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Monday, June 29, 2026

Two candidates no one great

 



So, council will take to picking a new City Controller this Wednesday, and honestly… the choices are not super exciting. The Controller, which is basically the person who makes sure the money doesn’t disappear into a black hole. Sounds important, right? I don’t think Council is taking it seriously.

EVETTE D’AMORE 

She is basically a friend of the mayor, so it is easy to see who he is probably pushing behind the scenes. They worked together previously and seem to have many similarities. 


Some grown‑ups say this means they “have” experience, but other people say it’s kind of weird because the Controller is supposed to check the mayor’s work. I don’t see either of these candidates, based on their short qualifications sheet on the city website, to be the right candidate at this time.

It’s like if your teacher said you need a hall monitor but then picked their favorite kid who always gets special jobs. You just wonder if they’ll tell the teacher when something is wrong. Her qualifications for the job are not what is needed for a Controller. Like Talarico, she is probably a plant for the mayor, so he isn’t held accountable.

PATRICK PALMER


This person is fine. Just… fine. He doesn't have big ideas or big problems. Palmer is generally seen as a well‑intentioned community figure who has been active in local issues and supportive of underserved groups. He has prior political involvement, including unsuccessful attempts to join Council. While he is respected for his advocacy, his qualifications are thin for a position like the city's Controller.

--- Who remembers when Patrick Palmer called out the mayor for using race as a steppingstone during his campaign? “Why do you need to highlight her race?” “What value comes from that?”

He probably won’t mess anything up, but he also won’t fix anything big or make the city better in cool ways.

Both candidates appear to lack the depth of experience typically expected for the Allentown Controller role. One raises concerns about independence due to close ties with the mayor, while the other is seen as competent but not particularly transformative. The selection process feels less like a search for the strongest financial watchdog and more like settling for two modestly qualified options. 


What we do not need is another individual that will greenlight the wasteful spending and support any tax increase in the next budget.

Also, I can only see Palmer doing the requested audit of the Mayors travels.  A real audit.  Not a Frank Kane bullshit special. 






34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Both are a joke. Patrick Palmer has tried for literally every elected office under the sun. Can Evette be on the school board AND be the controller? This city is a disaster and people like Matt are pulling it deeper and deeper into a hole with the nepotism.

Scott Armstrong said...

Evertte is the most competent person to run for office in quite some time, but you are correct, she will pick up where Jeff and all the previous controllers of the last two decades left off. She will be not be the taxpayer's watchdog but just another team player in for our one party town. Expect more go along, get along. One party towns are always corrupt, inefficient, poorly managed, wildly overspend. Such is our fait until the city's narrow minded D voters get a clue.

Anonymous said...

There are many capable individuals in the Lehigh Valley that could easily be the controller, but they are also probably watching the City and realizing they don’t want to be the name attached to a failing City that is going towards financial ruin
I’m actually surprised that Boyer wasn’t given the job but then again I forgot she was Recently promoted to a job making almost $100,000 a year.

Anonymous said...

Ugh… both choices are bad and I fail to see how either person is qualified for the position. Patrick Palmer is a hard no!

Anonymous said...

They are both are not good choices for Allentown. I agree that it would be a difficult search for someone to want to take on oversight of the poorly managed city finances. Tuerk and Patel are driving the city towards even higher taxes to fund their mistakes. The promotions and position changes , Police and Fire stations that really aren’t needed, the DROP pensions, the Storm water fiasco-it is out of control.
The sad part is that Council isn’t operating with a single thought about the city finances when they keep green lighting these dumb expenses. We should be lowering spending right now.

Anonymous said...

I like Palmer over her. Allentown doesnt need anyone who is connected to anyone to fill that position. Cmon.

Anonymous said...

Trixie likes cimp cimp for controller!)$?

Anonymous said...

Zucal for Controller

Anonymous said...

Have you been to the rumpus room since Eddie got sprung¿¡

Anonymous said...

Not into gappings with the large end of soft ball bat's like you and the fast Eddie's!)$? Now go back to your green door eXperiences!)$?

