The Lehigh Valley

What Ballot Requests Tell Us About the 2025 Elections in Northampton and Lehigh Counties

/ Rich Wilkins / 2 Comments

It’s October. We now know enough about the current state of affairs to take a guess at what this year’s elections will look like. There are reasons to believe this year’s municipal elections could look considerably different than those in 2023 and 2021. There are also somewhat related reasons to believe the Democratic wave of backlash to Trump may not be formulating the way a lot of Democrats expect, or the way it did in 2017.

First, it’s important to understand just a bit of recent history to interpret these numbers. It’s really not worth looking at election numbers from elections before 2020 when figuring out turnout in Pennsylvania, because more voters have been voting since vote-by-mail kicked in. Prior to 2021 for instance, at times you had to hold your breath for an election in Northampton County to top 40,000 voters, and an election with 50,000 voters was considered remarkable turnout. Now there’s no way you fall under 60,000 voters in either county, just based on super voters alone, and both counties have been routinely topping 70,000 voters in the odd year elections. While some Republican candidates right now are screaming about fraud, the truth is that the increased turnout hasn’t made local elections uncompetitive. Republican candidates in Lehigh County nearly won for County Executive and took two of three Judicial seats in 2021. While the Northampton County Republican Party is a third world institution in it’s ineptitude, their statewide judicial candidates were highly competitive in 2021 and they actually gained a council seat that year. Elections in the Lehigh Valley have remained highly competitive. I expect that to continue in 2025.

Northampton County saw 71,335 ballots cast in 2021 and 72,436 ballots cast in 2023. Right now, the highly likely voter pool (2023 voters, voters who cast a ballot in the 2025 primary, and voters who have requested a vote-by-mail ballot) is 78,512. If you expand that by a bit, adding voters who cast a 2021 ballot, you get 90,885. Among the highly likely voters, the growth from 2023 is pretty close and shows us very little. If you expand in that 2021 vote, the GOP begins really making gains. While Democrats are used to believing that higher turnout is good for them, that’s not necessarily the case right now. The more less engaged voters engage, the more it seems to help the Republicans, currently. Now, that trend line doesn’t absolutely spell doom for the Democrats. Again, we remain highly competitive in Northampton County. In this specific case, it’s worth noting Republicans dropped in 2023 from 2021 and Democrats gained. Basically these numbers show us that if both parties have very good turnout, it will be a very, very close election. For Democrats, it just means that turning out voters indiscriminately to feel good is a losing strategy in Northampton County.

In Lehigh County in 2021, 74,108 people cast ballots. In 2023, 75,127 people cast ballots. Much like Northampton, it’s very consistent. The highly likely voter pool right now is 81,490. The expansion pool of voters is 93,984. Lehigh County follows a similar trend to Northampton in that the expanded universe benefits the Republican Party. Republicans dropped off a bit in 2023 from 2021. If they come back, Democrats are in for a brutal fight in which they will very likely need to win over independent voters.

Vote-by-mail suggests the Republicans are getting done what they need to get done, Valley wide. Democrats have requested just shy of 2,000 more ballots than they returned in Lehigh County in 2023. Democrats in Northampton County have requested about 1,500 more ballots than they returned in 2023. Remember that no one gets 100% of their requests actually turned in. Republicans in Lehigh County have requested roughly 3,000 more ballots than they returned in 2023. In Northampton County, Republican requests are up about 2,500 over the number of vote-by-mail ballots returned in 2023. This suggests that Republicans have gained about 1,000 voters over 2023 in both counties. What’s more alarming is that these numbers might not tell the whole story of Republican growth. Lehigh County Republicans who did not vote at all in 2023 have requested 2,474 ballots. In Northampton County, that number is 2,284. In both counties, GOP candidates needed to win nearly all of the independent ballots to make up the gap between the parties turnouts in 2023. These numbers suggest that is no longer true in 2025.

