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Thursday, March 10, 2022

NorCo Elections Chief Resigns, Will Work For Senator Bob Casey

Northampton County's Election Chief, Amy Cozze, is resigning. Today is her last day. She has accepted an offer to work as the Lehigh Valley Regional Manager for US Senator Bob Casey. 

Cozze is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Business Administration.  In the private sector, she worked at Deerfoot Auto Parts, a successful family-owned auto recycling and service business located in Wind Gap. She also started and managed her own cake bakery in Nazareth.

 In 2018, Cozze mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the state house against incumbent Joe Emrick. After that loss, she complained she was without health insurance. Executive Lamont McClure offered her a job with the county administration. 

She threw herself into elections. She was instrumental in the selection of the Express Vote XL after , visiting precincts and speaking to voters. She organized a voter outreach program in which the new system was demonstrated at over 20 locations. Only Philadelphia could match this effort to inform the public. When County Council wanted to see how this system worked in Delaware, she spent the entire day at the Diamond State, visiting precincts and speaking to voters. When problems arose in Northampton County's first use of this system, Cozze is one of a handful of county workers who worked 35 hours straight to make sure the votes were counted properly. 

In 2020, she took over the Elections Office as Registrar. In addition to successfully lobbying for e-pollbooks, she began a thorough training job for elections judges and pollworkers. She prepared an extensive handbook for pollworkers at the precincts, answering most questions that could arise at the polls. Under her leadership, the office also expanded in size

She (and her office) essentially manage three elections every Spring and Fall.  First, there are the controversial Mail-in Ballots, which have been highly controversial. Second, there's the election day polls in the middle of a pandemic. Third, she's also administered early voting at the courthouse. 

Cozze did her job despite occasional attacks from members of the Elections Commission. She had to endure the abuse of sore loser Steve Lynch, who stated several times that she was dishonest and corrupt. Moreover, she and her office endured numerous epithets from unhappy Trump voters during and after the Presidential. In addition to rather ugly letters from some voters, she and her office endured threats. On one occasion, her office received an envelope with white powder. The office had to be swept for chemical contaminants. According to Executive Lamont McClure, that incident was turned over to the Sheriff's office for investigation. 

Cozze endured this abuse with aplomb, and her office was always the first or near the first in reporting returns to the state ion election night. It was common for her and her Deputy, Amy Hess, to work 30 hours straight to ensure that results were tabulated and reported promptly. 

She now joins in the exodus of elections workers throughout the country. According to a poll conducted in 2021, one of three elections workers feels unsafe. One of five has been threatened as a result of baseless accusations and wild conspiracy theories fomented by sore losers like Steve Lynch. 

In addition to the abuse from the outside, Cozze complained that the McClure administration did nothing to help her. She noted her office works out of five different rooms on four floors, to say nothing of the warehouse at the Gracedale campus.She also complained she was muzzled,unable to speak to County Council members or the press without approval. "Nobody was looking out for us," she laments. "I had no idea they had such disregard for human capital."

Cozze has been at odds with the McClure administration over a two-step increase she insists was promised to her. When she learned that it was denied, she sent a letter resigning her post just 10 days before the election. She rescinded her resignation after Council member Lori Vargo Heffner stepped in and promised she would get her a two-step raise in a budget amendment. 

McClure would actually go on to veto that raise, which was subsequently overridden by Council.  

Needless to say, Cozze was unhappy. 

For his part, Lamont McClure denied that he ever told her to lie to anyone or that he muzzled her. He did note that protocol does require that media inquiries go through the administration. He added that the county took the white powder incident very seriously. 

He praised the work Cozze did, but added that the county has been running elections for hundreds of years without Cozze and will continue to do so without her.  

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder if she used the election office to get her new job with Senator Casey!?!?

Anonymous said...

Didn’t Amy’s new wife do work for Lori Heffner? Funny it was not in any campaign finance reports. I wonder if the extra step Lori offered and pushed through over Lamont’s veto was a way to pay off the work Lori got for her campaign. Hmmm…

Anonymous said...

