Bill White on Dennis Lieb: Fervor, Knowledge & Energy

Morning Call columnist Bill White. learning of Dennis Lieb's write-in candidacy against Michael Fleck for Easton City Council, offers these encouraging words:

"Fleck, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski’s campaign manager, a former Easton councilman and a former Easton mayoral candidate, is an ambitious political functionary who in the past has not always demonstrated himself to be a person of great truthfulness.

"Lieb is a community activist whose fervor and knowledge have impressed me for years. I think he would bring a lot of energy to the job."

Some folks view write-in campaigns as an impossible task. But as is demonstrated at LVPoliblog, Dennis could win this race. And as Neighbors of Easton blogger Noel Jones makes clear, it's easy.

"Step #1) Find Office on screen...Easton City Council-District Two

"Step #2) Go to far right end of that row and push "Write-In" button.

"Step #3) Use keyboard at bottom of screen to type in name...DENNIS LIEB

"Step #4) Leave space between first and last name using right-facing arrow.

"Erase spelling errors using left facing arrow.

"Step #5) Press ENTER...Done!"

Lieb Write-in Campaign Gaining Momentum

While tooling into the courthouse today, I saw something unusual - Dennis Lieb yard signs. Interestingly, I saw them planted in people's yards, too, instead of plastered all over telephione poles a la Fleck. I'm certainly no expert, but it looks like his campaign is gaining momentum in a hurry.

At Neighbors of Easton, former city council Prez Tim Pickel, blogger Noel Jones, David Caines, Timothy Hare and Laureston have all announced their support. Easton's Republican Committee also issued this endorsement:

"We decided Easton needs someone who is committed to the city, not just playing politics. Dennis has proven his commitment to all residents of the city, whether they be Democrat, Republican, Independent, or those who have become completely disenfranchised from our local political process in Easton over the years. Anybody who has seen him, or heard Dennis's ideas would be behind him. Dennis would provide a sound fiscal conservative voice for our community, which we need to navigate the tough decisions facing Easton."

Even Lehigh County blogger Chris Casey has weighed in on this race.

"So why do I care about a candidate in a city 30 miles away from me? I care because I was witness to a good man being used by Fleck. Arch Follweiler of Kutztown paid Mike Fleck over $20,000 dollars to work on Arch's campaign for State Representative, and within a week of receiving a $4500 advance, Fleck quit on Arch and left him high and dry. Fleck hadn't even ordered the campaign signs he had promised.

I'm not saying Arch lost because of Fleck, but I will say that Fleck did not help the cause, and in my observation, to quote the rock band Dire Straits, received "money for nuthin".

"I care because Pennsylvania has far too many useless would be Flecks sucking at the public teat and enriching themselves on the taxpayers dime. I don't know Easton West Ward activist Dennis Lieb, but if the guy makes the time to get involved enough to decide to mount a write in campaign, it shows me he cares. Dennis Lieb just received the Republican party endorsement, and the people who live in the neighborhood are the ones who inspired him to run.

"So here is the choice in the West Ward, Mike Fleck, a political hack wannabe who is the only name on the ballot and can't show up in his own neighborhood to campaign. Or Dennis Lieb, a guy with a grass roots initiative who actually knows the people in his community by name."

Of course, waging a write-in campaign is an uphill battle, but this is a district race for Easton City Council. Dennie has a shot.

Former Easton City Council Prez Endorses Dennis Lieb

Earlier today, I told you Easton smart growth advocate Dennis Lieb is mounting a write-in campaign against Mike Fleck for Easton City Council. Since the Fleckster spends most of his time in Allentown picking up paychecks as King Edwin's campaign manager, he may have forgotten where Easton is located.

Neighbors of Easton is all over this story. Breathing a sigh of relief, blogger Noel Jones tells us all about absentee candidate Fleck. "[H]e met with me after the primary to find out what all our neighborhood meetings (that he had not attended) had been about, and then said he'd circle back around in August to reconnect. Well, it's late October, and I haven't heard a word. I have seen hide nor hair of him, with the exception of one meeting at the West Ward Neighborhood Partnership ... ."

Noel, you can reach the Fleckster at the Allentown Brew Works.

But the big news is that Lieb has already picked up an important endorsement from former Easton City Council President Tim Pickel. Calling Fleck a "train wreck," he is urging one and all to vote, several times if possible, for Lieb.

"As the last West Ward representative on city council, I urge all of my friends and neighbors to vote for Dennis Lieb. I have worked closely with Dennis over the years and am continually impressed with his knowledge of city issues. He constantly educates himself on the issues that will impact our neighborhoods. I would feel proud to have him represent me as a part of Easton City Council."

Update: Easton Republican Committee endorses Lieb, too! That's the word I just received from blogger Noel Jones. Considering that Dennis captured 46% of the vote in the Democratic primary, this is beginning to look like a real race. It's a fleckin' miracle!

Dennis Lieb Has a Fleckin' Surprise

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!

