According to several news outlets, Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley has announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination in the Pa.-7 Congressional race. His Statement of Candidacy was filed with the FEC on July 30.
He's got company, including NorCo County Exec Lamont McClure, Susan Wild puppet Carol Obando-Derstine, and Republican-turned Democrat Ryan Croswell, who resided in D.C. until he was urged to run.
Pinsley is a poster boy for what is wrong with Democrats. He's a blatant opportunist. No sooner was he elected South Whitehall Tp Commissioner than he announced he was running against Pat Browne in a State Senate race. Undaunted after losing, he took on Lehigh County Controller Glenn Eckhart in the next election cycle and knocked him off. As Controller, he proposed both an increase in sales tax in Lehigh County as well as an income tax that would hurt low-income families that work multiple jobs just to put food on the table. He called for UN observers in the 2020 presidential election, He also revealed his true feelings about Allentown and Bethlehem when he objected to them being combined as part of redistricting. "We don't need another ghetto," he said. Well, we don't need Pinsley. While running for re-election as Lehigh County Controller, he told donors he was running for state auditor general. He did and he lost Then he started telling donors he wanted to run for the US Senate, but appears to have put that off for a seat in the House.
The most offensive thing about him was his use of families accused of child abuse as political props. He paraded them before both Northampton County Council and Lehigh County's Board of Comm's with unproven claims of misdiagnoses of child abuse. His claims were completely contrary to the philosophy of the human services departments in both counties, which will only separate children from their family as a last resort, and with due process. His actions solved nothing, but he did get a $50,000 campaign donation from the lawyer who filed a class action on behalf of families claiming they were wrongly accused of child abuse. Both LehiCo and NorCo have been dismissed as Defendants in that matter.
He's never shied away from using his public office to play politics. Most recently, he did that with a thinly disguised political rally disguised as a "town hall" to discuss planned federal cuts to Medicaid on a county level.
I still believe that of all candidates on the left or the right, the person best suited for Congress was John Morganelli, a true centrist. He's unfortunately done with politics. Lamont McClure has been his protege.
37 comments:
He gets 3% of the vote tops and that’s if he even makes it to primary day! He does provide one service though, he makes the others look way better by comparison
Once again I’ll say that federal, state and local governments should have resign-to-run laws.
It seems to me that as soon as someone announces their intent to run for office at another level, they have an anutomatic conflict of interest and are no longer truly representing the electorate that put them in office.
In Pinsley’s case, we now have to wonder if his actions as County Controller (going forward) are solely to the benefit of Lehigh County residents, or now to curry favor with potential voters in Northampton and Carbon counties as well.
He is obviously not the only candidate with such a conflict, and it’s time for the voters to hold self-serving politicians like Pinsley accountable. Expecting politicians to have the decency and ethics to do it themselves obviously isn’t happening.
It is obvious you want McClure despite his problematic tenure and his relationship with the unions who attack Mr. Hyman. You have attacked every other candidate in an open primary. Please note your in-kind contribution. I have talked to the lady running and she is very persuasive. She is very smart and has a personality, something McClure lacks. You call her the Wild puppet. What about Zirinsjki as the McClure puppet, running as his and Barrons's puppet. Like Pinsley, she is a shameless self-promoter jumping from one political gig to the next highest paid one. Why not concentrate on getting her elected before you fawn all over McClure. interesting, all women power Northampton County squad pushes the mean chauvinist over the well qualified woman. She will win; Lehigh County has no interest in him.
Serial candidates show signs of mental illness. He hasn't a 1% chance of winning. That's a shame because he's an easy punching bag for any R to run against. Scofflaw Susan Wild's DEI (Didn't Earn It) radical wins easily and gets flogged in the general.
Pinsley caused the taxpayers of Northampton County to be sued. Northampton County is winning those cases, but it costs money to get out of them.
He recently had a press release published on Friday, July 28, 2025 with a huge headline in the Morning Call. The headline was "CONTROLLER CALLS ON LEHIGH COUNTY TO FUND WAYS TO REDUCE HEALTH CARE SPENDING". Lehigh County Seniors should beware of this nut job and any suggestions that he makes pertaining to health care for their employees and especially their retirees. Lehigh County led the way when it came to cutting benefits promised to employees so they could balance their budget. Northampton County followed suit. with the cuts coming out of Qashington with Medicare and Medicaid the last thing we need is another Pinsley in the House.
Controller Pinsley has made the children of the Lehigh Valley less safe. His mindless attacks on Children & Youth have made things safer for abusers and molesters to do their evil work.
Lamont is not like Morganelli in that he is not a centrilist -he's more to the left.
Isn’t Pinsley the worst ? Didn’t he act as a runner for an ambulance chaser and essentially got paid for it ?
Pinhead Pinsley should stop running for offices, and be grateful he was elected in the first. Is he the Lehigh County Version of Zrinski?
