LC Comm'r Race: Candidate Chicken Lady Cries Fowl

Amy Zanelli is the establishment candidate for Lehigh County Commissioner in District Three, which includes west Bethlehem and Allentown's east side. Incumbent Tom Muller endorsed her on the very night that he decided against seeking re-election himself. Two other Democrats, opportunist Basilio Bonilla and longtime citizen activist Dennis Pearson, were also running. Muller shoved them aside without doing his homework. Had he done so, he would have learned she was fired in 2012 for failing to show up at her job as a caseworker for child protective services in New Jersey.  He would have known that she was fired from a similar position in Northampton County in 2015. Muller told the crowd that Zanelli had been an announcer with the Lehigh Valley Roller Girls, but this is what Lehigh Valley Roller Girl Michelle Torte MessaHess said on her Facebook page: "DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS WOMAN. I care too much for Lehigh County and its residents. She is mentally unfit, financially irresponsible, and devoid of familial accountability. She has caused tyranny in several, local non-profit organizations within Lehigh and surrounding counties. DO WHAT'S RIGHT. SHARE THIS POST AND VOTE NO TO AMY ZANELLI."

Muller failed to mention that Zanelli is Hanover Township's chicken lady. Before she got canned by Northampton County, she lived in Hanover Township.She showed up at a Supervisors' meeting one night, asking them to do something about the Township's ban on backyard chickens She received permission to make a presentation at the following meeting, but never showed.

I spoke with Zanelli about these allegations, which she said were dismissed by the newspaper and WFMZ-TV69. She told me her termination in New Jersey was the result of discrimination. In Northampton, it was a misunderstanding about her hours. My own view of the information I had is that there are too many red flags for her. So after some thought, I posted a story entitled, "Why You Need to Vote for Dennis Pearson for LC Comm'r."

Zanelli published this comment, I wish to share it with you.

Greetings Mr. O’Hare and friends. My apologies for being late to the game here, but I didn’t realize this piece ran until I received a message from Dennis this morning. I will be the first to tell you that I have the utmost respect for Dennis and have no qualms about your endorsement of his candidacy. However, I think it’s important to note that the allegations regarding my raising chickens and my former places of employment are unfounded. For the record, I did not need to show up to the next township meeting. I was granted permission to raise my chickens into adulthood and re-home them for the sake of the children who were helping to care for them. And I did. In addition, the controversy surrounding my previous employment is untrue. In fact, it was at the hands of my competition that several news sources in the area received this false information and this was the only website where it appeared. Several days ago, I spoke to Mr. O’Hare and offered to meet with him to show him proof that in both instances, I was exonerated of all false claims. He refused. Neither case involved FMLA and since leaving Northampton County, they have since sent correspondence offering me two similar positions of employment, both at higher levels and pay grades. I have proof of those as well. I do not know who made a post on my behalf last night, but for that I am grateful. I can assure you it was not myself and my camp is too busy working to get me elected to spend their valuable time entertaining false accusations and fake news. With that said, this would not be the first time in history that an intelligent, well-spoken, beautiful woman has intimidated a man who then feels the need to spread rumors and lies in an attempt to tear her down. But as my grandmother used to say, if you have a target on your back it’s only because you’re so far ahead that it’s all they can see of you. See you all at the polls.

Unfounded claims.- Nothing I wrote is "unfounded." She was terminated in 2012 from a child protective services agency in New Jersey at a time when  staffing shortages and increased complaints had reached crisis levels. She appealed her Jersey termination and an arbitrator ruled against her. I have a copy of the lengthy decision. She simply refused to work, letting our most vulnerable element, our children, go without protection.

While refusing to come to work, she was being treated for a mental illness of some kind and was both receiving medication and undergoing therapy. Though too sick to work, she was still selling Avon products and brought them in for other workers.

The same thing happened in Northampton County, where she was terminated before her probation was up because of a disagreement over the number of hours she would work.Once again, she let down the most vulnerable element of our society.

