A Few Words From John Stoffa

In a wide-ranging conversation with reporters this afternoon, Northampton County Exec John Stoffa announced his refusal to shake down county workers or vendors to fund his primary campaign against Ann McHale. "I am accepting no money from anyone."

Condemning the pay to play politics so rampant everywhere else, Stoffa noted he could easily raise a large sum of money. "I could have said to my cabinet, 'I want $1,000 from everyone of you.' I could have said to the lawyers, 'I want $750 or $500.' Do you think they would have said no? I'm not doing any of that and it feels great."  

The reason for his refusal?  "I wanted to bring integrity back to government and want to bring it back for another four years." He feels that a politician who accepts large sums of money is indebted. "Whether you want to or not, you are beholden to them in some way."

Stoffa will do a few fliers and signs, but will this be enough?

"I have a lot of respect for voters. The people who vote in a primary are educated, sophisticated voters."

What if he loses?

"In politics, one of two things happens. You either win or you lose. If I win, everything will be great. If I lose, everything will be lousy for about six weeks and then I'll go back to building 500 birdhouses. I've built 26 so far."

How does he compare himself to Lehigh County Exec Don Cunningham or Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski?

"I'm a different kind of politician. I love Don, but when we get there I have to spend five minutes to think about what the hell I'm going to say. That's my style. Don has prepared speeches, double-spaced, too. I've never given a power point presentation. I wouldn't know how the hell to do it."

What is really prompting his run for a second term?

We need to do something about the prison. "We waste lives in that jail. I think it's abominable that we have four people in one cell."

I'll have more about Stoffa's different brand of politics next week, but wanted to share this breath of fresh air now. Spring is in the air.

What Does a Present Vote Mean? - Part Three

This all started two weeks ago, when I asked your advice on whether a nonbinding resolution really passed in Northampton County Council. The vote was four to three, with one abstention and one present. You made some pretty impressive arguments both ways, which confused the hell out of me.

One week ago, I gave you the Word from Mount Olympus. Northampton County Council Solicitor Anthony Martino cheated and read the law. The Northampton County's Home Rule Charter plainly provides, "[t]he vote of a majority of the members shall be required for the adoption of an ordinance, resolution, or budget, unless otherwise provided by this Charter." The resolution failed.

Eckville Press wrote a brilliant dissenting opinion.

At last night's council meeting, during roll call, Council member Lamont McClure said he was present, and added, "This is the only time you'll ever hear me say present." John Cusick, the council member who actually delivered the "present" vote two weeks earlier, apologized for the confusion.

Lamont McClure acknowledges that the Charter speaks for itself, but is unsure whether every vote should require a majority of all members. He mentioned there are times when only five members can be present, which would require unanimous votes for everything. He'll be speaking to some of the Charter authors to determine their original intent and may convene a hearing.

Believe it or not, some of them are still present.

Dertinger: $70 Million Pension Fund Deficit Just a Paper Problem

Yesterday, I told you about Allentown's $51 million pension funds deficit, which was minimized by Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski during budget hearings. He dismissed dire warnings from City Controller Bill Hoffman as "speculation. ... No one knows which way the market is going."

That was then. Hizzoner is whistling a different tune these days, claiming ''[n]o one saw this tsunami that has taken over the country, that has affected the state and us at the local level.''

Pawlowski should have a few words about that tsunami with Northampton County Council member Charles Dertinger. In Northampton County, the pension funds deficit is hovering around $70 million. To make matters worse, the county will also be paying somewhere around $15 million in a swaption deal that went sour.

To deal with little problems like this, Council Prez Ann McHale suggested replacing its current four-person finance committee with a committee of the whole at last night's Council meeting. Her justification? "We are facing difficult and tough financial times right now." Her idea was heartily endorsed by Council member Ron Angle. He loves meetings. But he noted his support is "probably enough to sink it on its own."

That's exactly what happened. By a six to three vote, Council rejected McHale's idea. Only Joe Capozzolo and Ron Angle agreed with McHale.

