On Friday night, I posted the campaign finance reports filed that very day by NorCo DA candidates Steve Baratta and Terry Houck. Baratta raised twice as much money, But Houck started the race with $35,000 while Baratta had nothing. Baratta has spent $115,000 to Houck's $99,000, but they both were able to spend a lot of money. If you're a registered Democrat, you've seen that every time your check your mail over the past few weeks. That's part of the story, but there is much more. How was this money raised? Who is behind each race? How is the money being spent? This analysis attempts to answer those questions.
After Allentown Mayor Edwin ("Fed Ed") Pawlowski was convicted of political corruption in 2018, a lot of the usual big money donations in local races came screeching to a halt. This certainly bothered a lot of politicians, but most of us would consider that a good thing. In the DA's race, I would have expected to see both candidates do most of their own funding, with supplementation by attorneys who often give to both sides. They're both Democrats, so I'd expect to see some union contributions, too. That's largely been the case with DA Terry Houck. But not with Baratta.
To be sure, both candidates have invested a lot of their own money. Steve Baratta and family have poured in $46,000, while Houck and family have spent $54,500 of their own funds. But for Baratta, big-money bundling in political campaigns has returned with a vengeance. This is thanks primarily to Norris, McLaughlin immigration attorney Ray Lahoud. Is he the George Soros of the Lehigh Valley or one of the Koch brothers? He could be both.
Lahoud made just one $10,000 donation, but also supplied a whopping $37,901.69 with in-kind contributions for printing, the purchase of a laptop, robo calls, media buys, TV, a media consultant and streaming ads.
What's more, he is certainly behind the $20,000 from NIZ developers J.B Reilly and Joe Topper. These guys are arch conservatives and would in no way support Baratta's platform. They made these contributions because they concluded, mistakenly I believe, that it would be good business.
Allentown law firm Norris, McLaughlin occupies two floors at Three City Center, which is owned by Reilly and Topper. That firm also represents Lehigh Valley Health Network, which coincidentally maintains a fitness facility, rehab services and doctors' offices at One City Center. That property is also owned by Reilly and Topper. If the NIZ twins wanted to keep their tenants happy, they'd fork over the dough.
If you remove Lahoud from the equation, Baratta suddenly has $67,000 less to spend. So Lahoud and his big money bundling have been the major factor in this race.
In addition to Ray Lahoud's bundling, there is no doubt in my mind that the $6,000 in contributions made by Lisa Boscola and Bob Donchez are the handiwork of the Morganelli machine. Judge John Morganelli is barred by the Code of Judicial Conduct from engaging in political activity, and he has nominated me for the Booker Prize for fiction writers to even suggest that he's involved. But his fingerprints are all over this race, just as they were all over Nuria DiLuzio's campaign against Terry Houck four years ago. Morganelli accidentally admitted this to a third party.
Four years ago, he had Bob Donchez come out for DiLuzio and agree to be her campaign chair. Now he has conned Bob, once again, into being Baratta's campaign chair. If you need more proof, look at Baratta's expenditures. He paid one of John's sons $5,100 for website design.
Unfortunately for Baratta, this money was poorly spent.
Baratta reports in-kind contributions of $10,000 from Leo Rooney for "campaign manager fees." You get what you pay for. Rooney missed having Baratta appear at a Kirkland Village event, even though Steve could have fallen out of his window and be there. He missed the LV Labor Council annual dinner, which makes it hard for him to contend he's the real Democrat. He missed the endorsement meeting held by the progressive Lehigh Valley For All (who agree with us), which ended up endorsing Houck over him. At events where Baratta did appear, he mostly huddled in a corner with Reilly, instead of speaking to others. I saw that first hand at the Easton Civic Ass'n. A campaign manager should have reminded Baratta that, since stepping down from the bench, he is no longer God. People like to be asked for their vote.
Baratta also wasted money for a TV ad that ran on MSNBC. He spent an amazing $43,000 to Princeton Strategies, which stupidly conducted an online poll. That firm does employ one of Lenny Zito's daughters, but Baratta could have picked a better consultant.
