17 Magistrate Workers Shortchanged on Raise

Northampton County Council recently approved modest pay increases for NorCo clerical staff. These raises were proposed by Deputy Director of Administration Cathy Allen, who claimed they had been planned since last year. Though this was the Administration's idea, and approved unanimously by Council on April 16, a Bethlehem attorney and former Assistant County Solicitor is reporting that the raises approved are being denied to 17 workers who serve on the front line of our justice system, in the Magisterial District Judge offices.

Attorney Chris Spadoni is reporting that, despite their inclusion in the pay proposal, at least 17 of these technicians have been informed that the approved pay raise will not be honored. This pay raise was supposed to go into effect on April 27. Spadoni has sent several letters to the County's Human Resources Department, and just notified Council Solicitor Phil Lauer about what is going on as well.

So let me get this straight. Brown has awarded raises to at least 17 top county officials. He has done so under some arcane policy manual and without the blessing of County Council. But he is denying raises to 17 other employees that were approved by Council and that he claimed to be his own idea.

Makes sense to me.

DA Morganelli on the Cone of Silence

Mat Benol and Scott Parsons Like the Cone of Silence idea

Northampton County DA John Morganelli appeared before Northampton County Council yesterday to seek approval for one-step increases in the salaries of three of his employees. The amount is only about $5,000, and Morganelli has the money in his budget. Though the District Attorney is an independent and Constitutional office, Morganelli decided to seek Council's assent for wage increases to nonexempt employees. This is something Brown failed to do for a three-step increase granted to Cathy Allen, his Deputy Director of Administration.

Earlier that day, the Administration had stated that the identity of employees who benefited from Brown's generosity last year are confidential and should be kept from the prying public eye. Morganelli got word of that stance, and said, "I'll just refer to them as Madame X. Or we can go into the Cone of Silence like Maxwell Smart "

After the laughing subsided, Morganelli stated that "all public salaries" are a matter of public information. He added that when he sued Executive John Stoffa over raises he wanted to give to Assistant DAs, their salaries were "all over the newspapers." He stated the names of the employees affected are included in his request. You may release them. They're public as far as I'm concerned."

Morganelli's request was approved by Council's Personnel Committee.

Bob Werner complimented Morganelli for respecting Council enough to ask for their approval.

Officer Claims Troxell Threatened Physical Retaliation

I've been fairly uncomplimentary about part-time Nazareth Police officer Dan Troxell. Aside from his botched Stickergate prosecution, I always felt he was responsible for the unnecessary and tragic death of Timothy Nixon, described below. But I was unaware until yesterday that Troxell has been accused of intimidation. His reaction to reports that were surfacing about him in 2013 smack of witness tampering.

In a signed statement dated 11/23/13, Officer Stephen Schleig details troubling statements made by Troxell. "[W]hen I find out [who is leaking reports], ... I am going to sue that person, get that person fired, try and file criminal charges against that for theft, and go after the person physically, hurt them bad. I mean I'm going to physically hurt that person, and do the same to their entire family."

When Schleig took offense at the way Troxell was speaking, Troxell asked, "What are you, a boy scout?"

Schleig is actually an Eagle scout.

Troxell's statements were allegedly made about six months before I began writing about him, and appear to be directed at another Nazareth police officer.

Nazareth Cop Faces Civil Rights Lawsuit Over Suicide

Timothy Nixon was a troubled soul. He had a lengthy history of mental illness, and was well known to residents and police officers. Two years ago, he ended it all with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He left two children without a father. What makes this story all the more tragic is that it never should have occurred. Nixon was more or less goaded into killing himself by Nazareth Police Officer Danny Troxell. Nixon is dead because Troxell just had to be a cowboy. When I made Nazareth Borough Council aware of what had happened, I was ignored. It will be harder to avoid the civil rights lawsuit filed on Tuesday.

According to a complaint filed in federal court by Attorneys Phil Lauer and Joe Welsh, Nixon was an African American. Troxell and Trachta have been accused of using derogatory terms to refer to minorities in radio chatter as UNBs (unauthorized n----- in borough) or UNITs (unauthorized n------ in town).

