Scomillio Judicial Candidacy a Referendum on Brown

In Northampton County, a County Solicitor position is usually a springboard from which one ascends into the judicial heavens. It's easy in that role to appear to be dignified and above the fray, the way we like our judges.So when Bethlehem Attorney Vic Scomillio accepted a position as the County Solicitor under Executive John Brown, that's really when he announced he was running for judge. He's been running a year. The announcement that went out yesterday is just a confirmation of the obvious. I get the strategy, and under normal circumstances, I'd say Scomillio is a shoe in. He's an excellent lawyer and is very personable. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty. Brown's first year as Executive has been a disaster. He has managed to tie Scomillio to several very unpopular decision. He has also implicated Scomillio in violations of the Home Rule Charter and Administrative Code. Instead of being the favorite, I'd have to call him an underdog.

In Brown's first year in office, morale has deteriorated so badly that a record 139 workers have decided to retire. Reduced staffing in the Civil Division, which is down four deputies and six people, has resulted in about a six week backlog in indexing court filings. What judge can be happy about that?  At the jail, staffing cuts have forced corrections officers into mandatory overtime. They are tired and angry, and that's when they might let their guard down and get assaulted or worse. What judge would be pleased with that public safety danger.

Scomillio is giving legal advice to an Executive who is simply incapable of being transparent and even posts armed Deputy Sheriffs outside of a news conference. What's even worse, he's the attorney representing an Executive who has made decisions that are simply illegal. Let's review.

• Scomillio was forced to defend an Executive who brazenly issued a no-bid contract for a public relations consultant. It took a lawsuit from the Controller before he finally agreed to go thre RFP route.
• Scomillio is the Solicitor to an Executive who issued 3 piecemeal contracts to cost consultant C3, keeping them under the $25,000 threshold that would require Council notification, in violation of the Administrative Code.
• Scomillio represents an Executive who thought nothing of having a political get together with his PR consultant and a political consultant about fundraising, and then arranged to have a meeting in his office to discuss political fundraising in more detail. 
• Scomillio has assisted that Executive in refusing to disclose approximately 140 emails with cost consultant C3 concerning reductions in health care benefits, in what certainly appears to be a violation of the Right-to-Know Law (an appeal is pending). 
• Scomillio is the lawyer who attempted to justify balancing the County budget with an illegal $20 million line of credit, something that even Council's Republican Solicitor concluded is contrary to the Home Rule Charter.    
• Scomillio is the lawyer who allowed his Executive to propose someone as Director of Administration whose high school diploma is below the education required for the position in the job description prepared in accordance with the Administrative Code.
• Scomillio is the legal adviser to a County Exec and Administrator who violated the County's own policies concerning travel  expenses. 
• Scomillio may yet be determined to have violated the civil rights of  an assistant county solicitor who claims in court that her career service position was ended for political reasons.

The only thing he's got going for him is his lawsuit against a very unpopular Easton commuter tax.

Now I'm sure that when Victor signed on to be Brown's legal adviser, he assumed that Brown would be level-headed and follow the law. Privately, he may have urged the Executive to be more transparent and that it's illegal to borrow $20 million to balance a budget. But publicly, Scomillio is tied to Brown, hook, line and sinker. And I mean sinker.

Even if he gets the GOP nod, I am predicting right now that his candidacy is already dead. I think he is tainted by Brown, as are Republicans running for the District Council and Controller seats.

Among the Democrats, I hear that Easton Attorney Sam Murray is pondering a run. He's a former Custody Master and is a Master in juvenile cases.  Assistant DA Abe Kassis might also run, I'm told. DA John Morganelli is running for DA. He likes that job, works hard, is good at it, and could probably be elected DA for life.

Republicans believe they will win everything this year, and are meeting at Chrin Community Center later this month to organize campaigns. I believe they are mistaken. They have been hurt by Brown, who forced them to vote for an unpopular tax hike because he lacked the guts to do the right thing.