Democrats Plot to Remove Kantner from Controller's Office

Over the past few weeks, we have watched the catfight between Schuylkill County Controller Melinda Kantner and County Administrator Darlene Dolzani grow from a clash of egos to a public relations war and then to an all out civil lawsuit. Some courthouse commentators and political opponents have found the feud entertaining, while others brush it off as nonsense. The Clarke Report has discovered a more devious angle in this saga. I believe that Dolzani’s lawsuit is the first step in a Democratic Party plot to remove Kantner from the controller’s office. Dubbed “The Bipolar Controller” by other row officers and county employees, Kantner has not made many friends or allies within the courthouse since succeeding Gary Hornberger in January. Besides this feud with Dolzani, Kantner has also sparred with County Solicitor Eric Mika over her speaking out of turn during Commissioner’s workshop meetings, with State Sen. James Rhoades over an unsigned county contract obligation that she refused to pay out, and with the Commissioners themselves over the perceived mishandling of the sale of the 1912 building. In addition, my sources within the Schuylkill Democratic Party told me that Kantner was involved in a heated argument with US Rep. Tim Holden a few weeks ago. Kantner allegedly told Holden “I don’t care what your father did”, a comment which reportedly sent Holden on an expletive laden verbal rampage. As a result of these disagreements, Kantner finds herself politically isolated. Republicans never believed she was qualified to hold the office of Controller to begin with and now the consensus within the Democratic party is that her inability to get along with anyone has made her nomination and subsequent election a horrible mistake. One county employee who wished to remain anonymous told me, “She just doesn’t know how to talk to people. Everyone hates her.”