In May of 2013, Timothy Nixon, age 32, broke into a friend's home and stole his handgun. Then Nixon called his friend admitted his crime, and said he was going to kill himself and his baby's mother as well. He also called his girlfriend and said he would kill himself.

Nixon's friend and girlfriend both reported the matter to Nazareth police. Troxell, who was assigned the matter, got an arrest warrant for Nixon, who was sitting in an apartment alone. .

Nobody with supervisory authority over Troxell was on duty. Troxell decided to arrest Nixon. He called Upper Nazareth and Stockertown, which sent four officers for assistance.

So far, so good.

That changed when more seasoned officers arrived at the scene, and noticed that Nixon was on the second floor of an apartment building.

"I don't like this," said an Upper Nazareth officer. "This is dangerous. Somebody is gonna' get hurt."

The officers suggested that a perimeter be set up for reasons of public safety. They encouraged Trachta to contact the state police, which has a swat team and negotiators. They suggested that Troxell just call Nixon, noting it would be far safer to spend a few hours talking to this guy than getting in a shootout and risking the lives of innocent bystanders.He also ignored their suggestion that the girlfriend be asked to call him.

Instead of heeding reasonable advice from veteran officers, Troxell called them "fucking pussies" and eventually kicked open the door to the apartment building.

Nixon saw Troxell coming and shot himself. It was a senseless death, made more so by the actions of a hot dog who couldn't even be bothered to try to talk to this guy.

The next day, Chief Trachta attempted to cover for Troxell's ineptitude. "[W]e needed to move on this," he told The Express Times. "The police went to execute an arrest warrant, found the person deceased," Trachta misled the press.No attempt was made to discipline Troxell. Quite the contrary. Chief Trachta has tried repeatedly to have Troxell named as a full-time officer.

He allowed an inexperienced officer to help a mentally disturbed man kill himself. And the person did not kill himself until Troxell kicked in a door.

I am told that police reports prepared by Upper Nazareth officers, and the one prepared by Troxell, are inconsistent.

The Complaint details a pattern of civil rights abuses and cover-ups.:

• a private investigation into the police department was highly critical of its management, but Borough Council has refused to accept this report. It has refused to make its contents public and has even denied it exists.
• Troxell participated in the use of excessive force, which included tasing a man who was handcuffed and inside a police cruiser.
• Troxell was the arresting officer in the botched Stickergate prosecution, in which all charges were dismissed after a staged perp walk. 
• Nazareth amazingly fired a school crossing guard whose only sin was to be married to the man who ran against Mayor Carl Strye.
• Nazareth retaliated against and ultimately fired Officer Fred Lahovski for casting a spotlight on mismanagement within the police department.in what appears to be a "custom and culture of disregard" for the constitutional rights of residents and even some police officers.
• Officer Lahovski had prepared policies and procedures for dealing with mentally ill persons and those in emotional crisis, but they were never acted on by Borough Council or the Mayor. 

Here's what some those who knew Timothy recently had to say on the second anniversary of his death:

Latita Hill: Rip Tim you will b truly missed u were always there making someone smile u were a good person + fun to b around my condolences to his family + friends : (

Simone Attel Rip thoughtss n prayers to his family may he b at peace what beautiful man so sad

Angela Rose Thank you Julie Brennan. Timmy, we miss you so much already. My heart hurts.

My understanding that additional suits arising out of Stickergate and the firing of a crossing guard are imminent.

Kassis Candidacy Fails (Updated)

Judicial candidate Abe Kassis finished second (7,382 votes) in Tuesday's primary. He finished second among both Democrats and Republicans, but needed to finish first. Republicans, who are very loyal, stayed with Vic Scomilio (4,720 votes), who received his party's endorsement. Democrats went with Sam Murray (5,079 votes).

In his first bid for judge, Abe waited too long to enter the race and fell short. He did not try hard enough. This time, he tried too hard. He outspent everyone 2 to 1, and tried to appear to be all things to all people. He is a man of great personal integrity and charm, and I hope he brushes this off and tries again.

