At a brief reorganizational meeting of Northampton County Council late yesterday afternoon, Ken Kraft was elected County Council President and Jeff Warren is the VP. Both votes were 6-3. Kraft, Warren, Kelly Keegan, Dave Holland, Nadeem Qayyum and Jason Boulette voted for the winners. Lori Vargo Heffner and Tom Giovanni were nominated President and VP, but only attracted votes from themselves and Theresa Fadem.
Chris Spadoni will stay on as Solicitor until County Council can find someone who actually can read the Home Rule Charter. Kelly Keegan nominated former Exec Lamont McClure, who knows the Charter inside out, but that motion failed because McClure has already been tapped to become a part-time Assistant County Solicitor.
Earlier that day, it was standing room only in historic Courtroom 1 during the swearing-in ceremony for numerous elected officials. I apologize but I generally avoid these events. I understand that Exec Tara Zrinski gave a pretty good speech and that Qayyum raised his left hand when he was sworn in, lol. He had no interpreter, which was something of a concern over the past week.
46 comments:
Dick and Jane entered the public domain in 2026. Keegan may want to take advantage of that and set a goal to be literate some day.
TZ already making statements about things she doesn’t understand. She claims she will “bolster” the Friends of Gracedale 501C program that is not affiliated with the county, but is an independent group of citizens /lawyers established to create a tax free donation vehicle for Gracedale, which the county does not have. She had zero input when it was established, she has zero knowledge of how it works and who established its guidelines. Nice try to tag in on others hard work, but it is not under the county, or her, control.
Keegan proves she is totally out of touch once again.
NO kidding. This was decided soon after the election. The meeting was held, and council members were told what to do. Kraft and Warren. They must not have discussed the solicitor position since koo koo Keegan couldn't even get a second for her typically goofy idea. Your bromance with McClure continues and of course he is an expert at the HRC, just ask him. Somehow, it was always the way he wanted. He should move on, but he will want to hold on to some sort of power to help with his congressional race, keep Tara controlled, and earn some money. But council solicitor, what a dumb idea.
Beware NORCO voters. Eight years without a tax increase, not paying into retirement funds and other smoke and mirror moves by McClure is going to come back and bite you.
Congratulations to Kraft and Warren. Hopefully they will turn the Council/commissioners into the "check and balance" legislative arm of the government that they are supposed to be. Please tell me and your readers that you were joking about McClure becoming a Asst. Solicitor.
Tell me that isn't BS that McClueless is going to be a PT Solicitor working for the people he appointed. Corruptness already. Don't tell me he will not have his hands in running the County with the nutcase female.
Not sure Kraft is the right choice here. He can be a bit of a bully and his idea of having the shortest possible meetings is not very democratic.
That is what I've heard and would explain why there was no second from Kraft or Warren.
this comment is from Bob Werner
Just bc a meeting is long does not make it democratic. Take a look at Lower Saucon Tp Council's meetings over the past two years. They were shit shows. I agree Kraft is extremely blunt, but I would prefer that to fake civility and the passive aggressive behavior from others. The other option would have been Warren or Keegan bc LVH had no chance. Warren would bloviate forever, and meetings would become the Jeff Warren show. I actually was fearful he would get it. Keegan was just downright nasty in her first two years and maybe she will improve now that her mouth has caused such trouble for her and her party.
Your sources were right Bernie. When the Judge asked the Commissioners to raise their right hand, Nadeem had his left hand on a book (could have been a Bible and his wife was holding it) and she grabbed his arm (his left one because she was standing on his left) and flung his arm up so he could finish the oath. DOES THIS GUY UNDERSTAND ENGLISH?
Very few people know the Charter. McClure is one of them. Every Council member should read the Charter and Admin Code at least once a year.
Why did they have long meetings, well Ron Heckman talked in circles until even he couldn’t follow his own bullshit, then proudly voted the exact opposite of what he’d been posturing about.
I don't doubt about McClure's knowledge. But doesn't he have a campaign to run? Is he really going to be part-time, or is the reality going to be no-time? Also, shouldn't they at least post these positions and make them open to the public before choosing their people - at least that would make the process look a bit more transparent.
That is correct about his left arm, but he did put his right hand on the Book she was holding so give the guy some credit....he got it half right. Also what was the scarf (it looked like a scarf) that he hung around his neck in the middle of the swearing in ceremony? Was it some kind of religious gesture?
Keegan's mouth hasn't caused any trouble for her or her party. What are you talking about?!? If anything she is more populate now more than ever. You got it all wrong, as usual!
@8:48 no one is more of a bully than LVH. Not even close!
Is my memory of Kraft on council prior with poor attendance?
Understanding English should not be a prerequisite for serving in County Government. You are simply masking your racism.
What "trouble" was caused for Keegan? Other than the uproar in the press, what consequence(s) did she suffer?
