NorCo GOP To Unveil Slate of County Office Candidates on Thursday

This Thursday, Northampton County Republicans will unveil a slate of candidates for both the open County Executive seat as well as five at-large County Council races. They will do so from the county courthouse rotunda at 2:30 pm. 

As I previously told you, Tom "the Quiet Man" Giovanni is seeking the Republican nod for Exec. He currently represents the northern tier of the county (Region 4) on NorCo Council, which is easily its most conservative district. He is in his second term, and when he ran for re-election, Democrats offered no opposition. 

In addition to Giovanni, John Brown and John Goffredo are two at-large Council members seeking re-election. Brown is a former county executive and currently works as Macungie's borough manager. Brown has missed quite a few council and committee meetings. 

Goffredo is easily County Council's most outspoken and conservative member. Although I disagree with him on nearly everything, I like the energy and passion he brings to Council. 

The other three Republicans running at-large are Sam Elias, Bethlehem police officer; Juan Martinez, owner of the Don Juan restaurants in this area; and Daniel Campo, a cargo airline pilot and Venezuelan immigrant. 

Giovanni will square off in the general election against either Tara Zrinski or Amy Cozze, both of whom are seeking the Democratic nomination. The field of Democratic County Council candidates is still unsettled, but I hope to be able to report on that soon. 

"Northampton Four" To Face Court on Reduced Charges

Steve Lynch

Magisterial District Judge Jackie Taschner decided Friday that four Republican State Committee members (they call themselves the "Northampton Four") must face criminal court on charges of conspiracy to commit harassment as well as harassment at the June 8, 2023 meeting of the county Republican executive committee last summer. But she bounced six other disorderly conduct-related charges brought against this quartet. The surviving charges are third degree misdemeanors, which carry a maximum penalty of one year in jail and/or a fine up to $2500. Her ruling was made after a day of testimony at the Northampton County Courthouse. 

Who are the Northampton Four? GOP State Committee members Steve Lynch, Debra Biro, Melanie Heilman and Richard Morea. They ran together for state committee as a slate and have been openly hostile with county party chair Glenn Geissinger at executive committee meetings. After the June 2023 meeting, they were banned from attending future meetings. 

Interestingly, the charges were brought by party chair Glenn Geissinger as a private prosecution. They were approved by District Attorney Steve Baratta. Police declined prosecution, but they were considering other matters.

The hearing attracted quite the crowd. Most were there to support two opposing factions within the county party. 

There's what I'd call the Q-Anon Lynch mob, which is a bit on the looney (and violent) side. Lynch, for example, threatened to bring 20 strong men to forcibly remove Northampton School Directors over, of all things, a face mask mandate designed to protect everyone. His followers like to talk about exercising their 2A rights against critics, and Lynch has a penchant for wanting to fight people who contradict him. He once reacted to criticism from me by challenging me to a boxing match, as though a trial by combat would resolve a difference between opposing ideologies.

On the other side are the tea party Republicans, who are a bit less virulent than the Lynch mob but can be just as cRaZy. They had been trying to take over the county Republican party for many years before finally succeeding two years ago. Some of their confrontations before finally taking over were at wild county meetings during which police had to be called. 

There was a third faction led by Gloria Lee Snover, which at one time was a bit more mainstream Republican and was outraged by the fanaticism of both the Lynch mob and tea party. Most of them have drifted into the embrace of the Lynch mob, at least temporarily. 

All are MAGAs as the Republican party has grown more polarized. Take Beverly Hernandez, for example. At one time was a decent worker bee for the party. She had conservative values but could work within the League of Women Voters. She has been replaced by a Beverly Hernandez who just threatened a County Council with the curses of Leviticus and Old Testament fury. 

There were also people like myself or Dem party boss Matt Munsey at this hearing. We were like rubber neckers at a car accident, perhaps experiencing a bit too much schadenfreude at seeing county Republicans in such obvious disarray. One of my readers contends Republicans are now more united than ever. The facts on the ground say otherwise.

