120th State Rep forum

I know no one reads this blog anymore but I decided to write up the 120th candidate forum so I can post a link to Facebook.

1st term Republican Aaron Kaufer and Democratic challenger Bob McDonald had the obligatory LWV forum at Wyoming Sem in Kingston. 

About 50 people attended which is about what you get for these things. The TL and CV sent reporters and Service Electric taped it. It can be seen on channel 2 on Monday.

Bob is a first time candidate and Aaron is an experienced politician and it showed. Kaufer was well rehearsed and confident in his answers speaking into the microphone while McDonald sometimes rambled and sat 2 feet away from the table/mic. I hope the TV audio  picked him up. In his opening statement Kaufer said that good policy makes for good politics. That's something  Bill Clinton said. McDonald said we are about to elect our first woman President and talked about dignity.

People in the audience submitted questions and you can tell who planted the most.

On the economy Bob wants a gigabyte revolution and Aaron agreed we need more fiber optics then pitched cutting corporate taxes.

On welfare Kaufer touted he was able to add a check mark to assistance applications so people can't get benefits in more than state and claimed it  saved money. He wants family caps on benefits and work requirements . McDonald reminded him it's illegal to claim benefits in more than one state and that welfare is a floor and most benefits go to children .

They both agreed that anew approach is needed to the opioid crises. Bob stated that addiction is not a moral failure but a medical problem. Aaron said there s no silver bullet to solve this problem and is part of the HOPE caucus .


Neither one seemed to like Charter Schools.

On HB76 Bob said eliminating school property taxes is not going to happen and said people who keep promising that are like Lucy holding the football. Aaron then gave an impassioned defense of eliminating property taxes saying the legislature passed a constitutional amendment that I haven't heard about providing a 100% Homestead exemption. The audience applauded.

They both agreed that discrimination against LBGT people is wrong. Kaufer cited his gay brother Seth.

On term limits Bob got a laugh saying that he thinks that Aaron should be limited to 1 term. Aaron invoked George Washington cautioning against political factions and said he wears an orange tie to show his support for reform.

Kaufer said that Unemployment compensation is too generous and voted to reduce it and regulations should be pared back. That left an opening for McDonald to argue that the frackers are just as bad as the coal companies.

After the event I asked Kaufer what he thinks of his party's Presidential nominee and would he vote for him. He said he had his own race to run and would not say if he would vote for Trump. 

Petition Day is Tuesday

The last day to file nominating petitions is Tuesday according to the PA Department of State.
 I'm a bit out of touch on these things but to my knowledge only 2 state reps in Luzerne County  will have a challenger. Justin Behrens (R) in the 119th will take on Gerald Mullery(D) and Bob McDonald(D) is running against Aaron Kaufer(R) in the 120th. Please update me if you know of any others.

Kaufer wants to tax the drillers

120th HD GOP nominee Aaron Kaufer sent out a press release calling for a severance tax on the frackers. I guess he is different kind of Republican so Grover Norquist will not be sending him a Christmas card. Even Tom Corbett won't rule it out as long as he can screw over state employees on their pensions.

Corbett administration won’t ‘rule out’ gas tax this year

Speaking with reporters after the press conference, Corbett’s Budget Secretary, Charles Zogby, was clear that raising taxes on drillers is still on the table.
“There’s multiple options we can look at,” he said. “I’m not ruling out a severance tax.”

Kaufer Calls for Bold Leadership to Pass On-Time, Balanced State Budget

State House candidate Aaron Kaufer urges Governor Tom Corbett to pass a severance

tax to balance the state budget and provide additional funding for public education.

KINGSTON, PA – State House candidate Aaron Kaufer today issued a statement calling on Governor Tom Corbett to provide bold leadership and pass a reasonable severance tax on the natural gas industry to help balance the state budget and provide more funding for public education.

“In order to secure a prosperous future for Pennsylvania and our children, I believe it is critical to enact a reasonable severance tax, like is already done in neighboring states, on natural gas drilling to help address the budget shortfall,” Kaufer said. “In addition, this revenue will enable the state to meet its obligation to fully fund the educational needs of our children and should keep school property taxes in check before legislation can be passed to eliminate them.”

