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From the County: AFL-CIO should have endorsed Bob Harvie

NOTE: "From the County" is a new series I'm trying out that highlights short op-ed pieces from Bucks County residents.

By Mary Ann Adams, Newtown, PA
Mary is a retired nurse, working part time as instructor at BCCC. Resident of Bucks county her entire life, and has lived in Newtown since 2000. Bernie Sanders got her attention, but Trump has motivated her to  join the Newtown Democrats.

Once again, the AFL-CIO endorsed Brian Fitzpatrick for re-election in our PA-01 Congressional district.  What a joke!  No Republican ever should get this endorsement.  Trump has signed on to a no bid contract for his 600-million-dollar ballroom and none of the trade workers are union.  Republicans are the party of the scab worker.  This is a disgrace to the AFL-CIO. Their members need to know this as well as the people of PA-01.

Brian Fitzpatrick has never been a member of a labor union.  Bob Harvie as a school teacher was in a union.  Bob Harvie as Bucks County supervisor oversees government employees who are in a union. 75% of the county 2,600 workers belong to a union divided across 18 different collective bargaining units. 

The reason the AFL-CIO gave for endorsing Fitzpatrick was that he voted for Bill 2550 on 12/11/25 to restore collective bargaining rights to Federal employees AFTER the Trump administration took them away.  The vote was 231 to 195.  ALL Democrats voted for it, but only 20 Republicans (of which Fitzpatrick was one). Voting for this bill was no profile in courage. Workers got back what the GOP never should have taken from them.

Fitzpatrick’s campaign recently put signs all over the district touting Harvie giving a 1% pay raise to himself.  This proves Fitzpatrick is against labor.  By law, part of Bob Harvie’s job, and a legal requirement, is to set future salaries for upcoming terms prior to an election year.  1% is the most modest increase and this vote was unanimous and bipartisan, but anti-labor Fitzpatrick would like you to think otherwise.  Republicans have never been a friend to labor. Remember that when you vote in November.

Calamitous, Cleared, and Keeping Both Jobs

After months of investigation and seventeen thousand signatures asking for a resignation petition. The Bucks County DA District Attorney office, headed by DA Joe Khan cleared Police Chief Scott McElree of criminal charges while calling his response to the Quakertown student protest a "calamitous decision.". Calamitous, but not in the DA's eyes illegal. Legality in this case hinges for the most part on intent of McElree and I'm not sure the case would have won in court based on that legal standard. However, I am sure that the incompetence and poor decision making shown by Chief Scott McElree, who enter an agitated crowd of protesting teenagers while wearing plain clothes, with no visible badge, uniform, body-worn camera, or handcuffs was clear. McElree continues to keep his job as police chief and borough manager, two offices that concentrate more power in one 72-year-old than most small towns hand a mayor. I'll have more to say on this subject soon, but for now I'll say that this is not the better Bucks I hope for.

Read the full story at Central Bucks News

Official Bucks County DA post

Read the memorandum here

Falls Township Supervisors React to Data Center Anger

Falls Township supervisors voted Monday to declare parts of their zoning ordinance "substantively invalid", a legal maneuver called a curative amendment that starts a 180-day review for new rules specifically aimed at data centers. It's a direct response to the thousands of residents who signed petitions against the Amazon Web Services data center already under construction at the Keystone Trade Center, a $3 billion, 3-million-square-foot project that sailed through approval in March 2025 with barely a murmur. The solicitor called the amendment a "protective mechanism" against developers who might sue while the township rewrites its code. The vote doesn't stop the data center that's already approved, but it does signal the supervisors heard the noise.

Full story at LevittownNow →

Democrat Bob Harvie sends cease-and-desist letter to Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, claiming defamation in campaign ads

Democrat Bob Harvie sent a cease-and-desist letter to Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01) accusing him of defamation over campaign ads claiming Harvie is under FBI investigation for stealing taxpayer money. Harvie's attorneys say he was never a subject of any investigation — he testified before a grand jury in 2022 alongside other officials in a probe that's been inactive for years — and that Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent, knows the claims are false ("actual malice"). Fitzpatrick's campaign has spent $2.81M since Jan 2025 in the PA-01 race, one of four targeted swing seats that could decide House control.

Read more at the The Philadelphia Inquirer

Suplizio pleads guilty to money laundering, federal program theft in corruption case

"After years of denying sweeping allegations of public corruption, former DuBois City Manager Herm Suplizio pleaded guilty Thursday to money laundering and federal program theft, potentially ending a polarizing case that tested the reputation and future of the small city he once helped govern."

Via SpotlightPA

100 Days Out: Newtown Canvass Kicks Off the Final Stretch

With Election Day just over three months out, PA Coordinated is hitting the streets in Bucks County — first stop Newtown.

When: Saturday, July 25 – Sunday, July 26 (5 time slots available across both days)
Where: 3 Terry Dr, Newtown, PA 18940

They're knocking doors for Shapiro, Lt. Gov. Davis, and Dems down the ballot. No experience needed — training and materials provided on-site.

Time slots available:
- Sat 7/25: 9-12, 12-3, 3-6
- Sun 7/26: 12-3, 3-6

Sign up here

ICE Scraps Plans for Rural PA Detention Centers

Source: WHYY News by Susan Phillips.

The federal government is officially dropping its plans to turn two warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill counties into immigration detention centers that would have housed up to 9,000 people.

Governor Josh Shapiro announced that the Department of Homeland Security withdrew its requests for the necessary water and sewage permits. The reversal follows strong opposition from the state. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had previously prohibited the project, estimating the massive facility would demand 800,000 gallons of water daily.

DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley noted that adding a 9,000-person facility would double the population of the surrounding rural communities. This surge would have severely strained local drinking water supplies and risked overwhelming sewage systems, potentially leaking raw waste into local waterways. State officials view the withdrawal as a vital step in protecting the local environment and community infrastructure.

For my part, I think looking at environmental and infrastructure regulations is a clever way to stop a horrific thing. I'll take the win, but that we have to resort to these work-around tactics instead of "Maybe we don't build concentration camps" is just too bold in today's United States is a damn shame.

So, we have a blog now!

We're now able to party like it's 1999 (you know, when Blogger launched) with the launch of the A Better Bucks Blog! ABB...B? I wanted a spot for short-form writing and quick links to things of interest and I didn't want all of that content to be housed (and in some ways owned) by social media companies. I'll be posting a variety of content and frankly, more excitingly I'll be hosting other voices in the community who'll be able to participate now and again as the mood and events strike. I look forward to sharing the many good things that happens in Bucks County while pushing back against things that I think will make it worse.

Thanks for dropping by.