NorCo Council President Vargo Heffner Comments on Keegan’s Post; Goffredo Supports Freedom of Speech, Keegan Backs Resolution for Civility

(Adds Keegan comment from Thursday’s meeting)

Sept. 18, 2025

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

Northampton County Council spent much of Thursday’s meeting dealing with the blowback from a member’s comments made after the death of Charlie Kirk.

Council President Lori Vargo Heffner read a statement at the council meeting, below, to clarify council’s role. Her comments address a social media post by Kelly Keegan, a member of council, after the killing of the Republican activist. See a link to earlier reporting by Bernie O’Hare below.

Keegan, a Democrat, represents Northampton County District 2, which encompasses the Easton area.

Several county residents spoke at the meeting for and against Keegan, mainly against.

After Council member Jeff Warren discussed the need for civility, Keegan, over the phone, said his comments made her “want to be a better person” and better commissioner (council members are known as commissioners.)

Other council members have no authority to remove her from office, nor does Keegan speak for the county or the council. Council member John Goffredo made that clear in his own remarks, which I include below the Vargo Heffner statement.

The Keegan post was first reported by O’Hare in his Lehigh Valley Ramblings blog.

I place my emphasis on Vargo Heffner’s statement because it makes clear the role of council and the limits of government.

Her comments and Goffredo’s to a great extent reflect my own point of view: government can’t make everything right and people should stop expecting it to do that. Expecting government to make everything right is part of the problem in America.

From Council President Vargo Heffner:

I have received several messages from constituents this week with concerns about a social media post. I want to acknowledge reading all of them and thank our citizens for participating in county government with their correspondence. I want to address some of those concerns. (She noted that council has no authority over the Easton Area School District, which employs Keegan). I have consulted with our solicitor, and we have reviewed the Home Rule Charter, Administrative Code and our council code of conduct. While the county has a clear social media policy for employees, it does not apply to Council, as we are elected officials and not supervised by the Administration. We are a body comprised of 9 members who serve at the pleasure of those who elected us to fill these positions. We take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We are expected to collaborate, debate, discuss issues and oversee the county budget and create legislation. We are expected to follow our code of civility, to have these discussions with respect for everyone’s opinion. While some of us are subdued in our approach and others more vociferous, we all have a right to have our opinions heard in this room. What any of us think, feel, or believe outside of this room in the privacy of our own lives is not governed by this code. We as a body have limited authority to call for the removal of a commissioner, and according to the Charter, these conditions are not met by private actions on social media.

As President of Council, I was elected to ensure that this body runs smoothly, and I have made it my mission to ensure that each of us gets time and deference to express our views in meetings. I take the separation of powers seriously and defend this body’s right to independently make decisions. I serve all the citizens of the county and choose to do so with decorum and dignity,not dysregulation. I was elected to serve in this role and recognize that this means to represent all of you, respective of party, privilege, beliefs. I take the privilege of the public’s right to address us just as seriously and ask for your respect and tolerance of us while doing so. While I may disagree with my colleagues at times either professionally or personally, I will continue to honor the code and work of this body as a whole. I continue to be willing to hear you and to the best of my ability, address your concerns when possible. Thank you for hearing and supporting this Council’s work.

*****************

Council President Vargo Heffner is a Democrat. After she made her statement, Councilman Goffredo, a Republican who represents the Slate Belt, said, “I believe in freedom of speech.”

“We can’t make her resign. We have to respect that,” Goffredo added. He said censuring Keegan means nothing, and what the Easton Area School District does about her post is their business. Later, he advised council against “pandering.”

Council voted to condemn acts of political violence, and to uphold freedom of speech and the right to assembly, among other things. That is a well-meaning gesture and the balanced resolution passed 9-0.

To see video of the meeting, hit this link. The Vargo Heffner and Goffredo comments start around 58 minutes in and at the 1:30 or so mark, discussion of the resolution, including Keegan’s comments.