Sparks Fly At Lehigh County Tea Party Candidate Night

Incumbent Lehigh County Commissioner Dean Browning found himself on the griddle Monday night with five of eight Republican primary challengers at a Lehigh County Tea Party candidates’ forum in Wescosville.

Browning was on the receiving end of significant heat from the quartet of reform platform candidates Scott Ott, Vic Mazziotti, Lisa Scheller and David Najarian who took the incumbent to task for not sending the 2011 budget back to county executive Don Cunningham for possible cuts.

Instead, county taxpayers were hit with a 16 percent hike. That quartet went on the offensive Monday night concerning Browning’s so-called "Democratic vote."

A $19 million deficit, not including $4.3 million from the tax relief fund, fueled the need for the large tax hike.

Yet, it was Browning who went on the offensive first, stating that Ott, Mazziotti, Scheller and Najarian are using the budget process to play political games.

“If you are going you be honest tonight, and I hope you are, I’d like you to be specific about what you would have done to avoid a tax increase,” Browning said. “The option was to send it back and have it come back with nothing. The cuts were not there to be made.”

The five challengers were quick to respond with a message based on budget cuts and tax relief.

“There’s a strong and urgent need for a more effective budget process that avoids swings in the tax rates,” noted Osborne, who stressed he has not raised taxes as a South Whitehall commissioner. “We have to lower the tax burden on residents and have a zero-based budget that’s not automatically funded.”

But the reform quartet were quick to point out that Browning sided with county Democrats in the 2011 budget vote.

“There were a meager number of cuts involved and they didn’t know how to deal with it,” Mazziotti said. “The budget process is weak and they could have looked at what to cut.”

Ott noted that there was “no downside risk” to forwarding the budget to Cunningham for his review.

“Anything is better than 16 percent,” Ott said. “(Browning) voted against amendments he introduced to cut spending. And, they had until Dec. 14, so it wasn’t too late.”

Scheller said Republicans voting with Democrats in a budget process negates the checks and balances and noted her disgust with negative campaigning.

“I’ve never been so personally maligned in my life, but that just strengthens my resolve,” she said.

Later, sparks flew between Browning and Mazziotti, the former Northampton County chief financial officer. Browning has called the reform quartet puppets of Lehigh County Republican party chairman Wayne Woodman. Woodman is married to Scheller.

“I’m nobody’s puppet,” Mazziotti said, pointing at Browning. “It’s a cheap shot by a desperate politician, and I’m sick of it. In the old days, we’d be having a duel and I if I had my way, your head would be spinning.”

Several members in the audience of about 30 people also took Browning to task during a question-and-answer session concerning his budget vote.

Candidates Norma Cusick and Mike Welsh did not attend Monday night's forum.

However, all candidates are expected to attend a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters tonight in Allentown.