Dumbass

On Friday, a high school student angry that a 16 year old girl had turned him down decided to vent his rage on everyone. He killed 10 people with a shotgun and revolver. Whether we have guns or not, we've become an ugly and insensitive people.

Former NorCo Council member Mat Benol proved this on Friday night. While they were still gathering up the dead bodies in Texas,  he and his daughter posed for prom pictures. She's holding an assault style rifle while he has the shotgun.

Although this is likely intended as humor, it's incredibly insensitive.

There's a reason why Benol is a former member of Council, but I wish he would run again so I could vote against him.

Benol Seeks Snitches Against Controller Steve Barron

Imagine what would happen if NorCo Council member Mat Benol decided to write to District Attorney John Morganelli's assistants, asking them to discuss whether he has a "basic knowledge of what you do or the standards that guide your decisions and findings." Imagine what would happen if he sent a similar letter to Probation Officers about President Judge Stephen Baratta. Morganelli, for one, has sued the Executive when he felt that the independence of his office was being compromised. If he or the judges caught wind of that kind of inquiry by Benol, he might find himself at the wrong end of an obstruction prosecution. But guess what? That's precisely what Benol is doing to incumbent Controller Steve Barron.

On February 4, Benol emailed all members of Barron's staff, conveniently leaving the Controller himself out of the loop. "I do not understand how someone can be elected to lead your office without a basic knowledge of what you do or the standards that guide your decisions and findings," he complains

"I am not doing this as a reflection on the current Controller," Benol lies. Of course he is. Barron is up for election this year, and Benol is one of three Council members who supported a resolution calling on him to resign for contacting County workers. Benol does precisely what he condemned and warns Barron's staff that they might be "mismanaged and/or misdirected" by Barron, "due to an inability to understand each of your job functions ... ."

He promises to keep their conversations "private and confidential."

And the check's in the mail, too.

Benol is clearly looking for ammunition that Barron's opponent can use. Dissension in the workplace would be red meat.

What Barron's staff did, immediately upon receipt of this email, was to inform him. I believe one member of his staff has responded to Benol, noting that Barron is actually qualified to conduct an audit and has conducted several on his own.

Amazingly, Benol goes on to tell Barron;s staff that he himself has no "background in accounting or finance."  Though he's no expert, he plays one on Council.

Up until now, it's been a toss up whether Mat Benol or Tom Dietrich is the stupidest Council member I have seen.

I think we have a winner.

Mat Benol to County Workers - Open Your Eyes

Mat Benol

Last night's meeting of Northampton County Council was held in its regular meeting room. Though employees were present, it was nothing like the past three meetings, which had to be moved to courtroom No. 1 to accommodate the crowds. Mat Benol took the opportunity to lash out at the unions and to suggest it is time for workers to "open their eyes." Here's his speech,.

At the last three Council meetings that we had in Courthouse 1, I made a list as everybody was talking. I tried to get most of your names and your concerns. On two separate occasions, at the end of the first meeting and at the end of the last meeting, I gave my County business card to Justus James - he has it twice - and to Paul Row [Breau]. I notice they spoke multiple times - a lot of the people who spoke deferred their time, didn't speak, deferred their time to both of those gentlemen. 

What bothers me is that each of those gentlemen had said that this Administration has not contacted them. Now I don't know who is telling half truths or not. I know the Administration says that they have spoken to them. All I can say is that I think it's a disservice to the county workers who rely on those people as their leadership, because nobody has contacted me. We spoke in the parking deck for at least an hour. Some of you are here, and I passed out my card and everybody said, 'We have a plan, we have ideas, we've come to the Administration with these plans.' And again, it's been three weeks since that meeting. Not an email, not a phone call. 

So I also looked into how much money that the County spends on union dues. And last year, it was $757,000, technically of taxpayer money, that went to pay the unions, the same unions that are supposed to be representing the workers. And there's your representation. Not one phone call. Not one email. 

And I'm not saying this to defend the Administration. but what I'm saying is you need to open your eyes. 

I'm still willing. I want to talk to people who work for the County to figure out what your ideas are to see if there's something to help get through this Budget process because it affects all of us. But I just thought it was important to know that, in three weeks, not one contact. 

Benol Has "That New Car Smell"

Morning Call columnist Bill White is having a field day in Northampton County lately. One of his recent columns focuses on Council member Mat Benol's complete ignorance of the Sunshine Act, baseless attacks at newspapers and suggestion that people call him or other Council members if they want to know what's really going on. He made those remarks at the end of last week's Council meeting because he was miffed that yet another John Brown move had blown up in his face.

In the world according to Benol, legislators should be able to discuss matters privately, vote, and then explain everything to the uneducated public.

