Sen. Charles Lemmond retires

From the TL:

When state Sen. Charles Lemmond retires a little more than a year from now, he will have left his mark on Pennsylvania's political landscape: from helping his party gain seats in Congress to helping newborn children with hearing impairments.
The 76-year-old Dallas Republican recently announced he would not run for a sixth term in office, vacating the 20th Senatorial District seat he took in 1985 when his term ends in December 2006.


State Sen. Charles Lemmond, R-Dallas, will retire at the end of his term in December 2006. He will have been in office for 21 years, serving five full terms and one year of his predecessor's unexpired term. Here are some of his legislative highlights:

1985 Won a special election to fill the vacancy left by outgoing Sen. FrankO'Connell Jr.

1986 Won his first general election against Democrat Joseph Bilbow

1989 Only Luzerne County lawmaker to vote against a law that imposed new restrictions on abortions in Pennsylvania

1991 Led Pennsylvania's redistricting effort after the 1990 census

1992 Helped write Pennsylvania's living-will law, called the Advance Directive for Health Care Act of 1992.

1995 Sponsored law to allow judges to consider an adult defendant's juvenile record in determining bail.

2001 Again helped redraw Pennsylvania's congressional districts after the 2000 census.

2004 Voted against Act 71, which expanded gambling in Pennsylvania by legalizing slot machines at 14 locations around the state.

I guess the best description of him is that he is a Rockefeller Republican. An endangered species these days. Now the race is on to replace him. One candidate has already thrown his hat into the ring. Dallas chiropractor David Madeira has declared his candidacy and has a web site up:

http://www.madeiraforsenate.com/

Two other Republicans are considering a run, Lisa Baker of Lehman Township and Kingston Mayor James Haggerty. My friend Bill Fitz of My take has a thing for her but I don't know enough to make a a judgement. Baker has worked for Lemmond and Govs. Mark Schweiker and Tom Ridge. Haggerty seems to be a competent Mayor, the town pays it's bills on time and it hasn't burnt down on his watch. No serious Democrat has emerged yet, maybe Skrep will take a look at it.