When I checked the usual bills and creditor demands in my mail today, I was stunned to see an hand-written envelope from John Stoffa. He just happens to be Northampton County Executive, our highest ranking Democrat. But this letter was not written on county stationary. It was a plain envelope adorned by one of those home address labels you can get by giving a few bucks to some worthy cause. Stoffa also fixed a stamp on the back of the letter, some gigantic deer drinking water.Do I owe him money, too? Was he hitting me up for an open space contribution or something?
I carefully inspected and opened the letter, making sure it contains no white powder. I was still stunned by its contents. It's a request from Northampton County's highest ranking Democrat, asking Dem boss Joe Long to step down. Here it is.
Dear Joe;
The time has come for you to resign your post as Chairman of the Northampton County Democratic Party.
Democrats of Northampton County are witnessing:
* a steady decline in the quality of candidates
* a failure to maintain party unity as seen in crumbling local committees, reduced emphasis on consensus-building activities, declining attendance at the annual County Party picnic, and a lack of significant fundraising events
* a lack of a working volunteer recruitment/development program
* primarily inactive local committees
* decreasing effectiveness in recruiting, grooming, and training potential candidates ... suggesting a lack of vision and commitment
* failure to maintain an up-dated website
* your policy of endorsing candidates in the primary election cycle
* your policy of holding party elections before new committee people are officially elected
* lack of a effective, productive Executive Committee
* a lack of support for your leadership among the many locally-elected Democratic officeholders I have consulted
* your silence in the face of such activities as negative and misleading robocalling as well as anonymous mailings which violate Pennsylvania Campaign Law; something good Democrats never support and former leaders such as Marty Bechtel and Gene Hartzell would never have condoned
* your ill-advised use of a political consultant now under investigation by the state Attorney General's office
Northampton County Democrats deserve better leadership -- especially in this most critical election cycle. While I do not dispute your loyalty to Democratic Principles, I am no longer convinced that you are the right person to lead the Northampton County Democratic Party.
Joe, please consider my request that you immediately resign your position as Northampton County Democratic Party Chairperson.
25 comments:
Wow! What a surprise. After a summer of having Mr. Stoffa at his house with other candidates in order to help him win.
It is easy to see how many including employees have learned how John'throw you under the bus' Stoffa got his nickname.
Just ask Jane Baker.
Dude...Long has attacked Stoffa non-stop for the past three years. Good job on Stoffa's part. Long should go.
John Stoffa is saying publicly what nearly every elected Democrat will tell me privately - Joe must go. His backroom style, by itself, is enough to make him a disaster. But to make matters worse, his style has been a disaster. He has indebted local Dems to the biggest sleze consultant in the state. Thanks to Joe Long, many local Dems have been appearing in front of a grand jury. What's even more amazing is that Long thinks he runs the county. He actually sent Stoffa a "cease and desist" order when Stoffa once let me tag along to a press conference.
A party chair like Daugherty in LC is an asset. He promotes Dems and stays out of government. But Joe Long is very divisive and likes to play power broker just a tad too much.
while i sort of like joe long, i don't hold any briefs for him.
it may be time for new party leadership. and as the titular leading democratic figure in northampton county, stoffa is going to have to exercise some role in party affairs if he wants the present leadership out. i have seen no evidence of him wanting to exercise any political authority, however.
if you want to run an administration that is "above politics", that's fine; but then you have to cheerfully allow others to run the political parties.
i would feel more comfortable if callahan,the mayor of bethlehem who is both a superb elected official as well as being politically astute ...which stoffa is not ....would be taking the lead here.
in short, a memo to stoffa: if you want to run a non- or bi-partisan administration and don't want to be bothered with politics, then you forfeit the right the complain about those who do.
9:28
Excellent point. Stoffa tries to be Peter Pureheart in all things but I say he is one of the most shrewd politicans I have ever seen. Dispite some problems and even disasters he is pure teflon, it all just slides off.
I can see him making the pitch to dump Long but to say he is doing it for the'good of the Party', is only beievable by the true believing kool-aide drinkers like O'Hare.
But knowing JS, he will pull this off like he has always been able to do. You have got to give the Devil his due, he knows and plays the game well. He has been underestimated by many but that is a mistake.
Consigliere,
You're missing the point. When someone "runs" the political party, that in itself is where the trouble starts. There should be more democracy among the Democrats in NC. This point has been made privately by many elected officials. Only Stoffa is willing to say so publicly. There's a big difference between politics and a political machine. Joe Long's style hurts the party.
I don't expect Joe Long to step down for a minute. We're stuck. But I also don't expect local Dems to elect Long or anyone like him ever again.
Bernie, nice letter you have written for John the most incompetent County Exec in our history.
Joe Long, for better or worse oversees a political organization that has solidified overwhelming control of its opposition, consistently delivered a growing voter bloc for the state party, and reduced party loyalists to argue amongst themselves in order to have anything to argue about at all.
The only opposition to the NorCo D machine is Ds who aren't yet getting every single issue to go their way. The larger picture is that every issue goes the D's way in NorCo. And Long sits atop the victorious, festering heap.
I'm glad there's dissension. Long has made mincemeat of my team. I'm a NorCo R whose party standard bearer is the clown prince of all local political knuckleheads. Clue: his initials are RON ANGLE. R's best hope may be for Long to be eaten by his own. I'll gladly pass the salt.
