Who Do You Want To Be Your Representative in Congress?

John Callahan, Charlie Dent and Jake Towne want to represent YOU.
(photo courtesy of Michael Laws)

Posted by: Noel Jones


It's official--I am a total nerd. As I filed in with other West Ward residents into fourth row center seats in the Oeschle Hall auditorium on Monday night, I got so excited about the impending candidates' debate that I had to breathe on my inhaler. Not a small part of the excitement was that in a normally rather apathetic town where local politics is concerned, the foyer to the auditorium had been packed half an hour before the doors opened, with citizens feverishly scribbling their questions for the candidates on the white cards handed out by volunteers from The League of Women Voters, who hosted the event along with the College Hill Neighborhood Association. Not only did the auditorium fill up immediately, but so did the overflow room, where I hear that residents, rather than leaving, patiently waited it out while the hosts ironed out technical difficulties. Perhaps this means that things are finally getting bad enough for citizens that engaging in one's democratic process is gradually bumping up the list of priorities for the average American? Somebody catch me, I'm swooning.


Once I stopped wheezing and the forum got underway, I whipped out my laptop and managed to take down this very loose attempt at transcription:
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Callahan comes out swinging. Says he’s balanced budgets and reduced debt in Bethlehem. Says Dent has driven us further into debt via supporting Wall Street bailouts.

Dent says the issue is jobs. Says Callahan supported Stimulus Bill, which hasn’t succeeded in creating enough jobs. Private sector must drive recovery.

Towne says while Dent was in office debt increased. While Callahan was in office they had $800K in debt. Towne is against all bail-outs. Says Callahan has stated that he would have supported the Wall Street bailout. He [Towne] will donate the majority of his salary to

nonprofits, and challenges his opponents to do the same.

1. Hydrofracking for natural gas—will you support moratorium until studies are done?

Callahan—we have to include natural gas in our energy solutions. It needs more study, regulation and oversight. Says he understand the need for clean drinking water. [Did not answer on moratorium]

Dent—we need drilling for jobs. Believes DEP will have capacity to provide oversight. Concerned about the moratorium in the gulf—hurting jobs.

Towne—has asked Dent to co-sponsor the FRAC Act which eliminates the Halliburton Loophole [which has exempted natural gas companies from the Clean Water Act since 2005]. Towne feels it is ultimately a state issue, but that we need to sponsor the FRAC Act in Congress.

2. Would you support continuation of research and development tax credits? 

Dent—R&D is critical. The Health Care Act is going to create problems for R&D.

Towne—Sorbanes-Oxley Act regulations burden businesses and companies.

Callahan—In favor of R&D tax credit. If we’re going to create jobs, we have to be on the forefront of technology. He has a 5-point jobs plan. Says Dent gives tax credits to corporations who send jobs overseas. Callahan says small businesses are 2/3 of businesses in Lehigh Valley and he’d rather give the tax credit to them.

3. Why do you feel that most Americans feel so disconnected or disaffected from their congressional representatives?

Towne—Transparency and accountability is key. If elected he will report every vote he makes and why. Says most candidates don’t do that.

Callahan—Corporate special interest money hurts citizen trust a lot. Says Dent accepts a lot of special interest money, so who is he representing? The Supreme Court decision to allow corporations unlimited contributions is dangerous.

Dent—Says he gets attacked by MoveOn.org, etc. and he doesn’t complain. People are upset when legislation like the Health Care Bill gets rammed through when they don’t approve. That’s why people feel disconnected. "You can’t bad-mouth businesses (corporations) and ask them to create jobs at the same time."

4. If elected, will you vote for Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker of the House?

Callahan—“I don’t know who will be running for Speaker when I get there. When I agree with my party, I’ll let them know, and when I disagree with my party, I’ll let them know. Charlie is not running against Nancy Pelosi, he’s running against John Callahan.”

Dent—“Callahan didn’t answer the question. I will vote for Boehner. This is the most important vote that Congress will take. This was a soft ball question and he didn’t answer it. That’s obfuscation.”

Towne—“No, and my campaign is the only campaign that doesn’t take money from PACs.”

5. Beyond block grants and Section 8, how can the federal government help cities such as Easton to retain its more affluent residents and businesses?

Dent—Says he supported brownfields law that got Bethlehem Steel site ready for development again, as well as funding for Easton’s Silk Mill and Larry Holmes Drive projects.

Towne—The best way to support business is to cut taxes.

