Former Lehigh County Board of Commissioner Daniel McCarthy has been appointed to serve as county director of administration for County Executive Thomas Muller.

The board of commissioners at the Feb. 26 meeting voted 5-4 to approve McCarthy's appointment. Voting in opposition were Commissioners Vic Mazziotti, Scott Ott, Lisa Scheller and Michael Schware.

The appointment came after two months of questions and reservations regarding whether McCarthy was the proper fit for the position. Those voting against the appointment cited an increase in pension for McCarthy. He will be entitled to a pension of $28,000 per year, along with $1,900 annually as a commissioner and $8,500 per year as director of administration.

McCarthy's annual salary as director of administration will be $94,744.

Ott said he was opposed to the appointment pointing to political cronyism and McCarthy's $6,500 donation to Muller's campaign last year.

"The common term is cronyism," Ott said. "That he was a major contributor, if not the major contributor in the last cycle for executive."

Muller specifically pointed to Scheller's husband Wayne Woodman who donated far more to Ott's campaign as well as to Mazziotti's and Schware's campaigns in the past.

"To bring up his $6,500 campaign [donation] is almost nonsense given how your campaign was funded," Muller declared.

Mazziotti said he would have voted for McCarthy had McCarthy answered some of Mazziotti's questions regarding McCarthy cashing out money from his current 12 years worth of county pension in order to begin anew. Schware said his vote in opposition was attributed to McCarthy's failure to promise in writing he would not insert his 12 years of service as commissioner into the pension later.

"You've given me no choice but to vote no," Schware said.

McCarthy most recently served 12 years as a commissioner.

In other business, the commissioners expanded the Lehigh County Authority Board of Directors to nine members. Two of the nine members represent Allentown.

Also during the meeting, Thomas Walker was presented by Muller to the commissioners as a possible nominee as county director of human services. Walker currently serves as a director at the Lehigh County Conference of Churches.