I stayed for the first two witnesses, Glenn Geissinger and Andrew Azan, both of whom testified to what happened at the June 8 '23 meeting. That took up the entire morning. I did not return after lunch because it seemed clear that at least some of the charges would have to move forward, and frankly, I was tired from a long meeting the previous evening followed by too little rest. So, I'll give you my take on the first two witnesses. 

Glenn Geissinger, the private complainant, was the top of the order for special prosecutor Robert Goldman, who has a strange penchant for holding one hand up in the air as he fires questions.

Goldman must have had second thoughts about taking on this case because Geissinger was a terrible witness. Glenn, a very nice person one-on-one, becomes very different in public or more formal settings. He could be pompous, arrogant and condescending when he was a member of County Council. Unfortunately, he was that way on the witness stand as well. I can't begin to tell you the number of times Judge Taschner had to direct him to answer questions, sometimes even when they were posed by his own lawyer. He also seemed a bit flippant with Judge Jackie, who takes no nonsense from anyone. She even once told a former Nazareth Police Chief to "Suck it up, cupcake!" when he complained about stickers calling for his termination. 

Even if he had been a good witness, there were very few arrows in his quiver. He did establish that the meeting became raucous at times with interruptions from all four defendants. If that's criminal, then a very large percentage of citizens who attend and participate in local government could be rounded up and hauled off to the nearest gulag. He also testified that, as soon as the meeting had adjourned, Steve Lynch and Rick Morea came up to the table behind which he was standing and shoved an email in his face containing pictures of two executive committee members engaged in sex. They had apparently posted pictures and videos on the Porhub website, hoping to profit. 

Lynch and Morea wanted the committee to take action against these members that very evening because it's not a good look for Republicans to be profiting on Pornhub for their sexual encounters. 

The accused members denied involvement, but it was learned nearly a year later that the female member had, in fact, been lying. She posted the porn herself. 

Geissinger had been sent an email earlier in the day apprising him of this discovery. But he was unaware of it at the time of the meeting. He was called a liar and the four defendants were demanding that he remove the accused members at that time, even though Geissinger tried to explain they had due process rights. Though Lynch and Morea were yelling just inches from Geissinger's face, there was no profanity or physical contact.

Andy the Clown

Andy Azan, the party's vice chair, was a much better witness. He's also known, incidentally, as Andy the Clown. He didn't wear his clown costume or anything like that to the preliminary hearing but was everything that Glenn was not. He was quiet, unassuming, listened to the judge carefully, and answered questions as they were asked. He had a sad look to his face, almost as if he was constipated. 

Defense lawyer Andrew Teitelman absolutely destroyed Geissinger during his cross. But as my friend Ron Angle observed, Teitelman lost ground during his cross of Azan. He kept digging a hole for defendants Lynch and Morea. The longer he had Azan on the stand, the deeper that hole got. 

Azan corroborated Geissinger's account of the meeting, including the assertion that defendants Lynch and Morea accosted him right after the meeting. Azan was standing next to Geissinger, and an elderly female Secretary was standing next to Azan. He was concerned about her safety as half of the Northampton Four bellowed in Geissinger's face. He described the scene as "very vocal, very belligerent." Geissinger was told, "You need to see this pornography right now." He added that Morea grabbed Geissinger's gavel and began pounding it until it broke. "They looked like they wanted to start a fight," he said.

Azan described "constant chatter" throughout the meeting, and said many members left, telling him, "I don't feel safe here."

Azan asked Lynch why he always tries to intimidate people. Lynch responded, "We can take it outside and you can throw the first punch."

Azan eventually did go outside, but not to fight Lynch. Apparently, there was an altercation between Brian McCulloch and another member that Andy the Clown broke up.  

While testifying, Azan twice whispered to a female deputy standing in the well of the court that he'd like a drink of water. Both times, she acted as though what he was seeking was a major imposition. She was relieved shortly before noon and said, "This sucks!" to the person replacing her in a tone of voice loud enough to be heard from where I was seated. This is highly inappropriate behavior. Whether she likes it or not, she works for Azan. He does not work for her. 

I failed to return for the afternoon session as my internal battery was near zero. But Tom Shortell of Lehigh Valley News has an excellent account. According to Shortell, at least one witness testified that Geissinger broke the gavel himself as he tried to restore order. 