Fact: Joe Long was illegally elected party chair before committeemen had even been notified of their own election.
Fact: Joe Long has insisted on endorsing candidates in the primary, even when there are open seats.
Fact: Joe Long conducts party meetings without giving notice to committeemen he'd prefer not to see.
Fact: Joe Long has exceeded his role as party chair, involving himself in issues more appropriately left to elected public officials.
Fact: Joe Long stands for closed door government. In addition to his back room party meetings, he has violated the Sunshine Act as an appointee on the BHA.
Fact: Joe Long has indebted the local party at least $9,000 to the sleaziest political consultant in Pa., one who usually works for Republicans.
Fact: Joe Long has mired the local party in a statewide grand jury investigation, thanks to dirty casmpaign tacticvs used in the last general election.
None of this has anything to do with Stoffa's competence or whether Ron Angle is a clown prince. If they are, we could use a few more such incompetents and clown princes.
I like Stoffa, he is his own man and doesn't want to be in with the same old Joe Long/Boss Tweed political machine. Thanks Henry
It will be tough to get Joe Long out of that position given that he has hand picked every suck up he could find to put into committee positions.
To get him out, you would have to get the whole committee out and start from scratch - except for a few "real" people. they are easy to spot. They are the one's that are frustrated and that no longer show up.
It is very rich that Stoffa who has campaigned for Ron Angle, universally despised by most Demos, is lecturing the Democrats about who their County Chair should be. Maybe he should spend more time supervising CYS before it gets taken over by the DPW, the way it did in Lehigh County when he was Director.
Bernie,
Consigliere has some valid points, which does not mean they are a defense of Long.
It seems the Long record is politics at its worst.
The LCRC has had a similar period of attempts of back room control of what was referred to as the "Collective". This started to change under previous County Chair Dean Browning, and current Chair Bill Platt has made great strides.
However, the points that Tom Hayden makes (consigliere from the Godfather) are also valid.
Too many elected officials want to be above the partisan fray of politics. It is to the point that many politicians REFUSE to identify what political party they are in. Look at Charlie Dent's literature. This is their choice, which is fine.
However, it is the JOB of the political party to be partisan - in ideals and policies, and promote these to the public. Should R's attack Mayor Pawlowski because he might have different colored socks on one day. NO. Should D's attack Dent because he has a hair out of place? NO.
But should a political party actively point out failed policies or differences over policies. YES. That is their job. I think this is what Consigliere was talking about. Should the Party be compentently run to accomplish this, yes.
However, too many elected officials and 'power brokers' want to emasculate the parties to promote this false vision of harmony and bi-partisanship. All that is doing is leading to growing anger, frustration, and a backlash by both bases.
Look, if the political leadership, of both parties, were so wise and all-knowing, we would not have had Bonusgate, the Midnight Pay Raise, we would have real, meaningful property tax solutions...... Look what the love of "bi-partisanship" has produced!
John Stoffa's biggest boosters Ron Angle and former Republican Chair L.Jack Bradt who gave Stoffa thousands to unseat Reibman. Stoffa is the soul of the Democratic Party? I think not.
1) Former R chair L Jack Bradt contributed $1,500 to Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski in '06 and '07. By your reasoning, Pawlowski is a Republican.
2) Ron Angle is no friend of the local R party. Just ask them.
As I mentioned the other day, it is time for Mr. Stoffa to switch parties. It would be best for everyone. I think he'd make a great green candidate.
Perhaps it's time for Joe Long to switch parties. He'd make a great Nazi.
Don''t be picking on the Nazis. If it wasn't for their foolish foray into the Soviet Union we might be speaking German now.
Thank God that somebody finally either had the courage or just didn't care about the repercussions to finally say what most of us are thinking. Joe Long hasn't spoken to TJ, the State Chair, in two years. I have not met an elected Democrat who thinks he is worth a spit, and you can't even say he's dividing the party, because it's running without him. He's like your old, crazy uncle Larry with Alzheimers who, you have to be nice to at dinner, but who brings no value to anything at all.
I hope he gets the point.
Hmm, I agree with Joe Hilliard.
Apparently Hell has frozen over although it is not as cold as I thought it would be.
BTW, Bernie, only thing I have to offer on your several excellent points is that the primary endorsements, anathema that they are and should be within the context of primaries, are completely legit in terms of the local parties' by-laws complying with the state-wide by-laws as set out by the State Committee of the Democratic Party. I think it says more about a political party when it witholds an endorsement in the general election cycle.
Now is the time for Democrats and others of sound mind to support Barack Obama and Siobhan "Sam" Bennett. Our economy is being dragged through the mud. The Iraq war is bankrupting the USA. Inflation is hurting Working America as value for the dollar vs. other currencies plummets and respect for the Red, White and Blue is at all time lows.
Joe Long, on the other hand, has worked tirelessly for Northampton County Democrats and deserves praise. John Stoffa should reevalate his position, apologise and work diligently to unite all for better Lehigh Valley and USA.
yeah the reason we are stuck with Bennett is because Long ran her opponents.
off the ballot before filing
Always a detractor, Siobhan Bennett is on the ballot because she did the field work and was endorsed by almost 3000 of her peers here in the Lehigh Valley. Dent's shaky campaign is not on solid ground. Favoritism and earmarks shroud his record, it is time for a change.
Bennet is on the ballot because no one with heft, money or a winning track record wanted in.
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