Newspaper coverage.-  With limited exceptions, newspapers run for the hills from election stories. While there is always the danger that they are being played, failure to report at all is in my view irresponsible.I believe voters have a right to know that Zanelli was terminated from two positions and that some people take a very dim view of her role in ventures like the Lehigh Valley Roller Girls.

The chickens.- Zanelli now claims she had no reason to return to the Supervisors because the Township made special accommodations for her. She had50 people sign a petition for her and then let them all down because she was given whatever she wanted. Are you beginning to see a pattern?

Refusal to meet her.-  She did offer to meet with me concerning this matter, but she answered my questions so I saw no point. She may have concluded that I refused to meet her, but why would I call her if I didn't want her side? She gave it to me, and those flags were still there. I certainly would have met her if that is what she wanted.  

Sexism. - Zanelli finished by asserting that she is "an intelligent, well-spoken, beautiful woman" who "has intimidated a man who then feels the need to spread rumors and lies in an attempt to tear her down." Actually Amy, what you look like is irrelevant to me, as is your sex. There were no lies. No rumors. Just facts.

Dennis Pearson and Bob Smith are both head and shoulders above these other candidates They have integrity something missing from Zanelli and Bonilla. They have their roots here,and do not move every three seconds.

Is This Principled Enough?

Last year, Allentown School Board member Bob Smith challenged David Jones for Lehigh County Comm'r. Running in a heavily Democratic district, Bob never had much of a chance. When the NAACP scheduled a debate in downtown Allentown, Bob never even got word until the event was well underway. He got there, but too late to be allowed to speak.

Jones, the eventual victor, has a habit of ignoring constituents and missing meetings. But Smith is a person who shows up and never lets someone down.

It was very sad to read a Morning Call account that Smith was seriously injured yesterday at Mount Trexler Manor, when he was pulled from the third story roof by a suicide jumper. She landed on top of Smith, suffering only minor injuries. But Smith has suffered broken arms, a serious gash to the forehead, but fortunately, no brain injuries.

I am reposting a very video from his campaign last year, in which he claims it's "so aggravating to be an Allentonian."

This is one of the "unprincipled Republicans" derided by our local tea party.

LC Comm'r David Jones: A Liberal's Perspective on County Government

Democrat David Jones is an appointed Lehigh County Commissioner running for election. His Republican opponent, Bob Smith, was unfortunately never told about last night's NAACP debate. Called as the event was going on, Bob rushed over, but was too late. He missed a good speech. Smith is just as passionate as Dave, and it's unfortunate that signals got crossed. David gave a great liberal perspective, and I will ask Bob to give me his own views.

David Jones' view of county government (see the video here): "Some of you probably don't even know. We have your courts, you have all of your health and human services, Department of Welfare, all of your mental health and retardation services. You have the Coroner's office. You have juvenile and adult probation. You have Cedar Crest Nursing Home. All of those social services and the court and the county, all of those fall underneath the umbrella of the county commissioners. We set your property taxes and what we do is we provide financial and budgetary oversight and direction for the county in how it expends those funds.

"One of the things that you need to understand is the county budget is $410 million. That seems like a lot of money, right? But here's the challenge. of that $410 million of the county budget, only about $97 million of those dollars come from you and I - tax dollars. The other portion of those monies comes from the state and the feds and those monies have a mandate with them. So in other words, all the money that they give, we can't say 'You know what? You gave us $20 million for that program but we think we can make it work with 17 and use the 3 somewhere else.' We can't do that.

"Of the $97 million that are county taxpayer dollars, seventy per cent of those monies go to what we call law and order - the courts, the Sheriff and prisons. The remaining portion of those funds are used for the county's general services. So pretty much of the county tax dollars are allocated towards mandatory programs and services.

"The challenge that we have in Lehigh County right now, as economic times get tougher and tougher and tougher, there are those in the other party - on the other side - who have a political ideology and mindset that says cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut.

"Well in the role of county government, we are the social network for the state. And as times get difficult and money dries up, you know what that means? That means the demand on county services increases all the more. What does that mean? That means we can't afford to just cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut. We have to find innovative, creative ways to deliver core services to the residents of Lehigh County.