I am also bothered by one of Baratta's contributors. Baratta accuses Terry Houck of racial insensitivity. But Monica Blazic, who gave Baratta $500, is being sued by the United States for discriminating against tenants and prospective tenants at a public housing authority on the basis of race and disability and for promising prospective tenants public housing in exchange for favorable testimony. How could Baratta have missed that?
I'd even argue that the money spent for ads on this blog is wasted. There are very few undecided voters among the 5,400 or so people who read this blog on weekdays. The only person who benefits is me. Thanks.
Terry Houck is an independent and professional prosecutor. He's no politician. Except during silly season, when his own office is at stake, you'll see him in courtrooms instead of ballrooms. It's no surprise to me that no local politician has attempted to buy prosecution insurance in the form of a campaign contribution. His biggest contributor is Abe Atiyeh, who gave Terry $5,000.
Steve Baratta has complained that Houck's staff is in disarray, with people leaving the office in droves. Houck's finance report belies this contention. It shows contributions made by detectives Andre Stevens, Robert Righi, John Casciano, Dean Wilson and Gerald Walsh. It shows contributions made by former ADAs Becky Kulik and John Obrecht as well as current ADA Bill Blake.
At last week's news conference, Baratta complained that Houck was using a convicted criminal, Tom Severson, to manage his campaign. This was news to Patti Bruno, the person who actually is running Houck's campaign. She confronted Baratta, and Houck's campaign finance reveals no payments to Severson or in-kind contributions from him. Incidentally, Severson's record has been expunged, and Baratta should know it is improper to refer to expunged records.
My final conclusions? First, the return of campaign bunding is bad news for anyone who believes in small "d" democracy. Second. Terry has spent less money than Baratta, but more wisely. Third, negative campaigning works, but only when the person who does so can be perceived as a basically nice person. Baratta has come off angry and out-of-control, which he demonstrated last week when he expanded his criticism to include the President Judge.
Baratta said last week that it's ok if he loses this race. That's exactly what's going to happen.
38 comments:
Let’s hope all 5400 blog readers vote”Houck”
The Morganelli machine is famous for banking the money. Not surprised as Donchez and Boscola are part of the original three friends. Newer heirs like Barrata and McClure try to emulate the model. Time will tell how good they are at it. We know LM is good at the devastate anyone who opposes you on anything. He is actively in the process of doing that. Hard to be JM, since he is the best for decades.
I'm not going to publish anonymous personal attacks at Ray for doing what he has every right to do. It was an impressive effort on his part. Attack our campaign finance laws instead for imposing no limits on how much an individual can spend in this state.
"Let’s hope all 5400 blog readers vote”Houck”
That's just weekday readers And some are in Lehigh.
What an obscene amount of money to spend on a local election. As I have said, Baratta is running out of spite, but it sure doesn’t seem like his financial supporters agree. What has Lahoud been promised if Baratta wins? And despite what a lot think on this blog, I believe Baratta is going to win.
I like unbridled spending and its public disclosures. In Baratta's case, the amounts and disclosures are backfiring. The system works when money seems to work in reverse.
Hummm, Rooney? Any relation to TJ?
Bernie I know your a Terry man but you approve of his smear campaign tells a lot about you.
"Hummm, Rooney? Any relation to TJ?"
Son, he tells me.
"Bernie I know your a Terry man but you approve of his smear campaign tells a lot about you."
I don't believe I participated in any smears of Baratta. I am critical of his smears and misstatements, but have no intention of attacking his performance as DA or judge. I believe him to be a good person, but his campaign is a bit unhinged. .
Bernie, despite you not liking Baratta, I think he is a better candidate that Terry Houck.
Houck is losing another senior ada, Patty Mulqueen followed by Rebecca Kulik and James
Augustine. All these ada's have left or are leaving soon. I mean if you want to go to work and hear Terry Houck constantly swear at the staff every day than Terry is your man.
