Browning Is The GOP Ticket To Good County Government

I was a newspaper reporter for a long time, almost 25 years. During my career I covered just about every municipality and school district along Route 309 from Cheltenham to North Whitehall/Parkland, and along Route 611 from Cheltenham to Easton. I covered Montgomery County for several years; I covered Allentown for several years. I covered state and national politics at various times.

I met a lot of politicians.

I liked a lot of them, didn’t like some and respected very few. I found that even the likeable ones often just weren’t that bright or practical. Too many of them – at all levels – were ideologues who ran for office to force their views on others. But there were that few who were bright, practical and, even if I didn’t agree with them, I came to respect them for their approach to government.

Like Dean Browning. I don’t agree with Dean on many things; he leans more conservative than me on most issues. (I like to call myself a moderate in that I can agree with both sides on different issues. My conservative friends consider me a left-leaning pinko and my liberal friends think I’ve drunk a little too much tea.) My bottom line is that I like politicians who want good government, not headlines.

Browning is a Lehigh County commissioner running for re-election this year and the Lehigh County Republican Committee has because he – shudder – dared to side with a Democrat. Browning voted against a Republican measure to send County Executive Don Cunningham’s 2011 budget back to him. It was a sham vote. The Republicans wanted to embarrass Cunningham over a tax increase, but the budget would have gone into effect, anyway.

Browning, who had spent months trying to negotiate an acceptable budget with the Democrat, opposed the measure because it was pointless. It would have done nothing but hogtie county government and give the GOP a campaign ad if Cunningham seeks a third term.

In short, he voted his conscience. He voted for the residents of Lehigh County. He voted to do what’s right.

We hear a lot of noise at all levels of government these days about cost-cutting and budget control. In truth, there is something to be said for these conversations. Government – including schools – have reached far beyond their scope in many ways and should be trimmed back. The questions are what should be cut, when and how. Ultimatums, scare tactics, baseless accusations and temper-tantrums are not the way to do it.

Politics with a small “p” is the art of good government. My distaste for politicians led me to the decision earlier this year to dump my long-standing Democratic registration in favor of ‘no party affiliation.’ I believe both parties have been hijacked by extremists. The “my way or the highway” mentality of these so-called leaders is causing us more harm than good.

Browning knows this. So does . If I was a registered Republican in Lehigh County, I would vote for them on Tuesday. If they win the primary, I will vote for them in November.

We need good government, not sound bites.

(For what it’s worth, I like Geoff Brace and Gloria Hamm on the Democratic ticket.)