Easton mayoral candidate and Pawlowski campaign manager Mike Fleck has been cruising along, collecting "pay to play" paychecks from King Edwin, without a care in the world. Life is good.

Few people could be worse for Easton than Mike Fleck. In his first unsuccessful Easton mayoral bid, he claimed to be both a Moravian College grad and a business administrator at some used car dealer. He lied. After going down in flames, Fleck suddenly became a political consultant who fleeced state house candidate Archie Follweiler out of an obscene $21,000 over just 11 weeks. Most western Lehigh County Dems now run when they see him, hands on their wallets.

Fleck then decided to be a politician again and ran for mayor a second time, this time against Sal Panto. Despite plastering signs on everything, from telephone poles to shad swimming up the Delaware, Fleck flamed out again. In that election, he was sued by an ex-girlfriend over money she had borrowed for him. He was also charged with theft of services when he dumped a bunch of Fleck signs and old gym trunks in an Autozone trash bin. Those charges were ultimately dismissed, but not before The Express Times snapped the lovely picture you see above. Editor Jim Deegan's caption? "You won't Fleckin' Believe This!"

These days, Fleck is perfecting his fleecing techniques at the feet af King Edwin. He can pretty much ignore Easton, and has, because he has no opponent. In the primary, 90% of Easton's registered Democrats forgot all about the election, and the Fleckster squeaked by with a 182 to 141 win over Easton activist Dennis Lieb.

Lieb has decided to mount a write-in campaign while Fleck is busy in Allentown. While Fleck has pretty much ignored Easton's West Ward, Lieb has been a tireless advocate. His reservations about Riverwalk, first published on this very blog, proved to be correct. He was the first to notice that Easton's Properties of Merit program was being perverted by elitists who were merely interested in driving up property values so they could sell.

If turnout remains low, and Lieb can garner some support from Republicans and disaffected Dems, Easton is in for a Fleckin' surprise.

Dennis Lieb Mulls Write-in Campaign Against Fleck in Easton

This Spring, I was so obsessed with the Northampton County Exec and judicial races that I completely missed an important Easton City Council race between politico Mike Fleck and community activist Dennis Lieb. Apparently, most of the West Ward snoozed through that contest, too. Ninety per cent of Easton's registered Dems never showed up at the polls, and Fleck squeaked by with a 182 to 141 win.

Blogger Noel Jones, whose Neighbors of Easton does a terrific job covering the West Ward, was quite disappointed. "This is a sad day for the West Ward. Sad because we lost an opportunity to elect a progressive candidate with vision, Dennis Lieb, over recycling an old City Council member, Mike Fleck, who has never been to canton or town hall meetings in this neighborhood in the last year and a half, but even saddest of all, because in our neighborhood, only 323 people got out to vote for first ever WW rep on City Council, and just 19 votes the other way could have won the election for Lieb."

A reader named Tim, who sounds suspiciously like former Easton City Council Prez Tim Pickel, joined in the fun. "The glaring truth is that Easton will never improve when council counts Mike Fleck and Sandy Vulcano as members. Politics is a way of life for them instead of a servitude to the people as it should be."

Few people could be worse for Easton than Mike Fleck. He's a bum. In his first unsuccessful Easton mayoral bid, he claimed to be both a Moravian College grad and a business administrator at some used car dealer. He lied. After going down in flames, Fleck suddenly became a political consultant, and paid himself an obscene $21,000 over just 11 weeks in Archie Follweiler unsuccessful state house race. Most western Lehigh County Dems run when they see him, hands on their wallets. Fleck then decided to be a politician again and ran for mayor a second time, crashing and burning again. This time, he was sued by an ex-girlfriend over money she had borrowed for him. After that race, Fleck was charged with theft of services when he dumped a bunch of Fleck signs and old gym trunks in an Autozone trash bin. Those charges were ultimately dismissed, but not before The Express Times snapped a lovely picture. Editor Jim Deegan's caption? "You won't Fleckin' Believe This!"

These days, Fleck is killing two birds with one stone. He's running for Easton city council while simultaneously managing Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski's campaign. Oh yeah, he also applied for appointment to Wayne Grube's seat on Northampton County Council, this time claiming to have a "general degree" from Notre Dame High School. Northampton County Council is crazy, but not that Fleckin' crazy. His pal, Council candidate Lorraine Pasquali, thinks Easton will be lucky to have him.

Is she out of her Fleckin' mind?

Fleck's opponent, Dennis R Lieb, is an Easton activist who has worked tirelessly for the West Ward. His reservations about Riverwalk have been published here, and he was ultimately proven correct. He is the first person who warned that Easton's Properties of Merit program was being perverted into garden rakes for elitists.

Unlike Fleck, Lieb does no political consulting. He knows little about the elections process, but is learning. He is currently weighing the viability of a write-in campaign. Odds are against him, but he has four things going for him: 1) New voting machines make write-ins easier; 2) Turn-out will be low; 3) Fleck is a bum; and 4) Lieb actually has a message.