Before anyone gets too excited, this is not a eulogy for the 2025 Democratic candidates in Northampton and Lehigh County. The 2023 Democratic candidates in both counties, of which Tara Zrinski (Democratic nominee for County Executive) was prominently one, very likely won the independent voters in both counties. Candidate quality matters, and Roger Maclean and Tom Giovanni are basically moss growing on a dead tree level of excitement. Giovanni wouldn’t debate Zrinski and then could barely put together a coherent sentence together in his conversation on WFMZ’s Business Matters and Maclean believes he will find “magic money” to plug budget holes. These are deeply unserious, non-thinking individuals. That definitely could matter. Democrats lack competitive elections in Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton though to help turn out their base, and the Northampton County Council Democratic slate charitably has two (maybe three on a good day) candidates I can even stomach the thought of on the council. There are lots of variables in this election besides who turns out, but they break both ways.

I have two basic rules when I run local elections- I do not give a shit what the “prevailing wisdom” inside the courthouse/government center/city hall is, and I really don’t give a shit if a few county/city employees are pissed at the Executive/Mayor because they didn’t get a raise. None of that nonsense is indicative of what the general public thinks about the candidates, they are tiny samples of the electorate that tell us much about nothing. Sure, most of the lawyers in both county can tell you who clearly should win, but they don’t even equal 1% of the electorate. So, if you’re one of the people hanging out at all the party events, debates, picnics, or whatever else and think you have a handle on what is going to happen- you don’t.

Why I’m Not Going to Give Crooksy or Crosswell an Audience to Answer my Attacks

/ Rich Wilkins / 3 Comments
From the horse’s mouth.

I was invited to tonight’s Lehigh Valley 4 All meeting to ask Bob “Crooksy” Brooks questions about the things I’ve written about him. I’m going to decline at this time. I’m sure his team would say that vindicates him, that it shows I’m throwing baseless accusations at him from behind a computer screen and won’t defend them. If I were him, that’s what I’d say too. I’m going to proceed to tell you why that’s a pile of shit.

I’ve been at an event with Crooksy and Crosswell since I started writing about them. If they were truly mad and felt they had a legitimate beef with what I wrote, they could have addressed it then. Neither of them did. I have no reason to give either one a chance to prepare answers for an audience. One’s a bartender and one’s a lawyer, two professions that know how to talk their way around anything. In both cases, I have laid out unassailable facts, not opinions or presentations, about them. I posted the Superior Court’s opinion on the matter of Crooksy stiffing his ex-mother-in-law, which clearly shows he didn’t pay her back for 14 years, meaning no, it wasn’t just part of a messy divorce like he claims. Why would I give him equal footing with me to lie about that for an audience? I posted the actual screenshots of his social media where he says he thinks we need more guns and prayer in schools, and where he talks about hating Kaepernick for kneeling during the national anthem. Did I add on my opinions? Sure. But what I gave you out front was the documentation of this man’s views and actions. I am not going to literally debate if they happened with him. If he wants to accuse the Superior Court of Pennsylvania of lying, he can do that himself. Bob Brooks did everything I said. If you want to decide those things don’t matter to you, you can do that on your own.

I’m going to say the same for Ryan Crosswell, who no one is asking me to give a forum to at this point. Again, I’ve laid out the facts here. Crosswell is not from here and is a lifelong Republican until a few months ago. Voter registration is a public record, and it shows him repeatedly registering as, and voting as, a Republican in such far off places as Louisiana and Washington, D.C. There’s not much to argue there. I showed you Crosswell’s LinkedIn, which talks about his work at an infamous union busting law firm, and in which he talks about his work to screw workers. Crosswell filed a finance report in July that showed almost all of the money he is raising is from out of town, with just one donor in the district. Again, these things aren’t really up for debate.

There are five candidates in this race. I’m not going to debate all five of them about their life stories. I’m not attacking three of them, all of whom are long time Democrats who have lived in the Lehigh Valley for years. I’m attacking two guys who really shouldn’t be running in a Democratic Primary in the Lehigh Valley. The response both have given so far is to tell people that I’m attacking them on the behalf of Lamont McClure. That’s a load of shit. Go check McClure’s campaign finance reports, I do not work for him. I will not be working for him in this primary either, including in the future. I like Lamont enough, but he’s not paying me a check to do anything for him. I have not worked for a political candidate since May of 2024, most of my work is now for independent expenditures, and will be remaining as such. I’m not going to debate these kinds of lies for an audience, where how one presents themselves can sway the crowd on who they are going to believe, these guys are both trained talkers. I am laying out the facts on these individuals in black and white letters. This shouldn’t be a matter of interpretation, it should be a matter of facts. If Crooksy wants to debate if he’s a deadbeat or not, he can send mailers to the voters telling them he’s not. I sure as hell am not going to give him a platform to do so.