Lame duck Diane Neiper flatly stated, "I don't go for it." Rev. Mike Dowd explained that every council member is already free to attend every committee hearing. That's certainly true, but only committee members have a vote.

Here's what I believe Dowd and Neiper were really thinking. "Look Ron, damn it, we listen to you enough. If you tell us you voted against that swaption just one more time, we're coming after you. Why don't you get another damn radio show?"

Charles Dertinger was probably thinking the same thing, but just had to offer a ridiculous explanation that dismisses the gravity of pension fund deficit and the swaption liability. "These are paper problems. This is not $70 million we need to make up tomorrow. We're not looking at a doomsday sequence here."

Actually, we are. Dertinger, like Mayor Ed at budget time, has his head in the sand. A few months down the road, Charles will be saying nobody could have predicted this financial tsunami.

After Dertinger was done, a tsunami erupted, but it came from the mouth of Council member Ron Angle. "The reality of the $70 million deficit is that it has to be made up in a five year stretch. It's not a paper loss; it's a real loss." He's right. But then Angle mentioned, about 700 times, that he voted against the swaption. I can't be sure from where I was sitting in the peanut gallery, but I could swear that Neiper actually started singing.

McHale should have pulled a Pawlowski and proposed a committee of fifteen "outside experts," most of whom are campaign contributors.

Nazareth Area Food Bank Gets $20k From Northampton County Council

Northampton County Council last night unanimously decided to give the Nazareth Area Food Bank $20,000 from its slush fund, politely called its "contingency account." It will go to building renovations at the recently purchased Lackawanna Freight Station Building, located at 529 S. Main Street in downtown Nazareth.

This building, valued at $300k, was sold to the food bank by Essroc for half that price. St. John's Lutheran Church and Old Castle Corporation kicked in $80k to help with the purchase. It feeds 160 families.

Last night marks the first time this food bank ever obtained any sort of public funding. But before the vote, there were lots of hard questions. Amazingly, they came from the very same council that tripped all over itself to promise $50k for Shiloh Baptist Church for a halfway house, which has an abysmal track record with public money.

Council member Charles Dertinger asked why Nazareth is not yet affiliated with Second Harvest, which ensures fairness in its food distribution. And Ron Angle, the Northampton County Bulldog, wondered whether council is opening the door to all sorts of requests from other food banks. "I don't want people who need food to go hungry, but what happens when other food banks come and ask?"

This certainly is a worthy project, as evidenced by council's unanimous vote. Council Prez Ann McHale actually said it best. "Our job here is to help the needy." But it's also true that no financials were submitted, at least not during the public meeting. No provisions were made to ensure that the money would actually be used for the stated purpose. All too often, the "needy" happens to be someone who knows someone.

Instead of just handing out money every time some voting block comes forward, shouldn't Northampton County Council establish a procedure to evaluate finances and need? Shouldn't there be some oversight? After all, it's not their money; it's yours.

Congressman Dent: Repeal AIG Bonuses

Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent (PA-15) wants Congress to repeal a provision in the stimulus legislation that expressly allows companies like American Insurance Group (AIG) to provide bonuses even after receiving federal bailout money. Dent, you may recall, opposed the stimulus spending bill, which was rushed through Congress in February containing this protection for Wall Street executives.

In a news release, Dent notes he is now a co-sponsor of legislation that will strike language allowing these bonuses, which arose as a result of a provision inserted by Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, at the request of the Treasury Department.

AIG CEO Edward Liddy testified before Congress on Wednesday as members of Congress, and the American public, increasingly express their outrage at the company’s disregard for the taxpayers who have been bailing them out of serious financial straits.

“This highlights a failure by Treasury to provide effective oversight,” Congressman Dent said. “At a time when so many Americans are struggling to make ends meet, it is an insult to see taxpayer dollars line the pockets of well-heeled Wall Street executives. Our federal government has an obligation to be good stewards of federal resources. Unfortunately, some members of Congress and officials at the Treasury Department have valued expediency over responsibility.”