(Blogger's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Kassis was top vote-getter. That error has been corrected.)

Tea Party Candidates Fail in Bethlehem Tp

An organized faction of the local tea party calling themselves the Republican Action Team (RAT) have failed in a Bethlehem Township attempted takeover. The three candidates they fielded - Robert Birk, Wayne Buller and Fran Blatz - fell short.

In the at-large race, incumbent Marty Zawarski grabbed 393 GOP votes, compared to Birk's 323 and another 242 that went to Paul Weiss, who played the role of spoiler. In Ward 1, incumbent Tom Nolan (188 votes) crushed RAT Wayne Buller (52 votes) and rt Murphy (76 votes).. In Ward 3, incumbent Phil Barnard (140 votes) easily overcame a challenge by RAT Fran Blatz (73 votes).

The RATs refused to appear at a debate concerning this race, hosted by Republicans.

Zawarski is likely to face Democrat Jack Glogola, who waged a write-in campaign, in the Fall. Democrats cast 235 write-in votes, and my guess is that most went to Glagola, a transparency advocate opposed to a development next to wetlands called Green Pond Marsh. Another Democrat, Kim Jenkins, will face Phil Barnard.

Pat Broscius Will Be Bethlehem Tp's Next Magisterial District Judge

In a race involving about 7,000 candidates,  493 Democrats and 377 Republicans voted to elect Assistant District Attorney Pat Broscuis as Bethlehem Tp's next Magisterial District Judge. The seat is being vacated by incumbent Joseph Barner. She is a class act who deserves to be there.

UNOFFICIAL: Ron Angle Has Enough Write-Ins to Run For Controller

According to the unofficial tally, Ron Angle will be on the ballot this Fall as the Republican candidate for Controller. That's bad news for incumbent Steve Barron, who has been effective in recent years. It's worse news for John Brown, who has been a disaster as Executive and is sitting on a slush fund of casino table games revenue.

See You Thursday

After a fifteen hour day at the polls, I really wanted to write about the elections. But that became impossible as people hit me with text after text and phone call. I know the election is mostly good news, but I am too tired to focus right now. Some very good people - Sam Murray, Ed Hozza, Jr, Pat Broscius and David Tidd, are winners. That makes us all winners. I will have more to say Thursday after getting some needed rest.

Turnout Low in Hanover 3

As of 11:17 am, 61 of 897 registered voters have cast a ballot. That's 6.8% so far.

Repyneck Continues to Demonstrate Ignorance of Law

In the Hellertown-Lower Saucon Magisterial District Judge race, David Repyneck has pretty much established that he'll be unfair. He has repeatedly accused incumbent David Tidd of "severely lacking" personal integrity. He has demonstrated a bias against Protection From Abuse Act Orders, which he would be called upon to grant on an emergency basis. He incorrectly believed that other elected officials were prohibited from endorsing candidates. He accused an elected official of sign vandalism with absolutely no evidence. And on his Facebook page, he now claims to be taking "appropriate action" against Attorney Amanda Kurecian for an ad that accurately observes that he lacks the certification he needs to sit in judgment of others.

According to Repyneck, "The law states that candidates cannot run negative ads in publications 8 days or less without furnishing the candidate in question a copy and receiving that candidate’s permission to run the ad."  But that's not the law.

In 1980, The Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared unconstitutional any law requiring a candidate to give reasonable notice to an opponent before running any ad. First Amendment, you know. Repyneck hasn't got that far in his reading of the Bill of Rights.

"Sally" Dedicated at SteelStacks

Marcia Hahn, 96 yo cancer survivor Mae Trexler,
daughter Linda Trexler and LV Pink Heals
founder Bill Andress

"Sally," a 53 year-old pink firetruck dedicated to raising awareness of women's health issues, was dedicated during a brief ceremony at SteelStacks on May 16. Though no longer making fire calls, this vehicle will now make home visits to women battling illness. As Lehigh Valley Pink Heals founder Bill Andress explained, Sally recently visited a woman battling cancer in Nazareth, at the lead of a procession of volunteer firefighters who provided flowers, hugs and hope.