An audio tape of a portion of the meeting was introduced by Northampton Area School Director Brian McCulloch. It appears to me as though it corroborated the prosecution, not the defense. 

Defense attorney Chris Shipman said the meeting was unruly, but no more so than many meetings of Congress or local municipalities. He characterized what happened as free speech. It can be ugly, but it's pretty basic to American democracy. 

He's right. That's why I consider this a weak case. Perhaps the harassment count against Lynch should survive. He clearly was attempting by physical menace to put Azan in fear of bodily injury. Technically, he could even be charged with assault for this kind of toxic masculinity. 

Judge Taschner maintained firm control of the courtroom. She explained at the onset that her role is quite limited. She does not determine guilt or innocence. Her sole function is to determine whether there's enough evidence to show that a crime occurred and that the Defendants were somehow involved. She is unable to engage in credibility determinations and must accept as true the evidence offered by the prosecution. Even with all these limitations, she dismissed six of the eight charges. 

Defendants will be arraigned on September 5, 9 am, in Courtroom 1. That's when Taiba Sultana's daughter is also being arraigned for encouraging her minor siblings to deface campaign signs opposing her mother. 

The Northampton Four

Glenn Geissinger

In March, I told you that Northampton County DA Steve Baratta authorized the filing of a private criminal complaint by GOP party chair Glenn Geissinger against four elected members of the Republican State Committee. Steve Lynch, Debra Biro, Melanie Heilman and Richard Morea have each been charged with eight counts of harassment and disorderly conduct as a result of their conduct at a Republican County committee meeting on June 8, 2023. All charges are third degree misdemeanors, punishable by up to one year in prison and a maximum fine of $2,500. 

After numerous delays, a preliminary hearing is finally scheduled for June 7, 9:30 am before Magisterial District Judge Jackie Taschner. I'm told it will be at the courthouse in Easton but need to confirm. 

Representing Geissinger as a "special prosecutor" is Robert Goldman, a former state and federal prosecutor. Representing the Northampton Four, as they like to call themselves, are prominent defense Chris Shipman, from Easton, and Southampton lawyer Andrew Teitelman. 

This should be quite the show. 

Lynch opposed Geissinger in the race for county chair and lost. These four committee members have been openly hostile to Geissinger since that time and have disrupted several meetings. During that June 8 meeting, two Republican committee members who are married to each other were confronted with pictures of them engaged in intimate relations, together with accusations that they had posted several videos on an Internet porn site. Both denied to me that they were aware that their intimate videos had been taken and posted online. 

One of them, believe it or not the female participant, lied to me. It turns out that she posted the videos herself. 

This could explain why by two police departments who investigated this matter decided against filing charges. But Geissinger's private criminal complaint appears to be focused on what exactly happened at that June 8 meeting as opposed to more salacious matters. 

In the meantime, the charged quartet has been banned from county meetings, even though they are elected members of the GOP state committee. On social media, some of their acolytes refer to the prosecution as lawfare, i.e. the use of the legal system to damage or delegitimize an opponent. This word has also been applied by Trump supporters with respect to four prosecutions lodged against him. But these prosecutions are affirmations of the American principle that no one, from GOP state committee member to US President, is above the law. 

Below are the docket sheets of the Northampton Four. 

MdjDocketSheet (pacourts.us) Steve Lynch

MdjDocketSheet (pacourts.us) Deb Biro

MdjDocketSheet (pacourts.us) Melanie Heilman

MdjDocketSheet (pacourts.us) Rich Morea

GOP Infighting Is a County and Statewide Problem

On Friday, I told you that NorCo GOP party chair Glenn Geissinger has taken the highly unusual step of banning four elected state committee members (Debra Biro, Melanie Heilman, Steve Lynch and Richard Morea) from monthly county meetings because their outrageous behavior in June has sparked a criminal investigation. Geissinger's decision was authorized by counsel for the state GOP committee. I have since learned that NorCo is by no means alone. Party chairs in other counties are taking action against so called "patriots" who refuse to play by the rules. Will this hurt Republican candidates in this year's municipal races?  In even the best of times, candidates who rely on party infrastructure and finances are doomed to fail. But the infighting is certainly unhelpful. 