But with that in mind, I asked Benol to supply his home phone number, cell phone, work number and email address so that every person in Northampton County can call him every day to learn what is going on. In fact, I requested Council Clerk Frank Flisser to make that request of every member of Council.

As I explained to Mat, his willingness to inform the public is "certainly a relief to me, because I can soon stop blogging about NC government, and write more about youth sports." After all, we don't want any "journalistic malpractice."

Believe it or not, Mat only provided one number. He declined to give out his work number or email for the understandable reason that it belongs to his employer.

Flisser, unfortunately, took me seriously. He provided me with contact numbers for Council. I'm not posting them.

Benol still has what one Council member referred to as "that new car smell."

Benol Bashes Media For Journalistic Malpractice

In a rambling diatribe at the end of last night's Northampton County Council meeting, Mat Benol lashed out at the media, warning the public not to rely on what they read in the newspapers. He added that if they have questions, they should give him a call.

Benol is a newly elected member of Council, one of five Republicans swept into office after November's election. He has never held government office before, though he ran and lost in the GOP primary against Congressman Charlie Dent in 2010. He is also a past Chair of the LV Tea Party.

What set him off was the public outcry that followed Executive John Brown's proposal to hire Deana Zosky as a $715,200 business management consultant. That contract required Council approval. Somebody leaked it to the daily newspapers as well as this blog on February 14, two days after it was provided to Council. The Morning Call broke this story, quickly followed by The Express Times and this blog. I linked to the contract itself. Benol was angry that when he returned home from work that day and received a call from a reporter, he knew nothing about it.

So naturally, that was the press' fault.

Brown declined comment at the time this story broke to any media outlet, though he later had a news conference to discuss the merits of his proposal.

Last night, Benol informally suggested that Council members impose a 48-hour news blackout on communications from the Executive, although the Zosky communication was already 48-hours at the time it was leaked.

"I can't sit here the next four years and let the media dictate what we discuss," he huffed.

Benol, who supported the Zosky contract, complained that there were inaccuracies in the media coverage, though he failed to specify what those were. He also objected to the depiction of the contract as a $715,200 contract, calling this "journalistic malpractice". He explained that the annual price is much cheaper.

All reporting concering this contract, both here and in the two dailies, specified the contract price year by year, as well as a 30-day escape clause. But it is a $715,200 contract, and that price could be much higher because the County also agreed to pay unspecified IT costs for the implementation of dashboard software.

While denying that he is "trying to end transparency", Benol complained that stories that just happen on Friday are now appearing in the paper on Saturday.

He went on to chastise a Council member, without naming him or her, for participating in a blog discussion of the proposed contract. He failed to explain why participating in a public discussion is improper.

In addition to stating, "I don't trust the media anymore," Benol expressed some suspicion of fellow Council members. "How do I freely express myself?" he worried. "I shouldn't have to be hesitant to reach out to fellow Council members.

Benol then argued that he and other Council members "should be able to have private conversations behind the scenes," which they would disclose after they vote on the matter.

Glenn Geissinger, another newly elected Council member and supporter of the Zosky deal, echoed Benol. But faintly.

Lamont McClure remembered that he and other Council members were forced to go to "Sunshine Act camp" some years ago in a settlement deal reached in a suit filed by this very blogger. He suggested  Benol read the packet of information that was supplied to him at that time.

"There are no secrets in politics," added council President Peg Ferraro.

More than anything else, this is a hissy fit by Benol. Because he didn't get his way on the Zosky contract, he blames the press. After the meeting, Benol claimed that marking this $715,200 proposal "confidential" should have been enough to keep the public from seeing a matter being voted on in the next six days. "I have lawyers working on it" he told me.

Good luck with that.

Maybe he should try holding his breath.

The second the Executive submitted this proposal to the people's representatives, it became something the public had a right to know. Instead of blaming the press for doing its job, a transparent Mat Benol would have participated in the discussion and let the cream rise to the top. Instead, he'd rather hide behind closed doors, where democracy dies and cockroaches thrive.

(Blogger's Note: When the video of this meeting becomes available, I intend to transcribe his comments, some of which he denied making after last night's meeting. Maybe the video will be wrong, too).

Updated   2:30 pm: You can see and hear the Benol rant on the County's web page now, at least until Benol decides that the public should be shut out of that process too. Here are excerpts of his little temper tantrum. he actually complained that the proposed contract, which had been in Council's hands for two days and would be voted in in the next week, was on this blog.