About forty well-wishers attended, including State Rep. Marcia Hahn. She presented Andress with a certificate of recognition from the State House. "It's the first time I've ever been served papers in public," Andress quipped.

PinkHealsLV provides $1,745 check to LV
Cancer Support Community

Sally has room for people to chronicle their own battles with illness. In black pen, they inscribe encouraging words or messages to loved ones who have passed on..

The star of the ceremony was Mae Trexler, a 96 year-old woman who faced cancer 18 years ago, and beat it.

All funds raised by Pink Heals, which is 100% volunteer and 100% nonprofit, stays in the local community. "We are about serving women, not serving causes," insisted Andress..

He presented a $1,745.97 check to Paula Sue Ream, Executive Director of the LV Cancer Support Community.  Her group offers a wide variety of programs and services to people battling cancer, all at no charge. .

Rev. Peter Bredlau, Pastor at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Bethlehem Township, called Sally a "beacon of hope for all people - patients, survivors and families."  He also joked that he hopes he looks as good as Sally does when he's 53. That's largely due to Bethlehem Area Vo-Tech students, who turned a rusting and decommissioned firetruck into a pink lady.

One of the touching messages on the Pink Lady

It''s In Your Hands Now

As I do every election cycle, I've managed to piss off half the civilized world with my election coverage. Now it is up to you.

If you don't take an interest in your government, I can assure you that your government has a nasty tendency to take an interest in you, and in ways you don't like.

Vote!

Hanover Tp Observes 4th Annual Armed Forces Day

Despite threatening skies, Hanover Township celebrated its 4th annual Armed Forces Day on May16th at Armed Services Park, dedicated to the men and women who are serving and have served in all branches of the military. Residents and dignitaries gathered underneath the flags of each branch of service, along with the Stars and Stripes to reflect on the sacrifices made by those in uniform. The entire Board of Supervisors attended the ceremony, and laid a wreath at the memorial.

State Senator Mario Scavello and State Representative Marcia Hahn also attended, but they gave no speeches. Those came from Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Seth Phillips, USN (Ret.) one of only eight rabbis who acted as US Navy Chaplains during his time of service (1992-2012). The audience also heard from Chief Warrant Officer (CWO4) Donald E Smith, USA (Ret.) a Hanover Resident whose Naval career spanned more than 50 years. He's been a member of Congressman Charlie Dent's Military Academy Selection Board for the last 23 years, and described the military careers of several Hanover residents who attended the military academies.

Music entertainment was provided the Brass Ensemble of the American legion of Bethlehem. Post 379 also provided an honor guard, which presented a 21-gun salute in honor of the fallen.

In his benediction, Rabbi Phillips reminded the crowd of these words from Archibald MacLeish's The Young Dead Soldiers Who Do Not Speak:

"We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.
We were young, they say. We have died; remember us."

As his words withered away, WWII Veteran LeRohn "Dan" Deysher stood a distance from the crowd, and played Taps. Deysher served three years during WWII in the United States Navy aboard the USS Pennsylvania as Mus1C from the Aleutians to Okinawa, followed by three years shore duty to complete his enlistment. Retiring from Bethlehem Steel in 1984, he has played Taps for over 3,000 military funerals, Memorial Day services and other remembrances.

Judge Giordano Receives Another Police Endorsement

Last month, the Pennsylvania State Troopers' Association endorsed Judge Emil Giordano's bid for the Superior Court. That was followed quickly by Bethlehem's FOP. Now the Le-Hampton Lodge FOP, which represents 39 different police departments throughout the Lehigh Valley, has unanimously voted that Giordano is its choice on the Superior Court. President Gene Hatcher has sent this letter to Judge Giordano.

As President of Fraternal Order of Police Le-Hampton Lodge 35, it is an honor to inform you that our membership has voted unanimously to endorse you for Judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Your track record and commitment to the safety of Pennsylvania’s citizens and law enforcement community are outstanding. Your continuing efforts and dedication to your profession have earned our support.

Express Times Publishes One NorCo Election Story

There are several wide-open races in Northampton County. On the county level alone, there are two council districts up for grabs. There is also a judgeship very much in dispute. Yet The Express Times has written nothing about these races, leaving readers to run to The Morning Call or elsewhere for information.

