In this episode of Meyerside Chats, I sit down with Mark Pinsley, the elected Controller of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, for a wide-ranging conversation on transparency, public trust, and how government financial systems really work when you look under the hood.

Mark explains why his office uncovered unpaid rent tied to ICE’s use of county buildings, how a simple breakdown in contracts and oversight led to years of missed payments, and why fiscal accountability must remain separate from political pressure—even when the headlines get loud.

We also dive deep into:

• Why 70% of county spending goes to law and order
• How jail phone commissions and healthcare middlemen distort incentives
• The hidden role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and how Lehigh County saved millions by auditing them
• What government efficiency efforts get right—and wrong—when compared to initiatives like DOGE
• Why transparency changes behavior before laws ever do
• How political labels collide with the reality of independent oversight
• The rising personal risks faced by local officials—and how we lower the temperature

This conversation isn’t about left vs. right. It’s about systems vs. incentives, people vs. power, and what it actually takes to earn public trust in government again.

Video here:  https://youtu.be/1Crt-mysGG8

00:00 Intro – What a County Controller Actually Does
01:10 Evicting ICE: How the County Discovered Unpaid Rent
02:25 Contracts, Oversight Failures, and Government Blind Spots
04:05 Separating Fiscal Oversight from Political Polarization
05:40 ICE, Community Trust, and Reporting Crime Without Fear
08:50 Citizens vs Residents: How County Spending Really Works
10:40 Where County Money Actually Goes (71% to Law & Order)
13:30 Balancing Objectivity and Personal Convictions as Controller
15:30 Public Defenders vs Prosecutors: A Budget Fairness Problem
16:45 Why Mark Identifies as a Democrat (and What That Really Means)
18:10 Populism, Corporate Power, and Anti-Trust Failures
20:40 Why Independents Can’t Win (Yet) + Ranked Choice Voting
22:10 Modernizing Government Systems: Process Before Software
23:30 Tools of Oversight: Excel, Python, and Catching Errors
24:45 Legacy Systems, Data Access, and Why IT Bottlenecks Matter
26:00 DOGE: Good Idea, Flawed Execution
28:10 Can Government Really Cut $2 Trillion?
29:40 Who Should Pay More Taxes—and Why
32:10 Wealth, Assets, and Buying Influence
34:00 Money in Politics and the Limits of Reform
36:30 Why Transparency Is the Real First Step
39:15 Civics Education and Who People Blame (Wrongly)
41:50 Where Mark Gets His News—and Why He Trusts None of It
43:40 Pharmacy Benefit Managers and Hidden Healthcare Grift
46:30 How Lehigh Co

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About Evan Meyer

Tech entrepreneur and civic leader - he founded mygovtools.org, a platform to drive government efficiency, constituent representation, and civic engagement; BeautifyEarth.com, a platform accelerating urban beautification through art; and its sister nonprofit, transforming schools in underserved areas. He also co-founded RideAmigos.com, a platform that optimizes commuter travel globally. Previously, he served as District Director for the California State Senate and led many civic initiatives in Santa Monica. Through seminars and his podcast Meyerside Chats, Evan inspires civic engagement, innovation, and cultural growth.
He loves the outdoors, is a master of creative projects, is an avid muralist and musician, and finds the world fascinating in every regard.