NorCo Infighting

In Northampton County, the GOP is made up of three factions. First, there are the Steve Lynch fascists, a cult of personality who must worship Lynch. Second, there are Lee Snover's MAGAs, who must adore Donald Trump. Finally, there's the Lehigh Valley Tea Party. They actually appear normal in comparison to the other two factions.   

Currently, the Lehigh Valley Tea Party has a tenuous grip on leadership in NorCo. This is driving both Lynch and Snover nuts. Both suffer from a bad case of sour grapes. 

Snover is a former chair. For several years, she was able to hold off the tea party during raucous meetings. In one instance, the meeting ended with a call to 9-1-1. After Trump's election, her MAGA antics alienated her among local elected officials. She attended the January 6 insurrection, just like Lynch. Party donations dropped as she became increasingly extreme. . 

Lynch was certain he was winning the race for party chair by a landslide. After all, he had spreadsheets. His loss to Army veteran Glenn Geissinger, who actually graduated from Moravian (accounting) and Lehigh (accounting, marketing) must have been a blow to Lynch's rather massive ego. It's hard to understand why Republicans would select am educated businessman who served in the 82d Airborne over a narcissist who loves posting pictures of himself, but there it is. 

After Geissinger's victory, the Lynch mob and Lee's lackeys united to raise havoc with Geissinger and local party leadership. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

At June's monthly meeting, the Lynch mob and Lee's lackeys unleashed a vicious and highly intrusive personal attack against two committee members. I'm unwilling to provide details, but it was bad enough that police are now involved and a criminal investigation is under way. 

In response to my story, a reader I'll call Dumbass claimed to have given an audio of the meeting to an investigating detective. This officer was very grateful. Dumbass is apparently unaware that it is a crime to surreptitiously record a private meeting. 

Statewide Infighting

Within hours of Friday's story, Second Amendment lawyer Joshua Prince was on Bobby Gunther Walsh's morning radio show. He was there to talk about what is happening statewide, but also discussed Northampton County.  

Prince is a failed candidate for Commonwealth Court. He was rejected in the primary. He failed to secure the endorsement of the state party and also received a "not recommended" rating from the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He's a good lawyer, but his extreme views do cast a pall on his temperament. 

Is he another sufferer of sour grapes? 

As if to prove that he is injudicious, he's written a series of blogs (he's up to four installments) highly critical of the state and various county parties. On Gunther's radio show, he said he had a gentleman's agreement with state party chair Lawrence Tabas to raise any concerns he had privately, but was going public because he felt the agreement was violated.  

According to Prince, county committees are removing "conservative patriots" and replacing them with lifelong Democrats who are infiltrating the party. 

I think what's really going on is that these so-called patriots only recently became involved in politics and are just trying to bully their way into power. 

Speaking specifically about NorCo, Prince claimed that Glenn Geissinger "dislikes" four "patriots" so he filed a "false police report against them" and is using that as a pretext to preclude them from attending meetings. He then claims that Geissinger contacted me, "a liberal blogger, and gives him all the information relative to this ... ." 

That's inaccurate on several counts. I was first aware of this disgusting intrusion into the private lives of two committee members almost immediately after it happened because I spoke with the victims. I decided not to write about it then because the victims of this attack have been violated and writing about it would cause more pain. I then received an email from "Another Concerned Republican", chiding me for refusing to write a story. It included material whose distribution might very well be a crime. I forwarded that email to the District Attorney. He is in the best position to make that determination. 

Last Thursday, I heard a rumor that Geissinger had banned four state committee members from meetings because they are subjects of that investigation. In my view, when four elected state committee members are banned from participating in their county's meetings, that's a story. But I needed to verify.  I contacted Geissinger, and he confirmed that the rumor was accurate. He declined to go into detail or name them, but did say he was authorized to proscribe these members by the state committee's counsel. 

Prince stated that Geissinger's actions were unsanctioned, so I contacted Glenn again on Saturday. He reiterated that he had received authorization. Prince was obviously misinformed. 

