EASTON, Pa. — Northampton County Council on Thursday voted down a resolution endorsing the idea of free and fair elections.
The action adds to growing intra-council tension over messaging resolutions that support an issue without impacting county policy or operations.
The rejected measure “affirms and adopts” a compact attributed to Keep Our Republic, a nonprofit focused on strengthening trust in the electoral system.
“This is just kind of like fluff. The principles in it, I think, are appropriate and accurate, so it’s not about the content. I don't think we need to keep restating and taking an oath over and over and over and over and over again.”Northampton County Commissioner John Brown
At its heart, the compact is a set of principles: “Let every eligible voter vote. Let every vote be counted. Let the electoral count stand. Respect the voice of the people in each state as expressed by the popular vote.”
While the compact does not appear on Keep our Republic’s website, a 2022 book by former Colorado U.S. Sen. Gary Hart, a member of the organization, attributes it to two fellow members, Mark Medish and Jonathan Winer.
No county commissioners said they opposed the content of the resolution.
Commissioner John Goffredo, despite criticizing state election laws, called the resolution “uncontroversial… if you take it at its word,” repeating an argument from County Executive Lamont McClure, who drafted it.
However, several members criticized the measure as toothless at best.
“This is just kind of like fluff,” Commissioner John Brown said. “The principles in it, I think, are appropriate and accurate, so it’s not about the content.
"I don't think we need to keep restating and taking an oath over and over and over and over and over again.”
Councilman Ron Heckman said, “I don't really need to bend a knee to some out-of-state group asking me to reaffirm what I have said 100 times up on council — that I believe our county elections are fair and they’re legal.
"It’s silly. It’s nonsense. It’s a waste of time.”
Frustration with resolutions
Despite praise for the basic ideas in the resolution, only three members of the council — Jeff Warren, Ken Kraft and Kelly Keegan — voted to approve it.
During a meeting of the council’s Governance Committee on Wednesday, Commissioner Kelly Keegan, who introduced the resolution, defended it as beneficial.
Though it wouldn’t change anything, Keegan said, the resolution “means that we're working together and we're sticking together, and we want fair elections.”
“To have that debate, to have accusations thrown around, to delay work of council, was not necessary. What came out of those resolutions?”Northampton County Commissioner Jeff Corpora
The decisive rejection shows some members’ growing frustration with resolutions, typically from Keegan and Warren, that send a message without any impact to county operations or policy.
One, which would have declared Northampton County a “sanctuary” for abortion access, failed in early June.
Another measure brought forward later in June, recognizing LGBTQ Pride Month, passed despite several members saying it was not county business and did not belong on the council’s agenda.
Keegan used the Pride Month resolution as a vehicle to attack Goffredo over recent social media posts she said were offensive. She brought printed versions of his posts to the meeting.
During prior debate over those issues, members including Goffredo and Council President Lori Vargo Heffner accused Keegan of trying to use polarizing wedge issues to force other members to take politically treacherous votes.
At Wednesday’s Governance Committee meeting, Commissioner Jeff Corpora proposed a measure that would have only let council members introduce legislation “germane to County Council business.”
It was a direct response to the Pride Month and abortion resolutions, which “should not have been brought to Council,” Corpora said, and distracted the board from its work.
He said the Pride Month resolution, for example, should have been an announcement at the beginning of a meeting acknowledging the celebration.
“To have that debate, to have accusations thrown around, to delay work of council, was not necessary.” he said. “What came out of those resolutions?”
The body ultimately backed away from that measure, and Corpora withdrew it from consideration Thursday.
However, it was the first sign of members’ frustration giving rise to potential new limits on what legislation they can introduce.
