Tara Zrinski was first elected to Northampton County Council in 2017. In the middle of her first term, she decided to run for state representative and lost. She was re-elected to her Council seat in 2021. In 2022, she ran for state senate and lost. And now she's running again. This time, it's for Northampton County Controller. This will be her fifth race for public office since 2017.
According to the county website, the Controller provides the county's internal audit function. Here's one little problem. Zrinski wouldn't know how to do an audit if it hit her in the face. She has no accounting background. Her educational background is in philosophy and theology. She sells solar panels.
The county website also provides that the Controller is "independent of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government." She has instead been a reliable rubber stamp for whatever Executive Lamont McClure wants to do. She failed to provide a check and balance on executive power as a Council member, and is woefully unprepared to do so in an office that should be looking for waste and fraud.
This is a full-time job that pays $85,000 a year and provides complete benefits, and that's why Zrinski wants it.
In her announcement, she stated her state senate loss "did not quell my passion to serve this community." Then why not do so as an elected member of County Council?
As a member of County Council, Zrinski is mostly known for meaningless resolutions that have nothing to do with county government, from an unenforceable plastic straw ban to an equally meaningless green new deal.
At the beginning of the year, when nominations were being considered for Council President, Kevin Lott nominated her. Not a single member of Council would second this nomination. She had to second her own nomination. She got one vote. So when she states she'd foster cooperation with Council, she's being delusional or dishonest.
She's a flawed candidate, but does have one good quality. She is responsive to the residents. She has been involved in environmental causes for years, but has also responded to residents who have complaints about other issues like housing.
She wowed the crowd at Lehigh Valley For All (Some) last night and will energize women who like her primarily because she is a woman.
She will win the Democratic nomination, but can she win a general election against a moderate Republican who does know a thing or two about finance and is willing to act as a check on the other government branches? I'd say No, but I'm unsure whether moderate Republicans still exist.
52 comments:
My democrat friends are not surprised. She needs an easy fulltime job with benefits. The Executive is happy because he doesn't want Cusick looking over his shoulder.
Well, since Democrats outnumber Republicans, they'll put her in no matter how weak her qualifications or how strong her opponent's. Witness PA's newest US senator.
She's a disgusting and dishonest individual. She's running for a salary because she can't get a money making job in the real world. Say no to this pathetic fraud.
Tara z will take the controller office totally paperless and lower its carbon foot print by many tons, she can be OUR own Greta but more badass with. Bullhorn and decades in the movement
Blue BADGER
On a negative note you could emphasize the amount of times she has run for office, but in my mind I find that to be a huge positive. It takes a lot of time and energy, and frankly, abuse by some people ;-)
She is like a weeble. You can try and knock her down, but she will only pop back up!
And as for being a rubber stamp for Lamont. When Lamont brings forward something to vote against then she will, but for the record he is one of the only politicians I know that has lowered taxes. That makes him fiscally responsible. He is environmentally conscious and was just in the paper for the hydropower plant. What exactly is he bringing forward to vote down???
Tara LOVES Northampton and has dedicated her time and energy to be a part of making it better. Kudos to her! No one else has that much passion! And no one else is that tough!
It’s interesting that the pa third class city codes require that the controller must be an accountant and that no such requirements exist in the county codes. But, the county codes would not permit a commissioner to serve as a controller immediately following service as a commissioner without a break in service. That provision eliminates the conflict of auditing actions that were undertaken during the service as commissioner. An obvious weakness of the home rule charter in not carrying that state provision. But, an important consideration for voters.
due to her wanting a plastic straw ban and green new deal items, Can anybody confirm she drives an electric car? Just curious
Bernie great post up to the shot against Republicans. You know damn well there are plenty of moderate Republicans and that the political discourse today is dominated by the fringe left and the fringe right. Unfortunately both fringes comment here often and you may be falling into the trap of believing they're the majority. They are not on either side.
Be part of the solution to all this crap, don't perpetuate the problem.
Some days it is hard to even care when the political climate is such that Ms. Zrinski would even think she was qualified or even that she would have support. Even Gaia is sighing.
This is one of the biggest jokes you have ever printed. Usually, when someone runs for public office they have a record to run on. They promote themselves by flaunting their past records of accomplishment. What does she have to flaunt? She is a failure and a joke as a Commissioner and a rubber stamp for McClure. We don't need a rubber stamp in this position.
Zrinski - another opportunity for NORCO residents to display their lack of intelligence.
"Unfortunately both fringes comment here often and you may be falling into the trap of believing they're the majority."
