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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

McClure Taps Emrick Foe For Staff

Northampton County Exec Lamont McClure has hired Amy Cozze to join his staff in Northampton County. He told me she will split her time between working for Public Safety Director Kenm], but Kraft at the jail and Administrator Charles Dertinger. I neglected to ask her salary will get that information.

Cozze is a lifelong LV resident who earned her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Pittsburgh, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Business Administration. She then worked at Deerfoot Auto Parts, a successful family-owned auto recycling and service business located in Wind Gap. She also started her own cake bakery in Nazareth.

You may remember her as a candidate for State Rep. She ran against incumbent Joe Emrick. He smeared her at the end of the race with a negative mailer and TV ad attacking her for sending "foreign substances" to the Nazareth police. It was apparently the result of Cozze and a business colleague using glitter while making decorations for some event in Nazareth. Glitter tends to stick to everything, and it got stuck to a few paid parking tickets.

Though this was completely innocuous, Cozze received threatening calls. Someone even let the air out of her tires.

It was a cheap shot, typical of Emrick.

Unless McClure is creating a new position, no Council approval is needed for this hire.

Cozze, along with Becky Bartlett and Tina Smith, is McClure's third hire of someone in the Nazareth area.

He did offer me a job as Solicitor, but I wanted too much money.

Updated 3 pm:  Ms. Cozze is working for Administrator Charles Dertinger and Director of Court Services Ken Brown, not Ken Kraft. 

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is this a career service job or an at will appointed job?

Anonymous said...

So she runs her husband's business and has her own bakery business and still needs a 'give me' political job? We dodged a bullet in that election.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I am almost positive it is exempt.

Anonymous said...

Who held these positions before (during Brown and Stoffa)? I bet no one. Why can't Brown and Dertinger handled their own high paid jobs by themselves?

Anonymous said...

Political patronage.

Anonymous said...

It looks like a way for a failed candidate to prepare for the next election cycle while collecting some taxpayer funded income.

Anonymous said...

Would never vote for Emrick anyway but this smells bad and I don't like what is being done for her. She ran and lost..so leave it at that.

Anonymous said...

This is exactly why people hate politics.

Anonymous said...

Can't pay employees what they deserve and you hire her! One term McClure!

Anonymous said...

Inside baseball is for insiders. Political patronage is alive and well. Brown would have been rightfully shredded for this crap. Lamont was known to be a sleazy political insider before assuming power, however. That's why this is no surprise. It's like expecting people to be upset that Trump is a sleazy player, when he's been one all his life. New Exec. Same old shit.

Anonymous said...

She is a good choice for any position. She works hard and worked hard on her campaign. People like her are trying to help others. Her competitor is a low life who had to attack her on glitter. It is good to see that she is staying around and I am glad Lamont found a way to keep her involved.

Anonymous said...

You should love her. After her drubbing in the rep race she went on Facebook begging for free healthcare. She claimed her plan was to use the estate healthcare when she was elected. She was never within five points of the incumbent. She hooked up with your favorite Zirinski and found a dentist weho did her work gratis(??).

Another political wnanabe wanting to live off the taxpayer. I voted for McClure but this is the kind of nonsense that will not make me repeat that mistake.

qualifications? I smile at guys. Emerick could have saved the money she did even worse than the others that got beat. A ditz!

Anonymous said...

Word is she was given an award by Munsey and his Easton dems before the election for just being her. A great fit for democrats as a candidate, she loses elections. Keep it going my friends.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I believe a person with a BS who has worked in the private sector and has her own business is more than qualified. I also doubt very much that you voted for McClure. The “smile at guys” and “ditz” comments are meant to demean Cozze bc of her sex.

Anonymous said...

Unlike so many of these posts, I will announce myself. Patti Bruno, yes, Campaign Manager to Amy Cozze during this cycle. She no longer has any ties to me.

Reading some of these comments, it is important to address healthcare, but also important to address why Cozze is qualified to lead.

As another female, it was my choice to push Cozze down or pull up a chair to the political table. I chose to pull up a chair, to battle for what I believe in. However late in the game, I joined in mid-July to fight for proper representation. To remind others that there is always room at the table for a qualified person - regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or race.

The Cozze campaign was dedicated to knocking on doors that were not knocked in over a decade. We reached out because we wanted to. We walked away with a lot of friends and supporters as proof.

In that effort - we took 44% of the vote from a 4 time incumbent with a war chest the incumbent never had to use —- until Team Cozze.