But on election eve, it has published a story about the Controller's race, even though no Republican is on the ballot. The article notes Ron Angle's write-in bid, but fails to mention another Republican write-in hopeful.

Ron won't be the Republican's candidate unless 250 of them write in his name. If he really wanted this, he would have circulated. What his candidacy does do is make it more difficult for Barron to wage his own write-in race. Yet The Express Times has placed him on equal footing with another candidate who actually is on the ballot, incumbent Steve Barron.

I have no problem with informing people about this race. but why nothing about other races where the candidate names actually appear on the ballot?

My Election Picks: Who Gets My Kiss of Death?

Below are my picks for candidates I consider best suited to the job. Who wins is a different matter. I am often reminded of my fallibility after elections, and this year will be no exception. I'm no Buddy Christ. I just think I am.

You can read more about some of these races in my campaign pages, on the left sidebar, and at the Lehigh Valley League of Women Voters. .

Northampton County Council District Three

John Cusick (R candidate)

✓ Mickey Thompson (R candidate)

Though Cusick has County experience, Thompson's knowledge of nursing homes could prove invaluable in turning Gracedale around. Cusick and Executive John Brown, whose leadership has been a disaster, were overheard disparaging Thompson. That's why I would recommend Mickey over John.

Northampton County Council District Four

✓Lorin Bradley (Republican)

Matthew Dietz (Republican)

Bradley;'s specialty is human relations, an area in which Executive John Brown has failed miserably. So despite his ridiculous support for a public paid public relations consultant, I believe he could help turn around poor morale. I also admire his transparency. Dietz impressed me as well, despite his appearance on tea party radio.But it's hardto dispute Bradley's impressive credentials.

Northampton County Judge

Abe Kassis

✓Sam Murray

Vic Scomillio

Sam Murray has the most experience of the three, has served as a Master and a Juvenile Hearing Officer for the courts, and is the only man in recent history I know to march a little known Little League team from Bethlehem right into the World Series. I think Abe tried too hard, and as a result became deceptive in his mailers and with his support base. Scomillio has been tainted by his association with Executive John Brown, and i especially don't like the idea that he fured someone just before Christmas, while driving somewhere.

Bethlehem City Council four year seats (three)

✓ Mike Recchiuti (i)

✓Willie Reynolds (i)

Michael Colon

✓Shawn Martell

Bethlehem City Council two year seat (one)

✓Jeff Kocsis (two year)

Matt McKernan  (two year)

Olga Negron (two year)

While I think there should be term limits on Bethlehem City Council seats to keep developers from pouring money down their throats, I believe Reynolds and Recchuiti have been effective on Council, and have worked with Mayor Bob Donchez. Martell impressed me just a little more than Colon. For the two year seat, I had a very difficult time between Kocsis and McKernan. I went with Kocsis only because I've heard that McKernan intends to run again in two years if he loses. He should. I even ended up being favorably impressed by Negron's refusal to take money from developers, but not by her ties to Allentown Mayor Edwin Pawlowski.

1st Ward

✓Tom Nolan, an engineer at Lehigh Heavy Forge, is a voice of reason in an often unreasonable Board. Yet he has two Republican opponents. One of them is former Commissioner Art Murphy, who works for Selvaggio and Son. The other, Wayne Buller, is definitely a tea party and RAT favorite. Regulars like Ben Hedrick, Andy Azan and Melissa Miller (significant other of NorCo Council member Seth Vaughn) are behind this campaign. At a debate, Murphy slammed Housenick Park Committee, and often spoke out against funding the library.

3rd Ward

✓ Phil Barnard, Manager at Bay Insulation, has been another moderating influence on the Board. Well-spoken and thoughtful, he really listens to residents and tries very hard to be transparent. He's precisely the kind of guy who Republicans should be embracing and grooming for higher office. I could see him as County Executive or in the State Senate.