Although Kaufer does not think raising taxes should ever be the first option to meet a budget shortfall, he knows from going door-to-door to thousands of local residents that middle class families and seniors cannot afford to pay more. He also believes our state must remain competitive in attracting good paying energy jobs to Pennsylvania so this severance tax can’t be higher compared to surrounding states.

“In doing so, it is important to consider a few key principles,” Kaufer said. “Pennsylvania must continue to cut wasteful government spending to protect taxpayers. In addition, our state already has the highest taxes on established businesses because of both the corporate net income tax and the capital stock and franchise tax that these companies are required to pay in our state. A reasonable tax on Marcellus Shale drilling can ensure drillers are paying a fair share for the natural resources they are extracting from the Commonwealth while enabling the industry to continue to thrive within our borders.”

He is a little late on this as his opponent Democrat Eileen Cipriani  and Dem Guv candidate Tom Wolf have long favored an extration tax. 

From Cipriani's website:

 
Marcellus Shale

Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that does not tax natural gas, yet it is home to one of the largest natural gas formations in the world, the Marcellus Shale. Pennsylvanians are essentially giving away our natural resource.

While Governor Corbett instituted a local impact fee, the fees collected are only a fraction of what the citizens of Pennsylvania would receive if we enacted a severance tax like other gas producing states have done.

Experts say a 5% severance tax will yield $720 million in its first year, which can be used to fund education and protecting our environment.  It is time we made the gas drilling companies pay their fair share and put Pennsylvanians first!

Petition Day

Tomorrow we should know who is running for what as March 11th is the day to file petitions for the Republican and Democratic primary to be held May 20th. Independents and 3rd party candidates have a bit longer with higher signature requirements.

 So far there might be contested primaries for the Democratic nomination for Governor, Lt. Guv, PA 11th CD, PA 10th CD,  HD  119th and HD 120th. 2 Republicans are reported  to be interested in taking on Matt Cartwright in the PA 17th CD. I will wait until Tuesday to see if the people threatening to run actually file the paperwork.

Blogfest will be Friday, April 25th at the Red Mill in Pittston starting at 6PM. All statewide and local candidates will be invited.


Details on our FB page

Eileen Cipriani for State Represenative

From a release: West Wyoming Council president Eileen Cipriani will announce her candidacy for state representative in the 120^th district Thursday, February 6th, at 5:30pm at The Gallery (Pierce St. Deli Bldg.) at 517 Pierce Street in Kingston.

   Cipriani is a graduate of Bloomsburg University and holds a masters degree in organizational management from Misericordia University. In her most recent employment she served as legislative assistant to Representative Phyllis Mundy, specializing in constituent services and district outreach.

   She is the 2011 recipient of the Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence in the category of responding to adversity. Cipriani is also the founder and president of the Council of Governments and an officer on the board of directors of CASA, court appointed special advocates. A founder of the Abrahams Creek Watershed Association, she was awarded the Luzerne Conservation Award for Stewardship. Cipriani has a record of service in many additional community organizations.

   She is married to Joe Cipriani, a professor at Misericordia University and is the mother of their two sons, David and Michael, both students at King’s College. They reside in West Wyoming.

   Light refreshments will be served and a large crowd is expected.

  

 


My take is this Eileen's race to lose and she is not going to lose it. She has been a real leader doing some common sense things like getting all the west side governments together to buy equipment they all need but can't afford on their own. She has been the right arm of my favorite State Rep Phyllis Mundy dealing with the concerns of citizens and there can't be a better mentor than that.

 Website

Facebook page

John Bolin for State Represative

The first but not the last person announcing that they want to succeed Phyllis Mundy.

Bolin is a member of the Wyoming Area School Board and a small business owner.