The primary voters in 2026 can decide what they think of the facts, but I’m not going to debate what the facts are with people that would screw family members or working people. If primary voters choose one of these guys, we’ll see how the full electorate reacts. My guess is not very well.

Crooksy’s Excuses for Stiffing His Mother-In-Law Lack Any Credibility

/ Rich Wilkins / 7 Comments

So I was in a room with Bob “Crooksy” Brooks this morning. No, there wasn’t a fist fight. I was too busy guzzling coffee to cause a scene. I did meet his manager though. Nice young lady, we have some common friends. I hope she enjoys her stay here in the Lehigh Valley. Well, most of it.

Friday a local activist leader let me know she really liked Crooksy when she met him. I’m not shocked, the guy tends bar at the Holy Family Club in Nazareth, that takes people skills. I mean, gotta talk for them tips, you know? Anyway, she said she asked him about my allegation that he took $55k from his mother-in-law, and he answered it satisfactorily for her. His answer? It was all part of a messy divorce.

You know what, I get why that makes sense. Divorces are inherently messy, right? If this was a question of when the suit itself was filed, or why, that might be satisfactory. The problem is, the actual issue happened years, and years before the legal proceeding. The case was decided in the Superior Court in 2021. The initial trial was in 2020. The actual case took place between 2004 and 2008. From the Superior Court opinion:

In June 2004, Michael Wiley transferred title to a residential building lot to his future daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Robert Brooks (Defendants).2Prior to the transfer, Michael Wiley funded the subdivision of the land, and Defendants agreed to pay him $55,500 for the cost of subdividing and the value of the lot. However, Defendants never paid Michael Wiley.

In 2008, at the request of Michael Wiley, Carol Wiley had a promissory note drafted which memorialized Defendants’ debt, and provided that Defendants were jointly and severally liable to pay CarolWiley $55,500 at 6.5% interest, in 120monthly payments of $630.19, beginning July 1, 2008. On July 12, 2008, Wiley and Defendants executed the promissory note in the presence of a notary. Defendants never made any of the payments prescribed in the promissory note.

On August 27, 2018, Wiley filed the underlying breach of contract action against Defendants. Brooks filed a reply and new matter on October 25, 2018 raising several affirmative defenses, including the statute of limitations, statute of frauds, and lack of consideration. On October 31, 2018, the trial court entered default judgment against Jennifer Brooks after she failed to respond to the complaint. Wiley filed a response to Brooks’ new matter on November 13, 2018.

The court held abench trial on August 11, 2020. At the close of Wiley’s case, Brooks moved for compulsory nonsuit, asserting that the action was barred by the four year statute of limitations governing contracts, and that no consideration was given for the debt because Wiley did not own the real estate and did not advance funds. The court denied Brooks’ motion, but ordered the parties to file post-trial briefs addressing the statute of limitations and statute of frauds. After reviewing the briefs, the court on September 11, 2020 entered a verdict in favor of Wiley and awarded damages of $130,386.36.

Let me break that down as simply as possible. In 2004, Mr. Wiley funded a subdivision of a property to Brooksy and his soon-to-be wife, to the tune of $55k, and they agreed to pay him back. They didn’t pay a red cent back. In 2008, FOUR YEARS LATER, Mr. Wiley was concerned enough that they would never pay him back that he and his wife made Brooksy and their daughter sign in front of a notary that they would pay them back, on a schedule, with interest. They never made one payment. Not a dollar. TEN YEARS LATER, Mrs. Wiley sued him and their daughter. The daughter didn’t even bother to contest the case. He did. TWO YEARS later, it went to trial. Brooks did not contest that he signed the note, or that he didn’t pay them back. He basically said they waited too long to sue him and Mrs. Wiley wasn’t the actual person who gave him the money, so she couldn’t sue. The court rejected that argument.