Phil two opponents, Republican Fran Blatz and Democrat Kim Jenkins. Blatz, whom I believe to be the tea-party candidate, is listed as the Pro-life leader at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Jenkins is the Secretary of the Bethlehem Township Athletic Association, which Barnard has steadfastly supported during his four years as a Commissioner. .

Phil deserves re-election.

At Large

✓ Incumbent Marty Zawarski is being challenged by two former Republican. They include Paul Weiss and the tea party sponsored candidate, Bob Birk.

To his credit, Zawarski is running hard. That, or unopposed, is the only way to go. Weiss, a good man, is running out of bitterness and not for the right reasons. Birk, whose ethics statement lists his occupation as "unemployed" and has posted yard signs calling the office "comissioner," would make the Township Board a laughing stock.

Zawarski is clearly the best choice among the three Republicans.

Lehigh County Commissioner. - On the R side, the only two candidates worthy of any support are ✓ Dean Browning and ✓Vic Mazziotti. Though they despise each other, they both have commanding knowledge of public finance and both are men of conscience. They'd do better working with each other than against each other. The other candidates include a Commissioner with no backbone (Brad Osborne), a home-schooled music teacher who lives with her mommy and daddy (Amanda Holt) and an arrogant bicyclist who wears bug suits (Marty Nothstein).

There are also four Democrats who are unopposed in their primary.

Whitehall Mayor. - If you believe in democracy, ✓ Ed Hozza, Jr. should be your choice. If you believe in an urban growth regime in which only the monied are heard and are willing to cede over control to Allentown, just write in Pawlowski. Or megalomaniac. Same thing.

Bethlehem Township Mini-Judge. - Three Assistant DAs are seeking the seat being vacated by Magisterial District Judge Joe Barner. Though all three are well-suited, my first choice is ✓ Pat Broscius. As an Assistant District Attorney, she was a powerful voice for children who are sadly neglected and abused, often in the most horrendous ways. It is easy for a person who sees those tragedies every day become bitter, but that never happened to Pat. Like Magisterial District Judge Jackie Taschner one said to me when she was still a DA, "I'm a prosecutor, not a persecutor." It is very possible that Sandy McClure will prevail on the Democratic side. Bill Blake is another very capable person.

Hellertown-Lower Saucon Mini-Judge. - I expect to see ✓ David Tidd easily re-elected on both sides of the ballot. He is simply the best candidate. Repyneck ran an ugly campaign, and made too many wild and reckless allegations to be taken seriously. Amanda Kurecian acted with honor and should be commended.

Bethlehem Mini-Judge. - ✓ Roy Manwaring has spent next to no money for re-election, and most of it comes from his own pocket. Her deserves another term. I never really understood why paul Bender challenged him.

Supreme Court. - My two top picks are Democrat ✓Kevin Dougherty and Republican ✓Corry Stevens.

Superior Court. - Lehigh Valley favorite son ✓ Emil Giordano.

Commonwealth Court. - Coalcracker ✓ Todd Eagen.

Why is Michael Assise Really Running For Constable?

Though not much is known about them, constables have existed for a long time. They've been around since the time of Edward Longshanks. During the American Revolution, they were called "chief guardians of the peace." These days, they mostly serve warrants for outstanding parking tickets.

Unlike most peace officers, constables are elected to six-year terms. Once they complete their 80 hours of training and file proof they have liability insurance, their jurisdiction is statewide. A constable elected in Nazareth, for example, can spend his time serving warrants in Milford if he's pals with the magistrate there.

Micaael Assise is opposing long-time Constable Doug Fulmer in Palmer Township I've met Fulmer while working the polls in Palmer and paying off a ticket at Magisterial District Judge Jackie Taschner's office. He towers over most people, and my guess is that most respect his authotah, even Cartman. But his chief weapon is his disarming smile.

Yet Fulmer is being challenged by Michael Assise, who has signs throughout Palmer touting his seven years of experience in law enforcement. What he fails to mention is that he was let go as a police officer in four different municipalities Wilson Borough, Palmer Township, Nazareth and Hellertown.

Assise, you may recall, is the tavern operator accused and acquitted of buying stolen lobster tails for The Brickhouse Tavern. He claimed at the time he had no idea they were stolen.

