Atiyeh HQs Moving to Bethlehem

By a 4-0 vote at their May 25 meeting, Bethlehem's Zoning Hearing Board has approved a special exception under which colorful entrepreneur Abe Atiyeh will relocate his corporate offices from a windowless basement at Whitehall Manor to the former greenhouse at Moose and Bug Florist, located at 2349 Linden Street. He sought a special exception because he was merely substituting one commercial use (retail) for another (offices).

Attorney Mickey Thompson, the Zoning Hearing Board's former Solicitor, presented the case. "What we would like to do is nothing," was his simple argument. He plans on making no changes at the site, except for removal the greenhouse glass and building a one-story office for Atiyeh's numerous corporate operations. Though he has formed over 80 corporations,  most of the work is done by a handful of between five and ten people, including Thompson. In addition to being in-house counsel, Thompson is also Chief Operating Officer at Pennsylvania Venture Capital, Inc., the umbrella under which Atiyeh operates several well-regarded nursing facilities, substance abuse rehabs and a billboard business.

This marks the third time Atiyeh has sought relief at this location.

In 2012, zoners panned a plan to convert the nursery into a 47-bed drug and alcohol treatment center. Atiyeh only succeeded in bringing a small army of protesters. But late last year, the Board approved a use variance for eight single family attached dwellings on two three-story buildings.

Approval of offices will require Atiyeh to abandon his plans for residential use. He will also be barred from storing construction vehicles at the site.

Angle Plants 50 Mickey Thompson Signs in Williams Township

Ron Angle is waging no campaign for Controller until and unless 250 Republicans give him a write-in vote. But on Monday, he did do some campaigning for Mickey Thompson, who is running for Northampton County Council's Republican nod against John Cusick in District Three. That District is a hodge podge that starts in Williams Township and ends up somewhere in Alaska. Angle planted about 50 signs in Williams Township, mostly because that's where Cusick lives. He even put one right by John's house.

A Cusick neighbor spotted Angle while he was doing his dirty work, and accosted him.

"You're Ron Angle, aren't you?"

"How the hell would you know that?"

"Because you're like horseshit. You're everywhere."

"So what do you think of your neighbor, Cusick?"

"I call him the vampire."

"Why?"

"He only comes out at night. Nobody has ever seen him in daylight."

NorCo Council GOP Candidates Share Views

Lorin Bradley

Last Thursday, while Northampton County Council member Mat Benol was insisting that he knows of no one who is advocating Gracedale's sale and the rest of council was adopting meaningless resolutions to save the nursing home, two Republican council candidates were suggesting the day to sell might have arrived. A third discussed placing the facility in the hands of a nonprofit. These views were made known during a debate for Republican Council candidates at Northampton Community College. (You can see the video here).

There are nine members of Northampton County Council. They are paid $9,500 per year and receive no medical benefits. Considered the "governing body," their primary role is to adopt the budget. They control the purse strings. Five members are at-large, while the remaining four are elected from four different geographical districts. There are currently five Republicans and four Democrats.

The four district seats are up this year. In District One, which includes Bethlehem and Hanover Township, Democrat Ken Kraft is running unopposed. In District Two, which includes the Easton area, Democrat Bib Werner is also running unopposed. But Districts Three and Four are another story. Democrat Lamont McClure announced earlier this year that he had decided against rel-election to District Three, which has become much more Republican since Williams Township was added to its roster.  And District Four, which includes the slate belt and northern tier, is considered a safe Republican stronghold.

Matt Dietz

In District Three, the winner of the primary race between Republicans Mickey Thompson and John Cusick, will go on to face Democrat Lori Vargo Heffner. In District Four Democrat Scott Parsons, the incumbent, will square off against the winner of the battle between Republicans Matt Dietz and Lorin Bradley.

Who are these candidates?   

Mickey Thompson is the CFO and in house counsel at Abe Atiyeh's Pennsylvania Venture Capital, Inc. he claimed his company specializes in taking "unloved, unwanted and unused properties" and turning them into "productive assets." He worked on the DUI center, which ultimately was located in West Easton in one of those "unloved, unwanted and unused properties"..Mickey also helped form three charter schools in the Lehigh Valley, boasting 1,000 students and 100 teachers. His job duties also include Saucon Valley Manor and Whitehall Manor, which are assisted living facilities for seniors. "I just want to help," is what he stated is his reason for running.

John Cusick

John Cusick is a LU grad who went into retail and sold building supplies, but did not like it. He decided on education and has been a high school teacher in New Jersey for the past 19 years. He is a former Williams Township Supervisor, and served for two terms on NorCo Council, including three years as its President. Noting that most Council members are in their first term, Cusick stated he would bring experience back to the Board. He pledged to work with a Republican County Exec.

Lorin Bradley.is Mr. Corporate America, and I mean that in a positive way. He has two Master's degrees and has been involved in human resources and labor relations for 25 years. "What I do as a professional is work with conflict and try to resolve conflict," he stated, His goal in the business world in to Develop solutions that are workable for all parties. He is involved in Boy Scouts, is himself and Eagle Scout, coached, and appears to be a deeply spiritual man.