From his Facebook page:

About

Hello I am John 44 years old Born and raised in Exeter Borough Luzerne County , Residing currently In Wyoming Borough Luzerne County ,

Mission

I am currently Seeking my first term for the 120 th Legislative District of Retiring Phyllis Mundy , I humbly ask for your support May 2014 in the primary , If anyone would like to volunteer or help on the committee please Contact John Bolin 570-760-6137 , Also Monetary Contributions will be accepted . Please check back soon for official time and location for Public Speech to be held

Description

Hello I am John Bolin 44 Years old Born and raised in Exeter Borough Luzerne County Pennsylvania , Currently Residing in Wyoming Borough Luzerne County Pennsylvania , Bishop O'Reilly High School Kingston , Attended College Courses Through Luzerne County College , Small business Owner for Flowers By Lucille , Just Elected my third term on Wyoming Area School Board , Wyoming Recreation Board President , Wyoming Hose Company # 1 Vice President ,

Possible 120th HD candidates

First of all I want to say say thank you to Phyllis Mundy for being for being a friend and an outstanding State Representative.

Just as I was getting worried that we wouldn't have many competitive state legislature elections next year Phyllis drops a bomb shell. Right now Pashinski, Carroll, Mullery, Toohill, Yudichak and Baker don't have an announced opponent but that will change as some guy with a tri-corner hat gets the itch. So far only Karen Boback has a serious opponent in Laura Dickson.

Bill O'Boyle in the TL runs down the likely candidates.

On the GOP side 2012 nominee Aaron Kaufer gives kudos to Phyllis and sounds like he will run again. She cleaned his clock 56%-44% after the state GOP pored a ton of money into the race. And there is always  speculation that Kingston Mayor for Life Jim Haggerty will try to lose another election outside of the Municipality after getting shot down for State Senate and Judge. I'm sure some other names will pop up.

The Dems will have plenty of candidates. Edwardsville Councilor Gary Mack is interested as is West Pittston attorney Laura Dennis who is said to be able to self finance. This line from the TL article kind of bugs me. Dennis said she wants to run for elective office; she has to decide if the state legislature would be the best fit for her. In other words she wants to run for office to be somebody instead of doing something. She has time to clear that up.

The early frontrunner for the Democratic nod has to be West Wyoming Council Prez Eileen Cipriani. She has been at Phyllis' side and organized the West Side Council of Governments that has been able to pool the resources of the west side to get things done.

Other names being thrown around include:

Former W. Pittston Mayor Bill Goldsworthy who is working for the the Guv and ran against Phyllis in 2010. He may want to get off the Corbett sinking ship before it goes under.

Just for shits and giggles a commenter says:  I say Michael Szustak- did a bang up job with Gelb and Cartwright. Has what we need for the job!

 And we all know that Joe V has always wanted to be elected to something...anything

If Mundy does retire, who knows, maybe I’ll tap into that communion money and throw my hat into the ring as well.

Phyllis hangs it up

Mundy will not seek re-election to Pa. House

 

HARRISBURG, Dec. 2 – State Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Kingston, today announced she will retire at the end of this legislative session.

 

Mundy, who represents portions of Luzerne County, is serving her 12^th term in office, which runs through Nov. 30, 2014. She was first elected in 1990.

 

"It has been my privilege to serve the people of the 120^th District," Mundy said. "My staff and I have worked hard and done our best to serve all who needed our help. I am humbled by the confidence and support shown to me for the past 23 years, and I am extremely grateful for the tremendous opportunity to serve."

 

Mundy led successful initiatives to expand prescription drug benefits and care for senior citizens, maximize early childhood care and education, increase home visitation services for at-risk expectant mothers, and promote quality care for foster children. She has also garnered a reputation for outstanding constituent service.

 

She has consistently advocated for middle-class families, working for consumer protections in utility cases and for tax fairness. In 2005, she led successful efforts to prevent hoarding of excessive surpluses at Blue Cross.

 

Before her tenure in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Mundy was manager of a multi-million dollar manufacturing company. She also worked in many volunteer organizations, including the Junior League and League of Women Voters where she served two terms as president.

 

Mundy reminds her constituents that she will still be their representative in Harrisburg for the next year. Her local office at Park Office Building, Suite 113, 400 Third Ave., Kingston, will remain open through the remainder of her term, and her staff will continue to assist constituents with their needs.