"We can't say to the prison, 'You know what? Budget's tight, why don't you let about 200 people out the door?' We can' say to mental health, 'You know what? Budget's tight, you guys are on your own.

"There's a lot we do in county government that we are required and mandated to do, so we need leaders that understand that, that understand the purpose and role of government is to be able to meet the needs of the people. And if you can't do that, what are you in it for?"

State Budget Impasse: Should We Throw the Bums Out?

Only two states are operating without a budget - Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Here in the Keystone state, our school districts are owed $1.3 billion statewide. In addition, non-profits providing human services are waiting for $114 million. It has even chased the Devil to Canada. (M. Night Shyamalan's latest film, Devil, has moved from Pennsylvania to Canada.)

So do we throw the bums out? It's it time for another clean sweep of state legislators. That's a questions I asked LC Comm'r candidates Bob Smith, Percy Dougherty and Mike Welsh on Tuesday. You can see their answers here.

Three candidates had three different answers. If there's no budget by Election Day, Smith would support removing everyone in Harrisburg. Welsh would prefer to judge each legislator on his or her own merits. Dougherty believes caucus leaders in both parties should be dumped.

Why the State Budget Impasse Matters to Counties

I was very late for yesterday's news conference featuring Lehigh County Commissioner candidates Percy Dougherty, Bob Smith and Mike Welsh. But I arrived in time to learn what's bothering them - the state's failure to adopt a budget. They blame both parties.

"The politicians in Harrisburg from both political parties are putting partisan politics and special interests before the interests of the people they are supposed to represent," said District 4 Commissioner candidate Mike Welsh. "It needs to stop and it needs to stop now."

District 3 Commissioner candidate Bob Smith, who also serves on the Allentown School Board, added that "what may have started out as a legitimate battle of ideas on how to move our Commonwealth forward has turned into a sad sideshow that underscores why people don't like and don't trust politicians."

Why does this matter in county government?

Percy Dougherty, who chairs the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners, answers that question.
"The bottom line is that Lehigh County's budget of $400 million has less than $100 million raised by property taxes. The rest is State pass through money, which is now frozen. Many of the services that people expect, especially human services, are not paid for by the County but are only administered by the County. We have not been reimbursed for anything since the new budget year on July 1st.

"It is only a matter of time before services to children and youth, mental health and mental retardation, area agency on aging, drug and alcohol, and other critical programs cease to be funded because the County does not have the cash to fund these programs on its own. Some of those programs are mandated and the County has to pay for them even though we do not have the money. A total of $190 million is passed through the Sate to fund our human services budget, only $7 million is provided by the County."

Dougherty points out that even before the budget impasse, the State has been short-changing county government.

"We are tired of the State treating us as second class citizens. The County is already being shorted by the State even before the budget crisis. The State Supreme Court has ordered the legislature to take over court funding, it has not happened. The State gave the DAs a pay increase, but is not reimbursing us. The State is also shorting the funding of the Conservation District, and it has made a mess of the Children and Youth reimbursements under Title IV, which is resulting in counties being stuck with a large bill. Now they are asking us to pay their bills while they argue over the budget."

I have a video excerpt of some of their comments, which you can view here.

Bob Smith: It's Not Easy Being From Allentown

Bob Smith declares Allentonians, especially Republican Allentonians, are still worked up over former Mayor Roy Afflerbach and his goofy contracts.

LC GOP Comm'r Candidates Unveil "Contract With County Taxpayer"

OK, I lied a a little bit about yesterday's trip to Allentown's Scottish Rite Center. LC Comm'r Dean Browning really did meet me at the door. I never was forced to eat haggis. There really were free sandwiches, and from Primo's, too. Finally, there really was a news conference starring three of Lehigh County Commissioner candidates - incumbent Glenn Eckhart (facing Hillary Kwiatek in District 5); Allentown School Board Prez Bob Smith (opposing appointee David Jones in District 3); and Mike Welsh (challenging incumbent Dan McCarthy in District 3). Chairman Percy Dougherty (District 2), on vacation celebrating his 43rd wedding anniversary with his lovely bride, was unable to make it. Neither could candidate Tom Creighton (District 1), who was unable to get away from his job.