I’m not a lawyer. I also know that divorces are messy. I’m not here to comment on the legal questions raised. Here’s what I know- this dude got a loan from his father and mother-in-law in 2004 and paid back not one cent for 14 years before it went to court. He doesn’t even contest that he stiffed them for 14 years. He basically tried to say they’re shit out of luck for waiting to hold him accountable.

This is not an issue of an ugly divorce. This is just basic dishonesty.

Rumor Mill- Crooksy Rakes in the Cash, Union Buster Crosswell Fades

/ Rich Wilkins / 2 Comments

The DCCC rumor mill is loud these days. As they try to prop up candidates they like and penalize candidates they don’t, they tell folks things in hope that they put it out there. I’m more than happy to oblige. In PA-7, they want you to back Bob “Crooksy” Brooks, a deadbeat who stiffed his mother-in-law, and will be torn to shreds over it by Ryan Mackenzie and the GOP. The guy is DOA in the general election, and probably wouldn’t be good if he did win, but he makes money for their chosen consultants, who happen to also be Senator Fetterman’s team, and he’s the head of a union. Sure, he’s a bad candidate, but he furthers some folks careers. So they want you to know that “Crooksy” is going to blow away the other four Democrats in fundraising, as this guy did last reporting period. They are telling people that Bob “Crooksy” Brooks will raise $400k in the third quarter.

Crooksy’s number, if he actually reaches it (a month ago they were saying $200k, so read into it what you will), is pretty decent. It’s not shocking though, nor is it a number that makes him a prohibitive favorite. “Crooksy” Brooks hired folks who helped build Bernie Sanders and John Fetterman’s mythological campaigns, and also raised a bunch of money when people believed they were working class heroes. In Fetterman’s case he raised a bunch of money online and basically drowned his primary opponents, before going on to basically vote with the Republican Party in the United States Senate. Crooksy is just their new grift to get paid. With three full quarters of fundraising, and reasonable depreciation built into it after his launch, Crooksy would be on pace to reasonably raise about $1 million for this race. The problem for Crooksy is he starts way behind, and people don’t really like him more once they’re told about him. He’ll need to spend most of his million introducing himself and making people like him, and that’s assuming no one comes in and tells the voters he’s a gun nut racist, who stiffs his mother-in-law, to the cost of a few hundred thousand dollars. He’ll need a lot more.

Then there’s Union-Busting Ryan Crosswell, who was at one point the darling of the Washington types, but then the DCCC got some flack for running a Republican and backed away. The truth is that they’d still be fine with Crosswell as their nominee, but they know they can’t say that out loud, and now they got some static from the district, so they have to pretend they don’t like him. The truth? He’s probably actually better than Crooksy, provided that you don’t care at all what your Congressman actually believes, or if they actually have any grassroots support in the district they aren’t even from, or really if you just don’t care about anything. Since they know Crosswell is a bad look, they have to at least go through the motions of shitting on him. They are putting out there that he will not hit his $300k goal for the third quarter, as donors back away from him as they learn more. If Crooksy wasn’t better for business for the Beltway types, I’d predict him getting this same treatment next quarter.

Then there’s poor Carol Obando-Derstine, an actual Democrat from the Lehigh Valley who doesn’t hate Colin Kaepernick. Sure, Carol’s pretty corporate in her career choices, but she at least has business running in this race. So of course, the Beltway crowd wanted her to drop out, thereby pushing any women candidates out of the race. Then, when she got endorsements from some Latino Groups and Emily’s List, Bernie’s DSA goons made sure to deny her the SEIU endorsement that the local members wanted to give her. Crooksy needed that endorsement, stealing from his mother-in-law wasn’t going to finance this campaign on it’s own! Honestly, this kind of treatment of a former Democratic staffer is a really bad look, but she’s in the way of the fat cats getting paid. The Beltway elites want you to know that her entire campaign staff is fleeing her in droves, and she’s refusing to raise money. They’re predicting she’ll raise “under $100k.” She might. They want you to know that though so you back their chosen candidate though.

