William Martin Retires As Delco Solicitor — William Martin, yesterday, Dec. 13, announced his retirement (1:49) as Delaware County, Pa. solicitor effective at the end of the month.
He took some cheap shots at election integrity activist in his farewell speech (1:50.50)
“One thing of which I have been proudest . . . is protecting the right to vote in Delaware County,” he said.
And passing a law weakening traditional minority influence on the Election Board? You are strongly fighting to keep it. How is that protecting the right to vote?
Solicitor William Martin, Dec. 13
Why aren’t you allowing specific precinct recounts as allowed by simple reading of the law? Why aren’t you allowing poll watchers to challenged ballots at the Wharf absentee ballot counting center as they would at any precinct?
By the way, the cite from the German philosopher Karl Jaspers was top-flight gaslighting . You think think skeptics and questioners are unreasonable?
Again, why did you fight right-to-know requests AFTER the state Office of Open Records ruled against you?
And are you going to collect a pension? How long did you work for Delco?
Why Does Delco Fight Election Questions? — A hearing was heard yesterday, Dec. 6, to open ballot drop boxes and do a recount of the Nov. 7 election in 13 election districts in Delaware County, Pa.
“(It) essentially enables them to audit the vote in each precinct,” said a letter signed by Manley Parks and Nick Centrella, attorneys for the county Board of Elections.
There are 54 plaintiffs including Joy Schwartz and Bill Dennon, who were Republican candidates for County Council; Pat Bleasdale and Kathryn Buckley, who ran for Rose Tree Media School Board; and poll watchers Gregory Stenstrom and Leah Hoopes.
Most of them were representing themselves with a few being represented by attorney Renee Mazer. Stenstrom did most of the speaking for the pro se people.
It was emphasized that fraud was not being alleged nor were the results being challenged.
The issue was the county’s alleged reluctance to follow state law — which allows for by-right ballot checks — and its strange reticence for election transparency.
The plaintiffs had two hearings this week with the first being Dec. 4 with regard to the recounts.
None of the 54 showed up as the Office for Judicial Support failed to properly notify them. They only learned about it when they were asked by a Daily Times reporter why they hadn’t attended.
The Office for Judicial Support is run by the county and not the judges, noted Capuzzi.
Plaintiffs not being notified — and obviously they weren’t else at least some would have appeared — is rather problematic.
Ms. Hoopes told the court the county purposely intimidates those expressing election concerns. She noted the large number of uniformed law enforcement in the courtroom.
“This doesn’t happen in other counties,” she said. “This is why people are afraid to come forward about elections.”
Soon after she made the point most of the law enforcement personnel left.
One of the big issues concerned the status of the Wharf building in Chester where the county counts the mail-in and dropbox ballots.
Was it an election district? The county says no, as no one votes there. The plaintiffs said yes as that’s where votes are tallied.
Poll watchers and candidates may challenge votes at election districts. The county prohibits challenges at the Wharf, so poll watchers can’t check signatures or flag suspicious activity.
“Who gets to see ballots at the counting of mail-in ballots,” Mrs. Schwartz said. “Who is oversight for citizenry at the Wharf.”
Post-election challenges require a $50 bond per precinct. One would have to put down $20,000 — nonrefundable –for a recount of ballots at the Wharf as each of the county’s 428 election districts would need a $50 bond.
Which leads to another issue.
The 428 figure is what Delco officially touts. Mrs. Schwartz noted, however, that the counting center computers display 430 election districts and correspondence with Fort Orange Press of Albany, N.Y., which prints the ballots, indicates that there are 429.
Could one of the extra districts be the Wharf?
Centrella said that the extra precincts might concern machine testing. He said he wasn’t certain, though.
Mrs. Schwartz said, however, that she is a regular observer at testing and that a machine numbered 429 or 430 has never been tested. She said the county has spare machines and she has never seen these tested either.
The county is required to do 2-percent audit of votes. The mail-in ballots are not included in this, Mrs. Schwartz said.
According to the law they should, she said.
Centrella said mail- ballots can be included in recounts because they are recorded by precinct.
That principle, however, is not being applied to the 2-percent audits says Mrs. Schwartz.
The most concerning testimony came from Kathryn Buckley who noted that she won in-person vote but lost due to mail-in ballots
“Where is chain of custody,” she asked
She reiterated the point that poll watchers were not allowed to observe counting at the Wharf and told a story concerning her experience as a poll watcher in 2022.
