Jones Mayoral Bid: "Building an Arena Cannot Save a City"

David Jones running for Mayor

When Lehigh County Comm'r David Jones announced his Allentown Mayoral plans yesterday outside of City Hall, he had company. Sure, about 20 friends and family members were on hand, but that's to be expected. Also just a few feet away was none other than Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski. He was singing along in a few raga chaturangs, of all things, with a second crowd of about 50 people who were celebrating Indian Independence Day. Ravi Shankar, he ain't. He kept glancing over at Jones and I said, "Why don't you take a picture? It will last longer." So he did! But he was pretending to be interested in Indian heritage, so he was snapping pics of the ceremony, which seemed to involve every single one of that country's 1.25 billion people.

Pawlowski was really looking forward to saying a few words, but they kept passing him over. They must have heard about his power points. Even the police chief was called before Fed Ed.

In addition to Fed Ed, three Republicans came to watch Dave's announcement. Lehigh County GOP Mentat Dean Browning was there, along with Controller Glenn Eckhart (not exactly a Mentat) and Comm'r Mike Schware (thinks he's a mentat). "We're here to observe," explained Browning.

Instead of being frazzled by these distractions, Jones charged forward. He ignored Pawlowski and invited the GOP to join him. "There's room for Republicans," he joked.

Jones is a preacher. He's a Pastor at New Vision Church, but is an Old Time Religion speaker used to pausing for an occasional "Amen." But instead of that, he got periodic applause.

Fed Ed

"I'm running on behalf of those who heard the words and promises of progress, but haven't felt that progress in their own lives or in the parts of the city that they live in. I'm ready to fight to prove that progress includes every person in the City of Allentown. I'm running because the trust and confidence that city government works for everyone equally, has been broken, and our city desperately needs healing. I'm running because I believe that the cloud that has hovered over the City must be lifted, and the need for open, honest, transparent leadership has never been greater. I'm running because this is a crucial time in the City of Allentown."

While Fed Ed was a few feet away, looking for a tabla so he could demonstrate his percussion proficiency, Jones said that Allentown should build on all of its assets instead of looking for "silver bullet" solutions. Jones said that Allentown needs to improve all of its neighborhoods, "not just certain select areas."

"My principles are simple: integrity, honesty, transparency and collaboration with the people of Allentown."

Unlike Chicago transplant Fed Ed, Jones pointed out that he grew up on nearby Penn St and is a proud Dieruff Huskie. He grew up in the Cumberland Gardens Projects. That's where he met Karen, his wife of 31 years. Together, they raised five children.

"Allentown is my home," he flatly said.

In the meantime, Fed Ed pulled out a sitar and started plucking away.

These girls were all wired.

In addition to being a clergyman, Jones has over 20 years of experience in the private and nonprofit sector. As a veteran Lehigh County Commissioner with ten years of experience, he pointed out that he deals with $400 million budgets, which is four times the size of Allentown's. He noted Lehigh County maintains a $25 million cash reserve along with a pension fund that is nearly fully funded.

Much of the reason for that is Lehigh County Executive Tom Muller. The rest would be the Republicans who were watching Jones.

He acknowledged this partnership of Democrats and Republicans, too.

"I've been a uniter, working across the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, to facilitate good, sensible government by bringing balanced solutions to the county's challenges."

Jones said the first thing he'd do as Mayor is commission a forensic audit. He added that he would focus on "the heart of the City. Building an arena cannot save a city. A city is its people. Her people make up the heartbeat and thriving pulse of the city."

After his announcement, Jones called on Fed Ed to resign.

"In my three campaigns, I have never received a formal endorsement from the Mayor, nor one campaign contribution. ... I have been standing on my own."

I wanted to stay and sell one of old cell phones to Fed Ed, but it was awful hot and he was busy patting down a woman in a sari, convinced that she was wired.

"I know there's a wire in there somewhere," he muttered.

David Jones To Run For Allentown Mayor

Jones with then Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan

David Jones, a pastor and three-term Lehigh County Commissioner, will announce his candidacy for Allentown Mayor at high noon today. He'll do so from outside City Hall, putting him in range for any water balloons that incumbent Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski may want to launch.

Jones, a Democrat, was first appointed a Lehigh County Commissioner in 2008. He is the first person of colorto be either elected or appointed in Lehigh County. At that time, he was Executive Administrator at the 2,300-member Life Church (Allentown, PA), where he managed a multi-million dollar budget and supervised a staff of forty. Currently, he is the Pastor at New Vision Church and Executive Director for the Lehigh Valley My Brother’s Keeper Initiative. he also sits on several boards.

In a statement, Jones states he plans to "rebuild the trust" in open and transparent government. That's interesting considering that Jones is one of the persons who spoke on Fed Ed's behalf when he kicked off his now suspended campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Sam Bennett, who has run for both Mayor and Congress and now operates a Bed and Breakfast, has previously announced her candidacy.

Allentown School Director Charlie Thiel, a Republican-turned-Democrat whose computer company may very well be a City vendor, is also reportedly interested. City Council members Julio Guridy and Daryl Hendricks may also want the job.

And of course, King Edwin will tell anyone who will listen to him that he's running. After all, he needs lots of campaign contributions so he can pay his criminal defense lawyers. ... And his wife's criminal defense lawyers.

One name not being mentioned is Magisterial District Judge Michael D'Amore. He'd have to resign to run. In fact, he'd have to resign to circulate.

Unlike Jones, Thiel or Bennett, he really has been a thorn in Fed Ed's side.

Hansell Vetoes $5 Million Jobs Cut in Lehigh County

LC Exec Bill Hansell

Despite the lack of power, Lehigh County Executive Bill Hansell convened a news conference on November 1 to announce his veto of a budget amendment approved by a divided, 5-4, Board of Commissioners late last month. Their amendment slashed $5 million from the budget by reducing compensation to the County's workforce. Hansell blasted this jobs cut as "an unnecessary threat made against a work force that is already well under the number of employees that Lehigh County had twenty years ago." He added this cut "serves only to demoralize our staff with threats of furloughs, layoffs and terminations."

In addition to the veto, Hansell reduced non-personnel expenses by $3.5 million from what was contained in his original budget, which he called a compromise to a budget amendment that proposed $5 million.

Supporting Hansell at this news conference were Lehigh County Commissioners Percy Dougherty, David Jones, Dan McCarthy and Brad Osborne. With this support, it appears unlikely that Commissioners will be able to muster the six votes needed to override Hansell.

Also joining Hansell were numerous County officials, from Republican DA Jim Martin to Democratic Sheriff Ron Rossi.

Commissioner Lisa Scheller, part of the five-member coalition who supported a $5 million reduction in employee compensation, filmed part of the news conference and walked out, shaking her head.

District Attorney Jim Martin noted that last month's budget amendment instilled fear of layoffs or pay cuts in the approximately 45 employees under his supervision. "I can tell you that none of them deserve that," he remarked. "They work very diligently and hard on behalf of all of the citizens. He called the $5 million jobs cut, which translates to 100 employees, as unnecessary. "It was not a thoughtful approach," he argued. "If we can't prosecute cases, we can't fulfill our obligations." He commended the "political courage" of the four Commissioners who stood with Hansell

One of these, Dr. Percy Dougherty, a Republican, stated he is now a "marked man," referring to next year's election. A geologist by education, Dr. Dougherty described the budget process in lyrical terms. "The dark clouds that we saw on the horizon weren't the hurricane coming. It was budget season, and it hit us with a flurry, probably more so than the hurricane," he waxed.

Daugherty explained that he supported Hansell's veto because it includes $3.5 million in cuts to non-personnel expenditures. This will still guarantee a $44 reduction to each taxpayer, as was contained in the budget amendment approved by five Commissioners as well as the original budget proposed by Hansell.

Fellow Republican Brad Osborne, who chairs the Board, agreed that the $3.5 million in non-personnel cuts "begins the process of closing the structural imbalance between revenue and expenses in a sustainable way."