"I don't trust the media anymore. I think the media has an agenda, they put it our there very specifically. We have to fight that false opinion that's being created instead of having an open and honest dialogue. So what I've asked the Solicitors to do, is to start looking into, under the Right-to-Know laws, what part of our correspondence is considered private, if at all. And I'm not trying to end transparency. I just think that while something is in deliberation, we should have the ability to confer amongst ourselves, openly and honestly. Once those deliberations are over and the resolution is passed, then it's fair game, the public should see it. I'm certainly not trying to say that the public shouldn't see what we're discussing. I just think it hampers the efforts because again, in the Finance meeting, there were a lot of good ideas that came out that could have been resolved with simple conversations.

"We should have the debates here, I'm not saying that we shouldn't. But we should have the ability to confer because I'll be the first one to admit I am new to this game. I don't know everything that goes on and maybe I'mshooting myself in the foot by bringing this up now. But I shouldn't have to be hesitant of reaching out to my fellow Council members, especially ones who have spent eight years on Council, to solicit their opinion. ...

"So that's my concern and i just want to get it thrown out there in a public session and to the public, if this is going to get reported. Don't let the media drive your opinions. Please call us, any one of us, our numbers are out there. Remember, you elected us. Technically, we work for you. We will answer your questions. Don't rely on what you read in the papers.."

He complains about the media gaining access to information before him.

"Why should they have their hands on [a contract] before we have a chance to look at it? And I understand that that's the 500 pond gorilla in the room. ... ."

"I don't think they [the media] should generate the story. And I'll go back to the consultant. What I heard from people who called me is they were focused on the dollar amount. Everybody kept focusing on that seven hundred and some odd thousand dollars. But it wasn't broken down over four years. The comments that come out from us were different from what you saw there. They were educated comments. Not one of those educated comments was put in the print media because they were in such a rush to generate the story, where it comes out that you're almost committing journalistic malpractice."

Benol, Geissinger Display Some Class

Aside from Peg Ferraro, the two most qualified people running for NorCo Council were Jerry Seyfried and Ron Heckman. Given the years they've invested into the County and their love for it, I was truly sorry to see them lose. But in a very gracious and classy move, Mat Benol and Glenn Geissinger have reached out to them both with, of all things, a thank you.

Benol, speaking for himself and Glenn Geissinger, said this: "Both gentlemen showed class and character. They also freely shared their ideas for making the County better, something you would not expect from ‘opponents’, especially from a different political party. It would have been a pleasure to serve on Council with them. I am hopeful that Glenn and I will be able to call on them during the next four years for insight and help."

What Benol does not say, but what I think he means, is that the election is over and it's time to govern. He's hoping that he can call on Jerry and Ron, and I'm sure he can.

Mat Benol on Northampton County Issues

Palmer Township resident Mat Benol, a Republican, is one of ten candidates seeking five at-large seats on Northampton County Council.  Some of you may remember him from his unsuccessful, but clean, primary challenge to LV Congressman Charlie Dent. Benol also served briefly as chair of the local tea party, but stepped down over its polarization. He manages a manufacturing plant in Jersey. He has two very cute daughters, coaches soccer and is the kind of guy you'd want to have as a next door neighbor.

Make no mistake, Mat's views are conservative. But what I like about him is that he is a consensus builder who actually listens to other view points.

Ron Angle has told me that Benol and Glenn Geissinger are his two favorite Republican candidates.

Below are Mat's answers to a questionnaire I prepared for all Council candidates. Because some people have been hostile to candidates, I will not permit any commentary with these questionnaires.

By way of full disclosure, I have already decided tentatively that I am supporting Jerry Seyfried, Ron Heckman, Deb Hunter and Peg Ferraro.

1. Lehigh County Commissioners and Bethlehem City council have both toyed with the idea of rejecting pass through grants based on objections to the federal deficit, money owed to China and antipathy to charter schools. Would you reject pass through grants?

ANSWER - I don’t like the concept of pass through grants therefore I would reject them. If there was enough support to reject them, I would contact our area Representatives and Senators to see if there was a better use for this money. I’d also make sure that Northampton County’s rejection wasn’t transferred to another County. If possible, Counties should unite in their efforts to reject pass through grants. If various organizations that utilize these grants truly need them, they should petition the State and/or Federal departments offering them directly.

2. Most of Council's work is done at its busy Personnel and Finance Committees, at which every member of Council is encouraged to attend. How do you feel about participation at Council Committee meetings? Will you attend?

ANSWER - Absolutely. These meetings are extremely important to the functioning of the County and its budget. Attendance at these meeting should mandatory, not optional. I do not understand how any Council person can vote on any personnel or financial matters without being an active participant in these meetings.

3. One candidate has rejected the concept of regionalism as one big mess that is harder to manage than a group of smaller messes. Do you support or oppose regionalism, and what regional projects would you endorse on Council?

