Tom Giovanni is known as “quiet” on council. Most of his supporters and friends tell me this. John Brown and John Goffredo are the Republicans who talk most in meetings. Giovanni is known as less talkative and abrasive. While some people think that’s good thing, and I normally would too, it’s obviously not a good thing in this case. Under the best case, the man has no idea what he will do if he runs the Northampton County Government from day to day next year. At worst? He does know, but the rest of the GOP is just better at articulating the terrible ideas than him.

Giovanni is running against County Controller Tara Zrinski to be Executive. You wouldn’t be able to tell that from his campaign though. His initial press release, which he did in lieu of an actual announcement where he’d have to talk, was written and released by Congressman Ryan Mackenzie’s campaign manager and district director. Now he has signs popping up in the more Republican areas of the county saying “Where’s the money, Lamont?,” a reference to Gracedale money his handlers say Lamont McClure “lost,” even though it’s quite obvious where the money went from the independent auditor. Then there’s the anti-democracy behavior of Republican County Chairman Glenn Geissinger and Councilman Goffredo, claiming that the Executive does not have the power to run the elections office, only the council does. This is of course ridiculous and absurd in a home rule charter county in Pennsylvania that created an Executive office. They’re mad though, because McClure opened satellite voting “on demand” locations in South Bethlehem and up in the Slate Belt in Washington Township. This is silly, one is in a blue area, the other in a red area. McClure isn’t “rigging” an election here, they just hate when people can vote. Giovanni is again silent as his handlers complain about this too. Then there’s the behavior of Goffredo, grandstanding on a budget amendment, calling for Fiscal Affairs Director Steve Barron to resign when he knows damn well that Barron has been interviewing for new positions and may have an announcement soon, since the current administration will end at the end of the year. This hack on council is just setting up to claim they “pushed him out” in support of why we should elect Giovanni in a few weeks. Meanwhile again, Giovanni is asleep up on council, saying not much of anything.

The question is not what Giovanni will do as Executive, the question is whether this man is in a coma or has a pulse at all in his own campaign. As the Republican Congressman, Republican County Party Chairman, and other two incumbent Republican Councilmen are up there focusing all of their attacks on a guy who isn’t going to be appearing on any ballots in 2025, Giovanni is either unwilling or incapable of putting together a coherent sentence, hence why he was terrified to debate Zrinski. Rather than debating, he had his Republican Party Chairman negotiate two separate appearances on WFMZ to “discuss,” or in his case lie about, the issues. This is because Giovanni is simply not capable of saying anything coherent and is better off letting better spokespeople explain his terrible plans for the County.

So what are Giovanni’s plans? Well, let’s be honest, they’re setting up to use the “mismanagement” of funds to come in and argue that it’s time to privatize/sell/close Gracedale. This has been the GOP’s position for 15 years in the county, and they’re going to go as far as they can to get it done. They’re going to use the excuse of the Federal Government cutting Medicaid and Harrisburg not really doing anything to fix it, as well. They’re going to start by demanding he acquiesce to the Council as the new Executive, then he’ll tell them it can’t be run. If the public outcry is too much, they’ll just spend their time making cuts to the place so that it becomes unworkable. Don’t kid yourself, Giovanni may not fully get it, but his handlers have made it clear to him that they oppose a safety net for county residents. It’s coming.

Next, Giovanni’s administration, either unilaterally or by acquiescing to council’s demands, will come in and chip away at access to voting in Northampton County. He’ll immediately kill the satellite voting sites, probably get rid of the four drop box locations (or at least cut them), and probably instruct the election’s office at a minimum to mail out ballots later than the current office does. He may just kill all vote by mail and early voting, citing the President’s illegal executive order on the matter. Does Giovanni fully understand this now? Who knows. He knows that he’s going to do what his handlers tell him though.

Look, the reality is that the county is probably facing a tax increase in about two years, which if handled correctly, might only be a return to the rates prior to the last cut. Washington’s cuts to funding, as well as Harrisburg’s inability to do things, mandate this. Giovanni’s handlers know that’s bad news, in fact the Republican Party Chair and one of his Republican colleagues on Council both lost their last elections because of a tax increase they carried through. Their plan for their chosen puppet, Giovanni, is to simply cut the living hell out of the county government in a DOGE style, harming seniors, the sick, children, and the needy. Less farmland open space protected, sell Gracedale, cut elections to the bone, and God knows what else. Giovanni may not get all the details, but he knows that. So he’s shutting his mouth. No debates. Sleep through council meetings. Let the attack dogs do all the attacking for him. Let the Congressman’s hired hands run the campaign.

The amazing thing is that the Northampton County Republican Brain Trust, who haven’t won a competitive election for Executive, Controller, District Attorney, or Judge since 2017, and have been in the minority after every election on council since 2017, might still blow this. Their decision to run their entire campaign as a referendum on an outgoing Executive who kicked their asses twice, basically betting that the public already doesn’t like their actual opponent who has won county wide election three times now, is political malpractice. I hope they stay on this message for a few weeks, because then Zrinski will win the election. No skin off our backs.

Listen, I’ll go on record and say this is the worst Democratic slate for County Council I’ve ever seen, and I’m not voting a straight ticket for them all. I won’t go further into my explanation for now. There’s a lot to be desired here. There is no doubt though that Zrinski is superiorly capable to the rutabaga the GOP put up in this race. It is possible that Giovanni has a full understanding of what he wants to do with Northampton County, and that he is smart enough to know it’s best he never says some of the things himself. I kind of respect that actually. With that said, if you have to not say what you’re going to do as Executive, because you’re better off letting a pack of rabid dogs and loons behind you say it for you, should you be elected? Of course not. Tom Giovanni is not some quiet wiseman, and he shouldn’t be rewarded for it. At worst he’s an incompetent moron, at best he’s an evil genius. Either way, he’s totally afraid to talk to you.