Democrat Dan McCarthy, like Dr. Dougherty, also referred to the recent storm. "When you have catastrophes like this, people want government," he stated. "It does have a valid role to play in our society." He complained that the $5 million jobs cut would rob Lehigh County residents of the very people needed to react to crises like Hurricane Sandy. Fellow Democrat David Jones called the indiscriminate jobs cut too much of a "blunt approach."

Commissioners are scheduled to vote on overriding the veto at their November 14 meeting.

The Commissioners who support the $5 million jobs cut are Vic Mazziotti, Scott Ott, Michael Schware, Tom Creighton and Lisa Scheller. Executive Hansell claimed that only Creighton honored his multiple requests for a meeting, although this was disputed by other Commissioners who complained they were not invited to the news conference.

LC Comm'rs Appoint Absent Bill Hansell to Replace Bill Leiner

Last night, Lehigh County's Board of Commissioners had the unenviable task of picking just one person among five remaining applicants for the seat recently vacated by Bill Leiner. After a grueling interview, the survivors of the first cut were Marc Basist, Geoff Brace, Robert George, William Hansell and John Hofmann, a formidable bunch. Although Hansell is the only candidate who was absent last night, he's the person they selected. His absence made their hearts grow fonder.

It took two ballots before the white smoke appeared. In the first round, Hansell got four votes (Jones, Dougherty, Eckhart & McCarthy) while the other four went to Geoff Brace (Hamm & Browing) and Robert George (Creighton & Roman). In the second round, Browning switched his vote to Hansell. He explained to The Morning Call that, although Brace was his first choice, he did not think Geoff could get the five votes needed.

Although it's hard to argue with Hansell's appointment, Comm'r David Jones was totally unqualified to vote at all. He was MIA on the night that twelve candidates subjected themselves to a lengthy interview. I have spoken to four applicants who reached out to Jones, but he never returned a single call or email. While ignoring those people, he nevertheless voted for Hansell twice. Hansell is Don Cunningham's preferred candidate, and it's apparent that Jones is playing politics instead of doing his job.

"He's forgotten where he comes from," is what one person who grew up with Jones tells me. "That's alright. We'll see him again, when he's back on the way down."

Hansell, incidentally, was in Florida.

Should LC Comm'rs Be Replacing One Comm'r or Two?

Last Wednesday, Lehigh County's Board of Commissioners were scheduled to appoint a Democrat to Bill Leiner's recently vacated seat, but the meeting was postponed until tonight as a result of the snow. They have until February 25th to fill the vacancy, or the judges could step in and fill it themselves.

Out of the original dirty dozen who applied, Glenn Eckhart's Appointments Committee whittled the number down to five. It did so after a lengthy interview in which all eight commissioners, excepting David Jones, participated. Those who survived the first cut are Marc Basist, Geoff Brace, Robert George, William Hansell and John Hofmann.

Any one of these people would make excellent commissioners, but there are differences. Marc Basist is the only applicant who ran for the job in the most recent election. Geoff Brace brings a wealth of knowledge concerning downtown revitalization, and thinks commissioners should take a more active role in union negotiations. Robert George, a common sense businessman, is clearly the most conservative. William Hansell is the most knowledgable, but spends a lot of time in Florida. Hofmann is the best listener. All of them expressed reservations over the bi-county health department, but only Hofmann is flatly opposed to the concept because of its inevitable cost.

If Commissioners deadlock, and we see black smoke curling through the streets of Allentown, or if they refuse to accept the Appointments Committee's recommendations, the nomination process will be wide open.

As I've noted before, Commissioner David Jones has been MIA throughout the appointments process. He snubbed prospective applicants on the night of their interview, ignored my telephone call and has yet to respond to most applicants or even other commissioners. Anyone who is that unwilling to talk, return phone calls, emails or do his homework, doesn't deserve to vote on the matter. Sure, Jones is busy, but so is everybody else on that board, and they answer calls and email.

Instead of making one appointment, Commissioners should be naming Jones' replacement as well. Hopefully, he'll quit.