Lehigh County Republicans are very entertaining because they have a flair for the dramatic. Don't let those suits fool you. Not terribly long ago, before Snarlen Arlen Specter saw the light and jumped into the warm embrace of the Democratic party, Lehigh County's rank and file were trying to censor him or burn him in effigy or something. They can really get fired up. If you pop on their site, they actually seem to have some sort of loyalty oath. Most Democratic sites, in sharp contrast, are little more than directories of local bars and clambakes.

What I remember best about Lehigh County Republicans is the way they reacted after then County Exec Jane Ervin - herself a Republican - imposed a very unpopular 70% tax increase. Before you could say Newt Gingrich, there were all prancing around in tri-corner hats, signing all kinds of important declarations and carrying muskets and stuff like that.

A lot of these dudes should be doing Shakespeare.

GOP commissioner candidates certainly lived up to their reputation yesterday, this time unveiling a “Contract with County Taxpayers," a hand-me-down of Newt Gingrich's 1994 Contract with America. Here are the salient points.

1. Balance the county budget without increasing property taxes or raiding county reserves by 2012. Only support budgets for 2010 and 2011 that significantly cut spending and make credible strides towards that end.

2. Not approve any public employee union contract that allows wages to grow faster than county revenues or the COLA received those on Social Security.

3. Oppose any effort by Lehigh County to levy a 1% local sales tax in addition to the current state sales tax of 6% as is now being proposed in Harrisburg.

4. Limit to $3,000 the cumulative amount of contribution, either direct or in-kind, we accept from any single campaign donor during the upcoming general election.

5. Reject the taxpayer-funded pay raise we’d be eligible to receive if we win election in November.

Now, this pledge is being sent to all the Democratic candidates, too. Commissioner Dean Browning, who was on hand yesterday, mentioned that all ten candidates - Democratic and GOP - are in this race because they care and want to do what is right for our children. Noting that all county legislators serve as both fiscal watchdog as well as a check and balance for the administration and elected officials, he is asking Democrats to sign on, too.

But Democrats appear to be troubled and slightly offended by this pledge. They adamantly deny "raiding reserve funds," as claimed by GOP Comm'r Glenn Eckhart. They admit using a tax relief fund to balance the budget, but that's exactly why that fund was established in the first place. "The stabilization fund is our reserve or rainy day fund. We have not touched that, nor will we," said one administrator who asked to remain anonymous.

As far as saving money goes, administrators pointedly note that Republicans actually added to LC Exec Don Cunningham's most recent budget. Instead of reducing wages or planned increases in salary, administrators have curtailed spending by reducing the actual number of employees who work for the county, noting that the current county employment is at its lowest level since 1995.

After the news conference was over, the reporters all left without eating any sandwiches. The Morning Call's Scott Kraus looked really hungry, too, but he's known me for years and knew I'd dime him in a heartbeat. I stuffed all the sandwiches in my laptop bag and met Ron Angle outside, where we unloaded them on Hamilton Street for 50 cents each. I made $3, and bought a Rolexx from some guy on 7th.

Below, I've posted the statements made by Eckart, Smith and Welsh, along with links to the video. For Smith, I posted his actual video because he is such a passionate speaker.

LC GOP Commissioner Candidates Have Promises to Keep

. . . and miles to go before they sleep. Here are the statements they released at yesterday's news conference.

Glenn Eckhart: LC Administrators Raiding Reserve Fund to Cover Deficit (See video here.)

"We stand here today with a simple belief: That it is important for county voters to know where the candidates for Lehigh County Commissioner stand on critical budget, tax, spending and open government issues before they vote in November’s District Commissioner elections.

"The 'Contract with County Taxpayers' that we are unveiling today is the cornerstone of agenda to address those issues.

"Here is the plain truth: The County can no longer gloss over its massive deficit by raiding reserve funds that were never intended to be an excuse for irresponsible spending practices.