Bill White: Why Blogs Suck

"One of the things I like about the growth of blogging is that some of those independent bloggers do their own part to point the finger when they think good government is taking a beating. I don't always agree with their conclusions, but it's a plus to have more people paying attention.

"Still, they don't have the readership, journalistic training or resources that we do at the Valley's largest newspaper. Our responsibility as a watchdog is indispensable to our mission, which is one reason you should hope we don't disappear, even if you're mad at me or the paper in general."

In a column explaining why he sometimes writes about local politics instead of Mark Trail, The Morning Call's Bill White takes a back-handed swipe at local poliblogs. I'd love to jump all over him, but he's right, at least as far as I'm concerned. I do lack the readership, journalistic training or resources available to the MSM. I've seen reporters from both papers discover in minutes what takes me days.

If there's one group that wants newspapers to survive, it's bloggers. I must also say I'm excited by the rise of MSM blogs Queen City Daily and Two Rivers Daily, which are catching up to Joe Owens' "in your face" style of blogging and Jim Deegan's humor.

Reporters like Jarrett Renshaw and Michael Duck are using an online resource for detailed political stories you simply would never find in hard copy. Because they are trained journalists, they have more credibility than anything you'll find here. In an election cycle, that kind of information is priceless.

I recently complained to Duck, "You're putting me out of business." That would be fine with me. I could return to my Chippendale training.

Pawlowski's Solution to Fiscal Crisis - A Secret Committee

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

After spending much of the last three years bragging that he's solved Allentown's financial woes, Mayor Ed Pawlowski will have to revise his power point presentations. Allentown is in the red, and Hizzoner tells Morning Call reporter Jarrett Renshaw ''[n]o one saw this tsunami that has taken over the country, that has affected the state and us at the local level.''

Actually, someone did foresee this perfect storm, and he used to work for Allentown. In a well-written op-ed published last October in The Inky, Bethlehem Township Manager Jon Hammer joined Lehigh County Commissioner Dean Browning and Northampton County Council member Ron Angle in warning us that local governments were facing dark times. Hammer, incidentally, was an Assistant to one of Allentown's former mayors, Bill Heydt.

Rising costs to defined-benefit pension plans, soaring utility rates, stagnant revenue, crumbling infrastructure, increased personnel costs, and reductions in state and federal pass through money, have all combined to create that perfect storm.

Pawlowski ignored the warning signs, which included a $51 million deficit in the city's three pension funds, noted by The Morning Call (this article is only available in paid archives) during budget deliberations. City Controller Bill Hoffman told city council to prepare for two decades of contributing at least $4 million more to the city's ailing pension funds, but Pawlowski dismissed those concerns as "speculation," huffing, "No one knows which way the market is going."

Blogger extraordinaire and occasional Morning Call columnist Pam Varkony noted Hammer's chilling, and accurate, prophesy. She even connected the dots. "As one of the lone voices in the wilderness, who has been saying for two years that the city of Allentown's finances is a game of smoke and mirrors, I shudder to think of what the financial future is going to look like for the city's taxpayers when the full impact of this financial crisis comes home to roost."

Cock-a-doodle do!

The excrement has flown into Allentown's HVAC systems. After initially hiding his head in the sand, King Edwin has emerged, flanked by Council Prez D'Amore, to announce his solution.

A committee. All the king's horses and all the king's men.

Now before you start laughing, let me tell you this is no ordinary committee. These are "outside experts" who will hunker down behind closed doors so they can decide who they're going to screw without any worrisome interference from affected workers or the public.

So much for transparency in local government.

OK, now you can start laughing. Or crying. Michael Molovinsky tells us these supposed "experts" are really just salesmen. "[O]ur taxes are now being used to bail out the advice they passed on from their esteemed analysts." LVCI points out the hypocrisy of appointing a committee of finance mavens to come up with solutions while simultaneously adding 40 parcels to Allentown's tax free zone.

