UMBT Government is cRaZy: Supervisor Flips Off Audience After Vote

Upper Mount Bethel Township (UMBT), located at the northeastern tip of Northampton County, is arguably its most beautiful municipality. It still has much of the rural charm that has long since faded from the rest of the Lehigh Valley. And though Bethlehem and Easton tout its history, UMBT has been around a bit longer. It's existed since at least 1730, when Scottish-Irish settlers built a Presbyterian church that now operates as the Slate Belt Museum. Unfortunately, its government is nuts. While it might be a bit more sane than Lower Saucon, it includes one Supervisor - David Friedman - who thinks nothing of giving the finger - twice - to township residents who disagree with him. Let me fill you in. 

David Friedman certainly was and may still be a member of a loose-knit group calling itself Concerned Citizens of UMBT. It was formed to oppose an industrial park called River Pointe Commerce Park. A previous board of supervisors supported this project for a variety of reasons, but mainly because UMBT has so much exempt real estate (state game lands, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area) that it continually raises taxes just to provide the most basic services. It has no police force and relies primarily on volunteer firefighters. 

In addition to this dearth of a tax base, there are few jobs left in the slate belt, especially in communities like Bangor and Pen Argyl. Once kids grow up, most leave. Others fall into bad habits. River Pointe offered a glimmer of hope, but not to the Concerned Citizens. They mobilized and Friedman got himself elected to the Board based on his opposition. 

Before his election, Friedman was part of a group that sued to stop the industrial park. Though the lawsuit was dismissed, Concerned Citizens appealed. Thus, after Friedman was elected to the Board of Supervisors,  he was in the strange position of being both plaintiff and defendant. 

That matter was resolved when Concerned Citizens dropped its appeal. But lSupervisors considered a motion to seek attorney fees incurred in fighting the lawsuit. That lawsuit would include Friedman as a Defendant. Not only did Friedman participate in discussions, but he also cast the deciding No vote to take no action.

In doing so, Friedman used his public office to advance his own pecuniary interest. In short, he acted unethically.

Don't take my word for it. The state Ethics Comm'n itself ruled that Friedman had violated the state Ethics Act. He appealed and vowed to resign if the Commonwealth Court upheld the ruling. 

Guess what? The Commonwealth Court also concluded that Friedman had acted unethically. 

Despite his earlier promise, Friedman refused to resign.

That's about what I'd expect from someone who acted unethically. 

In the meantime, River Pointe filed its own lawsuit (2024-3571) against UMBT Supervisors, including Friedman, over their interference in its attempt to develop the property.  Among other problems, River Pointe lost an Amazon data center at this site, which could have provided numerous high-paying jobs for the slate belt. This e-commerce giant would need massive amounts of water and power, and Supervisors actually voted to dissolve a municipal authority set up to provide these resources. 

Now, UMBT's Supervisors have decided they now like data centers. At their May 12 meeting, they voted unanimously to advise River Pointe that they like them a lot. Friedman wanted to make support conditional on River Pointe's withdrawal of litigation against Supervisors, but Supervisor Cori Eckman argued "one step at a time." 

Right after the vote, for some inexplicable reason, Friedman decided to flip off audience members who were critical of him. This included His Eminence, Ron Angle. In case anyone missed it, friedman did it a second time. 

So Friedman has (1) violated state ethics law; (2) refused to resign after promising to do so if an appeal determined he was unethical; and (3) is now flipping off members of the audience. 

Friedman's disrespectful action has resulted in a storm of protests, including a letter from Stavros Barbounis, who actually films UMBT meetings. 

Friday, May 16, 2025

Mr. Friedman,

At the most recent Upper Mount Bethel Township Board of Supervisors' meeting, your attempt to demand that RPL drop all lawsuits in exchange for a letter of support for datacenters was both short-sighted and highly inappropriate.

If that was not enough, you 'flipped the bird' to a member of the public, a taxpayer, a resident, a previous supervisor, and county council member, among others. What you really did is flip off the Township as a whole. You demonstrated in that one moment that you could care less about this Township, its residents or how your actions affect us.

Upper Mount Bethel Township would not be dealing with lawsuits if it were not for the deliberate actions of certain BoS members, including yourself. Your request to drop lawsuits primarily benefits you and the BoS, and I would argue that the context your request was made in would constitute another ethical violation. It is my understanding that you are also being sued personally. Your demand to drop the lawsuits would, in fact, benefit you financially.

The Township residents are not to blame for the lawsuits or the loss of Amazon. We did not cause the lawsuits; you did. We are, however, the ones paying the price for YOUR actions.

The failure to leverage assistance from individuals on Township boards, commissions, or councils; of whom have direct industry, business, financial or logistics knowledge and experience, further demonstrates a lack of reason and deliberate intent to delay the development of much-needed industry within the township.

Considering all the things happening in our community today, one would expect our Township officials to bring clarity, unity and focus to the issues we face. The elected Supervisors of Upper Mount Bethel Township are to represent the best interests of UMBT and that should be the sole focus, not their own personal agenda. They should conduct themselves in a manner that both provides and demands respect.

It is my belief that YOU were a key factor to the outcome of the Amazon deal that fell through.

It is my belief that YOU are not acting in the best interests of the Township.

It is my belief that YOU are unfit to represent the Township and its residents.

It is my request that you do not take part in any future negotiations, planning, discussions, decisions or otherwise as it pertains to the potential RPL development opportunities, especially as it pertains

to datacenters.

Sincerely,

Stavros Barbounis

Some citizens have complained on Chair John Bermingham's Facebook page. He responded with this bizarre self-portrait.

He has since removed this strange portrait. See why I say UMBT government is downright nuts?