 

The 120^th Legislative Districts includes the townships of Exeter, Jackson and Kingston and the boroughs of Courtdale, Exeter, Forty Fort, Kingston, Luzerne, Pringle, Swoyersville, West Pittston, West Wyoming and Wyoming.

 

Poll Closing Times

Here are all the final poll closing times in ET:

7:00 pm: GA, IN, KY, SC, VT, VA
7:30 pm: NC, OH, WV
8:00 pm: AL, CT, DE, DC, FL, IL, ME, MD, MA, MS, MO, NH, NJ, OK, PA, RI, TN
8:30 pm: AR
9:00 pm: AZ, CO, KS, LA, MI, MN, NE, NM, NY, ND, SD, TX, WI, WY
10:00 pm: IA, MT, NV, UT
11:00 pm: CA, HI, ID, OR, WA
1:00 am: AK

Everyone will watching the Presidential results so I'll be live blogging the local races. The Luzerne County website had the final results before 11PM in 2010.

Of particular interest are the 10th, 11th and 17th Congressional Districts.

There a 3 hot races for the PA House in Luzerne county.

2010 results

116th HD

Tarah Toohil (R)  9702  55%

Todd Eachus (D) 7967  45%



119 HD

Gerald Mullery (D)  8631  52%

Rick Arnold (R)  7274  44%

Brian Bergman (L)  741  4%


120th HD

Phyllis Mundy (D)  10153 53%

Bill Goldsworthy (R)  6154  32%

Tim Mullen (L) 2858  15%

Kaufer and Mundy on the air

The HRCC produced an ad for Aaron Kaufer that is running on cable. I spotted it on the Weather Channel over the weekend. Great timing having a spot on the WC as a hurricane is on the way.

It hits Phyllis Mundy on the 3 P's. Pay raise, Pensions and Per Diems.





The Mundy camp responds:

Rep Mundy's opponent's campaign represents everything good people hate about politics and politicians.   What is especially interesting is where the funding for the ad comes from. His expense report shows that it comes from the party bosses in Harrisburg (HRCC). Rep Mundy's funds come from a broad cross section of small and large donors throughout the district. Mundy's opponent campaign has been completely negative and has failed to list any qualifications, life experiences, or work experiences that would make him qualified to represent the 120th legislative district.


A response ad from the Mundy campaign is airing on the local broadcast channels. It's a standard man/women on the street spot  reminding us that she fights the special interests and utility companies defending her vote on the pay raise by saying she donated it to charity. It closes with Phyllis making her case.

It's not good when a long time incumbent is playing defense in the the last week of the campaign.




Kaufer snagged the endorsement from some west side Democratic officials.

From the inbox:

Aaron Kaufer, Republican candidate for State Representative, has received the enthusiastic endorsement of Democratic officials throughout the 120^th legislative district.  Seven elected Democrats, including four of the six Council Presidents in the 120^th, have thrown their full support behind Kaufer’s campaign against 22-year incumbent, Democrat Phyllis Mundy.

In a letter explaining their endorsement, Denise Adams (Exeter Borough Council President), Jack Ruane (Exeter Township Chairman of Supervisors), Michael Jancuska (Luzerne Council President), Michael Berish (Pringle Council President), and Luzerne Borough Council members Jason Tarreto, Mary Ellen Schell and Judy Gober.

Phyllis shows her juice:

HARRISBURG, Oct. 23 – State Rep. Phyllis Mundy announced that West Pittston will receive a $1.65 million low-interest loan from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority to replace undersized and misaligned sewer lines.

 

"This loan will help West Pittston modernize its sewage and storm water collection systems, and in doing so, protect the health of residents as well as the environment," said Mundy, D-Luzerne. "I'm pleased that the state is aiding this important project."

 

Sewage and storm water collection lines are combined in the community, and that has caused raw sewage to back up into basements. It also has resulted in street flooding.

Another poll on the sidebar. Again the question is not who you are voting for but who do you think will win?

Can the kid knock off a longtime legislator?  Tell us your predictions in the comments.

10th CD debate cancelled

10th Congressional District Debate

Congressman Tom Marino and Phil Scollo

"Due to weather concerns, WVIA has cancelled the 10th congressional district debate that was to be held Tuesday, October 30. Efforts by WVIA to re-schedule the debate await Congressman Tom Marino's availability as he attends to constituent service through the storm."