Police were contacted by at least five people. Geisinger may have been one, or may have just responded to a police inquiry. 

Snover Snubs County Council Candidates at GOP Dinner

Last night, at Historic Hotel Bethlehem, the Northampton County GOP hosted its annual Chairman's Dinner. That Chair, incidentally is "General" Lee Snover. Her hard work and organizational skills helped put Donald Trump over the top in Northampton County last year. That's a remarkable feat in a blue County. But success may have gone to her head. She apparently has forgotten that the chief responsibility of a county chair is to recruit and elect Republicans within her own county. She's so focused on next year's congressional mid-terms that it seems to have slipped her mind that five County Council seats are up for grabs in November. She snubbed the Council candidates who came to her dinner.

The dinner started off, of course, with an invocation. Because these are Republicans intent on impressing each other with their Godliness, the prayer went on for quite some time. It's no easy thing to make America great again, you know. In any event, the prayer was so damn long that the Democratic spies in the audience ran out and onto Main Street, throwing themselves into oncoming traffic.

After the ambulances cleared, Snover began bashing Congressman Charlie Dent as usual. He's a heretic, while pussy grabber Trump is everyone's hero.

Snover did let Executive John Brown deliver his "pitch," if you can call it that. He was both lengthy and boring. He pretends he is some kind of corporate savior when the truth is that he was fired at two jobs and laid off at a third. Before long, it was Republicans who began hurling themselves in front of speeding cars and horse carriages on Main Street.

After that, Snover promoted some national races next year because she apparently considers herself a major player now. Some US Senate hopeful parroted a few Trumpisms. She also wanted Justin Simmons to talk about his Congressional race next year, but Simmons' mom refuses to let him out on weeknights. So Tom Carroll got up and drained the swamp for him.

Northampton County Council candidates up for election this year were selectively snubbed.

She allowed Glenn Geissinger to speak, knowing he will never contradict Executive John Brown. But Hayden Phillips was completely disrespected. Geissinger mentioned that Ron Angle and Peg Ferraro were running, but never said a word about his fellow Council member Phillips, who was sitting there. Nor did Snover do anything to make up for this oversight, leading me to believe this snub was intentional.

Last Thursday, Phillips made clear he opposes a jail at Gracedale. So did Peg Ferraro. And Ron Angle has said he opposes a jail at Gracedale, too.

None of these three candidates was asked to speak, either, though their elections are a month away and they were there.

Candidate Seth Vaughn, who never shows up anywhere, was MIA at this dinner. He has said he will be easily re-elected so I guess there's no need for him to campaign.

NorCo GOP Has County Council Slate, Dems Working On It

On Saturday, at the Bluein BethlehemTownship, Northampton County's GOP hosted its annual Lincoln Day breakfast for about 200 people.The featured speaker was Scott Wagner, who is running for Governor. Lincoln himself believed in malice towards none and charity for all, and this breakfast has traditionally included Democrats. But not this time. According to party boss Lee Snover, the event sold out early, so Democrats were barred. Even magisterial candidate Vivian Zumas, whose uncle owns the restaurant, was turned away. .

It appears NorCo Council has its slate of five GOP candidates. Glenn Geissinger, who spent half of last year running for Congress, thinks he's a shoe-in. Seth Vaughn, known mostly for absences that included the Budget hearing in which Council members proposed their own amendments, is running. He told me that in December and said he'd win, too, because "Nobody cares" that he missed Council's most important meeting of the year. Peg Ferraro (not pictured above) and Hayden Phillips are also seeking another four years. Though he's said nothing publicly, Ron Angle stood with the Council candidates and is circulating.

During this breakfast, Snover presented awards to worker bees who helped ensure that NorCo voted for Trump. This includes West Easton's Tricia Mezzacappa. She may be an adjudicated defamer with summary convictions for harassing West Easton officials. She apparently is a tireless worker.