Still waiting for that ethics letter from Houck that says he didn't violate any laws by receiving a referral fee from Kline and specter. I know the referral check just showed up at his door. C'mon man!!!!
I don’t know why this race has become one of great interest to me. Perhaps it is the Shakespearean back-stabbing, the blatant lies told by Baratta, or just the cast of characters. I am bothered by the financing and amazed that one candidate will be in the hole a few thousands of dollars when all the votes are counted. I don’t want Baratta to win, but I think he will. He is the pandering candidate, the one who planted questions (ex. reproductive rights) at Bernie’s debate, where he also blathered on endlessly. Baratta is a pinhead, but sometimes pinheads with money get what they want.
Lahoud is hot.
Lahoud is way too hot. I’ll let him “koch” me any day of the week.
2:53 pm, I have been watching this campaign closely and find Houck late to the “smear” game. From the start, Baratta sent out mailers criticizing not only Houck, but the prosecutors, as well. If Baratta wins, he better bring some heavy equipment with him when he assumes office because he will need to repair a lot of burned bridges.
5:05 pm: Are the attorneys in the district attorney’s office leaving for better opportunities/jobs? Theirs is a very stressful job because most deal with the worst of humanity and have to work with survivors. The burnout rate has to be fairly high. Add to that lousy hours and low pay and I imagine many are looking for a better gig. Patti Mulqueen has run for judge in Lehigh County, so maybe she wants to work closer to home. It is easy to blame Houck for the turnover, but without knowing the reasons (aforementioned better job, spouse’s transfer, etc.), it is unfair to pin the departures on him.
7:48 clearly is not an Attorney who goes to other Counties, or Federal Court. The attrition rate in Northampton County DAs office is not anything remotely comparable to anywhere else for example : Lehigh, Bucks, Berks, Dauphin etc.. In order to get a job as a prosecutor anywhere you have to look for it. It is not as if the Assistant District Attorneys who are leaving are being recruited by other Counties, States, or the US Attorney’s office without seeking other employment opportunities in those places. One relatively recent flight was by an ADA who went to Pike County’s DA office. Pike has more deer and bears than people. I think that says about all. Apparently there is something unsatisfying about that office as a work environment.
What was really amazing was the employee complaint posted on Facebook, I think. It was from the county Human Resources office and against Houck. I would think that should not be allowed. How was that obtained and did someone in the county administration tip off the Baratta campaign? Things are getting more and more ugly. Glad this election will soon be over.
Last week, I met with DA Houck immediately after Baratta's news conference to go over, for the 100th time, the claims being made. As for departures, Houck stated people leave for different reasons. Some get better opportunities. Some have family matters that need attention. But no ADA has left bc he or she is disgruntled. Terry then showed reporters a stack of letters from the departing DAs and they all were sad to go. I saw numerous different reasons and they had nothing to do with the office. The names were redacted to protect the privacy of these lawyers. And no, I have no intention of intruding into the private lives of these excellent lawyers any more than Baratta already has.
At the news conference, Baratta also handed out a list of the attorneys who have left. On Friday and today, I saw several of the people he claimed are gone. They are still here. He has his facts wrong, as usual.
"What was really amazing was the employee complaint posted on Facebook, I think. It was from the county Human Resources office and against Houck."
The county declines to allow comments on its Facebook page so that's not how it's out there.
Maybe the guy's an avid hunter.
Did someone from the county office leak it? Or was a campaign worker given a heads up? Seems strange that it would surface publicly Bernie.
Baratta did not reveal his source nor did I ask for it.
Baratta was not a well regarded judge. He will not be an effective District Attorney.
The ADA who left for Pike County did so because the pay was better, about $20K better. Another left to go out to a county outside Pittsburgh to be closer to his wife’s family. Another left to be able to work from home because she has small children (and pay was better). There are legitimate reasons for the rest too. Frankly, Baratta and his camp should stop dragging the ADAs into this. They are there to do a job and they should not have to constantly defend their decisions for leaving.
