Lehigh County District 5 Virtual Debate

October 31, 8:33 PMAllentown Fiscal Responsibility ExaminerKenneth Petrini

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Glenn Eckhart and Hillary Kwiatek square off in District 5.  The 5^th District for the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners includes the Lehigh County portion of Bethlehem; the boroughs of Coopersburg and Fountain Hill and the Townships of Lower Milford, Salisbury, Upper Milford & Upper Saucon.

Glenn Eckhart is the incumbent, having been elected in 2005.  Hillary Kwiatek is the Democratic candidate who hopes to unseat Eckhart.  The two may present the greatest contrast between candidates of any of the 5 contests for county commissioner with the fiscal conservative Eckhart running against the admittedly more liberal Kwiatek, who has called Eckhart “Dr. No” for his votes to oppose spending at the county level.  Also, Eckhart is a native of the district while Kwiatek grew up elsewhere.  Her husband has strong ties to the area.

Eckhart responded to the questions posed to the candidates in writing while Kwiatek opted for a live interview.

As for qualifications, Eckhart says: I am a life-long Lehigh Valley resident who grew up right here in the Fifth District. I have been involved in several non-profits including the Troop Camp Association, and the Lehigh Valley Animal Welfare Alliance, in which I am now working.”

Eckhart, the father of 1, added “What I am most proud of to date is my 13 years I spent as basketball coach and as my 3 years as director of the basketball program of the Salisbury Youth Association.”  He saw the program grown from 40 children to 160 in just 3 years.

The incumbent has a business background, including having his own business for 13 years as owner of Glenn's Lawn Care and Landscaping.   He has also worked for Gotham Golf Partners and currently is service manager for Scotts Lawn Care.

 Eckhart claims “I have a well rounded business background which gives me the understanding of how to make government work more efficiently.”

The Republican candidate also has experience as an elected school board member for two years, of which he says, “one of which was the last time Salisbury school taxpayer's did not have a tax increase.”  He was the author of the first property tax cut in Salisbury Township history.

Kwiatek is the mother of two and a freelance writer.  She was recently involved in rewriting the Northampton Community College website.

Her husband is the assistant director of admissions at NCCC and an area native.  Kwiatek, who lived outside the area until she moved here with her husband does not see being an “outsider” as a drawback but as offering a diverse perspective on county government and giving her a balance that comes from living with a lot of forms of government.

Having lived in Maryland, Kwiatek is familiar with more powerful county governments.  As a result, she encourages inter-governmental cooperation, such as via the COGs.

Eckhart touts his experience in this county and claims “as a Lehigh County Commissioner I have better understanding how county government works than my opponent and I am battle tested and ready to make the hard decisions for the taxpayer's best interest.”

As for why she is running, Kwiatek says “I feel I can do a better job.”  She says she has a “deep investment here,” with her husband’s family still being local.

She said she settled here “because of the quality of life to a large extent.”  He campaign position is to keep funding available for that quality of life.

She also touts the public-private partnerships that the county is involved in.  This is especially true in the area of supporting the arts and cultural resources.

Kwiatek notes that “it is economic development dollars that go to quality of life.”

She says that she and Eckhart, a critic of county aid to the City of Allentown, have “a point of disagreement” about the biggest municipality in the county.  Kwiatek notes “there is no fence that stops the problems from spilling over.”

She called Eckhart’s stance on Allentown “really short-sighted.”  For example, while Eckhart opposed the Safe Streets Program to help fund community police officers, Kwiatek says it will result in lower law and order costs at the county level.

“Community policing is all about law and order,” she said.

Eckhart agrees with the need for officers on the street but believes that the funding for them should come from the municipalities involved, like Allentown, rather than from the county taxpayers.  A robocall from Kwiatek that Eckhart voted to take 10 Lehigh County Police Officers off the street is a bit misleading since (a) Lehigh County has no police and (2) there no police to take off the street.

Eckhart says he is running again because “I saw my parents work hard as volunteers in organizations as I grow up and learned the importance of giving back to the community. We are at a crossroads in this country, state and county, and I will continue to fight for the little guy and the taxpayer as I have demonstrated in the past.”

He cites the three major issues as taxes, spending, and crime.

Asked if he would agree that the $20 million Stabilization Fund should not be used to balance the 2003, Eckhart said “I have fought the last two years at that with that principal in mind.”

He adds “It also is not the rainy day fund.  It is the cash flow needed for operations to make up the period of time that county property taxes are not being paid. “

Referring to the Taxpayer Relief Fund that is eliminated in the 2010 budget, Eckhart said “I would argue the rainy day fund was spent for the 2010 budget and we don't have a rainy day fund now.”

He responded to the question about how he would bridge a 2011 budget gap in two words “cutting spending.”

While tax increases are not popular, Kwiatek says they may be necessary and she wants to “get rid of the rhetoric.”  She points out that a 1 mil increase equals $5 a month on the typical home.

She says that when Eckhart opposes increasing taxes, asking “Who’s going to think of the seniors?” that she is thinking of the seniors.  She wants to “pull back from the rhetoric and talk about the benefits derived from county services.

While she supports the arts and believes the county can maintain its Quality of Life Grants, Kwiatek is clear that given “a real choice between baby formula and Pip the Mouse, I’m going with baby formula.”

As for what Eckhart would cut, he says “All non-essential programs that are not a core function of county government will need to be cut.  I will look to streamline county government as was successful in the Clerk of Judicial Records office.”

During Eckhart’s term, the county combined various judicial records functions into a single office, eliminating elective positions and realizing major savings.

He added “I will freeze county salary increases as our seniors are not getting cost of living increases from Social Security why should other public workers?”

Eckhart also said “I will look to privatize operations in many areas, and I will begin to sell off non-essential assets of county government that cost money to maintain.”

His challenger, Hillary Kwiatek, stresses the need to make choices and establish priorities.  She gives the proposed rail study as an example and agrees that while it may not come to fruition for some time, it is “planning for the future.”

She wants to “give people the idea where their tax dollars will go.”  While she does not endorse the broader spending cuts the Eckhart would favor, Kwiatek will “meet somewhere in the middle between tax increases and spending.”

Consistent with the GOP Contract with Lehigh County Taxpayers, Eckhart vowed “I will not take the pay raise that I would be entitled to with my re-election.”  His salary is set to increase from $4,500 a year to $6,000.

Kwiatek says that it is important for a county commissioner to “understand the role of government and its limitations.”  For example, across-the-board spending cuts are “not feasible,” according to the Democratic nominee.

She disagrees with those who want to run government like a business.  “Government is not a business,” she contends, “It does the things a business doesn’t want to do.”

Still, Kwiatek says government can learn best practices from business in areas like human resources.