She said arrived for a 10 a.m. to noon shift the day after the primary election and found it nearly vacant as counting had stopped at 1 a.m.
As the county ballot counters meandered in, she heard one say “I have to get ballots from my car.”
She immediately protested and was just as immediately escorted from the premise by sheriff deputies, she said.
She brought her issue before the Board of Elections and was ignored.
So she filed a complaint with the District Attorney’s office.
She called a week later and was told the matter was resolved. She was not told how.
Mrs. Buckley asked for her report and was told it had been sealed.
She said she has been trying to get her report since.
Mrs. Bleasdale noted that contrary to claims by the defendants, Delco routinely ignores right-to-know requests.
She said she had sought dropbox surveillance video from the county via right-to-know and was denied. She then appealed to state’s Office of Open Records which ruled in her favor.
Rather, that cut their losses, however, Delco appealed to Common Pleas Court which upheld the county’s claim.
Mrs. Bleasdale never got the video.
That does not help increase trust in government or elections.
Bill Dennon noted ballots appeared to be have been dumped as municipal waste at Wharf.
Leah And Stenstrom File RTK Request With Delco DA — Leah Hoopes and Greg Stenstrom submitted, Nov. 15, right-to-know requests to the Delaware County, Pa.’s District Attorney’s Office seeking all non-privileged records regarding criminal investigations pertaining to them initiated in November 2020.
They also want, among many other things, all sworn or non-sworn statements made pertaining to them by anyone involved with D.A.’s office
The D.A. responded by saying they needed until Dec. 28 to comply with the request.
Delco Dropbox Matter Resolved — Here’s some good news about a matter we reported yesterday regarding a Nov. 1 incident at a Lansdowne, Pa. ballot dropbox.
A citizen saw a Delaware County employee he thought behaving suspiciously at a dropbox on Highland Avenue and questioned him with his cell phone camera running.
Rather than offer an explanation, the employee waved his ID, said he was doing his job and drove off.
It now appears the employee was legitimately collecting ballots from the box and not shoving ballots into it as the citizen believed.
Don’t expect any garment rending for reporting this, and rather than condemn the guy who videotaped it, we are going to give him the highest praise.
We are going to chastise Delco, however, for its, expected, incompetence. Workers should be trained to make it obvious they are only removing ballots, not inserting them, and, if confronted, provide a calm explanation. This does not mean saying “I’m doin my job” and driving off.
They should also calmly pass on contact information to concerned citizens about making a report or getting details.
This isn’t rocket science. Telling employees to do this isn’t asking them to storm Omaha Beach.
The best solution, though, is to get rid of dropboxes.
Delaware County has much more than Philadelphia and Allegheny counties combined despite being smaller than both.
Mail-in ballots are meant to be used in US mailboxes and mailboxes don’t cost the county a penny.
Yes, the cost of dropbox maintenance is significant.
Mailboxes are accessible 24/7 and the county doesn’t have to pay anyone to collect from them.
Dropbox Mule Caught In Delaware County Pa? — Updated here.
This video is being passed around by the police departments in Delaware County, Pa. and the powers-that-be in the courthouse know about it.
The confrontation occurred after a resident thought he saw this fellow stuffing things into a ballot dropbox on Highland Avenue in Lansdowne about 9:15 a.m., yesterday, Nov. 1.
Police were called after he left and have his name. A report was taken.
“(George) Soros realized that you don’t need to change the laws, you just need to change how they are enforced,” Musk said. “If nobody chooses to enforce the laws or if the laws are differentially enforced it’s like changing laws”
Get out and vote Tuesday.
The higher the turnout, the harder it is going to be to steal the election.
Delco Council Won’t Condemn Hamas — We heard that despite requests from citizens yesterday, Nov. 1, and on Oct. 31, Delaware County Council has refused to issue a proclamation condemning the Oct. 7 terror attack by Hamas on Israel during which 1,400 of its citizens were killed and unspeakable atrocities committed; nor would it issue a proclamation in support of Israel.
This would be understandable if it had a consistent policy of restraint in expressing opinions but this bunch has declared June to be a month to celebrate homosexuality and has lighted the courthouse in the colors of a movement to convince children they can change their sex.
And yes, we remember Councilwoman Christine Reuther smearing Joy Schwartz for several months as an anti-semite because Mrs. Schwartz called out the Soros money being funneled to Democrats.
Karma happens and now Joy, whose husband is Jewish, is running against her Nov. 7 on the Republican ticket.
And she has a chance at winning.