And as it happens, these "outside experts" are really insiders. They've been identified on the city's barely navigable web page. Let's look at a few.

Bruce Loch - contributed $1,575 to Pawlowski between 2006 & 2008.
David Olson - $75 to Pawlowski in 2008.
Paul Marin – Marin's wife, Joyce, is Allentown's Director of Community & Economic Development. She contributed $1,150 to Pawlowski in 2008.
Sandra O’Neill – contributed $500 to Pawlowski between 2006 & 2008.
Jim Steffy – Retired VP Planning and Administration, Interim President Muhlenberg College (Two Honorary Doctorates), which reportedly is in the process of buying property from Allentown.
Ibi Balog – contributed $425 to Pawlowski between 2006 & 2008.
Joel Gilley – contributed $225 to Pawlowski in 2008.
Tim Falon – contributed $200 to Pawlowski in 2007.

These are all the King's horses and all the King's men. They are Pawlowski sycophants, named to give him some political cover while he scrambles to put Humpty Dumpty together again.

Cunningham Proposes More Flags For Veterans' Graves

The Morning Call's Darryl Isherwood last week told us that Lehigh County's American Legion is upset at tattered and dirty flags adorning veterans' graves. Currently, the county purchases 34,800 flags a year and hands them out to veteran groups before Memorial Day so they can honor the fallen with a sign of respect.

Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham will ask Commissioners to approve the purchase of an additional 10,000 American flags for the graves of veterans. Embassy Bank has agreed to donate $2,500 for the purchase, which will total somewhere around $10,000.

“These are men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” Cunningham said. “They are true heroes and deserve to be treated accordingly. That’s one of the reasons why we gave all of our military personnel a full rebate on their county property taxes in 2007 and 2008. We were the only county in the state to do so and we did it because we value and appreciate those who served our country.”

But veterans' groups really should remove flags during the winter. In Northampton County veterans’ groups pick up the flags in early May for placement on Memorial Day. Flags must stay up until July 4, and many cemeteries keep them in place until Veteran’s Day. But they should be removed for the winter.

Tony Phillips Answers Some Smears ... and More

Pawlowski's dirt brigade is hard at work. Tony Phillips is already being smeared for having the audacity to accept a pension. He's also slammed because, after bigots stuck a chopped off black doll's head on the steering wheel of his police cruiser, he dared take legal steps to ensure that kind of behavior is eliminated. Finally, there's that incident at Bucky Boyle park.

On his blog, those allegations are answered.

More questions? How will Phillips help Allentown become better? One way is by listening to you instead of doing a power point presentation.

Why not meet him next Tuesday? He'll be at Nino's Pizza, located at 15th & Gordon, right next to the WaWa. Instead of one of Pawlowski's $1,000 fundraisers, you can spend $15 and get all the pizza and pasta you want. It's from 5:30 'till 8 PM.

I Have a New Daughter!

Even though she's seen this blog and knows I'm nutz, Brandy still married my son yesterday. Love is blind, I suppose. Osceola Mills, located about a half hour south of Penn State, is a beautiful little town. But I'll be back in the Lehigh Valley sometime today.

Congressman Dent: Shouldn't We Pay For Our Wounded Warriors?

Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent (PA-15) today stated his opposition to President Obama’s proposal to force veterans into private insurance to pay for treatment of combat and service-related injuries.

In a news release, Congressman Dent states, “The United States government must honor the moral and financial responsibility we have to our veterans who are wounded in the service of this nation. I share the concern to find ways to trim the federal budget, but this proposal is misguided. For an Administration that has borrowed and spent more than $1 trillion in two months, and now proposes a budget of $3.9 trillion more, this plan which will jeopardize the care of our wounded warriors demonstrates misplaced priorities.