On Monday and Tuesday nights, Republicans had well-attended petition-signing parties. They are pumped up

Democrats, whom I would expect to be energized in opposition to a so-called President who lies several times daily, are having a rough time finding five candidates.Peter Melan, Ron Heckman, Lori Vargo Heffner and an unknown named Tara Zrinsky are reportedly circulating. but the county party has no bench and is apparently having a hard time. finding a fifth candidate. Some suggest that party boss Matt Munsey circulate his own petition, hoping he can eventually recruit someone and step aside.

NorCo GOP To Pick Leaders In Secret

DeFranco and Snover

Northampton County is a Democratic County. But Republicans are in the driver's seat. They control the Executive's office and currently have a 5-4 majority on County Council. Even most of the judges are Republican. So you might think this is the one county party that has its act together. They'll meet this week on June 26 to select the Chair and Vice Chair for the next four years. But ironically, the county party with the most victories also has the most in-fighting. When the cops get called to one of your meetings, you should know you've got a problem.

Personally, I think these party committees are little more than a relic of the patronage days. Even Ed Rendell, who has bucked his own party more than once, dismisses them. "They have no significance, no political power, no punch."

Why are Republicans winning? Because they vote. Even in a Democratic county like Northampton, people are disgusted by President Obama. They stay home.

In the meantime, it's fun to watch wannabes make idiots out of themselves in their quest for power. Tom Carroll, Tony Simao, Tricia Mezzacappa and Ronnie Del Bacco are among those appropriately calling themselves the RATs. Loser might be more appropriate. They have yet to win an election.

Historically, Republicans and Democrats both reorganize at the Courthouse. That's where Democrats picked Obamaphile Matt Munsey as their new boss two weeks ago. Though only committee members may vote, everyone is welcome. It's the people's building. Before all the layoffs at local newspapers, they usually dispatched someone for the show.

In a break from tradition, Republicans will reorganize somewhere else this year. Privately  Instead of using the courthouse, they will meet in the tea party's underground lair at the Chrin Community Center. The RATs complained about a public meeting. Some say they want to keep bottom feeders like me away. Others say that the gun nuts want to open carry. Whatever the reason, it's yet another amazing demonstration that the RATs are hellbent on destroying transparency and accountability.

Who are the contenders?

DeFranco and Snover

Roseto resident Craig DeFranco, the current Chair, is seeking re-election. He's a Villanova grad and former Plainfield Township Chief of Police. An accountant by education, he's currently the CFO at a public company offering Internet music and games.

DeFranco is joined by Lee Snover, who is also running for re-election as Vice Chair. She manages her family construction business in Northampton and chairs the busy Bethlehem Township Planning Comm'n. She's worked dozens of campaigns in decades of party involvement.

I don't know DeFranco. I do know Snover. Anyone who calls her a RINO is nutz. She is a hard core fiscal and social conservative. But she tolerates people with different views. Even me.

That's her mortal sin.

DeFranco and Snover argue that you don't change a winning team..

"We won the County Executive election (John Brown) and all five County Council at-large positions (Peg Ferraro, Glenn Geissinger, Seth Vaughn, Hayden Phillips, and Mat Benol). Republican Judge Emil Giordano was overwhelming retained as Judge of our Northampton County Court of Common Pleas. On top of that, a majority of Northampton County voters – despite a Democrat party registration edge – voted to retain our Republican state-wide judges (Ronald Castille and Susan Peikes Gantman) and voted to elect Judge Vic Stabile to the PA Superior Court. The NCRC was recognized in a letter from Governor Corbett at our 2014 Lincoln Day Breakfast for our 2013 election wins."

Morey and Anderson

Anderson and Morey

DeFranco and Snover are being challenged by two RATs who represent the worst in local politics. Just this Spring, they engaged in a vicious state committee race that included a vicious website as well as negative mailers and robocalls against fellow Rs. All were done anonymously. If I had to describe them, I'd say they most closely approximate a circular firing squad.

These folks don't believe in transparency or accountability, which explains why they insisted that the election take place at Chrin. As explained by one of their acolytes, defamer Tricia Mezzacappa, "The Norco GOP will have its reorg meeting in a private place this year, to make sure that O'Hare cant get in."

