Whitehall Township Police Officer Leah Van Note, in a blistering address Monday evening, admonished Commissioner Gerard Palagonia for making her an unwitting part of his primary election campaign for mayor.

Van Note spoke of an incident regarding Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. sanding an area in the municipal building's basement that allegedly contained asbestos.

She was on duty March 14 and responded to a fire alarm at the municipal building. Hozza had been sanding the floor with a sander connected to a sealed fireplace vacuum. One of the snaps on the vacuum lid had not been closed properly, releasing ash and wax dust into the air and triggering the alarm.

Following the incident, Van Note filed a workers' compensation form disclosing her possible exposure to asbestos.

Palagonia requested the police incident report March 30 and instead was given the workers' compensation form, which is confidential, by a member of the township police staff.

Several weeks before the election, the report was shared with a local daily newspaper, which printed the details and named the officer.

Taking the podium at Monday's board of commissioners meeting, Van Note said, because of Palagonia's actions, "I am asking that you, Mr. Palagonia, consider stepping down from your position as a township commissioner. If not, then I ask the board to seriously consider having you removed from your position."

Palagonia did not respond to Van Note's address.

Board Vice President Philip Ginder did not provide a definitive comment. Instead, he noted he wanted time to read Van Note's prepared address.

"This is pretty serious stuff," he said.

Hozza, who defeated Palagonia for the Democratic nomination for mayor in the May 19 primary election, remained quiet following the police officer's presentation.

Detective Cpl. Matthew Reszek then took Palagonia to task, referring to him as a "brother" and a retired township police officer, for injecting politics in the issue.

"Just because we're servants does not make us witless pawns for a superior to use for political gain," Reszek said.

He then left, with approximately 20 officers also filing out of the room.

Van Note recalled that Saturday in March as a typical day for her on duty. She responded to a fire alarm at the municipal building.

"What I observed and heard after I arrived, everyone in this room, along with the entire Lehigh Valley, already knows because of a major error in judgment by one of the police department administrators," she said. "But an even bigger part was due to the township commissioner running against Mayor Hozza."

Again addressing Palagonia, Van Note said, "When you received my injured officer report, Mr. Palagonia, I would have thought you would have stopped and questioned a full incident report, of that nature, being released, especially since you are a retired police officer from the same department the report came from, which had the same policies and procedures, in regards to reports being released, when you worked here.

"As much of a mistake as it was for that report to be released, it was an even bigger mistake for you to release the contents of that report to a major media outlet for the Lehigh Valley, all for your personal benefit in the race for mayor.

"I cannot express the shock, embarrassment and disappointment experienced when I read my name in the paper, for simply doing my job, all for your political gain," Van Note continued.

Van Note also said she can't describe the anger she felt when becoming aware of a political flier Palagonia's campaign distributed to township residents recounting the sanding issue and including her name.

"For two months, you used my potential injury and my name, without my permission or anyone else's, to further yourself in the race for mayor," Van Note said. "I feel your behavior does not demonstrate the type of person that should be representing this township, especially since you violated a township ordinance concerning the Code of Ethics.

"How should I and the rest of the employees of this township feel?" Van Note asked. "As an elected official, you were elected to represent the residents of this township, as well as look out for the interests of the employees, who are your public representatives."

Palagonia did not respond to phone calls by The Press.