Then there’s Lamont McClure, Northampton County’s two-term Executive, who isn’t raising cash fast enough for their liking. To hear these Beltway warlords tell it, McClure might not report any money at all this quarter. Dude can’t even rub together two nickels for heat. What’s the guy even doing in the race? We know he gave himself $200k this quarter, so I assume he’ll raise that much at least. They assume though that the one candidate to win a major local office in this race is dead at this point. In fact, that’s their excuse for why the Governor didn’t tell him to drop out. To date, my math says he’s raised at least $430k for this race, which is less than Crosswell for sure, and maybe Crooksy, but probably enough for him to stay in. Basically though, the Beltway Chieftains want you to know that while local voters, elected officials, and unions always like him, he’s dead.

Then there’s Mark Pinsley. The rumor here is he’s still on Planet Earth. Poor Dude won a couple of elections and these folks act like he doesn’t even exist. They didn’t even take time to shit on him in their rumors. Hell, they didn’t even let lunatic Bernie endorse him, and he’s trying to run like him. I guess they hope he just goes off and runs for State Senate, again.

Part of the reason the Democratic Party loses is voters see right through our astroturf narratives. Republicans put up authentic lunatics, we put up Crooksy. It seems that in the case of PA-7, the Beltway Elites are desperate to find literally anyone to be their candidate besides a Democrat from the Lehigh Valley. I’m sure voters will love that.

It’s Time for Governor Shapiro to Figuratively Punch the Pennsylvania Senate in the Face

/ Rich Wilkins / Leave a comment

In theory, the law is that the General Assembly shall pass a budget, and the Governor shall sign it by June 30th. That almost never happens cleanly. Usually though, the legislature stays in session and at least pretends they’re working/negotiating. Like you at least have some level of shame when you don’t do your job, right? That’s natural. In 2025, that’s no longer a thing. The State Senate left town in June and just decided to not come back to work ever again, basically.

Now, I’m going to be fair for a second. I actually agreed with them back in May and June- how the hell do you pass a budget when you have no idea how much the Federal Government is going to give you? Between DOGE and the “Big Beautiful Bill” it was fair to say there was too much uncertainty. Based on the lack of actual partisan noise at the time, I think even the House Democratic Majority realized this. It was close to impossible to plan a year’s worth of spending when there was so much chaos. Granted, most of the State Senate Republican Majority were vocal supporters of Trump, so their complaints here are ironic. Just because they were hypocrites didn’t make them wrong though.

That time has passed. Governor Shapiro gave everyone time to figure out what was going on. Republicans passed their “Big Beautiful” pile of shit in Washington. Sure, some things can change at the margins going forward, but not so badly that you don’t move forward. Given that we’re now a quarter of the way into the budget year, the legislature could fund the last nine months with basic certainty. They just won’t.

So here’s the thing, the Governor and local officials of both parties did a nice job across Pennsylvania preventing the pain from hitting the general public. Schools opened, road projects continued, the hospitals received their Medicaid money, and so on. Counties continued providing services. You can only bleed so much blood from a stone. If you only have $100, all the magic tricks in the world don’t turn that into $110. The Feds are sending less money to counties, schools, and municipalities. The state is running out of legal authority to send any money to them either, because there’s no budget. Why should you give a shit? Safe Harbor in Easton, who cares for a large chunk of our local homeless population, announced the county is out of money to provide them to provide the services. Northampton County announced they would furlough human services employees at the end of the month. They’re out of money. If that doesn’t hit home enough for you, I think Bernie O’Hare explained it fairly plainly:

NorCo’s Human Services Department investigates allegations of abuse and neglect aimed at our children and elderly, the most vulnerable members of society. It provides a wide variety of services to individuals who have mental health issues. It provides services, usually through vendors, aimed at the prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse. It also helps veterans and their dependents. 

The state funds between 80-90% of the salaries of these workers. But since the state budget impasse on June 30, the county has been paying these salaries on its own. McClure estimates that the county has spent $8-12 million so far and estimates that figure might be as high as $20 million by the end of October.

So basically, everybody who desperately needs help will stop getting it. Kids, old people, and mentally unhealthy people will be left to fend for themselves. The State Senate’s response? Take a long Summer vacation. This is serious stuff, but they’re treating it like nothing. Meanwhile, their ally running for Lehigh County Executive just thinks he’ll “get his money,” but honestly he’s just too stupid to handle this stuff. We’re heading towards a societal disaster in Pennsylvania. I realize some people like to say they’d rather live in Mississippi or Iowa than California, but are you really ready to put that to practice?

