Bucks
Larry Keller New Hope’s mayor
Dear Friends,
Good morning. I thought of New Hope’s Mayor, Larry Keller, when I read that the state Ethics Commission ruled that a York County mayor had broken the law because he pocketed wedding fees. Keller’s case was quite different because he donated his honorariums to local charities. Keller was not fined, although the Mayor of the tiny borough of Jefferson was.
Larry Keller has been New Hope’s Mayor for nine years. During a four-year period, he married 150 couples and raised more than $18,000 for 19 charities. Most important, he didn’t keep a penny for himself.
Wouldn’t you think that the commonwealth would build a monument to this Good Samaritan? No. Some envious villain decided to turn Larry Keller in to the state Ethics Commission. Unbelievably, it ruled against him in 2003 saying that even though Keller turned over his fees to charity, it was a conflict of interest because the donations benefited him politically by creating a positive image.
Good Grief!
Keller appealed but a year later, a panel of seven Commonwealth Court judges affirmed the Ethics Commission, by a vote of 5 to 2.
So, what was the great offense here? The Ethics Commission cried, “foul” because Keller had created a personal account into which he deposited wedding fees and sent corresponding personal checks to local charities. The Mayor told me that New Hope’s solicitor advised him that he was on sound legal ground. It turned out that he wasn’t.
The New Hope Borough Council obviously bristled over the state Ethics Commission’s finding because it voted unanimously to pay Keller’s $4,147.50 legal fees. In addition, it wisely decided to have couples pay marriage fees directly to the borough instead of to Keller. Now, New Hope decides which charities will receive the donations. In doing so, the council protects its popular Mayor.
Today, New Hope contributes 75 percent of the wedding fees to the New Hope Eagle Fire Company and 25 percent to the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad. The other 17 charities, which Keller used to help, are left out in the cold.
What started this mess was a state law, which prohibits a mayor from collecting honorariums if he’s paid a salary. As Mayor, Keller receives $2,500 annually.
It’s absolutely absurd. If Keller had not received any compensation for being New Hope’s Mayor, he could have legally collected and kept every penny of the $18,000 wedding fees. Instead, he donated them to 19 charities.
Worse, the Ethics Commission wanted Keller to pay a $1,500 fine and admit that he’d acted improperly. He was facing a possible jail sentence. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed on the Commonwealth Court. Two of the judges dissented from the majority decision. One of them, Judge Dante Pellegrini, observed that Keller had done nothing wrong.
The Mayor was obviously unhappy about the ink that was spread over newspaper articles concerning this case. He told me that the Intelligencer had written critical editorials.
I called my colleague, Mike Scobey, the Intel’s Publisher, and asked him for copies of the past articles. He sent me two editorials, 14 news articles and two letters to the editor. Both letters to the editor praised Keller. The editorials were mixed with praise and criticism. Though the Intel over blew the coverage, the articles were fairly presented.
The Intel devoted a great deal of time and money in following this case. But I doubt that any Pulitzer Prize for community service will arrive on its doorstep. Still, all that publicity didn’t hurt Mayor Keller one bit. And it probably didn’t adversely affect his business either. He presides over Hobensack and Keller Antiques. The firm has been a New Hope standout for 50 years.
Keller’s notoriety attracted Philadelphia Magazine in a December 2006 article. He laughed when the writer asked him whether he was a Democrat or Republican…gay or straight? The Mayor surprised him with his answer …”I’m straight, and a Republican,” he said.
Would you do it the same way, if you had it to do all over again, I asked him?
“Absolutely,” Keller replied. “All I want is to promote New Hope in a positive way. I’m just an average guy,” he added. “The silent majority supported me.”
If this case isn’t a Much Ado About Nothing, I don’t know what is.
By the way, the Mayor handily won his election for a third term. And he’s still conducting weddings.
Looking at it differently, if a politician does a great job and represents his constituents fairly, but curries good will in the process, he’s probably violating some law. And we wonder why it’s difficult to find good people to run for public office.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith