Who Won the McClure-Brown Debate?

Lamont McClure and John Brown

Executive John Brown and challenger Lamont McClure squared off in a lively debate last night at Northampton Community College's main campus. Over 100 people attended. There were the usual camp followers. There were nervous cabinet officials wondering whether it's time to dust off their resumes. The X factor was a crowd of concerned Nazareth and Easton area residents. Real citizens! Who won? Believe it or not, Ron Angle. He at least gets an assist in a Lamont McClure decision.

No, I've had no cocktails tonight. Let me explain how I've come to what must strike many of you as a ridiculous conclusion.

Dr. John Kincaid was superb as moderator

Contrasting styles

Nobody hit any home runs. Brown's people think he won. McClure's people think Lamont crushed. After thinking it over, Lamont came on a bit too strong. Brown is simply unable to answer a direct question.

Here's kind of how it went.

"How's the weather?"

McClure: "Much as my opponent would have you believe that the skies are gray as he spends thousands of taxpayer dollars on illegal lunches, the sky is actually blue as his callous cronies jet off to Las Vegas and New Orleans. And no, we don't need a new jail."

Brown: "My executive experience in the private sector has empowered me with the core competency to move the needle and work through the synergies of the moving parts to think outside the box and leverage a solution. Thank you."

It's understandable that both may have been a little self-conscious, but they should have opened up a bit more.

John Brown: "We do what municipal gov't can't
do,and what state gov't won't do."

About the only time McClure gave you a glimpse into himself is when he briefly discussed being the son of a civil servant and growing up "acutely aware" that everything he had, from the shoes on his feet to the roof over his head, was paid for by the taxpayer. He said he developed a "great respect" for the public sector employee as a result of his upbringing, and he suddenly sounded both sincere and very likable in that moment. In the 17 years I've followed him, it's the first time I saw him act that way publicly, but it was only for a moment. He should do that more often.

McClure attacks

As it is, he did offer the following devastating indictment of the past four years under Brown:

1) Brown posted armed guards outside a news conference to keep Council members out (Brown never answered this charge)
2) Brown misused his expense allowance (Brown admitted he goofed)
3) Brown's vaunted P3 bridge project is $2 million over budget and behind schedule (Brown said the first bridge will be done tomorrow.)
4) Brown cut farmland spending by 84% (Brown said every farm that has applied and is qualified has been preserved.)
5) Brown balanced the budget on the backs of employees by allowing a large number of vacancies at the jail and in Human Services (Brown responded that Civil Service rules make it difficult to fill vacancies quickly)
6) Brown could have vetoed a 10% tax hike in 2015 (Brown said that would have opened the budget back up to more spending by the Democrats)
7) Brown claims business experience, but was fired from two jobs and laid off by a third (Brown had no response)

Lamont McClure: "So many seniors are struggling that
they fear they won't be able to stay in their homes." 

Brown counterattacks

Brown had his own zingers against McClure:

1) McClure lacks executive experience and would "learn on the way." (McClure said he had 10 years on County Council and that Brown demonstrated his own shortcomings when he attempted to hire a $750,000 business consultant to do his job, and did award an $86,000 contract for a PR firm).
2) Gracedale lost $30 million when McClure was on Council (McClure retorted that his council hired an administrator).
3) A jail at Gracedale is the result of "political rumors" started by McClure "because he doesn't have anything else to run on." (McClure credited Nazareth citizens who rose up after seeing several news accounts).

Areas of agreement

The candidates did have some areas of agreement. Neither is enthusiastic about a reassessment at this time. Neither supports a tax hike. Both support tax incentives to spur economic development, although McClure said he'd like to see developers forced to prove they are actually creating the jobs promised. Both like the DaVinci Center aquarium concept, but both agree that much more needs to be done to determine how much the county should contribute.

Both support more diversity at the courthouse. But McClure said he'd emulate the example set by DA John Morganelli. Half of his prosecutors are women and he has made minority hires  He hired the first black prosecutor in he history of the county.

In contrast to Morganelli, Brown has suspended the first African American captain who worked at the jail as well as a Latino trainer.

Both were in the audience.

McClure's vision is to encourage as much open space preservation as possible to deter the inevitable big box explosion and the doubling of truck traffic over the next ten years. Brown promises "more of the same," and touted his financial acumen in stabilizing county finances and creating a true balanced budget.

L to R: Beverly Herandez (LWV), Marvin Boyer (NAACP), John Brown,
Lamont McClure, Dr. John Kincaid (Lafayette), Lance Wheeler (NAACP)

Angle Nails Brown on Jail Sites

Wheeler laughs as Angle plants one
on Peg Ferraro

While McClure opened up once, Brown never let you see behind the curtain at all, which hurts him. He had a nervous habit of glossing his lips at least once every two or three minutes and would start smiling whenever McClure went on the offensive, which was pretty much nonstop. But those are minor criticisms. The big question is whether he is transparent.

Brown failed on that count.

Despite substantial evidence to the contrary, Brown denies any intention of building a jail at Gracedale. That denial only came after it became apparent that a jail there is politically unpopular. Brown claimed as recently as June that it would be too costly to rebuild the jail at Easton. Now he wants to build a $185 million jail there without raising taxes.

He's relying on a report from architectural firm DLR that was just released on Tuesday. That report listed seven different options, including greenfield sites.

On Tuesday, Brown told me that the options were based on a generic greenfield, not a specific site. But the report lists different levels of "community support" at the different locations. If this is just some abstract greenfield, the "community support" should be the same.

Wheeler cries as Angle plants one on him.

Last night, McClure asked Brown to list these undisclosed sites. Brown stated again that the report is based on a generic greenfield, and that Lamont McClure is quite the storyteller.

As he began to sit down, someone in the audience smelled a bullshit burger. It was none other than the Northampton County Bulldog, Ron Angle.

"You haven't answered his question?" barked Angle, who demanded to know which sites were considered.

Brown suddenly changed his tune. As Angle pressed, the formerly generic greenfield sites now became "irrelevant" because they were never considered.

That's why I give the win to Ron, or at least an assist..

One county official told me on Tuesday that the sites were confidential, but there is nothing confidential about property already owned by the county.

Now Angle is no friend of Lamont McClure. But he hates bad government, and a government that keeps secrets is bad government.

NAACP and LWV were wonderful

This was the only debate between McClure and Brown. It never would have happened but for the League of Women Voters and Easton's NAACP. Beverly Hernandez and Lance Wheeler deserve our thanks for the work they put into making a night of democracy possible. Lafayette College's Dr.John Kincaid served as moderator. He has performed this chore several times, and brings a quiet dignity that makes these events better.