Cozze is right on target. MClure's first rule is nobody is allowed to talk with the media reps unless it is approved by him or Charlie Dirtinger. Charlie and Big Mac are control freaks.

Anonymous said...

I hear she is replacing Connor Corpora. Well I know Connor Corpora and Amy Cozze you are no Connor Corpora… what the hell is Bob Casey thinking. Geez!

Anonymous said...

So if her resignation was known by last week's council meeting at the latest(and probably much earlier than that), why hasn't administration even started the process of hiring her replacement yet? You'd think they would want her onboarding the new chief before she left, since there's a primary coming up and all.

Anonymous said...

Of course, you go after the election nuts and gloss over McClure. He is known as your boy. Problem is McClure and to a large part head misogynist Dertinger were her biggest problems. Thank God an employee had th guts to tell it like it is. Of course, they wouldn't let her speak openly to county council, she isn't the only one. The guy you claim as the great transparency is as secretive and manipulative with information as any other executive ever was.

They lied to her and you about the raise. It is great council fixed that. She had to eat a lot of crap with this administration.

Good luck to her and a big thank you to her for speaking the truth to arrogant power.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"I wonder if she used the election office to get her new job with Senator Casey!?!?"

Sghe didn't use anything and was actually approached by Casey.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Didn’t Amy’s new wife do work for Lori Heffner? Funny it was not in any campaign finance reports."

All that a comment like this does is establish the validity of Cozze's claim of bully tactics. This obviously comes from one of the very few people who look at campaign finance reports. It raises a red herring in that we all know most people who work in campaigns do so as volunteers. Who worked for Lori Vargo Heffner would be something known by few people outside of McClure's circle. Do McClure a favor and stop. You are hurting him, not helping him.

She left. She's unhappy. She may be overstating things but she probably also has some valid points. Learn from this. Make corrections where needed.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Of course, you go after the election nuts and gloss over McClure."

I glossed over nothing. I stated pretty unambiguously that she was fed up with McClure. That you fail to see this is just another indication of your inability to read.

Bernie O'Hare said...

", why hasn't administration even started the process of hiring her replacement yet? "

They have.

Anonymous said...

Sleepy Casey a politician who does nothing for the people of Pa.

Anonymous said...

When McClure hired her, I thought it was wrong to pick someone who had just run for office and had political aspirations. To me that office is one of the most important in the county and needs to be unassailably nonpartisan - both in fact AND appearance.

McClure's hiring her showed an amazing lack of foresight, as well as a lack of understanding of how that office needs to be viewed by the public.

Cozze's acceptance of a political job with Casey shows a disdain for the position that she held, and will do nothing to change the feeling of many that the county election office has been politicized.

I can only hope that McClure realizes this as he chooses who will fill the office next, and whoever he chooses will recognize that they also have a responsibility to hold the public's trust and go beyond what is best for them personally.

This is not an office that should be filled with partisans (real or perceived), nor should it be used by those in the office to work their way up the political ladder.

Anonymous said...

Really Bernie… Casey approached her and said, “I like the way you count those votes come work for me!” Something is not right about this. Also if he did ask her I agree with 12:41… what the hell was he thinking.

Anonymous said...

Why would you want someone onboarding the new person. As toxic a boss as she is (believe me I know ;-)) you don’t want her teaching the new person anything. Let the real workers in the office onboard whoever the administration hires. Anything is gonna be an improvement.

Anonymous said...

I'm not defending McClure in the least but I can assure you that EVERY county executive in the past 35 years has muzzled employees, from line workers up to directors from speaking to anyone including County Council. No one has been allowed to air any disagreements or dirty laundry, especially when the administration has taken an unpopular stance.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see her go. You pay the devil for a job and medical coverage and you see what happens. The only thing better is McClure, Bowtie and HR would leave with her. Good riddens!

Anonymous said...

Blogger Bernie O'Hare said...
", why hasn't administration even started the process of hiring her replacement yet? "

"They have."

