Matt Munsey first became Chair of Northampton County Dems in a 76-63 putsch against Walt Garvin. Since that time, his focus has often been on the more extreme elements of the party while ignoring more traditional and moderate candidates. He undercut candidates like Sal Panto and was accused of texting talking points to his challenger in a Mayoral contest. He collaborated with the GOP to undermine public confidence in voting equipment. He has actually even "forgotten" to email endorsement meeting notices to candidates seeking office. In contravention of party rules, he operated without a treasurer for at least three years. In short, he has played games and has often been more of a hindrance than a helpful hand. Yet he has somehow survived votes of No Confidence, criticism from elected officials like Lamont McClure and attempts to force him out of office.
Last night, his luck ran out. By a 78-53 vote, Matt Musey lost his seat as Chair to Baron Vanderburg.
I first met Baron at a candidates' night hosted by the NAACP on Easton's south side. I drank too much coffee and really had to go to the bathroom badly. He was kind enough to escort me through all the caverns and tunnels to a place where I could finally use the facilities.
I had no idea I was being helped by none other than the Black Baron.
Vanderburg made history when he was sworn in as Palmer Tp's first ever black supervisor. He has also served as an Easton School Board Director.
26 comments:
Our best to Muncy on his political retirement.
He’s a nice kid but he’s a tax and spend far left democrat. There are no moderates left in the party.
If we don't have a certified election, and the election office isn't releasing the names of the write ins, how did the dems conduct a reorg and boot Munsey?
Matt Munsey was the worst. He alienated everybody, was completely disorganized, was somehow acting as chair and treasurer for years, and made the County Dems completely irrelevant. Good luck to Baron Vanderburg. He has is work cut out for him because Munsey left the local a mess.
I learned a new word today!
“Black Baron” Really? SMH
How many meetings were held and business passed without the recorded and necessary quorum needed ? That would be an interesting research project .
I like that nickname, which I made up. If you want to suggest I'm being racist, knock yourself out. I just think it's cool.
Hmm. Good question!
Bernie, I don’t believe you have a racist bone in your body. But you’re old school living in a different era.
This “person” may very well identify as a two spirit baroness. We all have to play the game now. Everything is intersectional. It’s all systemic.
I believe in you Bernie. I just don’t want to see you called a conservative for stating the obvious and telling the truth.
Cost all of us a lot of money over the years.
Black Baron is a choice. You should delete this and apologize.
I’ve never met the guy but this has to be an improvement.
The list was certified on Friday Mr. Munsey in typical fashion sent the email out about the meeting at 1:46 AM Monday
Congratulations to Chair Vandenburg! I have had the pleasure of working with him at numerous community events, and most recently saw him last week as master of ceremonies at Frank Pintabone's birthday event. He and his family are devoted to community service through Greater Shiloh Church and other community projects. I serve with his brother on the United Way board. They are salt of the earth people, and I am sure the Democratic Party is great hands with Baron at the helm!
-- Joe Welsh
East Allen Township
Bernie = Bald Baron
Bernie, I don’t think you’re racist. My point is that just because you don’t see how “Black Baron” could be perceived by some as racial doesn’t mean others won’t. Sometimes understanding another perspective is more important than defending your own.
@10:47I don’t think Bernie is racist.
What I do think is that some people are so far removed from diverse experiences that they don’t recognize how certain comments can be perceived by others. When you’ve never had to view the world through that lens, it’s easy to dismiss the concern instead of trying to understand it.
Intent matters. So does impact.
Its about time Muncy is out. He ruined the Dems in Northampton County. He should have resigned after Trump won the County in 2016, after he failed to support her. Glad that he lost. He is the dumbest supposed "smart person" I have ever met.
Wouldn't it be nice if people wouldn't get all upset when you mention the factual color of their skin? We've gotten to the point where articles related to at large criminals dont say the color of their skin in the description .. .. I get racism issues but not everything is racism
The email was sent at 11:59 PM on May 29th to all the known PCPs based on the election results, and to everyone else once the ties were broken.
Walt Gavin is a blind Blue No Matter Who partisan hack. Munsey is a loony dopey blind Blue No Matter Who partisan hack.
Thank the Good Lord Identify Politics has brought so sanity back to the process.
Forward!
Gavin was bad, but yes, Munsey was absolutely terrible.
Bernie,
I wish you luck with the aggrieved woke who think you are a racist now. It really doesn't take much to convert a left leaning purveyor of local government info into a racially motivated purveyor of hate these days. If all else fails, we can register you a republican and truly make you a member of the tribe.
The delusional left has taken over the democratic party and the criticism you face on this post is evidence of that.
Common Bernie...don't mention race. Race should be invisible while we shove factually flawed gender and sexual identity concepts in the faces of anyone who happens to be in the line of fire.
We disagree on many things, if not most things. But I hope we can agree that you are not a racist and that your attempts to be linguistingly clever are not evidence of some skin tone based bias, except in the minds of the delusionally woke.
Matt, the comments suggesting I am racist almost certainly come from Rs trying to bait me.
Hi Bernie - frequent reader, first time commenter, and active NorCo County Dem Committee volunteer.
Chair of a county political committee may be one of the most thankless and miserable jobs in politics. Accomplishments pale in comparison to failures. Everyone can confidently do the job better than you, even if they don't seem to have any understanding of what the role actually entails. Electoral success - the supposed primary responsibility of the committee - seems to be the least of the loudest critics' concerns. I marvel at how many electoral successes have occurred under Matt Munsey's leadership that people seem to think happened spontaneously without his assistance, guidance, or contributions.
Matt headed up the committee for a long time. I wasn't there in the beginning, or even close to it, but I've talked to many long time volunteers that were grateful for the work he's done over 12 years to help build election infrastructure and support politically underserved areas in the county. Does that mean there weren't issues where the committee can improve? Of course not. And true to the democratic process, Baron has been brought on to make those improvements. Term limits can be a great thing. Even when someone is doing admirable work, it's often good to elevate new people to leadership to keep organizations agile and vibrant. For my part, I think Baron and Courtney will be fantastic and I'm excited about the work the NCDC is going to do for the county.
As for catering to the party's 'extreme elements' - a time where the millennial generation will be centered in national politics is coming soon and both parties ignore the priorities of that demographic group at their peril. Millenial politics continue to be much more progressive than previous generations. It's ok to not like it and prefer 'moderate' Dems. I do encourage our party elders to think about the future, however, and how to build it to include those coming up in addition to reflecting the needs of our long time membership.
Matt was not the kind of guy to 'toot his own horn', to his credit. In an era where visibility seems to be the clearest route to power, I found it refreshing and so did many others. Not sure how much room the social media era has left in politics for that personality anymore. Balance always seems to be the key, and yet the introverts and extroverts often see no need for the other. Here's to Baron and Courtney's success. On to victory.
- Katie Soper
Bernie, I’ve never found you to be racist. Second, Joe Biden embraced his nickname Black Brandon and had fun with it. I hope Baron thinks you gave him as cool a nickname as Joe had. Finally, that swath of super-woke purists in the Dem party must get past that attitude of superiority. Think of how many Al Frankens we’ve bypassed in the name of purity.
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