Just what the Dems need. Another walking rectum looking to screw the working class by balancing the County budget on the backs of County employees and the working class. This guy is an opportunist that cares for nothing but his own self, He will easily be defeated but will steal votes from a good candidate. What a shame.
No democrat is a centrist. I believe they touted Biden as a centrist and he was a left wing looney. Look at what he did at the border for example. The closest dems had to a centrist was Joe Manchin and look what happened there. They drove him out of the party. BTW you mentioned people working two jobs you can thank Biden for that due to inflation.
It would be really funny if, in the next finance report filings, the Pinhead out-raises Lament, too.
Why is the Pinhead's committee based in Chicago?
Nonetheless, when MacKenzie is re-elected in 2026 and Lament, the Pinhead, Crawls-well the Carpetbagger, and the COD (Crappy Ol' Democrat) are swept back into the dustbins they came from, Northampton County Executive Tzara Zrinski will announce her run for PA-7 in January, 2027.
Thank God there's a REAL Democrat in the field now. Now maybe we will hear a real debate on the issues in the Democrat primary and find someone ready to espouse policies that restore government spending cuts, stands with immigrants no matter what, supports every effort against Trump no matter what, believes in DEI, and will put the police in their place.
I wouldn't vote for this sleaze for 15th assistant deputy animal control officer in Monowi, Nebraska.
Mackenzie all the way!!!!!
I can't tell if this comments is written by a fawning democrat, or a gloating republican.
So now we have 3 men running against one woman. Typically, 55-60% of Dem primary voters are women, so COD is now clearly in the driver's seat for the nomination.
“The most offensive thing about him was his use of families accused of child abuse as political props. He paraded them before both Northampton County Council and Lehigh County's Board of Comm's with unproven claims of misdiagnoses of child abuse.”
Granted he involved governmental units that were dismissed from the suit, but is there not still an active case against the (former ?) LVHN pediatrician at the center of the questionable diagnoses? His methods might have been questionable, but his revelations opened a lot of eyes.
There are moderate Democrats Seth Moulten and Andy Beshear for example but I admit they’re in the minority of the party . The party needs to address issues other than the social issues just accept Trump is a jerk and ignore him
Would that be in the same way that all self identified republicans are fascist? There’s no “moderates” there either. The Republican Party is a MAGA, fascist and billionaire owned corporation; just as trickle down economics and citizens united planned it to be.
10:14 -- I sensed you picked that town name on purpose so I looked it up. I like your acerbic humor. Good work.
Ryan all the way Hooray Hooray Hooray!
Childish name calling is beneath contempt. If you have policy differences, state them. Mr. trump has regrettably coarsened the public dialogue, but you can still act like an adult, sir.
Lighten up Francis lol.
I think it’s tongue in cheek. Nobody is that crazy.
Huzzah. That's why the Democrats swept all races last November. They're a poor party and stand for the working man. I love this comment and am going to pretend Harris didn't blow $1.6 billion on a campaign for which her dopey party never nominated her. Whom did you vote for in the 2024 Democratic primary?
McClure has the worst personality of any politician, I've ever met- he gives John Brownpants a run for his money!
Protégé? are you kidding me?
Pinsley is desperate to leave his current office for something different. Friends at Lehigh tell me is not liked there, known as one of those holier than thou types and a poor listener. Also told that his medicaid public forum event several months ago was scrutinized as campaigning and not part of his position, although not sure more details.
As far as I’m aware. Not one of the Democratic candidates has made a public statement about Gaza, even though only 32% of Americans (8% of Dems and 25% of Independents) support Israel's military actions (* Source Gallup July 29th).
The first candidate to publicly condemn the war crimes and commit to not funding Israel will have my full support. There are lots of issues to care about in this election, but I won’t support anyone who doesn’t have the courage to stand up against the forced starvation and targeted execution of innocent women and children. Also, fence-sitting this issue and hoping the war will be over before next year, so they don’t have to talk about it, is a cowardly political tactic and is very telling about how they’ll address future issues if elected.
Maybe Pinsely will be the first to be on the right side of this issue.
On the other hand, as a Democrat, whoever stands up and defends a state's right to demand unconditional surrender of a fascist theocracy that invaded and murdered your civilians will have my vote. Israel is in the right and must win by any means necessary. It is the just thing, the humanitarian thing, the correct thing to do.
Yes, the Democratic candidates must address the Palestinian genocide. As should both Democratic County executive candidates.
Democrats plat form Kill babies, open borders, hide illegal aliens, more taxes, Boys in girl's locker rooms and in sorts, more sanctuary cities, more inflation, candidates like AOC, Harris, Pelosi, Schumer, Newscum, Waters and many others. Who in their right would support this.
The Democratic party is in big trouble if this is the best of our party! Pinsley is incompetent and just plain weird. McClure has absolutely no personality, charisma, energy or any ability to attract voters, much less donors. We need someone to step up!
I think you had a stroke while typing your post.
Carol Obando-Derstine is excellent and would make a wonderful Congresswoman.
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