It’s time to punch back. This irresponsibility is going to cost lives. As someone who now lives about a half step from ruin, this hits home to me. People often ask what Democrats do for them- this is a good time to show them. I actually think he went a bit mild here, but McClure did get this right:

“Republicans in the State Senate have failed the people of Pennsylvania by refusing to pass a budget,” said McClure. “For three months, their dysfunction has left counties like Northampton footing the bill, costing us millions of dollars just to keep essential services going. … This is unacceptable. They must do their job, pass a budget, and stop punishing taxpayers and seniors alike.”

While I appreciate McClure and any other Democrat making this case, let’s be honest, County Executives and Congressional candidates are not the loudest voices in the room. All they can do is make their case the best they can. Those voices would be Governor Shapiro and Senator Fetterman, and we already know Senator Fetterman will let us down. Governor Shapiro is doing a great job running the government of Pennsylvania and deserves to be re-elected for that. We now need him to raise his voice though and maybe take an unsafe political stand. Him barnstorming the state and even national media and making the case that the State Senate Republicans are literally going to get people killed to have their extra long vacation would put the pressure needed in the very small number of swing districts left in the Senate. People who want to be national politicians need to know how to fight when it’s time. For Governor Shapiro, it is time. He has certainly made the case against the Senate GOP so far, but he needs to scorch the earth. The time has come.

I Guess His Mother-In-Law’s Money Wasn’t Enough, Bob “Crooksy” Brooks Needs Your Money

/ Rich Wilkins / 1 Comment

Make sure you hold your wallets, Crooksy needs your cash! I guess the $55k he stiffed his ex-mother-in-law for wasn’t enough to finance Crooksy’s campaign. I get it though, campaigns are hard. It’s hard to get elected when the only people who like you don’t live in your district. Everybody who knows Crooksy best won’t support him. He blows them off, and they know he’s inauthentic with all of his talk about supporting “working people.” At least Vermont Senator and Democrat hating lunatic Bernie Sanders has his back though.

Look, I do have some empathy for Crooksy’s team though, lying is really hard. The truth is, we all know he isn’t a Democrat (more on that later). Crooksy posts pro-gun, religious fanatic, lunatic shit on his Facebook when he’s advocating for political violence. Crooksy even puts up pro-segregationist/slavery shit ripping on Colin Kaepernick. This guy really thinks we’re going to believe he’s a Democrat. I honestly think Crooksy knows in his heart that he’s in over his head here, but I guess his handlers who created John Fetterman think they can pull off the con-job again. They pulled SEIU in on the con. They even did so over local objections. They are going to need an astronomical amount of money to convince people to elect a deadbeat that sides with Republicans on social issues, in a Democratic Primary. Even if they survive that, do you really think Ryan Mackenzie and national Republicans aren’t going to use the same information I gathered on Bobby “Crooksy” Brooks to destroy him in the Fall? Stealing from his Mother-in-Law alone is enough to sink him in the Lehigh Valley.

So yeah, watch your wallet. Crooksy needs your money in a bad way. If 877-338-2472 shows up on your phone, mark it spam and junk. It’s a waste of your time.

Josh Siegel’s Path Forward for Lehigh County

/ Rich Wilkins / 4 Comments

Josh Siegel is running to move Lehigh County forward. Phil Armstrong did a great job the last eight years. Now it’s time to look forward. Unfortunately, Siegel has to run against Roger Maclean, a failed police chief who has no idea what government does, or how to do it. In their recent debate, Maclean’s solution to lost money from the federal government was “we’ll get our money.” Maclean lead a police department that raped and robbed people they arrested, now he downplays the death of Capitol Police on January 6th. He’s a disaster and he would end up either raising taxes or cutting all services he possibly could.

I’ll show their debate at the bottom of this post, but more immediately, Siegel has put forward his plan to move Lehigh County forward. From his Facebook:

We’re 41 days out from Election Day. Here’s what our One Lehigh platform is about. Pete Buttigieg has said “our salvation will really come from the local”.