Anonymous said...

Making memes with Mayor Matt depicted as a camel jockey say more about Abes lack of cultural sophistication than Tuerk's supposed shortcomings. It's clear you hold Arabic people in contempt and are deeply prejudiced which is a stark departure from your namesake.

Anonymous said...

Both are a hard no. Remember the video Patrick made mocking the administration now he wants to be a part of it. Go figure. She got on school board now she thinks she's a politician.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone read the letters of interest from the candidates to city council? They are posted on the agenda. Patrick Palmer’s looks like a 5th grader wrote it. No introduction. No header. Run on sentences or grammatically incorrect sentences. Wrong or missing punctuation. Exactly what you want from a controller, lack of precision or attention to detail.

Anonymous said...

You got that from the post, Einstein?

Anonymous said...

Whomever wins will undoubtedly become a meme on this blog for good reason

Scott Armstrong said...

He's perfect for the position. Think current city office holders are much brighter? He will fit right in.

Scott Armstrong said...

Finally, I will repeat what I have stated here and elsewhere, as someone who has actively tried to recruit good people to run for city offices, both Democrat and Republican, I will testify, they won't. The reason why should be obvious. Our city government is the joke of the valley, there isn't a bright bulb holding any office. In short, it's a sh*t show. Those who can want no part of that, its that simple. This explains why real talent never runs for public office in the city,Republicans know they can't win, and Democrats of ability don't want to.

Anonymous said...

I SUPPORT EVETTE D’AMORE!!! She is the ONLY RIGHT CHOICE for the position!!! Allentown City Council would make the BEST choice by choosing Evette! She will do right by the position, and will hit the ground running!

Mellow Yellow said...

This blog is a total kvetch fest, worse than lil 3%'s TDS rag

Anonymous said...

It's pretty bad when all you have are those two to choose from.. Has anybody reached out to local colleges looking for accounting grads? Otherwise repost it using g other outlets. Hopefully Council uses their brain and votes no on both of these two.

Scott Armstrong said...

Coucil would not likely appoint anyone they suspected as deing independent minded.

Anonymous said...

Yet you keep supporting with your views. Thank you for keeping this “kvetch fest” alive and relevant.

Anonymous said...

It seems council may not like any of the candidates as well. A “scheduling conflict” that “does not allow a for a quorum” has caused the meeting to be cancelled.

Has anyone checked to see if Napoli’s clothing stores are having a 48 hour sale?

Anonymous said...

She is a wife of a former council appointee to district justice appointed by lehigh county?

Scott Armstrong said...

Have you seen who has run for school board lately? Go to a meeting or watch it on zoom, that will end any illusion you have that anyone serving in a public office is up to the job.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone looked up Patrick's resume from when he applied for interim mayor in March 2018 and compared it to the resume he submitted for controller? It's more than a bit conflicting. Council shouldn't consider either for the position because both are grossly under qualified.

Anonymous said...

For once I agree with you.

Anonymous said...

https://allentownpa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=599697&GUID=769582E8-168F-48C7-8AF7-360F25D4473C

Anonymous said...

Patrick Palmer raised over $1,500 through a GoFundMe called “All Signs Point to Happiness” to put encouraging signs around Allentown. The signs never went up, and he pocketed the money. This guy can’t account for what happened to $1,500 in donated money, why should anyone trust him to account for the city’s finances. This is peak insanity.

Anonymous said...

I’ve looked into Patrick Palmer‘s work history, and depending on which job he’s applying for he puts completely different full-time jobs down for the same time periods.

Anonymous said...

Maybe were there was once a taint that used to be sweat dribbles down on thighs like most of it dribbled down it's mother's leg.

Anonymous said...

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

bk said...

Great job to the city and mayor last night for setting off fireworks minutes before a severe storm and during high winds. Literally two weeks after a devastating fire in the city, the city sets aside any kind of common sense and proceeds with fireworks and then the minute the storm ends continues to set off more. Glad to see Matt could make sure he dangerously "showed up" for the 4th of july.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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