the State house with no private sector experience. It is like daycare for young adults.
Let's not forget the fraud perpetrated by John Brown during the firing of police chief Kerrigan in Bangor. That was swept under the rug. Brown never replaced the chief, eliminated several other positions, reduced the dept. by 30% and ran it into the ground. Crime surged, paperwork was not done and morale sank to the lowest of levels. He is soft on crime because he has committed it himself.
He did the same things at the county level. Not filling important positions, driving morale into the toilet, hiring Cathy (tax-cheat) Allen, the list goes on...
Seriously, the party purity folks will want to keep a man who lied about his past, raised taxes, tried to spend most of the county money on consultants. and wants to build a multi-million dollar prison. Yeah, he is a champ!
Bernie,
These that say your hate is showing are one in the same irratatable bowell syndrome that are spotting with there stence and brown stains the whole of northampton county too. There is no hate, just repulsion for local government officials that lack skill sets needed to help the public they are sworn to protect and serve.
If they all wouldn't be in the special intrests group doing there shady dealing and lying all the time this repusion would not be there.
More evidence of what a phony and hypocrite Brown the Clown is. Sad thing is that you have an arrogant, blowhard lawyer as his opponent in November. Both are cold blooded reptiles.
Not surprised by the new age solar saleswoman. This race is probably about selling more stuff to the private and public markets. Good PR. Sorry, we need real elected officials.
Brown has more dents than a tractor at a driving range. He's still better than McClure. I'm not voting for Brown. I'm voting against McClure. It's a disgusting choice. They all seem to be lately. Voting for McClure is not an option.
12:45 you keep telling yourself that. your a fool if you think his profession makes him slime. do you even know what he does as a lawyer? have you asked? I also have to wonder, what it is that you do for a living, and how you have helped your fellow man ever in your life? oh thats right your a Taker, probably live off the welfare system and vote against your own interests.
People on welfare vote 100% Democrat if they even vote at all. Lamutt is an asbestos lawyer, living off the misery of others.
"I also have to wonder, what it is that you do for a living, and how you have helped your fellow man ever in your life? oh thats right your a Taker, probably live off the welfare system and vote against your own interests."
Here's my shocked face over your broad brush of your political opposition. Keep up the good work and keep refusing to learn why your party is on the outside looking in, despite a significant voter registration edge. Brown doesn't have to try to win. Your going to hand him another victory by being an angry, dismissive dope. And you wonder how the likes of Brown and Trump get elected. You did most of the hard work for them.
*You're
What does Lamont's profession as an attorney have to do with Brown's spotty voting record? He has three more years of education than Brown and has seven more years of experience in county government. He never locked people out of news conferences or posted armed guards at his door. He did not authorize junkets to Vegas or New Orleans. He has no secret plan to build a new jail, to the tune of at least $130 million.
Let's face it. Brown is a bad exec who just needed a job. He was fired twice in the private sector and laid off once. It is tile for the voters of Northampton County to lay him off, too.
Breaking news: most people hate lawyers. The reasons are numerous and varied. That's just the way it is. His profession and his appalling council attendance record while being paid to show up are germane because he's the only other candidate. Both are reprehensible. We're choosing between two disgusting alternatives. Tearing down Brown isn't going to make McClure any more palatable to most of us. We're going to get a bad exec for the next four years, either way. That much has already been decided.
Tearing down someone on the basis of his profession requires the assumption that every person I. That profession is bad. That is clearly illogical. You correctly criticize Lamont for his absence from committee meetings but even more basic than that is attending the polls on Election Day. Lamont never missed and Brown never showed until he decided to run himself.
Lamutt gave lip service to his district. That is why he nearly lost twice to unknowns. He is a lazy candidate who has nothing to lose. Versus Brown the Clown who will be unemployed if he loses.
Bernie @ 3:18 pm
"junkets to Vegas or New Orleans"
As Bangor mayor John Brown blew over $7,500.00 on a junket to his alma mater Notre Dame, for "leadership" training. The poorest borough in the county and he takes $$$ from their pockets for a vacation. He should pay that back with interest!
I asked him to do so and he refused.
What is with the McClure hate? I mean the guy is a lawyer. I agree there are too many but if the day comes and you need one, you'll be glad they are around. McClure attended county council meetings, not everyone feels you need to go to every committee meeting as Bernie likes. It depends on the meeting and content to some members.
I wonder if you have the same level of hate for the democratic county council candidates as you do for McClure? You claim Brown is lousy. Well he couldn't get a way with most of his nonsense of you had a county council with a backbone.
All but one are impeccable. Who?
I mentioned her and her poor record at the polls - Tara Zrnski.
Brown did one thing right in Bangor. He nailed the police chief to the wall and council fired him..unanimously. The rest of his history in the boro is up for debate but he had the guts to take down a bully and he did not blink.
He used fraud, lies, deception, and conspiracy to do it. And misled a council which was too ignorant to call him on it. Soo that's OK?
Kerrigan got what he deserved, otherwise he would have appealed and won his job back. He limped away and never challenged his firing..cause he knew he was guilty and the evidence was overwhelming.
Trumped up evidence. Let me guess, Houser?
Wait, isn't McGee a union agent?
Yes, and he does not lie about it or portray himself as something that he's not.
There is already a union representation on council, so that would be two. Are OK with that?
Lawyers are pure evil and now unions are pure evil. The only persons acceptable to you are middle level managers who never vote and lie about their past. I will wait to hear what McGee says.
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