Comm'r David Jones Snubs Fellow Dems ... and the Public

"We're talking about something that's not a core function of county government. There's not a huge demand, beating on the door, for this. ... I'll be frank here. My biggest concern is what that camera will do, in terms of the integrity of our proceedings. And I don't have the confidence that we will conduct ourselves in a way that's unbiased."

That's how Lehigh County Comm'r David Jones, a preacher, explained his opposition to a Dean Browning initiative to webcast meetings last year. Later, in what he called a "stroke of conscience," he proposed filming a budget hearing or two to see "what the public appetite might be." He would bring teenagers from Life Church to do the filming.

But that never happened. You see, he thinks the public has no interest in local government because he himself gives it a low priority. Among the workhorses on Lehigh County's Board of Commissioners, Jones was 2009's "no show" horse. His 47.4% committee attendance record puts him at the bottom of the heap.

Perhaps Jones is also concerned that a public webcast might reveal his all-too-often empty seat.

I know, I know. He's a "behind the scenes" kind of guy, he'll say. But if the recent Commission vacancy is any indication, he has abdicated his responsibility as an elected official. He has also insulted a distinguished group of Democrats who presented themselves for a public interview. If he has any respect for his fellow Democrats or the public who elected him, he will recuse himself from participating in the appointment.

Last Wednesday, all Commissioners but Jones took the time to participate in a lengthy public hearing for the twelve applicants to the Commission vacancy. Jones missed their opening and closing statements, as well as the opportunity to question them. Not being present in person, he really has no way of judging for himself how they looked or sounded. You really had to be there.

Unlike his colleagues, who shared their preferences at the meeting, Jones was MIA. In fact, prior to this interview, Jones had ignored several phone calls from applicants who had reached out to him.

After the meeting, I asked around to see if illness or some pressing matter had detained Jones, which would make his absence understandable. Nope. So I decided to call him, and find out for myself why he missed a meeting that would go a long way toward deciding who will be replacing Commissioner Bill Leiner. When I got Jones' voicemail on Thursday morning, I expressed those concerns.

Just as he ignored the actual applicants, Jones never returned my call.

What's most amazing about all this is that Jones himself was originally an appointed Commissioner. As an applicant, he was treated with much more respect than he is showing to others.

Allentown resident Bob Romancheck has asked, "[W]hy doesn't Jones just quit the commission? The way he treats it is simply disgraceful."

At the very least, he should disqualify himself from voting in this matter, in which he failed to do anything approaching due diligence. But he won't. And I'll tell you why in the post below.

Blogger's Note: Blogger comments enabled.

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?"

LC Comm'rs: Instead of Webcasting, How About Online Minutes?

In what Commissioner Dean Browning calls a "tactical retreat," he withdrew his webcasting initiative at last night's meeting of Lehigh County's Board of Commissioners. "It's apparent from the first reading and subsequent discussion that there's not enough votes for this to go forward."

But public transparency advocates will be happy to note that Comm'r David Jones has descended from his pulpit with an answer. Claiming to have had a "stroke of conscience" over his previous complaint that a camera might destroy the "integrity" of their proceedings, Jones has suggested filming a budget hearing or two to see "what the public appetite might be." He's even offered to bring some teenagers in from his church, claiming they won't cost much.

Budget hearings are probably the most important work done by a legislative body, but sitting through them is a lot like root canal. What Jones is really doing is trying his best to kill a transparency initiative, while getting a few bucks for some kids from his church in the process. When the Lehigh Valley Zoo funding was in trouble, that would be a time to gauge public interest. When Don Cunningham's safe streets proposal became controversial, cameras would have informed the public.

Browning's webcasting initiative may have temporarily failed, but commissioners were very eager eager to demonstrate a commitment to open government. Like Jesus in Gethsemane, Bill Leiner was once again up all night pondering the problem, something he mentioned three times. Then Glenn Eckhart proposed posting minutes on the county's web page, something that Lehigh County has amazingly never done. That motion, seconded by Dean Browning, carried unanimously.

Andy Roman still chastised his colleagues.

