Following the Money: Who is Backing the NorCo Exec Candidates?

The pre-primary campaign finance reports for all three NorCo Exec candidates are in. Tom Giovanni and Tara Zrinski filed timely reports, which shows they are trying to be transparent. Cozze's report was late and is marked as late. She will be fined. Who is financially supporting these candidates? Let's go over each report.

Tom Giovanni, Republican. (report here) - He's running unopposed and hence has no need to raise money now. But he's managed to raise $7,450, which enables him to purchase campaign signs and increase his name recognition. 

Nearly half of his money ($3.054.67) comes in the form of small contributions ($250 or less) from local Republicans who live in the slate belt, evincing his grass roots support in the northern tier.

He received another $1,750 from political action committees. These include $1500 from Council member John Goffredo's campaign, $250 from former Council candidate Annamarie Robertone and $500 from the McNees PAC. That is a law firm that supports mostly Republican candidates. 

His larger contributions are from Nat Hyman ($500) and Lou Pektor ($1,000). Ironically, Hyman opposes government handouts for commercial development like Dixie while Pektor supports them for a project in Upper Mount Bethel Tp. 

Amy Cozze, Democrat. (report here) - Between the beginning of the year and May 4, Cozze reports having received $59,766 and spending $48,245.97, leaving her with $11,520.03 to spend before the election. She actually has $1,000 more, thanks to a last-minute contribution from Murat Guzel. 

About a quarter of her treasury ($15,810) is in the form of 103 small contributions under $250. But only 30 of them are actually from the county. The rest are from all over, from California to Colorado to D.C. to Myrtle Beach.  I suspect most of these nonlocal donors would not know Cozze if they tripped over her.   

She reports $9,000 in PAC money, the largest being a $5,000 contribution from the Sheetmetal Workers.

She also raked in $33,525 in donations over $250. 

Her biggest contributor is herself. She sunk $7,000 of her own money into the campaign. The biggest donor, outside of herself, is Murat Guzel. He's a Turkish businessman who imports products like figs and sells them here. If you include his $1,000 last-minute contribution, he has donated $5,000 to her. This is no doubt the result of influence from former US Congress member Susan Wild, who has brought him to several SOTU addresses. The Wild influence is also manifested in contributions from State Reps. Mike Schlossberg and Pete Schweyer, each of whom gave $500. 

The most disturbing donations are those from the Pektor empire. Lou Pektor has contributed $3,000 and daughter Lisa followed that up with another $1,000. That's a small price to pay for warehouses in Upper Mount Bethel Tp. She also accepted $1,000 from Plaune Ayazov, CEO of Monocacy Builders. His outfit builds luxury apartments, not exactly affordable housing. 

Given her affinity for these developers, it should come as no surprise that Cozze stated in her debate with Tara Zrinski that "conserving open space as a way to combat warehouse development is just lazy policy."  

It's safe to conclude that her commitment to open space, which has been very important in Northampton County, is very suspect. 

Tara Zrinski, Democrat (report here) - From the beginning of the year through May 4, Zrinski raised $68,088.29. Of this sum, $13.075, or about 19% of her total, is in the form of 76 donations of $250 or less. But unlike Cozze and like Tom Giovanni, these donations are mostly from within the county and from people who know her. Sixty-four of her small donors live here. Many are long-time environmentalists like Zrinski.

She reports far more in PAC money - $32,300.29 - than either Giovanni or Cozze. Most of them are from trade unions. IBEW Local #375 gave her $10,000, and she also received contributions from Laborers Local ($1,000), Plumbers ($2,500), IUPAT ($1,000), Operating Engineers ($5,000) and IBEW Voluntary Fund ($500). 

In Cozze's report, Murat Guzal's contributions, combined with those coming from the Bobbsey twins known as Mike Schlossberg and Pete Schweyer, betray the influence of former Congress member Susan Wild. 

In Zrinski's case, the massive trade union donations reveal the influence of Executive Lamont McClure, a Congressional hopeful, in what appears to be something of a proxy war between these two. 

McClure donated himself as well. He contributed $5,000 from his own warchest to Zrinski. So did two other former county executives. Glenn Reibman kicked in $1,000 and Gerald E "Jerry" Seyfried added $600 from his own pocket. They did more than endorse. They also parted with their own money. 

Zrinski also received a number of donations from county employees. most of them cabinet members. While they have a first amendment right to do so, I get concerned when I see these donations because it looks like these employees are buying their job or might even be victims of macing. So, in that respect, I dislike her report. 

Blogger's Note: I invite you to check out these finance reports yourselves because you may see things I've missed or might have a different interpretation. I consider the review of finance reports an exercise in participatory journalism. Tomorrow, I will get to the Bethlehem Mayoral and NorCo Council races.