It's only strange if you're not familiar with the court house; everyone knows everyone's business there. Lots of 'open secrets' that Baratta is being criticized for making less secret
Just because they’re still in the courthouse doesn’t mean they aren’t leaving in the coming days/weeks. I have a stack of letters from when I was a kid signed by Santa Claus…
The answer to the question Bernie won't ask may be very embarrassing to the current administration as is thought.
You obviously don't know me. What you're doing is suggesting, with zero evidence, that the county admnin leaked this information to make Terry look bad. Let's say you're right. Do you honestly think that someone who went to that trouble would just admit it because a blogger asked? What planet are you from? I think it's far more likely that this info came from a disgruntled clerk. It indicated there is some friction between the secretaries, and Baratta is using office politics to bolster his failing campaign.
Bernard, put the pint down. One minute you bash Baratta for failing to present evidence of his claims against Houck's administration. The next, you downplay it as "bolstering". Nice job reporting on that HR memo by the way. Really making MSNBC, FOX and CNN seem unbiased in comparison to your shifty journalism. Can only imagine the trists you Terry and Rich engage in behind closed doors. I pray for Northampton County custodians.
Neither I nor any of the other media outlets are willing to report on a leaked and heavily redacted memo. By the way, I never pretended to be unbiased. I support Terry, but am being honest and fair. If I thought that memo was in any way meaningful to this race, I'd cover it. Bit I'm not going to barge into the private lives of clerks who have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. It's not fair to drag them into this. If that makes me a shitty journalist, I'll gladly take the hit. And your ugly accusations at the end of your comment reveal what is so upsetting about Steve's campaign. Do you have any decency at all?
Oh, Bernard! The thought of you ever having anything to do with being "honest and fair" absolutely tickles me. It probably tickled the disciplinary board as well. That's why they revoked your ability to practice la! Am I decent? Probably not. But neither are you and the corrupt administration you are so keen on preserving.
Having lost all substantive arguments, you are now reduced to tired ad hominems. My past is no secret. Your identity is. And your argument, if it can be discerned as such, is absurd. I get slammed for backing Terry and not reporting on a memo that no one will cover. Then I get slammed for not writing, with absolutely no evidence, that the corrupt McClure admin leaked it in an attempt to hurt Terry. You just make zero sense.
6:43 pm, it is support from people such as yourself that makes Baratta look bad (or worse). That HR memo doesn’t help Baratta’s campaign, at least in my eyes. Something that was confidential, but given to Baratta, a lawyer and former judge, should never have been shared. Confidentiality be damned. Again, Baratta is using people - real victims (the Racciato family) and pseudo victims, such as the one who made the report - to make himself look like some hero galloping in on his horse to save the county. Baratta has run a dishonest campaign that has been full of half-truths and gossip. He may very well win, but if he does, it just proves that sound bites win over substance.
If no one covers it does the memo really even exist? The memo and mass departure from the DA’s office since Houck took over are clear evidence of some sort of hostile work environment. That may not matter or mean anything in this race to you, but it does for others.
I can't blame Bernie over this memo controversy. Overheard a discussion and the big question was how an employee complaint against the DA office got leaked to the Baratta campaign. Hard to know what or who is involved. People have said that in the JM school of politics anything and everything is fair in the pursuit of a victory in any situation. McClure is an heir of thew JM school, so is it possible he made it happen. Again, he won't admis it even if he did.
This race has really gotten disgusting, even for a democrat primary. No doubt I will vote for Mr. Houck. The memo was the last draw for me.
9:20, Give it a rest already. This post is about expense reports, not other matters. This heavily redacted memo, which may not even be authentic, at best, indicates one employee is unhappy. It is clear evidence of nothing. Moreover, there has been no "mass departure." That is simply false. There have been departures and hires over the years. As I've already indicated, some of the names on the list that Baratta provided are still there. In fact, one assistant he listed as gone confronted him at his news conference last week.
OK Patricia.
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