Would Be Alburtis Teenage City Council Member Throws Rocks at Girlfriend’s House

During a dark time in my life, I had the opportunity to sit in on numerous council meetings in towns such as Bangor, Pen Argyl and… even Wind Gap. What I found the most interesting, even more so than the people who came to meetings to complain about their cats and their neighbors’ cats and such, were how many of the municipal buildings seemed to have not been redecorated since the second World War.

It was almost eerie. Many of the walls were covered in paintings, pictures and prints that not only hadn’t been dusted in years, but probably haven’t even been looked at. There was also a slight smell of moth balls. Bangor, in particular, didn’t believe in turning on air conditioning during the summer so meetings were held with the fun smell of Bangor people body odor.

All in all, it was a life changing experience and one that I wouldn’t take back, but wouldn’t relive.

Now, let’s be clear on the fact many local governments have some fine people serving on their councils.

However, some don’t. And the reason resides in the fact that in order to serve on these boards, you have to kinda wanna do it. So, when a borough like Alburtis is bereft of people who want to fill vacant council seats, they’ll gladly get behind an 18-year-old hooligan, even if he doesn’t want them to.

Kyle A. Bower may be a shoo-in to become one of the Lehigh Valley’s youngest elected officials when voters hit the polls on Nov. 8.

But the 18-year-old’s political career apparently will be grounded before it starts.

Bower, a Democrat, says he won’t accept a seat on Alburtis Borough Council because of his recent arrest on charges that he harassed and stalked his ex-girlfriend.

Well, that was the shortest political career ever. 

Bower, in court Friday to waive a preliminary hearing on those charges, confirmed he would relinquish his position if elected. He’s one of only four candidates on the ballot for four open seats on the board.

Seriously, that’s it. They only have four people who even care enough about their borough that they’d forgo watching Dancing with the Stars a few times a month to make sure things were running smoothly.

“I would like to be a public servant,” said Bower, who turns 19 the day before the election. “But I will not represent my town with the pending charges.”

Bower left open the possibility of another run for office in the future, but said now is not the time. A Facebook page was set up to encourage people to vote for Bower for mayor in 2013.

Bower was unable to have his name removed from the ballot because he didn’t meet the Aug. 15 deadline to have it taken off, according to Timothy Benyo, Lehigh County’s chief clerk of elections and voter registration.

Bower is accused of going to his ex-girlfriend’s house in Macungie on July 10 and throwing bricks and rocks at it, police said.

Officer Sean Stark wrote in a criminal complaint that police were called to the girl’s house for an “unwanted guest” and that Bower threw a brick through a window while trying to get inside. The girl told police she ended the relationship that day. SOURCE: The Morning Call

Vote this kid in anyway to show him a lesson.

He wants to serve on council? Then, he serves on council. He wants to serve his community, right? He wants to be in there making decisions. Well, now’s the time for him to man up and say, “Hey, I’m a douche, but I’m still going to continue to run for office and then do whatever they do at an Alburtis council meeting, which is probably discuss tractors and why we hate Macungie so much.”

I think Macungie and Alburtis should have an annual Battle of the Boroughs where they compete in tug of wars and Jell-O eating competitions and then whoever loses has to put up a sign in their town saying how the other borough rules.

NOW THAT is local politics.

Don’t forget to RSVP for our Slumber Party for Charity on October 15! We just reserved shuttles from Bethlehem to the party in Fogelsville!