ANSWER - My decision to approve or oppose regionalism would depend on the project. I do favor the concept of regionalism but I would not support any effort to have the County in charge until County can prove it is capable of handling its current affairs. Based on the County’s handling of Gracedale, HHS properties, roads and bridges, etc, the County is not ready.

If the County is going to regional a project, I would insist that the board responsible for that project be answerable to the townships involved. Ideally, the board should be made up of members from the affected municipalities. This way, the tax payers can address any issues at their municipality meetings or at the County Council meetings. The new board must not be autonomous. It must be answerable to the tax-payers.

4. During the Executive primary, one candidate made a no-tax hike pledge. Do you think it is responsible to make no tax-hike pledges? If so, are you willing to make one?

ANSWER - As much as I would like to promise not to raise taxes, it would be irresponsible to do so without knowing all of the issues facing the County for the upcoming 4 years. I can promise to do everything in my power not to raise taxes and to explore every option available instead of raising taxes. Anything more than that would be campaign rhetoric.

5. In a 2011 plebiscite, voters told Council not to sell Gracedale for 5 years. The annual County contribution is currently in the $5-7 million range, so voters effectively voted for that contribution. But what if it grows? Is there a red line at which you would agree it is necessary to sell Gracedale?

ANSWER - I do not see a scenario that would make me vote for the sale of Gracedale. I originally sided with the sale of Gracedale however when I learned more about the financial issues facing Gracedale, I realized it was not a ‘money pit’. Changes in financial contributions from the Federal and State Government hurt its revenue stream. Property neglect also caught up with the County. Drastic repairs were needed because the County has neglected to properly maintain Gracedale for decades. Gracedale was profitable for years but the Home Rule Charter does not permit separate funding for County business. Therefore the money that Gracedale made was not properly ‘reinvested’ into the property and spent on other items.

I am in favor of maintaining Gracedale as a County/tax payer owned property. As long as I know, Gracedale is being run as efficiently as possible, I am OK with paying for Gracedale. It is part of Northampton County.

6. In 2007, County Council voted to set aside 1/2 mill of real estate tax (about $3.5 million) for a pay-as-you go open space plan for preserving farmland, environmentally sensitive land and municipal parks. On Council, will you vote to continue funding open space? Do you consider this a core county function?

ANSWER - Yes to both questions. I do not believe that every square inch of property needs to be developed for the sake of development. I believe part of Northampton County’s beauty is due to its open space and vast farmland. However, I believe the land being preserved must be preserved for the good of the county, not to an individual's or municipality’s personal interests.

Maintaining the beauty and history of Northampton County serves each resident and therefore it is a function of Northampton County Government.

7. There are 11 unions county-wide. What efforts would you make, as a member of council, to encourage unions to consolidate and reduce the amount of time administrators and unions must spend in contract negotiations?

ANSWER - I am not against Unions. Being a student of history, I understand why Unions were/are necessary to protect the interests of the workers. That being stated, I am not sure why Northampton County needs to have 11 separate Unions instead of just 1 union for all the County employees. I admit that I will need to study the reasons. It also stands to reason that part of the time negotiating Union Contracts involves comparisons of 1 contract to the others. Therefore, each contract needs to be somewhat equal to the others or 1 Union will be happy while the others are not. I would push the time, money and energy devoted to each negotiation, as well as the ‘equality’ of each contract as my reasons for Union consolidation.

8. What is your position on laying off County workers? Would you support layoffs to balance the budget, or vote to increase taxes to provide the same level of services?

ANSWER - I am not in favor of laying off any workers. However, the employee base needs to be in line with the work available. I do not support laying off workers to balance the budget. Employees are essential to the County and cutting their positions does more harm than good. Increasing taxes is a lazy approach to solving the County’s debt issues. There are multiple areas of wasteful spending that have to be addressed before cuts and/or tax increases are discussed. I do not support tax increases for any reason.

9. Northampton County, like Lehigh, has privatized the management of Gracedale. But there are those who would like to return administration to the County. Where do you stand on this issue?

ANSWER - I support having Gracedale as a County/tax payer owned facility. It has been proven that Gracedale was not managed properly in the past under County Administration. No accountability means no responsibility. Who allowed Gracedale’s roof to leak for 10 years? Who allowed the facility to deteriorate for years? Who allowed the generator to remained untested until it failed during Super Storm Sandy? Unless the County Administration is going to be held as accountable as a private firm, I will support privatized management. A private firm will have records of faults and corrective actions. Private firms will also have qualified people and less of a chance of nepotism as County run facilities.

10. Some Council members would like to amend the Home Rule Charter to return to elected row officers. How do you feel about this proposal?