“The American Legion and other veterans’ groups oppose this proposal, and with good reason. The cost of freedom has been paid by these veterans. The cost of treating their service-related injuries should be borne by the government that sent them into harm’s way. ”

My Irish Roots

Blogger's Note: Unless his fiancee suddenly comes to her senses, my son is getting married today - St. Patrick's Day. I'm up in Osceola Mills, about a half hour's drive from Penn State, trying to fit into a frickin' kilt, as though we're Irish nobility or something. Omar the Tentmaker just dropped off a particularly large canvass so I'll try that. Since I'm a little busy, I thought I'd run a story I wrote about a year ago about my family's Irish roots.

Not long ago, I injured my lower back when some little brat from west end Allentown pushed me over during a basketball game. I rested, took lots of drugs and seemed to be getting better. But this past weekend, I suffered a relapse, making it difficult even to sit at my computer.

On the bright side, I get to take more drugs. So instead of pissing all of you off with my usual political rants, I thought I'd tell you a little story today about my family and why we don't look too closely at our Irish roots.

Black Irish. That's what I am, bippy. Instead of the usual freckle-faced redhead, I'm dark and swarthy. Victorian English were sure these physical differences made us inferior, and who am I to argue? Some say we're the progeny of those lucky few members of the Spanish Armada whose brains weren't crushed in by the Irish themselves. Others claim we're actually one of the ten lost tribes of Israel.

My family is originally from Newtownhamilton in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. I could never get a straight answer, but I'm pretty sure we were kicked out for making bad whiskey. In fact, we had to slip into the US over the Canadian border. Imagine that! We were illegals at a time when they'd let anyone in the country.

Ever hear of shanty Irish? We make them look like nobility.

We eventually snuck into Schuylkill County. My great uncle had a beautiful dynamite plant, but blew half of New Ringold off the face of earth when some idiot (another O'Hare, of course) had the brilliant idea of running a phone line in at a time in our history when a lot of sparks flew off those wires. So much for technology. That was nearly the end of the phone line and any other line for the Armagh O'Hares here in America.

Most O'Hares became nohares, going off like Roman (or should I say Irish?) candles because of all the bad whiskey that fueled their bodies.

One of these skyrocketing nohares was my great-uncle Felix, known as the anthracite bard. I can't find a damn thing he's written, but my packrat brother probably has something in some drawer somewhere.

My grandfather (Bernard V.) and his uncle (Bernard H.) survived. Neither ever went to college, yet both somehow became lawyers. They both ran for political office many times, from DA to Congress. They lost every time. We were like the Orloskis of the coal regions.

Although a staunch Irish Catholic, and a Democrat to boot, Bernard H. denounced the violence used by the Molly Maguires. He preferred the Mahatma Ghandi approach. The Maguires responded to his message of peace and love by burning down his house three times. To make sure he understood, they once beat him to within an inch of his life.

I adored my grandfather. My parents used to dump me on him for a month at a time because I was always running away from home to become a mountain man and would wake up neighbors at 4 AM to recruit them in my adventures.

My pop pop always wore a three piece suit. I think he slept in the damn thing. He would give me pocket watches he made as a hobby and, for some reason, also gave me lots of American flags. He walked everywhere, and would even let me walk to his office with him. But he was very sickly. Every corner, he'd have me stop and wait for a minute or so while he'd get his "shot." He had lots of doctors. He'd come out, smile, and say, "I feel much better now." Not my grandmother. She'd be angry about all that medication my grandfather needed.

My dad actually got to go to college, but the war put an end to that. Although he never graduated, he was allowed to go to law school and became a lawyer. He also married a nurse, a wise choice for any O'Hare. He's the only one of us who ever managed to get elected to anything, but only lasted four years in office.

That's pretty much the high point for our branch of the O'Hare clan in the United States. After my father, grandfather and great uncles passed on, so did our glory. It's been pretty much downhill since. My sisters are OK, but shed that surname at their earliest opportunity. Those of us who've kept it have done it no favors.