The RAT candidates are Cynthia Anderson and Mike Morey, both of whom are coming off embarrassing losses to state committee. Anderson, a realtor who has bounced around from state to state, was Congressional candidate Matt Dietz' campaign manager. He lost, too, finishing dead last.

Morey claims to be an IT consultant.

In other words, he is unemployed.

No wonder they don't want me at their meeting.

RATs are going to committee person houses, telling them they have to support them or they have will make sure they have no future in the Republican party. One committee member complains, “It was like a Jimmy Hoffa visit."

I don't think the RATS got his vote.

NorCo GOP Meeting Ends With Call to 9-1-1

"Don't spit on me."

Republicans met last night at the Chrin Center, apparently because Ronnie DelBacco wants committee members to undergo some sort of a litmus test to make sure they're conservative enough. But that nifty little idea was never discussed because the meeting ended in chaos as tea party members got ugly ... again.

Obviously, this was a private meeting, so this account is based on discussions with three people who were there.

At some point during the meeting, tea-party Tony Simao, began blowing oil. As he bubbled over, so did his boyfriend, Tom Carroll. And with those two in a tizzy, Andy (the Jesus Clown) Azan began bubbling over as well. They crossed from the tea-party side of the room and confronted Vice Chair Lee Snover. Simao grabbed her arm, was screaming and spitting all over her. Calling her a bigot, he claimed he was investigating her for posting homophobic comments on this blog. In a blatant lie, he yelled that he could determine the IPs and ISPs of comments posted here.

Someone called 9-1-1, and they all took off.

Party organizations exist to elect members of that party. But all too often, they deteriorate into little more than sewing circles that act against their own interests.

This is one such occasion.

Simao can't blame this on Ron Angle, either. He's still recovering from some serious surgery and skipped the meeting.

Tony is an openly gay guy who once posted pictures of his penis on the Internet. Kinda' like a Gay Anthony Wiener. Unfortunately, this all came to light during his City Council race.I defended him at the time because I thought that was his own business. Democrats said he used poor judgment. I agree, but think their real motive was to show he was gay.

Ever since this happened, he's become a bitter man.

Being gay does not excuse being an asshole. You don't grab women. You don't spit on them, either, especially when you're gay.

While the Simao crowd might think they are purifying the Republican Party, they are ruining it.

NorCo GOP Fires Monahan as Solicitor

Over the years, I've lambasted Dem party bosses in Northampton County, where some little clique always seems to be setting the rules for everyone else, and then changing them. Now it seems that the Northampton County GOP is following suit. This has been building up for some time, but let me fill you in on what I've learned in recent days.

Easton Attorney Brian Monahan has served as Solicitor to the Northampton County Republican Committee since 1988. He's worked with Chairpersons Jim Oaks, Mike Haas, Mark Hoffman, Charlie Roberts, Peg Ferraro, and Roy Shuman. He never charged for his services. He made state law in several ballot challenges. He has also been an elected Republican State Committee Member from Northampton County from 2004-2006 and 2010-present. On Friday, in a curt letter from party boss Bob Kerr, he was told his services are no longer required.

This is the latest gambit in what certainly appear to be some sort of personal quest to recreate the party in his own image.

Since taking over, he started off by alienating a core group of party workers who could also be counted on to help drive up GOP turnout. The worker bees. People like Dottie Niklos and Mary Baurket.

Then he began removing people from the Executive Committee unilaterally, in apparent violation of Committee by-laws.

He failed to disclose that he is a political consultant, which creates an inherent conflict of interest in many cases.

He invited County Council candidate Tricia Mezzacappa, who threatened to kill an elected official and has been identified in an Easton police report as a racist, to lead them all in prayer.

Now he dumps Monahan, who happens to practice law in the same building as judicial candidate Jennifer Sletvold and obviously supports her. That must bother Kerr, who is backing Tom Carroll for judge. It certainly bothers party treasurer Tony Simao, who apparently is Carroll's significant other.

Things have become so bad that monthly meetings have deteriorated into shouting matches and invitations to fist fights.

Under these circumstances, Northampton County Republicans are poised for total annihilation at the polls this November, at least in the County races.

I discovered what happened to Monahan from one of his clients. He declined comment.