Northampton County Controller race turns on independence, experience

• Democrat Tara Zrinski and Republican John Cusick, both sitting members of Northampton County Council, will face off to be the next county controller
• Zrinski's campaign received donations from County Executive Lamont McClure; Cusick, who pledged not to accept such donations, suggested it calls her neutrality into question
• While Cusick would take a narrow approach to the sort of oversight for which a controller is responsible, Zrinski left open the possibility of a somewhat broader range of possible subjects to investigate if she takes office

EASTON, Pa. — It's safe to say the two candidates for Northampton County Controller are no strangers to facing each other in county politics.

Democrat Tara Zrinski and Republican John Cusick have spent a meaningful part of the past few years in meetings as members of Northampton County Council, sitting more-or-less across from each other at opposite ends of the body’s half-circle dais.

As each seeks to become the county’s top financial watchdog, Zrinski and Cusick both have made experience gained from time on county council central to their pitch to voters.

For Cusick, that means touting 16 years on council, with five years as its president. Zrinski, in addition to her six-year stint as a commissioner, emphasizes prior work as a community organizer.

Whoever prevails will be “responsible for the internal control of the fiscal transactions of” the county, as the home rule charter puts it, with the power to conduct audits scrutinizing the use of county funds.

Both candidates said that, in many ways, the controller’s chief responsibility is administrative: managing the controller’s office and its small staff of auditors.

Each campaign spent just under $20,000 from early June to Oct. 23, according to pre-election campaign finance reports; Cusick led Zrinski in spending by nearly $40.

Cusick, whose campaign is self-funded, has criticized Zrinski for accepting campaign contributions from County Executive Lamont McClure, presumptive District Attorney Stephen Baratta and labor unions that work with the county.

He suggests the donations raise questions about her independence.

Zrinski defended the contributions, saying they would not affect her approach to the office if elected.

Here's a look at the candidates:

John Cusick

John Cusick

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Cusick, from Williams Township, first joined local government in 2002 as a member of his home township's board of supervisors.

He served two terms as an at-large member of County Council from 2006-14 and has represented District Three on the body since 2016.

“In the 16 years I've been on council, we pass budgets and then we don't really see the results,” Cusick said.

While he has participated in parts of the audit process in the past, he said he “never really got to work with [auditors] and see the numbers, and make sure that all the money has been spent properly.”

That opportunity for deeper oversight, he said, is why he's looking to become controller.

Working through so many county budgets and audit reports as a commissioner built the skills and knowledge of Northampton County government finances necessary to succeed as controller, Cusick said.

He also points to his stint as council president, and therefore overseeing the County Council’s staff, as providing experience running a small county office.

Cusick recently retired from 28 years as a math teacher at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, New Jersey.

He said that work sets him apart from his opponent, both because of professional experiences such as serving on boards making hiring decisions, and his time in the classroom.

Teaching math "involves making sure that my students follow policies and procedures and get the numbers right,” he said.

Apart from his experience, the heart of Cusick’s controller campaign is his independence, in what he hopes will be a contrast with his opponent in the eyes of voters.

Cusick’s campaign is self-funded to the tune of $32,000; he and Zrinski each spent just shy of $20,000 on the race, according to campaign finance reports running through Oct. 23.

“I haven't accepted campaign contributions from anyone that does business with the county, anyone that works here, any of the county unions, so I would be free of any of those sorts of political influence,” Cusick said.

Accepting contributions from county officials “is perfectly legal, but the question is whether or not the campaign contributions influence your performance in office. And for me, I didn't want anybody questioning that,” he said.

Tara Zrinski

Contributed photo

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Zrinski has served on Northampton County Council since 2018.

She also teaches philosophy at DeSales University, and works as a consultant selling home solar energy systems.

She ran for a state Senate seat last year, losing the 14th District Democratic primary by fewer than 50 votes. In 2020, she mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the 138th District state House seat.

Zrinski, like her opponent, points to her time in county government as a reason to vote for her, along with experience as a community organizer and management work at restaurants, a home solar power company and community organizations.

Cusick suggested Zrinski may seek higher office at the next opportunity, but she said ahead of the Democratic primary for controller that she has come to realize “that following the money is even more important to doing the kind of service that I'd like to do,” and intends to serve a full four-year term if elected controller.

“I'm interested in taking my public service to the next level of engagement to use the office of Controller to dig deep into the functions of county government, follow the money and create greater fiscal transparency and more efficient services for taxpayers,” she wrote in an emailed response to questions.

"I think John [Cusick] sees this as a position where you grind over numbers and make slashes to budgets in an effort to be fiscally responsible. I want to use this office to find ways to engage public concerns and so that we can make our County government work for the people represented."

Zrinski’s campaign received money and an endorsement from County Executive Lamont McClure, along with donations from local labor organizations including the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers, the Union of Operating Engineers and the Insulators and Allied Workers’ union.

In addition to a $1,000 donation to Zrinski’s campaign in July, McClure paid County Director of Fiscal Affairs Steve Barron $225 last month for robocalls on Zrinski’s behalf.

Zrinski’s campaign also paid Barron $250 directly last month for campaign services, according to filings.

“Mr. McClure is the highest ranking Democratic elected official in Northampton County," Zrinski wrote in an emailed statement.

"His donation to my campaign does not make me beholden to him, but does signal voters that he believes I am qualified and capable to perform the tasks and duties of Controller.

“I have been very clear that I understand the role of Controller is independent of the administration and Mr. McClure would not be my employer. I would answer to the taxpayers of the County.”

McClure defended the donation and Zrinski’s independence, saying “Cusick would be a terrible controller.”

“I call [Cusick’s] independence into question," McClure said. "He's been a political opponent of mine since I was appointed to County Council in 2006.

“I don't know what Cusick's problem is, other than he sees himself as a political opponent of mine. I think his own biases would be even stronger than Tara's.”

What's the job?

The candidates’ views begin to diverge when it comes to the scope of the controller's oversight role.

Zrinski takes a somewhat broader view of the office than her opponent; Cusick described his approach as narrowly focused on making sure money is spent in accordance with county rules.

Questions about the scope of a county controller’s oversight arose from Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley’s report on the possible overdiagnosis of medical child abuse, formerly known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, by clinicians at Lehigh valley Health Network’s John Van Brakle Child Advocacy Center.

Because the center is also used by Northampton County, a future controller could conceivably decide to examine the CAC, as Pinsley did.

Cusick said his only possible role in investigating the CAC as controller would be to narrowly consider whether money is handled and spent according to county policy.

“Let's just say that I wouldn't have approached it the way that Mr. Pinsley did," Cusick said. "I would have more approached it from a financial concern as to whether or not that money was being spent appropriately."

Zrinski doesn’t think it’s the controller’s job “to identify instances of medical abuse in Lehigh Valley Health Network,” she wrote in an emailed response to questions.

She said the controller could, however, “investigate and examine the performance and procedures used to make those determinations as the report comes to [the county Department of Children, Youth and Families],” leaving a broader look at policies surrounding investigations of abuse on the table as they relate to county services.