ANSWER - I like the concept of having an educated electorate being involved in Government decisions however, our voting history has shown the majority of eligible voters do not vote. The election of row officers could result in popularity vs. qualifications. I would also question if the best qualified would submit themselves and their families to the stress and personal attacks that go along with any campaign.

Although the HRC provides the possibility for political appointments, it still provides a better screening process than an open election. If the County Executive recommends an unfavorable candidate for a Row Office, County Council still has a chance to reject the appointment. I would recommend that a job description be made for each row office position along with minimum/preferred qualifications. Only candidates who meet those requirements could be considered.

11. Would you support a ban on guns by people using any County facilities, even off the courthouse campus, like at the new centralized Human Services Building?

ANSWER - I would only support a ban on guns at County facilities at facilities that maintain armed staffers or the use of metal detectors at the entrance ways. Gun free zones open the potential of mass shootings because the individual knows no one in the building can do anything to stop them.

12. Will you support or reject a County Property Tax Reassessment?

ANSWER - Absolutely reject it! Reassessment is just another way of saying tax increase. Council’s focus should be on government efficiency first. Proper budgeting along with an efficiently run government will prove the answer is not in increasing taxes.

13. Would you support the proposition that the Prothonotary, Clerk of Criminal Court, Clerk of Orphans Court and Register of Wills should be transferred under the Administration of the Courts instead of the County Executive (through the Director of Court Services) much like the higher courts currently administer its own clerks?

ANSWER - Yes. This also provides the opportunity to review the similarities and differences of the job descriptions for these positions. It seems logical that all Court related functions should be administered under one department. My support would also be contingent on all of the employee’s current salary, benefit and work agreements being transferred with the employees.

BRADEN AIRPARK:

I would like to add another topic that I feel is important to Northampton County that was not included in your questions. Obviously it is your decision to print but it has been a topic at most of the County Council meetings for the past several months and its future may be something that the next Council gets to decide; Braden’s Airpark.

I am in support of the Council’s decision to find a way to prevent Braden’s Airpark from being sold. I do not understand how the Airport Authority which must have Braden Airport as one of its 3 core airports can sell Braden’s and remain a legitimate Authority. It would seem to violate their Charter rules. The sale would in essence, end the Airport Authority. I have and continue to coach soccer at the fields next to Braden's. There are and have been planes taking off all the time. This is an extremely active airpark which is being threatened with sale due to the Authority’s mismanagement. They are trying to sell Braden's to settle a debt that has nothing to do with Braden's. I am in support of Northampton County finding a way to either legally preventing the Authority from selling the Airpark. At the same time, I will support an effort for the County to find a way to take over the Airpark until a buyer is found who will maintain and improve Bradens.

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to answer your questions.

Mat Benol Seeking Seat on NorCo Council

"Who's that filthy animal?
"That's my dog, sir!"
"I was speaking to the dog."

After filing 647 signatures for the required 250 required, Palmer Township resident Mathew Benol has announced his candidacy as a Republican Candidate for 1 of the 5 Northampton County Council – At Large seats.

Though a member and former Chairman of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party, Benol is bipartisan, and stood up for me when the tea party tried, unsuccessfully, to excommunicate me a few years ago. Up until I received notice that I was being removed, I had no idea I was even a member. Benol also got in a lot of hot water with extremists for that, and even more when he decided to endorse Charlie Dent for Congress after running against him.

“My first act in office will be to restore accountability in County Government and County Management," he said in a statement. "Taxpayers are suffering for the mismanagement of County property and their tax dollars, and it has to stop now so our children and grandchildren do not inherit the poisoned fruit of our mistakes.”

Benol decided to run while attending meetings for Gracedale, the Proposed Bi-County Health Agency and the need for leasing a Human Services building due to the unattended maintenance of 2 County owned buildings. Mat is also concerned over the future plans for the Northampton County Jail. “With approximately a third of our county budget being funded by taxpayers of the county, what is going to happen when the state funding is decreased? We need to plan for the future of Northampton County, its residents as well as its dedicated employees."

Benol is a lifelong resident of the Lehigh Valley, spending the last 10 years in Palmer Township. His wife, Jamie, is a Wind Gap native. The couple has 2 children who attend the Easton Area School District. Mat Benol is a Production / Account Manager for a major packaging company.

Mat considers himself a Constitutionalist and believes our Government works to serve its citizens and needs to be accountable to those citizens. If elected, Mat “will fight for County Government accountability and fiscal restraint”. He pledges to maintain a focus on the issues, not partisan politics.

It's going to be a tough year for Republicans, even those who call themselves Constitutionalists.

Mat is one of the rare candidates who actually attends meetings from time to time.

Who Replaces Bruce Gilbert on NorCo Council?

