Sunday, March 15, 2009

Copied from Lehigh Valley Ramblings:

Ron Angle is Running For ...

. . . Bangor Area School Board. That's right, folks, the Northampton County Bulldog is running for one of four seats up this year on that nine member board. Ron previously served eight years on Bangor's school board, and gained some notoriety when he demanded to see the "green files," a secret archive where teacher evaluations were under lock and key. Since board members decide on tenure, Angle argued they should be allowed to see those evaluations. When he marched into district offices with a power drill, the records were released.

Grandstanding? You betcha. Effective? Yep, especially considering that the power drill was broken.

When Angle was first elected to Northampton County Council, he initially refused to give up his seat on the school board. Council, acting on the advice of its solicitor, ended up suing Ron. The matter languished in the courts until Angle voluntarily resigned, although he always insisted he could serve both offices simultaneously.

Eventually, a new county council solicitor, Leonard Zito, agreed. When Hellertown Borough Council member Tony Branco was appointed to Northampton County Council, Zito ruled that Council had no authority to force him to resign his Hellertown position, ruling that only the Pennsylvania Constitution can determine whether offices are incompatible. Most recently, Council appointed Bangor Mayor Joe Capozzolo to a vacancy.

Given these precedents, it's unlikely council will sue Angle now, so he's running for the school board again. He's had his drill fixed, too.