For what it’s worth Hamas must be destroyed and every decent person must be willing to declare it.
Upbeat Delco Ticket Takes 2 Hours Of Questions In Havertown — Republican candidates had a two-hour conversation, tonight, Nov. 1, with Delaware County residents at the Nunan – Slook American Legion Post in Havertown, Pa.
They were upbeat and united. They happily noted how their opponents were dumping beaucoup dollars into advertising filled with over-the-top smears.
Jeff Jones
Jeff Jones, who is seeking a seat on County Council, said they were going to do to the incompetent incumbents what Buster Douglas did to Mike Tyson.
Granted, Tyson was never considered incompetent.
Jones grew up in Camden, N.J. but ended up in Delco after falling in love with a girl moving to Drexel Hill. He married her and that’s where he ended up raising his family.
He said those running for office either “seek power or seek principle” and all the county Republican candidates are in it for the principle.
“We are not doing this to be attorney general,” he said, giving a dig at incumbent District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer’s already begun campaign to be Pennsylvania’s next attorney general.
Jones talked about how Upper Darby schools are in decline and truancy has exploded. He said this happened when the district raised the start of the school day to 9:45 a.m.
Parents have to be at work hence not around to make sure their kids get to class, he pointed out.
He said former Democrat opponents are helping him in his council race.
Beth Stefanide-Miscichowski, who is running for district attorney, with county council candidates Joy Schwartz, Bill Dennon and Jeff Jones
Bill Dennon
Jones’ running mates for council are Upland mayor Bill Dennon and retired school teacher Joy Schwartz.
Dennon, whose full-time job is as a maintenance mechanic, grew up in the trades. He said his father, a truck driver, made him help him fix his cars as a boy before freeing him to play.
He said crime is out of control is his community which borders Chester due to the county Democrats’ woke policing policies.
Dennon said the D.A. is putting serious offenders on ankle bracelet monitoring due to closure of Delco’s juvenile facility. He said the youths are cutting the bracelets off without repercussions. The bracelets cost over $1,000 apiece.
Joy Schwartz
Mrs. Schwartz noted she is the daughter of immigrant parents who lived in tyrannies. Her father grew up in the Soviet Union and her mother in Franco’s Spain. She said her paternal grandmother spent nine years in a gulag and her maternal grandfather spent a year in a concentration camp on the Canary Islands as one of Franco’s political prisoners.
Mrs. Schwartz taught history in the William Penn School District for 20 years before retiring just before Covid. She took the school’s the mock trial team to state competitions.
The Democrats are attempting to frame Mrs. Schwartz as an “election denier” because she has been questioning the actions by Democrat-controlled council that do the opposite of creating confidence in voting.
Mrs. Schwartz said she prefers the term election verifier and has noted during her campaign that the council’s new spending will increase the tax bills of residents by 35 percent next year and the increases won’t stop if they keep power.
Beth Stefanide-Miscichowski
Beth Stefanide-Miscichowski, who is running for district attorney, said her long legal career has included being a Delco prosecutor where she convicted rapists and murders and ended up running the DA’s juvenile division; being a public defender; and having a well-established private practice specializing in elder law and estate planning.
She said crime is up 25-percent in Delaware County; murders are going unsolved, and that a murder in Upper Darby last week has caused the township to literally double its five-year annual average with two months remaining in the year.
She said Upper Darby has but eight police officers on the street at any given time when not so long ago the number was 20.
And Stollsteimer is refusing to prosecute petty theft cases, a point reinforced by Bill Dennon, who described his personal experience with an incorrigible local thief, and audience members who said Stollsteimer has directed police chiefs to not prosecute shoplifters.
She brought up the incident where the unstable Stollsteimer berated her at a public event for daring to contest the re-coronation to which he feels entitled.
She said the county legal bills were four times higher than under the Republicans due to its reliance on expensive outside law firms.
The only county-wide candidate missing was Dawn Getty Sutphinwho had a prior commitment. She’s running for Common Pleas Court judge. She is far more qualified than her opponent.
With regard to lack of concern about election concerns, why was this election cart in the Nunan – Slook American Legion Post, Nov. 1, almost a week before the election?
Delco Concedes Election Code Change Is Ambiguous In Hearing Before Judge Bradley — Judge James P. Bradley heard arguments this morning, Nov. 1, for a preliminary injunction to prevent the enforcement of changes to the election code passed by Delaware County Council, Jan. 18.
The Pennsylvania Election Code requires all county election boards to have a minority party member.