It’s the County Council’s loss that McClure got asked to work for the other side. No one knows the HRC better than McClure. Now the Council will be even more at a disadvantage.
You want someone who really knows the charter forget having a solicitor and hire Gerry Seyfried as a consultant to council
9:26 -- Qayyum doesn't have to understand English. He'll be taking orders from the wife. Pay attention to the meetings and see if he spends a lot of time on his phone. If so, he's likely getting real-time orders on what to say and how to vote.
His hand was on a Qur'an, as it his right to do so.
Talk about back door politics. McClure should be out, completely.
Maybe you are right that no one knows the Charter better than McClure but McClure is in a very select group of individuals like John Stoffa, John Brown, and Lamont McClure that have violated the Home Rule Charter more than any other County Executives.
Keegan is the nastiest hateful person in the county. Should we list all the crap she has said starting with Charlie Kirk being a monster and his wife and children are better off he’s dead? Or seeing 3 crosses on the side of a road and calling it a cult. Or all republicans should abort their children or they should get sick and die? Praising the death of Ed Reagan, a Forks Township resident. Or mocking children who have special needs. Yeah, Keagan is an ugly person as Bernie has pointed out and she’s the monster. There are better words than calling her nasty.
Not paying into the pensions is reasonable if market gains have been good. The stock market has been going up mostly steadily since the 2008 crash.
Pray for Norco. Only Giovanni has a clue and he’ll remain quiet as the voters asked him to be. I’ll bet the Gracedale union members are slapping their heads already.
I believe the word is attention.
@4:01 you all thought you would take Keegan down with her posts, but anyone supporting Charlie Kirk (the labeled racist) and denouncing Keegan should take a real long look in the mirror. What do you call a supporter of racists??? Hmmmm.
CK who said lives lost to guns are the price we pay for the 2nd amendment right... Keegan called him a monster?! Well she does work in a school where school shootings occur almost daily sooooo, maybe you should take a long look in the mirror of who YOU are. NO STUDENT LIFE IS WORTH YOUR GUN RIGHTS!
Students, staff, and parents poured out of every corner celebrating.,,,,,, guess who?!? Not Charlie Kirk! They celebrated Keegan!
And for all you dumbasses who think she posted to kill republicans when she used the word "abort", you should also look in the dictionary as well as the mirror.
As for making fun of students with disabilities, the post was "sarcastic" towards doctors writing accommodations for students who didn't want to wear masks. You didn't read the shared article attached to her post. Are you lazy or do you have issues with comprehension? Reading is fundamental and you should educate yourself instead of spreading bullshit lies about people.
Keegan became more popular than ever after you tried soooo hard to take her down.
It was comical watching all your efforts actually. Maybe you should pivot your energy into something you might succeed at.
My takeaway from yesterday — Tara is running out of fingers for all of her ridiculous rings. She is older than I, yet she certainly doesn’t present herself professionally. And Siegel took his oath on a stack of library books. These people are all so busy showing off how cool they perceive themselves instead of just taking an oath and getting to work.
As should you. No way to make what she said about charlie ok.
It's amazing to me how Kraft just keeps reinventing himself. Politics at its finest.
Be prepared for prearranged meetings where open discussion is frowned on. Critical thinking is taboo, so just do as you are told. With McClure in the Executive offices still calling the shots with his people and Kraft.
She’s definitely not popular that why she didn’t have the guts to attend the meeting when residents went to the county council meeting to blast her hatred or at the school board meeting where dozens also blasted her. Oh and her hatred for white men too. What about that post. Passing her off as more popular is the funniest comment yet. She’s hateful as can be. Her own party shut her down during the election and she’ll be a thorn in McClure’s bid for Congress as well. Go to TiK TOK or X and type in Kelly Keegan. You’ll see how popular she is. 🤣🤣🤣
Keegan improve? She's an awful person. Period. Not very bright either!
LOL, get a load of this 7:07. These people are unhinged LOL!
It’s been wonderful to watch Lori Vargo Heffner be dumped by Democrats.
Keegan was strongly advised to not attend the county meeting until the racist mob subsided. She would've been there with bells on! You people are delusional. And you poor snowflake white men still crying about her post that said she couldn't wait for y'all to see what it feels like to be in a minority...poor youse! We all can't wait for that! Go melt yourselves somewhere.
Nothing happened to her despite your efforts. All you showed was how powerful she was, because if she wasn't, none of you would've cared.
And btw, what she said about EK being better off, the world is watching and she seems to be grifting millions and is now the CEO, so Keegan was right all along!!!
But she won’t be silenced. She call out those morons when appropriate.
She got the most votes.
Ok Lori
It won’t be long before the wheels come loose once the real meetings and county concerns are out in the open.
Kraft has not changed. The real councils meeting will determine if they can truly lead on their own, or if they will follow.
My bet is they follow, again.
Without McClure at the meeting, let’s see how well the agenda and protocol are followed, without exec interruptions.
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