St Paddy's Day: Northampton County Style

Northampton County Courthouse had a few interesting visitors yesterday. I tried posting this at midnight, but like an idiot, set the videos for private viewing only. I've fixed that, and here are the visitors in all their Irish glory.


This Civil Division employee is convinced his new outfit makes him a babe magnet.


The real babe magnet, of course is 88 year-old Dick Benner, who was our Voting Registrar back in the day. "I'm in good shape for the shape I'm in," he said. Women were throwing themselves at him, but they were only after his lucky charms.


The last entrant, Controller Steve Barron, isn't even Irish. But hey, it gives him a chance to show off his legs. He wouldn't let me look up his skirt.

Norco Elections Commission Chair: Report "Pure Partisan Politics"

A citizens' advisory panel report of Northampton County's election woes was released to the public on Tuesday. It makes fifteen recommendations, and contains an entire page of notes devoted to the erratic behavior of Registrar, Debbie DePaul.

Express Times reporter Sarah Cassi tells us this task force report has come under attack.

Northampton County Elections Commission Chair Walter R. Garvin - "pure partisan politics."

Northampton County Councilman and Democratic committeeman Charles Dertinger - "flies in the face of an independent elections office."

HRH DePaul - ""I'm sure there are Republicans that want me to leave."

The author of this report, Russ Shade, is a Democrat. So is Dick Benner, a former voting registrar who also served on this committee. Greta Browne? She ran for Congress, twice, as a Green party candidate. Republican Peg Ferarro resigned from the task force long before it got down to the dirty work of preparing a summary.

That leaves panel member L. Jack Bradt. He's so Republican he has elephants on his pajamas, but he was also the task force member kindest to DePaul.

So let's do the math. Two Democrats, one Republican and one Green are accused of producing a highly partisan report designed to drive HRH DePaul from office.

Partisan politics? I'll tell you about that next time.

Norco Elections Office Report Card is Imminent

In early January, Northampton County Exec John Stoffa named a five person "blue ribbon citizens advisory committee" to untangle a Gordian knot in the elections office. Its members were Russ Shade (Stoffa's reform-minded former campaign manager); Richard Benner (former registrar who oversaw 45 elections); Peg Ferraro (former county councilperson); Jack Bradt (former CEO at SI Handling); and Greta Browne (former congressional candidate).

Stoffa's request was very simple - "how can we do better?"

This group conducted seven wild productions between January 23 and April 4. At times, it had all the cacaphony of a three ring circus. I loved it! I thought it was a great opportunity to describe problems, both in the elections office and with those new touchscreen voting machines. But others, including Dem chair Joe "Bossman" Long, condemned these weekly extravaganzas as little more than a witch hunt.

I have a link to the "official" minutes of these meetings on my left sidebar. But let me give you links to my own first hand reports. They're a lot less objective, but also a little more fun:

January 23: "Stoffa's Citizen Committee Deals With NorCo Election Mess" - Stoffa draws first blood with this: "Our elections have been like giving birth to an elephant." Former voter registrar Dick Benner sets the theme of this panel: "[P]eople must be made to understand you're there to help them."

January 31: "Norco Citizens Elections Committee Follow That Paper Trail" - The importance of a voter-verified paper trail is discussed, and co-chair Russ Shade notes it's already required in 27 states, and will soon be coming to a U.S. Congress near you.

February 7: "Citizens' Election Panel Questions Voting Machine Certification" - Elections panel learns we voted with machines that were never certified. Whee! Registrar Debbie DePaul insists "we're doing very well." I wonder if she invented the phrase, "stay the course."

February 13: "Norco Elections Committee Wants Answers From AVS" - Dr. Alan Brau, a passionate voting rights activist, details BlackBox voting's claim that voting machine manufacturer AVS used shoddy parts, manufactured in China, to assemble our touchscreen voting machines. I don't care because I get a fortune cookie every time I vote!

February 21: "Norco Voter Registrar DePaul Discusses Her Kingdom" - DePaul consumes most of the evening saying goofy things like "The people who left under my reign are people I am still close with," and defends letters to state and federal officials urging that the county executive ignore new voting laws. "While it might be criminal, criminals are pardoned."