I believe that! I believe in these dark and divisive times, local government is the building block for showing a better way, our chance to show what a better world can and should be in our own backyard:

Here’s what One Lehigh means:

✅A robust and strong local democracy where every resident has as many legal and lawful ways to cast a ballot and make their voice heard, no matter who you vote for or what party you are, it’s your civic duty and most basic right. I want you to exercise it. We need to protect the ballot box from efforts to undermine it.

✅Attainable housing for seniors, first-time homebuyers and working class families. We have a housing shortage, we need to build more of it, and everyone is a partner in that. Public, private and non-profit, it’s an all of the above approach. It’s the only way to lower costs.

✅Investing in and expanding public safety services from regional police and fire to prevention strategies like focused deterrence to ensure that every neighborhood and community is safe and secure. Public safety requires comprehensive, collaborative strategies.

✅Protecitng and preserving Cedarbrook for future generations of Lehigh County seniors and ensuring that our county keeps our promise that patients and residents come first-not profits. Federal funding cuts put these services in jeopardy and we need a county that’s prepared to step up to maintain that commitment.

✅Smart, sustainable and strategic local development that protects farmland and open space and builds the walkable, dense and mixed-use communities people want. We have to accommodate future growth and find a way to house folks who come here for good jobs and schools.

✅Standing up for our public employees and the critical services they provide, county government provides vital human services, mental health and addiction services, children and youth, courts and corrections. It’s a safety net for our most vulnerable and it’ll be under tremendous pressure in light of the disaster federal funding cuts. We need to protect and defend these services and have the backs of the men and women who provide them.

✅Investing in our quality of life from county assets like the Velodrome and Coca-Cola Park to our parks and trails. We need to make Lehigh County a place families want to stay for generations and continue to choose. Amenities and attractions are vital, it’s what anchors and keeps people here in the valley.

✅Tackling the epidemic of isolation and silos on the internet. We’ve never been more connected and disconnected at the same time. We need to get people back outside and build community, talk to our neighbors and build relationships. We have to rediscover our common identity and purpose.

Whether it’s protecting Cedar Brook, defending voting rights, funding the government, or protecting the safety net, Josh Siegel is easily the right choice. We don’t need to DOGE Lehigh County.

But you can watch the debate and make up your mind below.

https://www.wfmz.com/business/business-matters—lehigh-county-executive-debate/video_68d4b0aa-7047-5fd2-a943-2cac0da45fe7.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawNBSdxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHtM64sjxWPq5C4suMvHWf3jGXBxeFodYQK3bt-fouxAeCFJQiCD-RDFUTBTf_aem_7ip1F-pB7mVeO2cGAjqypw

“Crooksy” Adds More Endorsements From People Who Can’t Find Allentown on a Map

/ Rich Wilkins / 2 Comments

The less you know about Bob “Crooksy” Brooks, the more you like him. If you don’t know that he stiffed his ex-mother-in-law for $55k, you might think he’s working class. If you don’t know that he shares propaganda from groups that advocate political violence, you think maybe he’s a Democrat. If you don’t read what “Crooksy” says about Kaepernick, you think maybe he’s not a bigot. The more you know though, the less you like him.

“Crooksy” is running the Fetterman handbook for how to campaign though. He’s collecting endorsements, just none of them are from here. Democrat hating lunatic Bernie Sanders enthusiastically supports “Crooksy.” I doubt any local unions will support him after he had better things to do than come see them though. The truth is, the guy is awful and shouldn’t have run, and everyone around here knows it. If you don’t live in the Lehigh Valley though, there’s not too much harm in endorsing a guy that Ryan Mackenzie would crush. This is why state legislators from other parts of Pennsylvania love Crooksy. He’s probably not taking money from their constituents.

“Crooksy” is racking up the endorsements from leftists from other parts of the country though. In addition to the geriatric socialist from Vermont, he got the guy who got to be Bernie’s warm up act when he came to the Valley back in the Spring. I guess he figures no one in Pittsburgh will ever know. In case that’s not enough, he got the endorsement of California “Bernie Bro” Ro Khanna, who he wants you to know is a Pennsylvania native. He lives in Silicon Valley now, because you know, Bobby is a real working class icon here. Crooksy has lots of support from California and Vermont politicians. He has none from any working folks here.