I believe moderate Rs and Ds are the majority, but they are not the people running for office these days. Take a look at your most recent crop of R candidates. They include wingnuts like Steve Lynch and Melanie Heilman. They include John Brown, who acts like a country club R but is in fact a MAGA. Even John Goffredo and his opposition to the health center is way on the extreme. Yes there are moderate Rs and I wish one would run. Ron Angle comes off like a fire breathing dragon, but he is actually a moderate R and would be very effective. Would he run? I'll ask him. John Cusick would be great but he is still teaching. Dave Colver would be outstanding, but he takes a paycut to be controller. He rtold a friend of mine (this is hearsay) that he's not running.
As someone with direct knowledge of her ineptitude to conceptualize large numbers / manage finances, this has to be a joke. McClure clearly is pushing for this so he can he have ZERO oversight. If she wins, NORCO electorate will have failed again. She has absolutely no business even running for this position. The idea that she could win it is preposterous. She just wants a salary. Tara Zrinski is a self serving politician....we need less of her type.
@Bernie 9:50
"Colver would be outstanding"? You are joking right? He literally developed every single inch of Palmer that he could. He was trounced in his reelection as supervisor because Palmer couldn't wait to kick him out of office. Colver was seen every morning with Chrin. And now look at it, it's should be called Chrin Township.
"What exactly is he bringing forward to vote down???"
Let me give you an example. During the COVID crisis, we received about $30 odd million from the CARES Act. McClure wanted Council to agree to let him dole out $ to small business with absolutely no oversight by Council. That would be a mistake and would invite all kinds of fraud. Council rightly put a stop to it. They, and not the Exec, control the purse strings. Zrinski not only resisted and voted against this country oversight but actually argued that the Exec should be able to do whatever he wants. She does not understand the concept of checks and balances. This is a bad quality in a controller.
Let me give you another example of how she acts as a shill for McClure. She voted against budget amendments that set aside money for a pay study and a Gracedale audit. It is very clear to most of us that an independent and objective review of Gracedale is needed. I happen to believe what their Administrators say, but hear enough complaints from employees to want to have an independent performance audit. Zrinski opposed this bc she is a rubber stamp for McClure. She opposed setting aside $ for a pay study bc she is a rubber stamp.
Objectively, she is a poor choice for controller. I also happen to agree that someone who served as an Exec or Council member should be required to wait a period of time before running for a job that requires her to audit those functions.
But don't worry, Shje will win the Dem nod bc we're nuts. Hopefully, Rs can mount at least one moderate R to take her on.
She saw her shadow this morning so that means six more years of campaigning.
This excerpt from the WFMZ article basically says it all:
"The qualifications for the job are that the officeholder be a citizen of the U.S. and a resident of the county."
Virtually every adult living in Northampton County can be the Controller. It's no surprise that this job would attract candidates who need a job and who understand the basics of running a campaign.
Tara and her clan have been carbon neutral for sometime, she could drive a hummer with no catalytic converter non stop and still claim that her sale of panels puts her in a small tribe alongside uncontacted tribesmen of the Amazon although they may even have a higher footprints because of cooking with wood Tara has had an induction range for decades
If 7:53 is correct, wouldn’t that disqualify her since she is a sitting county commissioner if a break in service is required? Wouldn’t that also disqualify Cusick as well?
Let us not forget this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzgrPzo2N60&t=5s
"If 7:53 is correct, wouldn’t that disqualify her since she is a sitting county commissioner if a break in service is required? Wouldn’t that also disqualify Cusick as well?"
Re-read what 7:53 posted. The HRC does NOT require a break in service before a council member decides to run for county controller. I do agree that should be a requirement for controller. How can you audit a body of which you yourself were a member? But unfortunately, this was overlooked when the HRC was drafted. If it were the law, it would apply to both Zrinsji and Cusick.
"I believe moderate Rs and Ds are the majority, but they are not the people running for office these days."
Yeah I can't argue with you there, I was coming at it from the electorate standpoint you're from the politician standpoint and you have a point.
Thanks Bernie.
10:57, I added that video.
Why would I ever want to vote for a Republican again? If you're a Republican, then you are promoting the asshats who lead the national party. Say no more.
Bernie you have to get Ron Angle to run. Zrinski would be a disaster.
@10:57 Vote by mail is the way to go. I love it. I get the email that it's in the mail so I can expect it. I take my time researching the candidates, fill it out and then I mail it back. I wait a few days and look to see if it was received. It's perfect! I don't need to wait on line or worry about getting out of work early or if I will even get out of work at all. My 87 year old parents can't stand on line. My kids work 12 hours shifts. The reasons why people can't vote in person are endless and voting by mail is safe, secure, and reliable. Not one case of fraud was true. Republicans and their make believe issues are so old and boring.