If Northampton County Council confirms Bruce Gilbert's appointment as John Stoffa's new Director of Fiscal Affairs, that will create a vacancy on Council. Under the Home Rule Charter, Council will have thirty days from the date of resignation to appoint someone who will only serve until the next election, which is in November.

This is getting scary. Instead of the voters selecting candidates from each party, that job could very well go to party bosses.

Who will Council appoint?

I understand there are two favorites, both of them class acts.

One is Seth Vaughn, who already is running for Council against Ken Kraft in Bethlehem. The thinking here is that this will get Seth some needed visibility and help him in his race against Ken Kraft.

That's good politics, but is it good government?

Vaugn is apparently backed by Tom Dietrich and John Cusick. Seth, be sure to check your back early and often for knife marks.

The other favorite is Mat Benol, who ran against Charlie Dent last year and then briefly became King of the Tea party until ego trips like Joe Hilliard and Kim Schmidtner made life so difficult that Mat pulled the plug.

Dietrich, a right-wing lunatic swept into power as part of a knee-jerk reaction against Democrats, complains Benol is too much of a right-wing lunatic.

Barb Thierry and Ron Angle like Benol. That might be enough to sink him.

Benol Forced Out as Chair of LV Tea Party

Below is an anonymous email I rec'd late last night. I have confirmed that Mat Benol has, in fact resigned as the Chair of the LV Tea Party. He was, in fact, forced out by a cabal who could never get over his support of LV Congressman Charlie Dent last year.

Apparently, all the huddles Joe Hilliard is having with Wayne Woodman and Scott Ott at the Lehigh County GOP are just wonderful.

"I am writing you from an annonymous account. I am requesting that you please keep my identity a secret.

"I am writing to let you know that Mat Benol has resigned as chair from the tea party, leaving the vice chair in charge. The vice chair is Kim Schmidtner.

"Please watch on 3/4 (our next meeting) as Kim makes the announcement that Mat resigned. She will tell you that it was for personal reasons or some other bullshit line.

"I will tell you, that the real reason Mat left is that he was forced out. He was forced out by Kim and Joe Hilliard. Ever since Mat took over as chair, and endorsed Charlie Dent, they have accused Mat of working 'for the NRC' and having 'met behind closed doors' with members of the party. Mat fully admits to this. However, he was meeting these people as a private citizen and not as 'chair of the tea party' or even as a representive of the tea party. Both these individuals made it impossible to govern the tea party group let alone accomplish anything during his short tenure.

"If you don't agree with these two personalities then you get a huge target on your back. They make your life miserable, which is what they did to Mat as soon as he endorsed Charlie Dent. They hammered him daily either he wasn't following the bylaws, or he shouldn't be doing A, or why did you do it that way? Kim would not give Mat the information/contacts that he needed in order to work with other groups, or with other leaders in the state. Truly- she has become the 'queen of the tea party'.

"I know for a fact, that some people stood up for Mat, and asked/begged him not to resign. Because these people stood up for what they believe in- they are now targeted. One is being totally ignored by these individuals and the other is being threatend to be ejected from the tea party for 'threatining joe' by pointing his finger at him and telling him he deserves a roberts rules enema.

"I send to you Mat's resignation letter (please do not publish it) in the hopes that you bring to light the wrongdoing of these two individuals. You can see by Mat's own hand the reasons why he resigned.

"Thank you for your time and attention in this matter
Tipster."

Dent Gets Primary Foe's Endorsement

Former Republican candidate for Congress and LV Tea Party darling Mat Benol has endorsed Charlie Dent for Congress in the general election. Benol ran in the Republican primary this Spring.

“I confidently give my endorsement to Congressman Dent for his re-election to Congress,” Benol said. “Congressman Dent and I ran campaigns which focused on the issues. He has listened to my reasons for running in the Republican Primary and I have learned of the difficulties facing our elected leaders. I am confident Congressman Dent will continue to serve his constituents and America because unlike the current Administration, he is listening. I am glad that I had the opportunity to run for Congress as a Republican and I am proud to say that I endorse Charlie Dent in his re-election to Congress.”

“I’m pleased to receive Mat’s endorsement,” said Congressman Dent. “In the course of many conversations with him – including our civil candidate forums during the primary — I found him to be an honorable man whose interest is righting the course of our country. Like so many Americans, Mat is engaged in the political process because he is concerned with the massive government expansion of the past few years, which I will continue to fight against. Mat’s endorsement means a lot to me, because I know he’s not interested in party politics, but in common-sense government.”

When I attended a meeting for conservative candidates this Spring, Benol spoke fondly of his two daughters. Even I ended up liking the guy. I hope he does stay involved in local government issues. You can read more about the endorsement at Pennsylvania Avenue and at Jon Geeting's LVIndependent. Of course, Jon somehow concludes this is more evidence that Dent is in trouble. Maybe Charlie should withdraw, huh?