Bob “Crooksy” Brooks looks great if you get to stay ten thousand feet away from him. If the Democratic Party is stupid enough to nominate this clown, Ryan Mackenzie won’t let any voters in the Lehigh Valley stay ten thousand feet away though. The racism, the violent political rhetoric, the stealing from his mother-in-law- Mackenzie will put it on our televisions, on our computer screens, and in our mailboxes. To be honest, we kind of deserve it if we’re dumb enough to allow it. None of the people who know Crooksy all that well want anything to do with him.

Would Bob “Crooksy” Brooks Kill the ACA?

/ Rich Wilkins / Leave a comment

The Democratic Party should absolutely shut down the federal government, it’s not doing anything of value right now. If you need a specific reason to shut it down, the GOP is trying to strip away subsidies for people to buy the Affordable Care Act. This should simply be a red line. There is no good reason to strip health care away from more people. Of course our useless DEMOCRATIC U.S. Senator John Fetterman says he will fund the government anyway. In 2028, we need to be done with this bum. We can get a better trust fund baby Democrat, if not an actual good Democrat. Kick him to the curb.

Given that Bob “Crooksy” Brooks is running for Congress and would take the same votes, and has the same handlers telling him what to say and do, verbatim, we have to ask- would Bob “Crooksy” Brooks tell his constituents to go to hell too? Would he treat his constituents like his ex-mother-in-law? Will Brooks vote with the people he agrees with on social issues? Given this man’s record, we have to ask.

Every candidate in the PA-7 Democratic Primary should be answering though. I’ve seen posts from McClure and Obando-Derstine so far. I hope the rest let us know if they’re with us or against us.

Charlie Kirk, Kelly Keegan, the Northampton County GOP, and Free Speech

/ Rich Wilkins / 1 Comment

The Northampton County Republican Party and other conservative organizations plan to protest at the courthouse tonight. They are mad at County Councilwoman Kelly Keegan for highly insensitive remarks about Charlie Kirk, namely that he is a monster and that his wife and children are better off with him gone. They want things to stay peaceful at their rally, and I hope they do. One of the first political acts I took was going to a council meeting in protest of former Councilman Ron Angle making insensitive remarks about Black people and Jewish people on the radio. I can’t knock them for doing this.

I’ve always liked Kelly personally, but her statements serve absolutely no purpose. I’ve heard some people defend it with, “but I was right, he believed vile things,” and my response to that is so what? The only people excited by what you say, or agreeing with you, were people who already agree with you. You’re not informing anyone. You’re preaching to the faithful. You have a legal right to do so, but what does that do for anyone? The guy is dead either way, arguing about him is a bad look.

So now I’m sure people at this rally are going to call for her head on a stick. The truth is, absolutely nothing can or should be done now, unless Kelly wants to step back, and I doubt she will. The rest of the council has zero power to remove her. She’s not going to be impeached by the State House, that would be ridiculous. My guess is that the Easton School District cannot fire her from her job legally, so other than trying to make her miserable, they’re powerless. As a citizen, Keegan enjoys an absolute First Amendment protection to make statements like she did without legal repercussions. I’m glad she does too, I believe we are all free from government punishment for saying who we are. I believe Kelly will face zero repercussions for what she said, and I think she should face zero repercussions for what she said. Period. The next time angry citizens can do anything about her is the 2027 election, when her term ends. Let’s see if any of these angry keyboard warriors still care by then. I’m certainly not saying they should go away and give up. I’m saying they will.

Of course I have to take a shot at the Northampton County GOP though to end this, even though I’m totally cool with them rallying- the chairman and his rutabaga he nominated for Executive still are trying to run a campaign against the outgoing Executive, even when they protest someone else. What actions did the Executive take in regards to Keegan? There is no legal action for him. I realize they nominated a turnip who can’t put a sentence together, so maybe he not only doesn’t believe in free speech, but any speech. But really though, did they just throw in “Lamont McClure” out of instinct? The guy has nothing to do with this, but these weirdos just can’t let go the obsession. Also, this is the party that nominated Steve Lynch for Executive, are they really mad about social media ranting?

Everyone who goes, have fun at the circus.