"I'm just disappointed to see that this measure is being withdrawn and we are dickering over a few thousand dollars to communicate what we do in a county government to the public. This falls under the category in my mind of majoring in the minors and minoring in the majors. We had a $6 million pricetag on a Linden Street bridge project that could have been delayed and paid for by the state. And we decided to pick up a $6 million tab for the Linden Street bridge. We decided to spend $200 thousand to pour cement down a sinkhole at the juvenile detention center. We didn't bat an eye on any of those big ticket items. ... Now we are spending twenty or thirty minutes over whether we should allow cameras to allow the public to view what it is that we're doing. In my mind, we have reverted to majoring in the minors and minoring in the majors, and I'm sad to see it."

For Dean Browning's withdrawal, click here.

Republican Comm'rs Vulnerable in Lehigh County

Lehigh County's nine-member Board of Commissioners is its legislative branch, empowered by Lehigh County's Home Rule Charter to enact the county equivalent of laws. They also hold the purse strings. With a five to four Republican edge, a swing of just one seat could change the balance of power. Four legislators are elected "at large," i.e. countywide. The rest, elected from a specific geographic area, are called "District Commissioners." This year, voters in each district will decide whether to keep or dump its five district representatives.

Sterling H. Raber (R, District 1). - This is the only real open seat. Lehigh County's quiet man, Raber is one of the most well-respected government officials in the Lehigh Valley. But after twenty-seven years, this New Tripoli pig farmer is packing it in. Another dignified former commissioner, Marc Grammes, is reportedly interested. I am unaware of any Democratic interest in this seat, which would be an uphill battle.

Percy H. Dougherty (R, District 2). - Dr. Dougherty has ably chaired Lehigh County's Board at least six times and is a very large part of the reason why the Commissioners work so well together. His bipartisan approach to government and quirky sense of humor are a refreshing change of pace. I'm used to having Northampton County Council members like Dertinger scream at me during or after meetings, so it's very unusual for me to attend a meeting in which elected officials actually try to get along and in which the chair is very interested in public input.

Incredibly, Dr. Dougherty may be facing a primary challenge from a Republican who thinks Daugherty is just too damn accommodating. Youthful East Penn School Director Mark Prinzinger, incensed that Commissioners actually adopted a budget, has hopefully come to his senses.

David S. Jones Sr. (D, appt.; District 3). - When Kurt Derr suddenly resigned last year, Rev. Jones was appointed in March to replace him. He is the Lehigh Valley's first county-level legislator. Lehigh County's Republican-dominated commissioners selected a strong Democrat who will be hard to beat, and that was their intention. Republican Robert E. Smith, Jr., President of Allentown's school board, is supposedly interested in playing the role of Don Quixote.

Daniel K. McCarthy (D, District 4). - Solicitor to Allentown Parking Authority and regular Pawlowski contributor, McCarthy is finishing his second term in a heavily Democratic district. Mike Welsch is reportedly interested in going after this "pay to play" pol. Last Fall, Welsch embarrassed state rep. Jenn Mann in a televised debate over Allentown's crime problem. He also bluntly but accurately told The Morning Call there was no point in meeting its editorial board for an endorsement. Voters did not hear his message. I doubt they'll hear it now.

Glenn Eckhart (R, District 5). - When Lehigh County Commissioners threw up a temporary roadblock to Don Cunningham's community policing proposal, the normally affable exec was steamed, not over the defeat, but because he felt that Eckhart had gone back on his word. Then Eckhart petulantly mixed it up with Allentown City Council Prez Mike D'Amore, resulting in an Eckhart pledge to boycott all Allentown businesses.

Eckhart, whose district now has a 9% Democratic edge, is in trouble. His seat is vulnerable, and with it the balance of power in Lehigh County.

Jones To Be Sworn in as Lehigh County Comm'r on Wednesday

According to a Lehigh County news release, Pastor David S. Jones, Sr., will be sworn in as County Commissioner at 7:00 pm, Wednesday, April 2, 2008, in the Public Hearing Room of the Lehigh County Government Center, 17 South Seventh Street, Allentown, PA.

Apparently, to make sure God is cool with this, two different clerics will be on hand, one to offer an invocation and another for the benediction.