Healthcare. Yes. That was a staple Cozze ran on. She never shied away from affordable healthcare or healthcare for all OR the reasons she deemed it necessary. Because she’s real. She’s us.

Qualifications. Cozze has a collegiate degree - but even more so, she has human experience. Nearly 20 years worth.

Amy Cozze is qualified.

Also- commenting as anonymous is petty. ����

Unknown said...

👏🏼

Anonymous said...

I tried to get people to vote for Ron Angle. He could have made Northampton County great again !

Anonymous said...

This was pure politics. Even dem insiders are stunned by this hire. Run for office lose and get a job? Sounds like CHARLES wants a chesty distraction form work duties.

Anonymous said...

Whoa. What the Bruno said.
Well done.

Unknown said...

Anon 4:40 - I welcome you to discuss a vocab lesson on insiders.

Anonymous said...

She was shamelessly begging for a job and thought the House was an easy meal ticket because she said 'people like her'. A bit harder than that to run and win. Of course Munsey and company love democrats that run and lose. If a great business person why does she need a full time job?
Even Democrats see this for what it is and they are disappointed in Mr. McClure. County wages are problematic and he is taking care of a politico with a made up job. Where is the justice?

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

If you wish to a address someone who had the basic courtesy to ID herself, I insist you do so as well or I will delete you, as I just did.

Anonymous said...

I appreciate Ms. Bruno's opinion as a close associate of Amy's..and her candor but..the optics of this appointment is bad. I'm sure Mrs. Cozze is a qualified individual but..

Bernie O'Hare said...

But what? Of course it is a political appointment. The exec can make several. He is entitled to have several people in place whose opinions he trusts and upon whom he relies. If they do not work or Re idiots, you can complain and I will back you. But as you acknowledge, Cozze is qualified. Hopefully, she and Ken Brown will urge that the starting pY in civil be increased.

Anonymous said...

She is qualified for what, Life experience? What is that. She went to school, so did many other people. The job did not exist and was made up. She was hired as a glorified secretary, so in that respect you are probably right. Stop covering for every move McClure makes. Her could raise pay instead of spending money on political hacks. Never knew of your protecting pure political patronage like this.

Anonymous said...

life experience?? The woman has 3 college degrees, built a successful business from the ground up, speaks 3 languages, and ran one hell of a campaign - pretty sure Norco is lucky to have her, if anything she's overqualified. Get a grip people, if McClure made up this position it would have had to have been ran through council - it wasn't, which means the job existed - he appointed Cozze, clearly for good reason.

Anonymous said...

His right to hire is not unlimited. How many exempt from county council approval positions does he get to pick? Does council even know how many he gets? This is the stuff that erodes peoples confidence in government.

Anonymous said...

Politics as usual perpetuated. Cathy Allen was qualified too!

Anonymous said...

I see now..Dertinger is so inept..he needs minions around him to do what he was hired to do!

Bernie O'Hare said...

"His right to hire is not unlimited. How many exempt from county council approval positions does he get to pick? Does council even know how many he gets? This is the stuff that erodes peoples confidence in government."

He gets each member of his cabinet and one person in each of those department. It's hard to say this erodes confidence when no one even considers it newsworthy other than me. And I disagree with your point. As I explained, the Exec is entitled to a limited number of positions. He is entitled to his own set of eyes and ears, and people who are loyal to him and will carry out his agenda. This is spelled out in the Admin Code. As long as the person is qualified and actually works, I have no problem with this limited amount of patronage. If there were no exempt positions at all, McClure would be flying blind. But if you think good government should be devoid of all political hires, you can ask to change the Admin Code. I think it actually is good government if it is confined to a small number who keep the exec informed wnd carry out his will.

Anonymous said...

Havre you ever heard he talk. Kathy Allen was more knowledgeable, yet you constantly attacked her.

Anonymous said...

Off topic but pertinent..FFRF has flagged my complaint as to Dowd and his church getting tax payer revenue for their steeple project. Their atty. is now reviewing the details. Hopefully action will come soon from that direction. No idea if grant along with proposed budget was passed. Advise as you can. Thx you.

Anonymous said...

Why would someone with her qualifications accept a position as a Clerk III or Clerk Specialist? What is really up? County Council needs to dig deeper.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Here you are, four days after this story posted, still obsessing about it. If you want, I can dig deeper myself about hateful people like you. Funny how hate and Emrick seem to go together so well.

Anonymous said...

You have a blog for people to submit their opinions yet you want to call them hateful when they just want more answers? Hateful seems to be your adjective when someone doesnt agree with your views.

Anonymous said...

9:42..but at least he is consistently hateful.