Showing Up: A Bucks County Political Problem That Needs Fixin'

Re: Local Politics

Up to now I have never voted for a Recorder of Deeds. Not that I know of. But next Tuesday, I will be breaking Steve Young voting precedent and will be doing it in the November 2009 election, perhaps the most innocuous of all the elections; falling just short of the 1840 William Henry Harrison/Martin Van Buren presidential brouhaha.

When you're discussing political offices in Bucks County, PA that seem to have little effect on your life, Recorder of Deeds appears fall just below auditor on the crucial meter. Being honest, I wasn't sure what a Recorder of Deeds did until I recently looked it up. Do you know what the Record of Deeds does? Damn if he doesn't record deeds. Now that may not seem all that important, but how about you and I paying some guy to do that job and he doesn't even show up to do it? That would be a problem. And that seems to be the story with present Recorder of Deeds, Ed Gudknecht, who some have taken to calling him "Tuesday-Thursday Ed," an adorable nickname relating to the days he shows up. Check the video here

Worse, he's getting $73,000 a year to (not) do the job. $73 K to someone who does a part time job is rather ballsy, especially when it's a full time position. If I'm paying someone to do a job, I expect him to show up for work. Fact is, if I'm paying someone to show up and he didn't, I'd find someone who would.

That's why next Tuesday I'm voting for Robin Rosenthal who's running against Gudknecht. She presently works as an assistant to County Commissioner Diane Marseglia, who has confirmed that Rosenthal has been showing up every day and for a lot less money than Gudknecht is getting paid. Marseglia added that since she is not privy to having the number of staff the other commissioners have, Rosenthal (otherwise known as Marseglia's staff) also does far more than she gets paid for.

As Recorder of Deeds, I'm sure there's more work than meets the eye. Really, there's got to be more than you get a deed, then you record it. There better be for $73,000. Still, I figure the additional money and the fact that she won't have to do near the amount of work Marseglia has her doing now, Rosenthal will find showing up every day at her Recorder of Deeds office a pleasure. Not the vacation away from the office Gudnecht thinks it is.

Disclaimer: Award-winning TV writer and author, Steve Young, is running for Middletown Township, PA auditor and since Robin Rosenthal does not live in the township she cannot vote for Steve, nor, I suspect, would want to.

Comments

[SandWitch]

Your county recorder is doing half as well as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who makes somewhat more than double what your recorder makes and only shows up to work 11 percent of the time.

Even with that dismal record he's managed to be the most corrupt mayor in the city's history; made pay-to-play into an industry to be envied by organized crime; and driven the city to the brink of bankruptcy.

Best of all his failure as a mayor means he won't be running for governor. Others will have to bankrupt the state, and they're doing a fine job on their own with the help of Aaaaarnold.

The second best of all is that this photo-opting camera hog made it to the cover of L.A. Weekly accompanied by the banner headline: L.A.'s Failed Mayor.

Way to go, L.A. Straight to hell!