I love Tara's energy. Nothing wrong with a person who is passionate about the issues and wants what is right. That video is Tara fighting for the people.
Just another example of Lehigh Valley 4 All's plan to take over every governmental position
12:04, I support voting by mail. The point of that video is that it shows Zrinski is a bit unhinged. There have been cases of voter fraud on mail-in ballots. Eve3ry form of voting has some fraud. There is no evidence of widespread or systemic fraud.
When are you going to do a campaign finance report on who has what in their campaign accounts?
See if she has the backing for the position etc
The reason the law prohibits former commissioners from becoming controllers is because before home rule to affect, the commissioners were both legislators and administrators.
Tara is an empowered eco warrior goddess of Gaia, she fought Ron's vile plot to smear "biosolids" all over our community and won Ronnie's chief apologist has never forgiven her, go Tara!
Tara for dog catcher!!!
Make perfect sense to have somebody with no accounting or auditing experience to be in a position to monitor the finances and accountability of the government.
Not a fan of Zrinski, but I disagree with 7:53’s take on that section of the PA county code. That section is there for ‘regular’ counties that have no executive and where three commissioners typically serve in that role. It was likely excluded from the NorCo HRC because NorCo has both the Executive and commissioners (council members). So she technically wouldn’t be auditing her own actions, at least not in the scenario for which the PA County Code was written for.
That said, she is imminently UNqualified for this position. Yes, any breathing county resident can legally be controller, but has that become the new standard for all elected offices?
Come on NorCo, aim a little higher than the bare minimum. You can do it!
@ Bernie. So let me get this straight. Republicans lie by claiming mail in ballots have massive fraud issues, try and overturn elections because of mail in voting and create havoc in elections, (which is maddening) and when a woman passionately is speaking at a rally YOU claim that she is unhinged. I’m sure if a man was raising his voice and passionate about a manufactured cause it would be very unlikely the same insult would be thrown.
John Cusick is running. Let us know when you get confirmation of this, but the inside scoop is in that he is definitely going to run.
At 7:35, Mr. O'Hare talk about silly posts, people posting what about silly posts. That must be Barron running her campaign. What a joke. Was that an ad for Zirinsli or McClure. Her passion is herself. An unabashed self-promoter. SMFH.
@1:20pm
I there any truth to your statement?
1:20 Tara shits too, but she must have a composting toilet, right?
Are there seriously zero qualifications to run for controller? Not even an AA or some sort of financial experience - even as a cashier at the Pic N Sav? That’s mind-boggling.
There are no qualifications other than being a US citizen who has resided continuously within the county for a year before the term starts. So Zrinski is qualified as a matter of law.
Oh brother; you ought to go into standup comedy. 😄
Because hopefully, you don't want to be a baby-killing Democrat.
Meg Holland should run against Tara as the moderate republican. She was first female republican elected in the City of Bethlehem…….
What I saw in that short clip was a brave woman shattering the ramparts of patriarchy with a Roar amplified by technology long overdue in the streets as most activist and influencers are keen on staying hidden behind their devices, Tara has long quoted "Rules for Radicals" to those in her inner circle her allegiance to marginalized communities is legendary thank you for highlighting her in action it made me weep with tears of joy
@11:11AM
In the interests of equity, doesn’t voting Democrat mean the same thing?
Tara as a vegan who only eats organic has some very mild smelling flatulence and bowel movements I think that is why Bernie hot boxing her in an elevator way back when was so cruel his diet largely consists of scrapple and Vienna sausages
BLUE BADGER
I'm embarrassed to be a Democrat. If she is the best choice, I'll literally s_it my pants. She runs and runs and runs and one of these days if McClure stops short, she'll end up being his enema. People need to really look at local politics and see the infestation of far left wackahdos. Run Tara run. I think she just might be a female Forest Gump!
Yes, we need Ron Angle, that fierce fiscal watchdog, to watch over our taxpayer dollars so that we can sleep at night.
You’re not a democrat. Liar
"Yes, we need Ron Angle"
No! Even the slate belt tossed him. The guy is toxic and a mini-Trump.
Ron Angle would be as close to the perfect Controller as any entity could hope to have. Public or Private. Shame on you Bernie for whetting our appetite BEFORE consulting with our potential candidate! Or did you? Hmmmmm….#TrialBalloon???
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