Mickey Thompson

Matt Dietz. claimed to be the product of a broken home who bounced around in Jersey until moving to Wind Gap at age 14. Right away, he felt like he was at home. A pilot, he worked at it in high school and in community college. He also helped start a catering business, which grew into a coffee shop and deli on Main Street in Bethlehem. "I understand what small businesses go through," he assured everyone. He stated that he is pro-life and that he and his wife are Sunday school teachers.

How do they stand on the issues? 

Gracedale. - Dietz calls it an "emotional question" but states "there's a red line there." He stated the County can't afford to write a check every year. "Privatize as much as we can out of it," he recommends to give the County "better bargaining power to sell the property." Bradley echoed Dietz' remarks, but believes there should be a "top down analysis first."

John Cusick, who supported selling Gracedale while on Council, now favors converting it into a 501c3 non profit similar to what Centre County Commissioners did at their publicly owned nursing home.

Mickey Thompson opposes the sale of Gracedale. He believes the facility can transition to perform medical services for residents and become a profit center. .

Home Rule Charter and Admin Code Overhaul.- All candidates believe it;s time for an overhaul. "You can't have a county exec of any party playing by his own rules," states Mickey Thompson. .

PR consultant. - With the exception of Bradley, all candidates condemned the use of taxpayer money to fund PR consultants. "If  the Executive can't communicate in his own, you need different leaders," stated Thompson. Elected officials should "speak for themselves, not through a mouthpiece," added Cusick. Bradley's argument in favor of a PR consultant is that "[c]hange will fail unless you have an effective communications plan." But Dietz observed it's "not doing very well."

Open Space.- Thompson was highly critical of last year's decision to bail out a financially troubled golf course developer's "bad business decisions." Dietz agreed there should be no spending at a time when the county "is hurting for money." While refusing to condemn open space funding, Cusick stated that Council needs to say no to "bad deals."  Bradley supports open space funding.

One mill tax hike. All candidates save Thompson supported it. Thompson claimed it was based on projections that turned out to be false. But Cusick warned that "[o]perating with little or no reserves is extremely dangerous."

$10,000.Spending limit - With the exception of Cusick, all candidates supported a $10,000 or slightly higher limitation on executive spending. Cusick. called the measure "micromanagement," adding "Council should be involved in purchasing toilet paper." But Thompson.countered that government should be in no rush to make bad decisions. If you have to approve a case of toilet paper, you should be responsible enough to do that."

Residency requirement for county workers.All candidates oppose this proposal Cusick stated that new Jersey, which has imposed such a requirement, is having a hard time finding qualified people.

Brown and Cusick Overheard at Recent GOP Event

This story comes from a die-hard Republican. At a recent event (fundraiser?) attended by both NorCo Council candidate John Cuisck and Exec John Brown, they were both bashing Cusick's opponent, Mickey Thompson. This person is a Mickey Mouseketeer. Thompson was derided as an Abe Atiyeh puppet being installed to protect Abe's interest in the West Easton Treatment Center, which the County is leasing from him

"How can this not be a conflict?" one of them repeatedly asked.

It is. That's why Mickey would recuse himself from any discussion concerning any matter in which Abe Atiyeh is involved.

This is vastly different from Cusick, who got involved in several education issues despite his occupation as a teacher; or Brown, a former consultant who has yet to meet one he does not want to hire.

It's unfortunate that Cusick would do this because I consider him very independent-minded.

Brown apparently regards Mickey with some disdain. That makes Mickey look all that much better to me.

Atiyehtown Candidate Files Late Disclosure

Bethlehem Tp today, tomorrow, the world. 

Mickey Thompson, a Bethlehem Township Commissioner candidate, filed his pre-election report late Friday afternoon, one week after it was due. Thompson is Abe Atiyeh's COO, and it's no secret that Atiyeh is trying to take over in Bethlehem Township. Abe already controls Commissioner Marty Zawarski, and has business relationships with him even though Atiyeh is in litigation against the Township. Atiyeh is also backing the Democrat and Republican candidates for incumbent Paul Weiss' seat.

Why would Thompson file a week late?

Atiyeh is fully funding the Thompson campaign. Mickey reports $4,987.17, with every penny coming from the developer who wants to rule in Bethlehem Township. There's no grass roots support from anyone else. Thompson's opponent, incumbent Michael Hudak, is no Prince Charming. But even he is preferable to one-man rule.

In addition to working for Atiyeh, Thompson also happens to be an attorney. He knows the law. Moreover, he follows politics closely. He claims he forgot to report publicly that his entire campaign is being funded by one person. Thompson has always been honest with me, but I'm having a tough time with that one.

His report was filed too late for the weekend papers. I suspect it's too late for an election day story, too. The lack of media scrutiny would be worth the $100 fine that was imposed on Thompson.

I only know about this because I happened to be in the elections office at the time, looking at 24-hour reports.