Dent Scores Stunning Upset Against Tea Party Favorite

Who'd have thunk it? With Joe Hilliard plotting campaign strategy, 5,000-page mailers, and LV Tea Party Queen Kim Schmidtner blabbing about "principled" Republicans, I thought this would be a lock for Mat Benol. But Charlie Dent won 85% of the vote in Lehigh County and 76% in Northampton.

Sic transit gloria Lehigh Valley Tea Party.

"How to Lose a Congressional Race," by Mat Benol

First, during the only forum in which you'll get any publicity, make a point of calling jobless kids, forced to live at home, "lazy."

Second, raise practically no money at all.

Third, blow whatever little money you do have on a 12-page, 5"x7" booklet that costs a fortune to mail and only mentions your name five times. If anyone actually reads this masterpiece, he'll miss the election. Mailmen will love him, too.

Don't worry, Mat. A U.S. Senate race is right around the corner.

Is Mat Benol a Credible Candidate?

I'll immediately concede that LV Congressional candidate Mat Benol is a likable guy. Even I like him, and I'm a miserable bastard. But is he really a credible candidate?

A search of the FEC database reveals he's filed neither a statement of organization nor a statement of candidacy. That means that, with just 30 days left before the primary, Benol has failed to meet the$5,000 threshold to trigger FEC disclosure requirements.

Benol certainly should be lauded for stepping up and giving Republicans a choice in the Congressional race. He claims to be a “principled conservative” who supports a “limited government resolution.”

Apparently, he supports limited campaigning, too.

Congressman Charlie Dent: Pelosi's Agenda is Frightening

At Friday night's LV Tea Party candidates' night, LV Congressman Charlie Dent echoed Pat Toomey's concerns about just where we're headed.

"Nancy Pelosi and her partisans have taken this country off track in a very serious way and in a direction that many of us find alarming. I have fought against so many of the bad ideas of this agenda coming out of the U.S. House: stimulus; cap-and-trade; card check; to the recently passed health care. The agenda is just simply frightening. And because of the enactment of the health care bill, more is about to come down the pike.

"Because I've stood up and led the fight against so much of this wrong agenda, we've been visited by Nancy Pelosi's top lieutenant, Steny Hoyer. He's coming in here because he wants me out.

"We're going to have Joe Biden come here and visit us on April 15th. Tax day. Tax day. How appropriate! He and John Callahan will have lots to celebrate."

You can see the video here.

Mat Benol, Dent's amiable Republican opponent, had a similar view. Democratic challenger John Callahan, like most Democratic candidates, avoided the event.

Name That Thug

Over the past week, I've been highly critical of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party. But I was really impressed by the huge turnout of at least 500 people at tonight's candidate's forum for senatorial, congressional and gubernatorial candidates.

Both daily papers sent their elite reporters to cover this event, so I expect you'll find informative stories about the candidates. But this story is about what happened during the debate, just as LV Congressman Charlie Dent and challenger Mat Benol began exchanging views.

As the audience listened to the candidates, two people - a man and a woman - began going up and down the aisles, passing out a flier that smeared Dent as he was speaking. Captioned "Top Ten Reasons Charlie Dent is not a TRUE Conservative!!!", it contained no disclosure. Most of the audience were put off by the intrinsic unfairness of this smear tactic.

As the male passed out fliers on my side of the room, Tea Party organizer Tom McFadden approached him, and asked him to leave. At the conclusion of the debate, Tom apologized for the disruption, called these smear tactics "rude", and asked the audience to discard the fliers.

Mr. McFadden also spoke to me (you can see that interview here) and made it very clear he was very upset by what had happened.

I captured this thug on video as he made his way out of the building. He tried ignoring me and also tried to hide his face, but I got him briefly.

Does anyone out there know this slimeball? Who is he working for? You can post his name here anonymously.

Dent Triple-Teamed by Benol, Towne and the Queen of the Tea Party

If you visit blogs like LV Dependent or Just Read It, you're bound to get the impression that at least some Democrats believe Charlie Dent's days as LV Congressman are numbered. Dent is dismissed as an empty suit who serves whatever special interest is unpopular at the moment, while Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan is regarded as their Savior, even though he's avoided every major issue in this campaign.

Since Dent is such an evil conservative, you'd think they'd all be rallying to his banner. But at Friday night's Lehigh Valley Conservative Voice lovefest for April Fools, he was attacked on three fronts by congressional wannabes Mat Benol and Jake Towne, as well as unelected LV Tea Party Queen Kim Schmidtner. Dent was denied the opportunity to respond to these attacks, and there was no time for questions from the little people.

