South Whitehall Comm'r Mobilio is Vewy, Vewy Angwy

Mad Matty Mobilio

Brad Osborne is both a former Lehigh County and South Whitehall Township Comm'r. He's noticed that, as newsrooms are constantly downsized, daily newspapers are no longer capable of providing the coverage and well-needed scrutiny of local elected officials that at one time was the norm. So when I reached out and asked for citizen journalists willing to cover Lehigh Valley municipalities or elections, he was one of several to express interest. He has provided some useful insight into the machinations in South Whitehall, a community he once served. And guess what? At least one of the Commissioners, Matt Mobilio, is hopping mad. Amazingly, he's angriest at me. This just tells me we're doing something right.  

Who the Hell is Matt Mobilio? 

Mobilio has only been in office a year. Though our local news industry is only a shadow of itself, it did pay some attention to him. Mad Matty generated headlines when he posted a Facebook message stating, "If you support [Donald Trump], you are also a disgrace and should be hung for treason." 

That sounds like something Trump would say.  

Of course, Mobilio's hateful rant resulted in numerous calls for his resignation, including a petition signed by 241 people. Of course, he refused to step down. No surprise there. It's nearly impossible to remove elected officials from office. 

They're like bed bugs. Once they're in, they're in. 

It's hard to understand how he ever got elected in the first place. In November, he wrote that Rudy Giuliani (not my favorite person) "can go fuck himself." 

As a lawyer, I find his solicitations disgusting. In March 2019, he bragged about getting $20,000 for a slip-and-fall client who fell at a movie parking lot. In January 2019, he solicited divorce clients. "It's that time of year again ... [sic] If you are thinking about getting a divorce call Mobilio Law today!" 

A partisan Democrat, he has slammed LC DA Jim Martin a few times. That's to be expected. Martin is, after all, a Republican. But Matt fights with everyone, even State Rep. Mike Schlossberg. He attacked Schlossberg, a partisan Dem, for failing "to publicly like or share my positive posts about what we are doing for the township." 

Schlossberg responded, "Tell you what. Pick up the phone so we can have a conversation about how to gain support without insulting others ... on Twitter. This isn't how adults behave, let alone elected officials who should work together." 

He has actually taken his Commissioner Facebook page down twice "for my own mental health" because he hates criticism. Hate to break it to you, Matty, but you're in the wrong business. 

What the Hell Did Brad Osborne Do to Matt?

Osborne has posted two blogs about South Whitehall. The first concerns a possible violation of the Sunshine Act. This is precisely the kind of story that newspapers routinely ran to keep local officials transparent. The second story concerns the way that phony liberals like Matty have dealt with striking public works staffers in the middle of a pandemic. The word "heartless" comes to mind.  

Neither of Osborne's stories mentions Mad Matty by name. 

I've written my own story. It is about all local governments, not just South Whitehall. I argue that it's time to return to in-person meetings. In my view the pandemic has become an excuse to shirk work and meet behind closed doors. 

My story never mentioned Mad Matty by name. 

But Mobilio, who seems just a tad unhinged, has been braying away at me, both on Facebook and Twitter. He has even posted links to my story. 

Thanks, Matt. I noticed an increase in readership. 

The Person Who Really Deserves Mobilio's Ire

That would be blogger Michael Molovinsky. Unlike Osborne or myself, that little bastard has written specifically about poor Matty. Michael was very mean to Matty. He even accused him of being "a student of the Mark Pinsley School Of Office Jumping." I'm far nicer. Prettier, too. Michael has escaped Mobilio's wrath, which has instead been directed at me. 

A Question For Mad Matty

I realize Mobilio is busy settling slip-and-fall cases for $20,000, filing divorce cases in January and attacking his perceived enemies on Facebook and Twitter. But I have a question. There's a hothead who shares the same name as you, Matthew Mobilio. This hothead has the same birthdate (7/4/80) that's listed on your voter registration.  On 9/13/99, Whitehall police charged this jerk with disorderly conduct, harassment and conspiracy with multiple criminal objects,. He pleaded to the conspiracy. 

That's not all. This very angry Matt Mobilio was also charged by Emmaus police with disorderly conduct arising from an incident on 5/3/2000. This matter was dismissed. 

Perhaps there's another Matty who has the same birthday as you. Perhaps not. 

The fault, dear Matty, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.