The law passed by the Democrat-controlled council requires the minority party to submit a list of three and allows them reject it if not satisfied with the choices restarting the process.
Attorney Wally Zimolong representing Delaware County GOP and GOP Chairman Frank Agovino, said that the state code says the county legislative body “shall” fill vacancies from a list provided by the chairman of the minority party leaving no ambiguity that the choice is the minority chairman’s.
The attorney representing the county argued that the request should be rejected as Agovino would no longer have standing if the Republicans should take control, Nov. 7.
Zimolong notes that Agovino has standing now which is all that matters and that the legality of the ordinance means it would be required to be addressed even if Agovino should become leader of the majority party.
Bradley asked the defense what would stop council from rejecting the minority lists in perpetuity or until they got someone who would be a true minority watchdog
The defense conceded that the law was ambiguous and maybe didn’t prevent that but council would never do that, well, because.
Judge Bradley did not promise a fast decision.
Democrat politicians and candidates have taken to smearing those concerned about election integrity as “election deniers” but the reason why so many have developed election skepticism is because of stunts like this.
Why change the election code to weaken minority oversight? Really, help us out. Give us an answer as to how that instill trust in government.
Monday, we attended a hearing before Judge John Capuzzi involving a suit by Robert Mancini of Media against Delco.
Mancini says the county is in violation of the state code because it fails to perform hash validation before each election.
The county argued that while it may be best practice to do so the county is only obliged to do so when installing new software.
If the county is right regarding the law, we expect the judge to rule in its favor.
But why isn’t it using best practices?
Mancini filed several right to know requests last year that the county rejected but that Mancini won on appeals to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records.
Did the county concede things to put the issue to rest?
No, it appealed the appeal to Common Pleas Court.
Among the things that Mancini wants are the correspondence with Fort Orange Press of Albany, N.Y., which prints the county’s mail-in ballots.
Why the secrets?
Why isn’t Delaware County, Pa. making its elections as transparent as possible and doing everything it can to assuage all fears of fraud?
Sunday Stroll Along Darby Creek — We just finished a nice stroll along Darby Creek in Upper Darby, Pa. from Delaware County’s Kent Park on the left bank to the township’s Gillespie Park on the other side now connected by a nice, new pedestrian bridge.
The round-trip was about three miles.
We also managed to catch the season’s last tour of the Lower Swedish Cabin guided by Ray King –apologies if we misspelled or misheard.
He said another one recrossing the creek is planned another from Gillespie Park allowing the trail to reach Garrett Road.
Private property prevents a straight path from Kent Park to Garrett Road.
The cost of the bridges are reportedly $1 million each.
Here’s some photos of the stroll.
At the end of the trail by the Swedish CabinThe Lower Swedish Cabin was a frequent setting for movies made by Lubin Studios in the first decade of the 20th century.The trail in GillespiePark with the saplings.Darby Creek looking north from the new bridge.
Sun Valley Students Protest Boys In The Girls Room Despite Administration Intimidation — About 50 students left Sun Valley High School at 10 o’clock this morning, Oct. 25, to protest the Penn Delco School District’s gender fluid bathroom/locker room policy.
Penn Delco is in Delaware County, Pa.
The students were met by a similar number of parents and supporters along with encouraging honks from passing drivers.
The students braved warnings, then threats from administration for having the walk out, which was reportedly originally scheduled for Oct. 2.
And there was peer pressure.
About 70 percent of the students support the school policy with about 30 percent opposing, said freshman James Pantuliano.
On his way out the door, another student grabbed his sign defending safe bathrooms and tore it up.
He didn’t back down, though.
“You never know what their motive is,” he said regarding boys who enter the traditional private places of girls.
There were reports that students had to pass through a “wall of teachers” to participate. They reportedly received threats that their grades would be affected and they would be banned from school sports.
Freshman tennis player Taylor MacNamee-Graham wasn’t worried.
“Tennis is over so I’ll be fine,” she said.
She said she didn’t care about getting in trouble anyway.
A senior who identified himself as Pablo said the protest was the right thing.
“I don’t want males going into female bathrooms or vice-versa,” he said.
He said the faculty tried to keep the protest from being discussed.
“They tried to stop us from talking about it but we have freedom of speech,” he said.
An order was broadcast for the students to return when they left the building but was ignored.
Aston Police were at the parking lot entrances.
Community support for the students
Parents were reportedly never made aware of the change in bathroom policy, nor do they seem to be aware of sexually graphic books reportedly encouraging child-adult sex in the libraries.