"Four years ago, the current County Executive rightfully ran on a campaign against his opponents’ fiscal irresponsibility. The problem is that since his election, he’s done nothing to change the bad habits of the previous administration.

"In fact, he’s made them worse.

"County government now spends 12 million dollars more than it takes in - with no plan to change course.

"If a business does that, they’ll be out of business.

"If a homeowner does that, they’ll be homeless.

"If a politician does it, they can just raise taxes to bail themselves out.

"We can’t allow that to happen here again.

"My opponent likes to call me 'Commissioner No' because of the hard line I take on tax and spending issues, and my refusal to budge from that position.

"In an attempted contrast, she likes to chatter about 'change' without any real plan to accomplish it.

"That’s the difference between us.

"With the announcement today of our “Contract with County Taxpayers”, it is…

* We are the ones with a plan that will deliver positive change for taxpayers.

* We are the ones with substantive ideas and real solutions that will help make Lehigh County an even better place to live for Republicans, Independents and Democrats, alike.

"On the other hand my opponent is offering no new ideas, just rhetoric, while she waits on marching orders from the State and County Democrats running her campaign.
This is the same State and County Democrats, by the way, who want a 1 percent sales tax in Lehigh County, in addition to the state sales tax of 6 percent we already pay.

"I pledge today that the Republican Commissioner candidates I’m running with will never vote to approve this tax here in Lehigh County.

"That’s right. I’m saying - Never.

"But what else would you expect from 'Commissioner No?'

Bob Smith: We Know This Will Make The Unions Angry (Video is above).

"For far too long, politicians have backed away from the tough decisions and the difficult fights necessary to run an effective government.

"They were too worried about the next election.

"That stops today.

"In these tough economic times, there must be shared sacrifice by everyone in government, including the employees.

"We know this is going to make some union bosses angry, but we believe our fair approach will earn the respect of taxpayers across Lehigh County.

"We pledge not to approve any public employee union contract that allows wages to grow faster than County revenues or the COLA received by those on Social Security.

"The days of guaranteed, annual 4 percent increases for County employees, without any regard for the current economic outlook or corresponding county revenue growth, are over.

"Our plan will reform the way County employees are compensated to bring it more in line with what county residents employed in the private sector or receiving Social Security are facing."

Mike Welsh: Payraise Simply Not Right During Recession (You can see Mike's video here).

"That sacrifice also needs to extend to the County Commissioners themselves.

"That is why we will reject the taxpayer-funded pay raise we’d be eligible to receive if we win election in November.

"In the midst of unprecedented economic hardship, it’s simply not right for politicians to take a pay raise, like my opponent sadly plans to do if re-elected this November.

"We will all reject this pay increase, encourage every candidate to do the same, and ask those who have already accepted it to give it back.

"Finally, we want to build upon the comprehensive campaign finance reforms we pushed for earlier this year by limiting to $3,000 the cumulative amount of money we accept from any single campaign donor, either direct or in-kind, for the upcoming general election.

"It was gratifying to have been part of the team who helped enact a more open, transparent system for the reporting of campaign contributions in Lehigh County earlier this year. We believe those reforms are already making a difference.

"But we’re not done.

"We want to prevent the potential for one campaign donor to underwrite most, or in the worst case scenario, all of another candidates’ campaign.

"We believe this kind of financial control over a campaign raises serious questions about whether the person giving the money will have undue influence on the person receiving the money once elected to office.

"To prove our independence, we are pledging to accept no more than $3,000 in the aggregate from any one donor for this election cycle.

"We challenge our opponents to do the same.

"The people of Lehigh County don’t want puppets that are bought and paid for, they want leaders.

"And if they elect us, leaders are what they will get."

Bob Smith: How Allentown School Board Avoids Tax Increases

One of the shocks for me, when I finally made it to the LC Comm'r GOP news conference this afternoon, was the passion I found in candidate Bob Smith. He's in an uphill battle against Democrat David Jones. Smith, who serves as President of Allentown's School Board, is quite proud of what that board has done to save money. There have been no tax increases over the last three years.