February 28: There are three posts concerning this fascinating meeting.

Pre-Meeting Post: "In Northampton County, Bloggin' is Dangerous to Your Health!" - Dem bossman Joe Long makes his first appearance at a meeting. The second he sees me, he demands a duel. Sadly, he trips over his sword and castrates himself!

Meeting Post: "Norco Registrar DePaul to Critics: 'Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!'" - Registrar DePaul incredibly brings a goofy lawyer, whom we later learn comes from a list supplied by Bossman Long. Her attorney is a "buffer" to protect her "from the falsehoods and basic lies." This legal eagle manages to insult the panel, press, Republicans, those of us sitting in the peanut gallery and even sticks his tongue out at a custodian. The meeting is adjourned when the accumulated hot air causes the entire building to start floating away.

Post-Meeting Post: "Norco Registrar DePaul Tries to Soak County for $2470 Private Lawyer Bill" - You can't make this stuff up! DePaul's windbag even wanted the county to pay for crabcakes at Uncle Wesley's!

April 4: "Norco Elections Task Force Reviews Positive Survey in Final Public Meeting" - In its last anticlimactic meeting, the elections panel reviews 370 returned survey questionnaires out of 1400 mailed to candidates(300), poll workers(700) and voters(400). A detailed summary, the same one presented to the citizens' task force, is posted here.

After these meetings, the panel met privately to make their findings and submit a report. It did so without Peg Ferraro, who resigned when she decided to seek a seat on county council. A week ago today, The Express Times' Sarah Cassi told us the report is now in, and Stoffa intends to release it to the public once he reads it himself.

Inside word is that the report, like those meetings, is a scorcher. Part of the delay in putting it together was the difficulty in finding asbestos paper.

Norco Voter Registrar DePaul Discusses Her Kingdom

"The people who left under my reign are people I am still close with."

Those are the exact words Northampton County Voter Registrar Deborah DePaul used at last night's meeting of a citizens' advisory committee studying our elections problems. Her Highness revealed the source of our election troubles. It's her.

Retired Registrar Benner expressed dismay over DePaul's numerous letters to state and federal officials concerning HAVA. In one, she actually urged county executive Stoffa to ignore the new federal law. "While it might be criminal, criminals are pardoned." Benner flatly told DePaul those remarks are out of line.

Benner wondered why newspapers still call him with elections questions. The press has told him they can't get the information they need from DePaul's office. He's concerned the office may now be playing favorites, echoing some concerns he heard from Congressman Dent's office. And he noted that eight people have recently jumped ship. He questioned why the office no longer had a notary for affidavits brought in at the last minute. Greta Browne also wanted to know why DePaul couldn't send someone from her office to Nazareth's recent, and very successful, nonpartisan "resident to candidate" forum.

This is when H.R.H. DePaul launched one of her long, rambling defenses. Rarely have I seen someone use so many words to say so little. Maybe she should be a blogger. She blamed everyone but herself.

"Prior to coming here, that office was in major disruption. ... The atmosphere in my staff is wonderful. ... It's very professional and very pleasant."

As professional as her staff may be, she could not trust any of them to go to Nazareth. "That would be a bad situation. You're not going to send a tech to do a surgery." This is not brain surgery. As one of at least forty people attending that forum, I know her employees could easily have handled all questions. Blogger Ross Nunamaker was able to do so rather nicely. DePaul missed a major opportunity to recast her office in a favorable light. Her attitude betrays a distrust, both of her own staff and the public. She just doesn't understand something Benner said at the committee's first meeting. "People must be made to understand you're there to help them."

At last night's meeting, panel members Russ Shade, Peg Ferarro, Dick Benner, Greta Browne and Jack Bradt agreed to ask the Department of State for proof that the AVS WinVote machines are really certified. They also want assurances that the hardware shipped by Advanced Voting Solutions is, in fact, what was approved. Local state legislators will receive copies of this request. They are also working on a survey about problems in the elections office, which will be distributed to candidates, poll workers and voters.

As Benner expressed his displeasure with DePaul, committee members Russ Shade and Peg Ferraro are frustrated by state officials who ignore them. Russ Shade mentioned repeated requests for information concerning state certification. "I'm ready to go to the governor. ... We're not asking for a miracle." And Peg Ferraro complained, "They're not answering the public and they're supposed to be public servants."