Lehigh County Appoints its First Black Commissioner

"We'll stay 'till midnight if we have to."

That's how Chairman Percy Dougherty started last night's meeting of Lehigh County's Board of Commissioners. It was appointing a vacancy on its own board last night, and had to choose one from five strong applicants. Daugherty only half-jokingly ordered a deputy sheriff to close the doors, locking twenty-five of us in the room, very much like the college of cardinals.

Under the procedure followed, any commissioner could make a nomination. No second was required. After that, the first round of voting would follow, continuing until one nominee had five votes. David S. Jones, was elected on the first round, surprising commissioners the most. Jones is the first person of color ever selected, by appointment or election, to serve on Lehigh County's legislative body. Don Cunningham and Frank Kane ecstatically sent white smoke billowing from the chimneys of Lehigh County's Government Center.

Jones will represent District Three, succeeding Kurt Derr, who suddenly resigned from a term that extends to January, 2010. District Three covers East Allentown, north to Hanover and Catasauqua.

Commissioner Glenn Eckhart, a Republican, nominated David S. Jones. Commissioner Dan McCarthy, a Democrat, nominated Kevin Easterling. Commissioner Sterling Raber, a farmer, nominated Freddy Lutz. Dean Browning, Gloria Hamm, Andy Roman and Chairman Dougherty joined Eckhart in voting for Jones. McCarthy was joined by Bill Leiner in supporting Kevin Easterling. Raber, of course, voted for Lutz.

Jones has been Executive Administrator at the 2,300-member Life Church (Allentown, PA) for the past four years, both managing a multi-million dollar budget and supervising a staff of forty. Prior to that, he worked for Averydennison Global Operations (Boston, MA), most recently as Talent Development Manager, Divisional Training Manager, and Regional Training Manager.

Jones, accompanied by his wife and cute son, remained for the rest of the meeting. The other applicants, excepting Kevin Easterling, also stayed for the duration. And at the end of the meeting, the commissioners thanked those who had expressed interest. Eckhart noted, "We had five excellent candidates," and asked that they "please stay involved." Chairman Dougherty agreed, adding, "I had no idea how many rounds this would take. I thought we'd be here three or four rounds. Usually, there's a swing one way or the other, but not this time."

I've seen vacancies filled in both Northampton and Lehigh Counties. How do they compare? Last time Northampton County appointed a vacancy, it resulted in litigation. I know because I'm the idiot who filed it. I withdrew my lawsuit only when council agreed to undergo Sunshine Act sensitivity training.

In vast contrast, Lehigh County's Republican-dominated commissioners selected a strong Democrat who will be hard to beat. They could have selected Lutz, who makes Lehigh County's Democratic chair, Rick Daugherty "very uncomfortable" and has no experience running for office. They could even have selected Pearson. He's had plenty of experience running, but has never won an election. Instead of following political expedience, they followed their conscience. Jones was actually my last choice, which is probably why he was selected on the first round.

Lehigh County is the Lehigh Valley's largest municipal government, and it is also very refreshing to see four Republicans and three Democrats support the two persons of color seeking appointment to its legislative body. As I learned last week, there is unity in diversity.

Freddy Lutz, ever the class act, publicly congratulated Jones. Nancy Wilt did so as well, and told commissioners that the idea of sitting on the dais is still "far out of my comfort zone." But Dennis Pearson was really steamed. After all, he is "a native of Lehigh County whose family had connections with the PA branch of the Sons of Liberty." In fact, he had nothing but sour grapes. "I had to turn my cheek. I was hit very hard. I was even called autistic on one of the blogs. I can't help but be disappointed. I was prepared to serve on this board and, for whatever reason, you chose someone else."

After the meeting was over, Jones was also congratulated by Allentown City Council Prez Mike D'Amore and party boss Daugherty. But Pearson was still pretty upset. He pointed at D'Amore and said to me, "Look at him! He dresses sloppier than me!" Mike smiled and shrugged.

I told Dennis the commissioners passed him over because the space program needs him more.

Then I ran like hell.

Update: Freelancer Sarah Fulton has a well-written account of last night's meeting, published by The Morning Call.