Mat Benol a little short on specifics.

Mat's actually the most likable person who spoke on Friday night. In a soft-spoken voice, he talked about his two daughters, who are obviously his world. He told a story about how the two of them were flicking a TV remote at each other just the other day, which resulted in a call from the wife and a trip home to take one of them to the hospital. Those of us who are parents have been there, and he connected with the crowd right away. He mentioned what it's like to be called into the office and told he has to accept a 10% pay cut to avoid layoffs. Those of us who work know what that's like, too.

Benol also made an other important point, one that escaped Towne and Schmidtner. He stressed it is possible to like your opponent, and flatly admitted he likes Dent. So why is he running? He claims his goal is to bring the Republican party back to the conservative side.

Benol is a LV Tea Party member, and up until his announcement, he was one of their unelected leaders. On his web page, he indicates that they may not be able to endorse him, but he endorses them.

As likable as he may be, his discussion of issues is rather banal. In talking about our debt crisis, he just says we need to "stop spending." OK, where? His foreign policy plank tells us we need to "stop apologizing for America." That's nice, now how about some specific proposals?

A demonstration of Benol's weakness on the issues is illustrated most clearly by the "limited government resolution" that he and other tea party members unanimously approved in March. I've duplicated it here, and it basically contains these provisions.

1) DECREASE taxes, no tax hikes or new taxes.
2) NO operating deficits, government should spend equal to or less than what it brings in.
3) REDUCE public debt.
4) REDUCE government power and authority, stop increasing it every year.

With less than 50 days until the primary, isn't it time to hear some details about how a Congressman Benol would implement this? In FY 2010, the Federal Government will take in $2.2 trillion in revenue and spend $3.7 trillion, leaving a deficit of $1.5 trillion, just for that year. If Benol were in Congress, he would have to cut spending 42% to comply with that limited government resolution. It's completely unworkable. Even if Benol eliminated every single government program other than defense, social security, Medicare, veteran’s benefits, employee retirement and interest, he would still have failed to balance the budget.

So enough of the “we need to spend less than we take in.” It is time for Benol as a Congressional candidate (and Joe Hilliard as his campaign manager) to start giving some specifics.

Independent / Libertarian Jake Towne Needs to Relax.

I have to wonder what the hell happened to Jake Towne in mainland China, where he spent a few years before rushing back here to run for Congress. That's a post for another day. When he started speaking Friday night, he was very angry and had a wild look in his eyes that made me wonder. In addition to his anger, he has absolutely no sense of humor. His only joke - a comparison of the major parties to arsenic and cyanide - has been repeated since the days of Ralph Nader.

Towne would eliminate the US Department of Education, abolish the income tax, eliminate military bases overseas, cut defense spending, bring troops home from Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany and Italy.

He also hates being searched at airports.

To thunderous applause, he railed against the "mob rule by that gang in Washington." Gee, I thought they were our democratically elected officials.

As he shouted and waved his hands wildly, with his hair going in forty different direction, I was tempted to blurt out a few "Seig Heils." But I was afraid others might join me.

Queen of The LV Tea Party, Kim Schmidtner.

As if the two announced candidates were not enough, the unelected Queen of the LV Tea Party had a few shots of her own. She likened incumbent Republicans like Charlie Dent to cancer.

"While I agree that the 2010 mid-term elections are critical, I vehemently disagree that voters must accept yet another compromise. What this says is that we should accept a small does of poison instead of a large one. In the end it will still kill us, it will just take us a little longer to die.

"Returning to the cancer analogy, that's like a surgeon taking out only 85% of a tumor, but leaving the remaining 15% there to continue to metastasize. How many of you would go to that surgeon?

"The definition off insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It is time to break out of this insanity and undergo the treatments necessary to rid the nation of the disease of progressivism, or it will kill us. And this year, voters have the first opportunity to do that in the upcoming May primary. The primaries are the constitutional, democratic battleground, where the people can rid the party of progressives and those who compromise with them, and put the best candidates forward to the general election in November.

"It is absolutely critical and is indeed your civic duty to be suspect of the party endorsement process and conduct your own research on all candidates that appear on the ballot, by attending events like this one this evening."

I see. Events that exclude Charlie Dent. The Queen of Mean might want to reconsider her cancer analogy. Congressman Dent's father-in-law died of cancer just a year ago, and it killed his brother-in-law just last month.

It amazes me that Schmidtner, who has a pretty spotty voting record, would lecture others on their civic duty.

Schmidtner also spoke of the completely unworkable limited government resolution.

"We will hold all elected officials, no matter the party affiliation, accountable to these principles, and will measure each and every vote they make or have made against these standards."

Holding them accountable? So much for a nonprofit that engages in no political activity.