Voter activist Alan Brau, a local physician, warned the committee this would happen. He has had to sue the state Department of State over its refusal, without explanation, to re-examine voting machines.

Elections commissioner Joan Rosenthal also recommended that the Home Rule Charter be amended to provide that the elections commission become nonpartisan.

The citizens' advisory panel will meet again on February 28 and March 14, at 7 PM, in council chambers on the 3rd floor of the Northampton County courthouse. You can contact them with your views at voter.info@northamptoncounty.org. Minutes for these meetings are on the left side bar of this blog.

Stoffa's Citizen Committee Deals With NorCo Election Mess

"Our elections have been like giving birth to an elephant."

That's how Northampton County Executive John Stoffa described our last two elections. And he's right. In the primary, Democrats and Republicans were reversed and there was no write-in tally for six weeks. In the general election, voters were confused by a ballot designed to encourage straight party voting. And it took hours to tabulate results that turned out to be off by over 3,000 votes.

A few weeks ago, Stoffa named a five person "blue ribbon citizens advisory committee" to untangle the Gordian knot in the elections office. Its members? Russ Shade (Stoffa's reform-minded former campaign manager); Richard Benner (former registrar who oversaw 45 elections); Peg Ferraro (former county councilperson); Jack Bradt (former CEO at SI Handling); and Greta Browne (former congressional candidate). Today, this unusual nonpartisan committee met for the first time. It chose Peg Ferraro to serve as chair and Russ Shade as co-chair. It will be meeting weekly, with its next two meetings scheduled for Wednesday evenings at 7 PM, when working voters can attend.

Not a single member of county council attended today's meeting. Although the five member elections commission was expressly invited to participate, only Joan Rosenthal was able to attend today's 3 PM meeting.

Problems in the Elections Office

Stoffa originally told this committee it had just four months to come up with solutions. But today, his charge was a little more open-ended. He stressed they were not on a "witch hunt," but he wanted to know "how we can do better." He wants the public's input, improvements in our voting tabulation, and wondered whether an ethics code might be necessary. From all the accounts I've received, I believe it's pretty apparent why there are problems. Some of these problems, like the lack of paper trails and possible hacking, can only be solved at the state or federal level. But the county must deal with the following:

a) A registrar who refers to herself like this: "You seem to have failed to notice and appreciate that the person in charge of the Election Office is intelligent, dedicated, fair and non-bias and holds her office to the same standards. With every positive effort to hold a good and fair election I seem to be fighting a very negative, nasty wave from a group that seem to wish bad upon the office or the election." She rambled on for at least a half hour during today's meeting, assuring everyone things are wonderful. They aren't.

b) Elections workers are improperly trained and don't even know enough to offer provisional ballots, something that Pennsylvania law requires.

c) Voting machines are not evenly distributed so that precincts that have heavy votes get more machines.

d) There is insufficient manpower on hand in the elections office during an actual election.

e) Advanced Voting Machines must solve the problem of vote tallies following the election.

f) One party chair is too close to the elections office.

g) The Home Rule Charter needs to be strengthened to remove politics from the elections commission.

h) The ballot must be altered so that it is at least neutral on the subject of straight party ballots.

i) The district boundaries are screwed up (just call Voter Reg and ask for updated district maps and listen to the runaround you get)

j) There are mis-registered voters - assigned to vote outside the precincts where they reside.

A Good Start

Dick Benner very quickly got to the heart of the problem, He told Voter Registrar Deborah DePaul that "people must be made to understand you're there to help them." He suggested asking local high schools to provide 17 year olds to help monitor elections. "That exposes them to civic life and also eases the burden on elections workers." DePaul mentioned several colleges she's contacted, and claimed they only want to help when they're something in it for them. She completely missed Benner's point about contacting high schools, not colleges.

This committee is advisory only, a paper tiger. But they mean business. Their next meeting will be in council chambers on January 31 at 7 PM. Their email address is voterinfo@northamptoncounty.org.

Correction: The correct email addy for the citizen advisory committee is voter.info@northamptoncounty.org.