Growing up, my cousins were well known to the local constabulary. I think they're better now. Just don't let either one of them near a bottle of glue.

Me? In the military, I once was responsible for a shot from a self-propelled howitzer that destroyed a recently vacated outhouse from ten miles away. Have you ever seen shit fly ten miles? I have. You learn things like that in the army. Our entire unit was expelled from Fort Bragg after that little incident, although they could never pin it on me. I was eventually begged to leave the military altogether, which explains why we're still in Iraq.

I also blew up three labs at Baker Chemical while attending college. Before I left for law school, I persuaded my fellow lab techs to unionize. Now, as most of you know, I'm an alcoholic ex-lawyer with a fragile grip on sanity. Worse, I'm an impoverished blogger, the only person with less credibility than a radio talk show host.

My brother? He's much worse than me - he deserted the seminary to become a frickin' born again Christian who reads the bible every day and goes to church twice a week. He's even converted his dogs. You oughta' hear them howl "Amazing Grace."

My son? He's getting a Ph.D. from PSU in chemistry, and has already blown up his lab once, and in a brand new building, too. He's taken me on a tour to show me where projectiles lodged themselves firmly in the ceiling. I'm very proud of him.

My daughter? She's already blowing things up in the 82d Airborne. I think she'll go far and will probably be promoted to the 81st Airborne one day.

We're a mess.

Now most people like to be able to say they are great great great grandsons of Henry VIII or Moses or something, but I'll never look for my ancestors. I already know we're nutz. What's worse, I know far too much about my distant cousins in County Armagh.

One of them - Dessie O'Hare - is called the "Border Fox" because of his ability to elude capture at the police checkpoints between Southern and Northern Ireland. That's one hell of a nickname.

According to some, his "only 'crime', if 'crime' it was, was to be an active Republican." Of course, he's no Bush Republican, but is - 'er was - an active member of the Irish Republican Army.

Others have a different view, claiming he's killed twenty-six people and mutilated others. He became known as Ireland's most dangerous terrorist. Imagine the competition for that title! When he was finally captured, he was riddled with eight bullets, but somehow survived.

It's hard to kill an Armagh O'Hare. Ask Jim Hickey. Ask Joe Long.

Dessie was convicted of something (not homicide) by one of those "special" criminal courts, packed with English judges and no juries.

I'm a miserable bastard. But my distant cousin Dessie makes me look like a choirboy. Believe it or not, he's been released, and is living at an unknown location. Not here. He's now a student of anthropology, psychology, metaphysics, yoga and tai-chi, and his sign is Scorpio. He's currently looking for Mrs. Right, preferably one with an Uzi. His favorite movie is The Molly Maguires.

If I explore much more of my family history, I'm going to be sitting next to some smiling Mullah in Guantanamo Bay, reading the Koran.

Pawlowski's Prevarications

On his campaign web page, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski brags his "new pragmatic, non-partisan approach to local politics" has restored fiscal stability. In stump speeches, he claims to have righted the financial ship of state without raising taxes. (He fails to mention a new EMS tax enacted in '06.) Even when he had his hand out to Lehigh County Commissioners for a community policing grant, King Edwin just had to tell them he turned an $8 million deficit into a $6 million surplus, among other things.

One fawning former blogger, a Dem committeeman admitted into King Edwin's sanctum sanctorum for an "exclusive" interview, was completely enthralled. "My opinion so far is that at least concerning the city's financial health, Ed Pawlowski waded in to swim in the deep end of a cesspool where over 8 years of Bill Heydt and 4 years of Roy Afflerbach, neither dared to swim." In yet another "exclusive" interview with a duo of cheerleaders, Pawlowski puffs there is "total transparency on how the city spends its money."

Well, guess what?

Turns out that Allentown is still a financial mess. Looks like that surplus is actually a deficit. How much? Beats me because Ed "total transparency" Pawlowski won't tell us. In a Jarrett Renshaw exclusive, which has a tad more credibility than those adulatory interviews, we learn that Pawlowski is even pondering layoffs to help meet the city's fiscal crisis.