As a Wilson police officer, he was fired for his own admitted use of excessive force against an individual charged with disorderly conduct. Assise also acknowledged, in his third interview with Chief Steven Parkansky about the incident, that his original account of the matter had been deceptive. Chief Parkansky withdrew the disorderly conduct charges filed against an innocent person.

I called him about his race and he had no idea that winning does not guarantee him any work. That decision is made by a Magisterial District Judge who could just as easily decide to giver the work to someone else. So why is he running?

He told me that someone "higher up" encouraged him to run. He declined to name that person, but it's no secret that he and judicial candidate Abe Kassis share many of the same Lebanese supporters.

Tea Party Extremists Aid in Kassis Deception

Our local tea party fear-mongering

The Lehigh Valley Tea Party Facebook is apoplectic about a mailer that links judicial candidate Abe Kassis, a Democrat, to them at a tea party meeting on February 18. Chair Ronnie DelBacco denies there was a meeting that date or that Kassis "personally sought out the signatures of Tea Party leadership." He goes on to accuse judicial candidate Sam Murray, another Democrat, of "outright lies."

Here are the facts.

A faction of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party, calling itself the Republican Action Team (RAT), has been established. They call themselves the RATS, and include the local tea party leadership. Ronnie DelBacco (organized protest against foreign children at KidsPeace), Tom Campione (fighting for guns in parks), Tom Carroll (failed mayoral and judicial candidate) and Bryan Eichfeld (wants "true science" taught at Saucon Valley) are tea party leaders who are members of this faction. It's very difficult to maintain that there's any real difference between the tea party and the RATS.

The RATS had a petition-signing party on February 18 at Frank's Pizza in Bethlehem. "Please help us out and share this event with your friends and family who are registered Republicans!" is what their Facebook notice stated.

Kassis attended this meeting of the most extreme members of the tea party and personally circulated the petition obtaining their signatures. He then allowed tea party extremist Tom Carroll to circulate on his behalf and obtain signatures from even more tea party members.

He spent so much time with the tea party that he was late to a meeting with Easton Democrats that evening. He apologized that he had been at "another meeting," but failed to tell these Democrats where he was or what he had been doing.

This is something undecided Democrats need to know before they cast their vote.

Abe Kassis and His False Advertising

Sam Murray with his real daughter

Abe Kassis is one of three candidates running to be Northampton County's next common pleas judge. He wants it badly, and is outspending everyone two to one. But there's a danger in wanting something too badly. It makes you do stupid things. In Abe's case, he's trying to be all things to all people Along the way, he has been deceptive.

At the onset of the campaign, Kassis actively sought out support from the most vitriolic extremists within the tea party. People like Ronnie DelBacco and Tom Campione, who give ordinary Republicans the willies. He has another one of these extremists circulate in his behalf. At the same time, Kassis was telling Easton Democrats that he's one of theirs.

Then the campaign ads started, one of which includes a picture of a group of cute kids sitting on Abe's lap The rent-a-kids picture was used to counter the reality that both of Abe's opponents - Sam Murray and Vic Scomillio - are family men. Abe is not.

Then came the preprimary report, revealing that Abe had paid political consultant Tom Severson $37,600. For those of you who don't know who Severson is, he was convicted of filing deceptive campaign expense reports in 2010. That explains the rent-a-kids deception.

The dishonesty continues. A recent campaign mailer starts like this:,

ABE KASSIS is
the Only Democrat for Judge:

If you go beyond the colon, you see the qualifiers. But if you don't, and just glance at the ad like 90% of us do, you might start thinking Abe Kassis is the only Democrat in the race. He's not. He's the only Democrat who sought out support from the right wing fringe. But there's another Democrat running.

Sam Murray.

Son of a steelworker and seamstress, Murray does not have the money to outspend his opponents two to one. He has to put his children through school, and is unable to kick $25,000 of his own money into his campaign because he wants to do right by his children. But to his credit, Sam has made no false claims about who he is or what he brings to the bench.

He prefers to tell you the truth.

That's the kind of judge we need.