The Sudden Republican

You may or may not know that the illustrious Mayor of Trappe Borough Connie Peck (pictured left) ran and won as a Democrat. Now word is she is suddenly a Republican. Change of heart? We don't think so. We think it is a page out of the Stagliano playbook as both Al and Terri Stagliano were long time Democrats (and still are) but of course registered as Republicans. After all we all know that while we have heard about the (soon to be) death of the Republicans in Montgomery County it just has not happened and if you want to get elected you need to at least register as Republican.

Which leads us to remind you the reader that when you are voting for folks like the Staglianos and/or Ms. Peck and you think you you are voting for Republicans but just remember the tale of the wolf in sheeps clothing.

After the last post ...

... I could not resist this!

The Tale of the Two Johns

I enjoy watching Jay Leno especially the 'Headlines' part of his show where you see the wackiest things people send in. You ask yourself 'what were they thinking'?!

Well I had one of those moments when a reader forwarded me two different mail pieces for the recent 'campaign' for the two Trappe Republican Committee positions. When I saw the mailer with the tag line the 'Two Johns'' and thought what the hell were they thinking about?!

The next thing I said was who in their right mind spends a small fortune for a committee position? As they say in the south ... that dog don't hunt.

So what is it? Is it the ego maniacs on Trappe Council (the self proclaimed 'Trusted Team') and if so what is Fred Schuetz (retired) and the other members of the 'Trusted Team' most of which make their living in the housing industry (or have a spouse in local goverment - Fred whose wife works at the Montco courthouse and Lou DiPrete whose wife works in Limerick and was part of that whole mess with David Kane) and benefit from deals such as Fred Schuetz's continuous push to relocate the Collegeville-Trappe compost site for no good reason. This will benefit a developer with land adjacent to the compost site and will benefit a property owner in Trappe wherein the land owned is a junkyard and environmental clean-up nightmare. More on this later.

What bothers me most are these people who make a living from or 'retire' to a goverment position only to suck money out of our pockets. For the first time in our history in this country more people are employed by the goverment then working in the private sector.

Time to wake up folks ... start in your backyard with the Trusted Team.

Trusted Team Not So Trusted

Well the Trappe Republicans have spoken and they have said that the Trusted Team cannot be Trusted. Jack Minster and Stu Strauss ran for the positions for the Republican Commitee representatives in Trappe as they beat the team that Fred Schuetz and the Trusted Team endorsed in a BIG way.

And I mean in a BIG way with lots of money and backing that resulted in a very professional campaign that was backed by more than Trappe folks. We smell Bob Kerns and Mike Vereb in this one as we did for the campaign Terry Stagliano. We will connect the dots later for all of this but for now please allow me to share the thoughts of a true Republican, Jack Minster. This e-mail was shared with us by one of our readers.

Dear Neighbors,

Tonight, Stu Strauss and I won the positions of Trappe Republican Committeepersons. One aspect of the election process I have always found vexing is how long it takes for local results to filter down. We learned it ourselves only ninety minutes ago and wanted to share the news immediately with those who gave me your email addresses during the campaign. More efficient communication with Trappe Republicans is one of our main objectives.

But most important to us are your voting requirements. If you have the type of professional or personal schedule that may find you traveling or otherwise disposed during election weeks, why chance it? Call us, we will run you out an absentee ballot. If you know someone who needs to get registered, we will help. The number of conservative Republicans voting for conservative Republicans absolutely must improve. Incidentally this year's Primary Election turnout in Trappe exceeded that of last year, which thrilled me more than this win.

Special thanks to those who came out and voted today, and please know that Stu and I will give you our best effort. Performance feedback on us, as well as all thoughts pertaining to Trappe GOP and local government truly is readily encouraged.

Yours truly,
Jack Minster

Wow, we are impressed with somone who has not even been on the job a day and reaches out like this. Someone who is a true Republican wanting to do good for the party.

John Pelosi deserved to lose as he did not represent the Republican party in Trappe ... hell he didn't even put out signs for the endorsed candidiates. And John Keleman ... well let us just say this is the second time he ran out of Trappe acting as though his ass was on fire! Good riddance!

Montgomery County Sheriff John P. Durante Passes

It is with much sadness that we heard of the passing of Montgomery County Sheriff John P. Durante. While we did not know him personally we do know people who did and from heard and read about his deeds as a husband, fellow human being and public law official he was just a fine example of great human being - period.

For this man to have been taken by the Lord at such an early age brings to mind only one thing ... heaven needed him more than we did ... we are not sure how or why but the plans of our God is his own. We viewed the tribute Facebook page for Sheriff Durante (you can see it here) and it alone is testimony to the lives this man touched.

He leaves behind his a wife (he always introduced her as "as my beautiful wife") and fabulous family he was so very proud of! Rest in peace Sheriff Durante as we salute you as the finest example of a human being ... you were taken from all of us much too soon.

Fox Guarding The Henhouse

Where did the phrase, "Like a fox guarding the henhouse" start? Trappe PA? No, just kidding as here is what it means and and how it started.

DON'T LET THE FOX GUARD THE HENHOUSE - "Don't assign a job to someone who will then be in a position to exploit it for his own ends. Said to one who entrusts his money to sharpers. The proverb has been traced back to 'Contre-League' (1589) and is similar to the Latin: 'Ovem lupo commitere' ('To set a wolf to guard sheep.') First attested in the United States in 'Poet's Proverbs' (1924). The proverb is found in varying forms: Don't put the fox to guard the chicken house; Don't let the fox guard the chicken coop; Don't set a wolf to watch the sheep; It's a case of the proverbial fox guarding the chickens, etc. The idea is expressed in the old nursery rhyme: 'Sleep, my little one, sleep. Thy father guards the sheep'." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" (1996) by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

Now, what if we told you that Trappe Councilman Matthew Watson is now a Constable. Yes, during the recent election Mr. Watson won 100% of the vote. Why you may ask? Well, three (3) people voted (including Mr. Watson) as a write-in candidate. It appears that there is a lot of shenanigans going on in Trappe (duh!) but the collusion between Trappe Republican Committee Representatives John B. Pelosi and Theresa Pammer and certain members of Trappe Council is inexcusable. It is the job of the committee people to find qualified Republican candidates for the vacant positions. Obviously not only did the committee folks not find anyone qualified to do this position but they did not let anyone else besides Mr. Watson and a couple of his cronies know (perhaps collusion) to very quietly slip his name in as a write-in candidate.

So you may say 'big deal'?

Well here is the interesting thing - after looking into the background of Mr. Watson in our opinion he is not trust worthy and should NOT be in any type of law enforcement let alone hold public office! If he is the duly elected constable, he will be quite busy serving himself court papers. The following is a list of the legal problems (most recent first) that Mr. Watson has had (last year he and his family were evicted of their home) with a link to the courthouse for details.

1) Federal Tax Lien - filed May 2009 - details here
2) Mortgage Foreclosure - filed August 2008 - owes over $220,000 - details here
3) Capital One Auto Loan - filed June 2008 - Automobile Repossession - details here
4) Federal Tax Lien - filed July 2007 - details here
5) IRS Federal Tax Lien - filed June 2007 - details here
6) Discover Bank - filed January 2002 - see details here
7) Sears - filed April 2001 - see details here
8) Drivers License Suspended - filed February 1998 - see details here - who knows what this was for?

In summary, this man has serious financial problems and at the very least Mr. Watson needs to resign as a Constable and if he refuses then he needs to be removed. We think he needs to resign all public positions as a person in debt often does things out of desperation and a position of trust leads to temptations. Afterall, perception is reality.