Allentown City Council member Michael Donovan, who amazingly still supports Hizzoner's reelection bid, had correctly questioned Pawlowski's revenue predictions during the budget process. And now, an elected representative of the people is being denied access to this information. "I have heard hints of lower than expected receipts, but just hints. No report."

In his typical confrontational style, King Edwin responds by stating that Donovan "hasn't shown any leadership in this matter.''

How would you know, Ed? You were a no show at the budget hearings.

In Hellertown's Crowded Magisterial Race, Is Hill Over the Hill?

Nine candidates are duking it out for the magisterial seat currently held by Diane Repyneck in Hellertown and Lower Saucon. Candidates include Dano Guerrieri, Stephanie A. Hoppes-Kovacs, Herb C. Payung, Kristin M. Seyfried, David Tidd, Donna Zawick-Long, Carol Ortwein, Tony Branco and James W. Hill.

Yes, former Northampton County Council member Tony Branco, who actually lied about using campaign consultant campaign consultant Scissorhands Severson during his county council bid, thinks he has what it takes to be a mini-judge. According to a sexual discrimination lawsuit he filed against Douglass Township, which fired him as their manager, he suffers from "anxiety" and "heart disease." What's really sad is that he has a serious shot at winning, too.

But this post is actually about one of Tony's rivals, James W. Hill. He just changed his voter registration from Springtown in Bucks County to Northampton County on February 9th. Anyone who wants to be a district judge must live in the district for an entire year preceding his election. Hill tells election officials that he will have lived in Hellertown for a year, and just got around to changing his registration in February. So if Hellertown is really his residence, where did he vote in November's election?

The Hellertown property Hill lists as his residence is actually a rental property owned by Winfield and Lona E Hill, who themselves live in Bucks County. Hill has been practicing law in Springtown, Bucks County, for the past eight years.

Will one of Hill's opponents challenge his residency? Stay tuned.

State Rep. Lamont McClure?

Popular State Rep. Craig Dally is an odds on favorite for one of three Northampton County judicial vacancies. If he wins, his house seat will be open. Though most of Craig's district consists of slate belt communities, a small portion is located in Bethlehem Township. Lamont McClure, a Northampton County Council member, just happens to live inside that tiny sliver.

I'm told McClure is already eyeing the land of midnight payraises.

Confessions of a Mafia Wars Addict

As most of you know, I'm a miserable bastard. I'm so nasty I even argue with myself. I never imagined that, at age 57, I would be reading all kinds of Facebook messages from people I hardly know like "XXX is ready for bed... long weekend!" or "YYY is heading out to dinner With the kid."

Seriously, who gives a shit?

ZZZ is "is very curious where tammy's grandfather is and hope[s] that he's ok and gets home soon."

That's nice. Who the hell is Tammy's grandfather? For all I know, he's tying one on at the Fleas. I do hope he gets home soon.

On top of all this useless information, Facebook often freezes, which usually results in me having to restart my PC. Even now, I'm trying to answer a message and the frickin' application is stuck.

Despite all these drawbacks, I'm sticking with Facebook for one and only one reason - Mafia Wars. I'm addicted. You start out on your own, a simple street thug, and begin doing odd jobs like mugging someone. But you can invite your Facebook friends to join your gang, and before you know it, you're a Capo with ten casinos, knocking off a Federal Reserve.

As a result, I now have about 100 friends from all over the world and get to read messages from a Saudi teenager like "seoga sehat dan sukses selalu."

My sentiments exactly. Now I think I'll knock over the little bastard's casino.

Beltrami to Landfill Foes: Nobody Likes a Tattle Tale

Looks like The Committee to Save Williams Township has been judicially tossed into Chrin's landfill. After Judge Beltrami had rejected a Sunshine Act claim concerning a Chrin landfill expansion in Williams Township, landfill foes discovered that his single largest campaign contributor just happens to be Charles Chrin. Tonight, spokesperson Kathy Lilley issued a news release claiming she is "disappointed but not surprised" by Judge Beltrami's latest bullshit burger in rejecting a motion that he recuse himself.