She resigned 3 weeks ago, they still haven't posted the job. So if Lamont told you they've started the process that means everything Lamont told council about the hiring process is bullshit. They are clearly handpicking a puppet behind the scenes. Par for the course for this opaque administration.

Anonymous said...

I see Monty has Steve Barron and Chunky Chucky making anonymous comments to try and skew the narrative, don't they have actual county business to attend to?

Anonymous said...

That's the way the county works. Just take care of your ppl or in Lamont and chucky case disciples. It happens everywhere in the county in the courthouse, jail,juviee,everywhere...

Anonymous said...

Dopey Amy working for Dopey Casey is a marriage made in Dopey Heaven. Casey opposed the Keystone pipeline for us, but supported Nordstream for the Russians. That's all you need to know about these US-hating birdbrains. It's truly a perfect match. Her job requirements will be zero because Casey does exactly zero. She's essentially retired until the slipping dentured dynamo finally falls out of his urine-soaked Senate seat. All the best, Amy.

Anonymous said...

"She resigned 3 weeks ago, they still haven't posted the job. So if Lamont told you they've started the process that means everything Lamont told council about the hiring process is bullshit."

If this is true ..... it's completely on brand for greasy Lamont and Bernie who defends his pal and this kind of "transparency." lol.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"This is not an office that should be filled with partisans (real or perceived), nor should it be used by those in the office to work their way up the political ladder."

I agree. In fact, when Cozze was first hired, I asked her about this, and she assured me she would be nonpartisan. I believe she was, but I still think positions like an elections chief belong in the hands of people who have no political aspirations.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"I'm not defending McClure in the least but I can assure you that EVERY county executive in the past 35 years has muzzled employees, from line workers up to directors from speaking to anyone including County Council."

This is pretty much untrue. I have never had a problem finding out what I need to find out. NorCo is terrible at keeping secrets.

Anonymous said...

Your 100% right ppl talk but like 99% of ppl who comment on articles like this are county employees. Who know to push that anonymous circle or kiss your ass goodbye.

Then it becomes hear say, not the truth just a disgruntled employee. So you Bernie dont have to worry about it. Your bills don't rely on a county pay check,but a lot of readers and commenters on this blog do. So let's be honest chucky would sh.. can anyone he finds out was trashing him.

Anonymous said...

You hated Brwon so when McClure (a fellow lawyer) and bowtie realized they could play you with so called information. McClure is an arrogant authoritarian. He is smart and shrewd. You are right that Executives have played the system for over thirty years, but this guy is the worst. Neither you nor county council knows th half of it. Ms. Cozze is only th latest victim of their smear campaign. He and bowtie will find another partisan he can control for the election chief and the Election commission will have no voice. He plans on being Executive for many years.

Your buddy is out there telling people that county council wants to destroy the home rule charter, yet its biggest threat is McClure. He has disdain for council and badmouths them to everyone. If the Northampton County Executive position goes away it will be McClure, who does it. He and Dertinger abuse power on a regular basis.

peterjcochran said...

She will be without a job shortly. It’s her choice effectively. Ah. I hate to see her out , ii think she’s a nice lady under PAID here .

Anonymous said...

Amy will soon be pulling a Smollet for attention bringing her true colors of her unaddressed mental illnesses to light in her new position. This will be bringing the states bright shinning light upon its political infected designs maybe even shedding light upon the federal deficiancies.

Anonymous said...

Completely agree w/ anonymous 6:30. The next hire has to be unassailably non-partisan.

"This is not an office that should be filled with partisans (real or perceived), nor should it be used by those in the office to work their way up the political ladder."

100% agree.

Mike4ro said...

Huge loss for NorCo. She ran a best in class operation during the most trying times in my lifetime for election officials. Sorry to hear she wasn’t fully supported an even more disappointed in Exec McClure's closing comment. Sour grapes. Thank you for your service and Good luck Amy.

Anonymous said...

I remember a women who ran the office years ago and complained about the same stuff and was bashed over and over by Bernie. But when this person makes the same complaints he is supportive... I find that you are not very consistent with how you support or don't support people. Just my opinion and view. You can agree or disagree ...