Callahan—“I have experience in this as Mayor and City Councilman. The federal government can play an important role by providing federal money for police officers to make cities safer so that they are more attractive to businesses and residents.”

6. Which entitlements would you vigorously seek to eliminate?

Towne--1/3 of money going to Social Security and Medicare and 1/3 to Defense. He will not cut Social Security or Medicare but would seek to cut Defense spending and military aid.

Dent—We are going to have to find ways of shoring up Medicare. The new Health Care Bill created a new entitlement for people not qualified for Medicare. Says he would privatize Social Security. Re: Defense—he voted “against the F22s.”

Callahan—He will not cut Social Security. 4^th point of his 5 point plan addresses Social Security. Says he's in favor of zero bailouts and freezing spending. “Necessity is the mother of invention and we will see innovation if we cut waste. We need to go back to pay-as-you-go.” Says he will not vote for anything that is not paid for. Says Dent has voted against pay-as-you-go.

7. What is your opinion of the renewal of the Bush tax cuts? 

Callahan—roll them back for everyone but the wealthiest 2%.

Towne—in favor of the abolishment of income tax. The printing of money makes income tax unnecessary.

Dent—Pay-go leads to permanent taxes. Bush tax cuts should be extended for all. Says this is a massive tax increase on the small business sector of America. It will affect the economy and jobs. “We can’t ask companies to create jobs and then tax them so they can’t create jobs.”

8. Do you defend the imperfect rescue of Wall Street, since bailouts also saved 401Ks, etc.

Dent—“We had to stop the panic. The credit markets were contracting. The infrastructure was at risk.” Says if the electrical power grid were at risk, you would expect the government to step in.

Towne—Does not support bailouts. Says we would not have gone into chaos if the banks were allowed to fail. Private industries must be allowed to fail. The real root of the crisis is spending.

Callahan—Says Dent was part of the congress that deregulated Wall Street, and voted against curbing CEO bonuses, and Dent has accepted hundreds of thousands of campaign donations from Wall Street firms.

9. How do you feel about the drawdown of troops and deadline for complete withdrawal from Iraq?

Towne—In favor of pulling all troops home, and he will not approve one dollar for military spending and nation-building in foreign countries.

Dent—The drawdown and goal of leaving 50,000 troops are actually the residual plan of Bush administration. On bailouts—Says Geitner already has the authority to curb bonuses and won’t do it.

Callahan—“We need to make these decisions based on the recommendations of the generals.”

10.  In the past decade, both Dem and Rep majorities have seen the increase of debt and deficits to record levels. What would you do to correct that?

Callahan—Says Clinton left us with a surplus. Says he [Callahan] has a 5 point plan and has reduced debt in Bethlehem.

Towne—We cannot spend beyond our means. The government doesn’t understand this because they can print money.  Congressmen make over double the median American income.

Dent—Bethlehem has an $8.5 mil deficit. We should cancel unspent Stimulus funds and cap discretionary federal spending to a pre-Stimulus level. He is in favor of a presidential line item veto to eliminate waste. We need to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

11.  What will encourage job growth?

Dent—wants to give a 20% tax break to small businesses. Index the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Don’t raise the capital gains tax. We need a progressive trade policy—one that opens opportunities for our manufacturers and farmers. Bi-lateral trade agreements are important.

Towne—governments don’t create jobs, people do. Says we need to look at labor laws, regulatory laws and tax laws. End affirmative action. Temporary tax holiday. Government has 22.8 million employees—all paid by the taxpayer. FDIC is now bankrupt, and the government is printing money to fill the hole.

Callahan—He has a 5 point plan. Brought 5,000 new jobs to the city. Cut $60 mil in debt. Wants to close loop-holes on large corporations who are shipping our jobs overseas. Take the proceeds and give it to businesses hiring new employees in America. Money to community colleges to train the unemployed.

12.  Do you support same-sex marriage and federal funding stem cell research?

Callahan—yes and yes.

Dent—no and yes.

Towne—yes and no.

[I put the laptop away for closing arguments] Callahan emphasized that as a Mayor, he knows and represents Main Street. Dent humbly asked for the vote, and said he wants to represent us, not Wall Street. Towne said: "Your parties have failed for you. You may think that voting for me is to throw your vote away, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Nothing could be farther from the the truth."
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Excuse the paraphrasing--my typing skills are decent, but not fast enough for real time transcription. Hopefully this is helpful to those who missed the forum. So, what do you think?