Beltrami may very well have made the right call when he rejected the Sunshine Act claim. But Beltrami should have disclosed that this dispute involves his biggest campaign contributor. the judge huffs that doing so would make the judicial system "unmanageable."

I see. It would also make it honest.

Not every case before Beltrami involves his largest campaign contributor. Very few of his decisions involve donors, so what the hell is he talking about? His reasoning stinks as much as that landfill. I also love his petulant snark at this underfunded group, which has no lawyer, for tattling to the press. Excuse me, Judge, but what the hell difference does that make? Your court is open, isn't it?

Landfill foes went to the one group that actually cares about little things like government transparency and the appearance of impropriety - the press.

Jim Narlesky Explains Political Activity

I've known Jim Narlesky, a sitting magistrate, and Bethlehem attorney Barb Hollenbach, for many years. It was no fun to tell you earlier this week that, when they circulated nomination petitions for county council candidate Deb Hunter and exec candidate Ann McHale, they violated the Code of Judicial Conduct. No matter how limited their participation, they still actively promoted candidates for branches of government that will almost certainly come before them.

It indicates bias, not the best quality to look for in a judge.

As I explained in a comment to a subsequent post, "[I]t's by no means the end of the world. I agree that, compared to what was going on in Luzerne County, this is very minor. But in a race packed with excellent candidates, I would give a few points to one who followed Canon 7 and subtract a few from one who does not. I would subtract even more if the candidate is a sitting magistrate."

Yesterday afternoon, I heard from Jim Narlesky. He wanted me to know he did no door-to-door circulating, and in fact only obtained three signatures, all from his own family. I think you should know that, too. His violation is minor.

But when Jim lent his name as a circulator in a very partisan county council race, he still entered into an arena where no judicial candidate should be seen. Canon 7 requires judicial candidates to "refrain from political activity inappropriate to their judicial office." Jim's intentions were entirely honorable, but what's to stop a partisan candidate from telling potential voters that a judge supports her and even circulated a petition on her behalf?

In a race packed with highly qualified candidates, little things like this make a difference.

What Does a "Present" Vote Mean? - Redux

Last Friday, I told you about a nonbinding resolution considered by Northampton County Council. All nine council members were present. Council Prez Ann McHale abstained while council member John Cusick voted "present." The remaining seven voted 4 to 3 to adopt the matter. Council clerk Frank Flisser, tallying votes in a stormy meeting, quietly said that it passed.

But did it really? Put another way, was the resolution adopted? I was confused and asked for your help.

Most of you unofficial county council solicitors, relying on Robert's Rules of Order, voted yes. But some of you, like Lehigh County Commissioner Dean Browning and East Penn School Director Alan Earnshaw, ruled that the resolution failed.

So what's the final answer?

According to county council solicitor Anthony Martino, the resolution failed. Northampton County's Home Rule Charter, which trumps Robert's Rules, provides "[t]he vote of a majority of the members shall be required for the adoption of an ordinance, resolution, or budget, unless otherwise provided by this Charter."

I still don't know what the hell a "present" vote means.

Former MC Reporter Dick Cowen: "Ancient History"

Retired Morning Call reporter Dick Cowen always had a knack for telling a great story in very few words. It's a gift I never learned. His latest ditty, "Ancient History," is below.

About 25 years ago, we moved from an old farmhouse in the village of Locust Valley to a row house in the 500 block of N. 5th Street in Allentown's Old Fairgrounds Historic District. It was located about a half dozen houses south of towering Dubbs Church at 5th and Allen.
In that bygone time, the church bulletin board one week listed a guest speaker for Scout Sunday.

It was John Karoly.

His topic: "Building Character."

Film at 11.