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Incumbent Dem Phyllis Mundy has been trying to bring some sanity to the slow motion environmental disaster known as Marcellus Shale drilling. Her latest initiative is keep gas wells out of the floodplains of PA which there are many.
Mundy proposes keeping gas wells away from floodplains
Previously she called for a moratorium on new wells and points to our neighbors in the state of New York for being leery of gas industry.
Mundy is the primary sponsor of House Bill 2609, which calls for a one-year moratorium on issuing new natural gas well permits in Pennsylvania. State Reps. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, and Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, have signed on as co-sponsors.
Both of her opponents, Bill Goldsworthy (GOP) and Tim Mullen (Libertarian), have given statements to this blog about drilling that I think give mixed messages. They don't want to stop it or tax it but declare their concern for the environment.
It would be great to hear all 3 candidates debate this plus other issues and Bill Goldworthy has proposed just that.
Goldy challenges Mundy to three debates
Mundy agreed to his debate challenge as she has always done in past elections. She wants one of them to be the traditional League of Women Voters forums. After that one is booked I like Joe 's idea of a kitchen table debate with local bloggers. I think we will be fair and balanced.
2 hours ago
6 comments:
I was called by a polling firm last Sunday (unusual) - it seemed to be about Mundy and her pro's and con's. Big focus on the drilling - she must think it's the ticket to winning.
Goldsworthy is all but quiet - I guess this race will heat up after Labor day.
Last week Rep. Mundy FINALLY got it right!That our State Legislators have been lax. Her quote "The laws we have on the books in Pa. to monitor drilling are lax in terms of protecting the environment." Well where have you been Phyllis? She has been in the State Legislature for 20 years, they have been drilling for 16 years in the Marcellus Shale region, so why hasn't she proposed changes before? Why did it take an election year challenge and a contaminated well in Dimmick to make her become reactive? We need to make sure our Legislators are PROACTIVE! We don't need political grandstanding, we need our Legislators to work for the people ALL the time. Oh, and does she want the League of Women Voters to handle the debate because she is a past President of the organization?Just wondering.
Gort
I'll even supply the java at my kitchen table
Joe V
As much as I would like to represent the environmental interests of all of Pennsylvania, I am elected to represent the interests of the 120th district. As anyone who reads the papers knows, the threat to our public water supply and private wells in my district is very recent. As soon as I became aware of this threat I educated myself and went to work. I can't help but wonder if Goldsworthy is as critical of Senator Baker who has much more of the drilling in her senatorial district than I do and has for some time. Also a puzzle is what is his position on the bills I have introduced? What would he have done differently? Can he only offer negative criticism or does he have constructive solutions to our problems? Just when will he take a definitive position on the drilling? I suspect he does not want to anger the gas money interests who are supporting him.
And does he want the Chamber of Commerce to sponsor a debate because Terry Casey, the Chairman of the Luzerne Co. Republican Party is the President of the Chamber? Hmmm.
Phyllis Mundy
So, let me get this straight, as a State Representative, you don't care or have any concerns for the residents throughout the rest of the State - so it was ok for the past 16 years of drilling, that other residents water supplies may have been threatened.So for the past 16 years you were oblivious to potential drilling problems.Wow,you guys in Harrisburg really don't communicate with each other.But the Bills you proposed are for the entire State, not just Luzerne County.That sounds like political posturing. Oh, and how can you vote for the budget that depends on a gas severance tax, then say you want a moratorium -- you can't have it both ways! And please read my debate request again, I never mentioned the W.B. Chamber(you did) - there is another Chamber that encompasses more than half of our District. And what would I have done different - it would not have gotten to this point - I would have been a lot more proactive and had proposed bills sometime over tha last 16 years of drilling--instead of trying to call timeout in the middle of the game, the rules should have been planned before hand.
Here's the take from the only candidate that is not bought and paid for by special interests and has only the people's interest at heart. First of all Mrs. Mundy is no dummy. She knows that 95% of her district has nothing at all to gain by gas drilling. They could all have something to lose should water supplies become contaminated. By being the crusader against the drillers, she courts favor among 95% of the constituency. Making this the #1 issue of the race is a brilliant move on the chessboard. The flurry of local headlines, photo ops at the Huntsville Resevoir,and intoduction of numerous pieces of legislation prove my point. From day one I called this political posturing even before she herself said a moratorium was unlikely to go through. Everything to gain and almost nothing to lose. Brilliant. Whether or not Mr. Goldsworthy is being aided by the drillers I can't say for sure, but many in his party have already taken the legal bribes. If he and his party were forthright and upstanding maybe he too would have been at Gastock. After knocking on about 8,000 doors I have heard both sides of the story from environmentalists to landowners. I feel the pulse of the people. The Candidate with Common Sense says we can have both clean water and energy and job production at the same time. I won't go into details here, but you can read about my stance on past posts on this site or on my web site. Mr Goldsworthy has risked alienating 95% of the voters in the district by his maneuvering. Not good. Fortunately for him the #1 issue is not gas drilling, but this will still hurt him. Maybe he will adjust his stance on this issue like when he withdrew from Mayors Against Illegal Guns shortly after I mentioned he was a member on my web site. Mrs. Mundy needs to make gas drilling the #1 issue to deflect from the the other issues that are on voters minds this year such as property taxes that are only going to become more unbearable, a broken and corrupt Harrisburg which she is a part of, and looming cuts to essential social programs while the legislature remains fat and happy.
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