Mundy/Cartwright rally rescheduled

 Due to the weather we are rescheduling the Mundy /Cartwright rally to Friday Nov 2, 5-7pm West Wyoming Hose Company #1 Shoemaker Ave. Now you can join us for a tailgate party before all the high school football games! Boyer's Catering will be putting on a delicious spread, beer and soda, the event is free. Bring a friend!


Kaufer event a go

 I will be hosting an event at Marianacci's Restaurant tonight in West Wyoming from 6-8 tonight. The event is FREE. Anybody looking for a chance to get out of their house or enjoy some good pizza and good company, please feel free to swing by Marianacci's, especially if you have lost your power and are looking for a bite to eat. Be safe everyone and hope to see you there!

 

 

120th HD debate

State Representative Phyllis Mundy (D) and challenger Aaron Kaufer (R) faced off in a lively debate Tuesday night that I wasn't able to attend.

Gort42 special correspondent and PittstonPolitics.com contributor John Lombardo covered the event:

Tuesday’s political debate between Aaron Kaufer and Phyllis Mundy came with a good crowd at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston. The topics of the debate ranged from property taxes to natural gas drilling. All of these were extremely important to the 120^th Dristrict…but the most important question was only asked at the end by candidate Kaufer. “Why did we have no discussion about jobs?” he said during his closing statement.

            During the debate, there were no questions asked(or read by the moderator) asking what we are to do about the high unemployment. Now, I don’t live in the 120^th District, but I do work there for the West Pittston Ambulance every weekend. Whenever we go out on calls I see a lot of houses with “For Sale” signs(not just in the flood zone), and I wonder why it is so bad that people have to leave, and our representatives aren’t paying attention to it.

            One of the problems is the high property taxes. Families were promised relief when the casino was built, but most saw none. Rep. Mundy said that she fought to get property tax relief, and said that she would sign a bill eliminating them if it was brought to her on the house floor. Aaron Kaufer fired back saying that it was bad practice to just wait for a bill to be brought to her. He said that she should’ve been reaching across the aisle to help get that bill written and brought to a vote. I can’t help but agree!

            Other questions asked during the debate involved gun control(why?), the Voter ID law, and the UGI Compressor Station is West Wyoming. Strangely enough, Phyllis and Aaron were both in a general agreement on these issues(except for gun control). One of the first things I ever learned about debating is to never EVER say “I agree” with your opponent no matter what. Always find something to pick apart no matter how small or insignificant it is.

            One of the other topics of agreement was the Natural gas drilling in NEPA. We are the only state without a severance tax on gas drilling, and both candidates support one. But I think Rep. Mundy must have bumped into President Obama on the way to this debate and stolen some of his cue cards, because I heard “fair share” about ten times.

            Even though I’m not a resident of the 120^th District, I will definitely be paying attention to the race because it has some big effects on everyone living in Northeast Pennsylvania. Best of luck and thanks to both of the candidates for coming to my political forum at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

Matt Hughes write up in the Times Leader has the play by play on the  issues  that documents their agreement on some issue. Bill Wellock covered it for the Citizens Voice.

The debate can be viewed on the Video Innovations website:  

Video streaming by Ustream

I just viewed the video and few things stood out. Aaron Kaufer had  command of the issues and admitted that he didn't know enough about some obscure bill to comment on it. Phyllis Mundy kept attacking Governor Tom Corbet and the Republican State Senate and tied them to Grover Norquist. Kaufer kept saying he would work for Bipartisan solutions. On the severance tax and environmental safeguards Mundy asked  "Is he going to be the only one over there who votes to do those things?" Kaufer landed a punch on pensions after Mundy said she voted against  increases but took it anyway. Mundy didn't commit any unforced errors but Kaufer had a few questionable statements. On the assault weapons ban Kaufer said the Holocaust would not have happened if Jews had guns. He really screwed up saying  "We don't need old politicians." The audience booed. At the end he said his background was in US/Chinese economics. ???