Blogfest is a good time

A very big Thank You to the staff of The Red Mill for the outstanding service they provided to the 8th semiannual Blogfest. Our glasses were always filled and the food was great.

The bloggers and candidates filled up the place early and then the regular Friday night crowd rolled in. In 35+  years if politics I saw something tonight that only happens every once in a very while. A  young lady not connected to any of us wandered into our scrum and started talking to the various candidates. She told me that she had never voted before but will this time because she liked a few of the candidates.She had plenty of candidates to choose from.

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Controller candidate Carolee Medico Olenginsk (R) was the first in the door and bought pizza for the crowd. The question I kept getting is "where is Walter?" Former Controller Walter Griffith was always one of the first to arrive and the last to leave at our last events. I can't say I'm shocked he skipped this one. Dem nominee for Controller Michelle Bednar arrived later and charmed the crowd.

Most of the Luzerne County Council candidates attended. Eileen Sorokas (D) has been to everything  and Rick is a lot of fun. The Accountability Ticket of Mike Giamber, Renee Taffera  and Kick Heffron arrived together. Republican candidates Paul Defabo and Sue Rossi and Independent Rick Williams are all working hard to get votes and Blogfest was a natural stop.

Bob Morgan represented Cong. Matt Cartwright who has made every Blogfest since he got into the public spotlight. Cong. Lou Barletta did not send a surrogate as he usually does. They are both stuck in Washington dealing with the latest  manufactured crises.  

State  Rep Mike Carroll knows his back yard but the Mayor didn't make it.. 

Phyllis Mundy  was awol. I just might have to vote for Mike in the next election.

Alex Milanes lost his last election and is shopping around for an opportunity to lose another. Bible Buck and Duke from Dallas made it an official event.

The DJ race is the hottest thing in Pittston politics this year. Both hopefuls stopped by tonight and I like both of them. Jerry Macadon and

Alex Kokura have run great campaigns that tell you about their experience but have not ripped into each other.





Fellow bloggers Joe V, Michelle and Harold  helped organize the event and long lost blogger Zen made it as did the Yonk.  County GOP Vice-Chair Lynette Villano and 2032 Presidential hopeful John Lombardo had a good time. Former W. Pittston Mayor and the Governors local point man Bill Goldsworthy kept his consecutive string of appearances alive. 

More pics at

Blogfest Fall 2013

 

Steve Mocarsky of the TL was there

 

 

Politicians, bloggers gather at semiannual event

 

2013 Luzerne County elections

5 seats on the Luzerne County Council and the Controller's spot are up for reelection next year. Democrats Elaine Madden Curry and Linda McClosky Houck and Republicans Harry Haas and Eugene Kelleher along with Independent Rick Williams were the bottom 5 of 11 elected in 2009 so their seats are up this time. The other 6 seats will be decided in 2015. I haven't heard that any of them are planning to run again or bow out but it's early and I'm sure there will plenty of candidates in the primary on both sides. I can think of a few people that came up short last time that will give it another try and a few others are making some noise.

Controller Walter Griffith told me he is definitely running for reelection and I don't see anyone taking him on in the Republican primary but anything can happen. Walter has taken some criticism over audits but I would argue that he is still the most popular politician in the county because he continues to be a pain in the ass. His 2009 Democratic opponent Bob Morgan said he is not looking for a rematch but I've seen him at all sorts of political gatherings the last few months. People change their minds. The other candidate in 2009 was Wil Toole of Pittston who can't be counted out. Former Commissioner Steve Urban is also threatening to run.

Blogfest post game report

A big thank you to Gene Rooney and staff for the outstanding service as usual.

We walked by the pink bus with long lost blogger Zen to find Pope George Ringo and Forrest Gump had set up a forward observation post at the bar, their natural habitat. Harold and Michelle set up the NEPA Bloggers display. They do a great job promoting the event.

17th PA CD candidate Matt Cartwright came early to work the crowd and was there when Gene Stilp assembled his big Medicare wheelchair. I asked Matt if he had one, he replied "The dog ate it." He left before his opponent Laureen Cummings showed up. Her campaign Manager James O'Meara came early and stayed late.

Luzerne County Controller Walter Griffith had a nice chat with his 2009 opponent Bob Morgan. Bob said he is not looking for a rematch in 2013 despite what Luzerne County Dem Chair Bob Boyer tells me.

A couple of candidates from outside Luzerne County came  because " I know that bloggers are now part of the political conversation and you guys are read by people in in my district."

10th CD candidate Phil Scollo with his campaign manager Will Sherry made it and  are running hard against Tom Marino. Who knows what will happen, that is why we have elections.. In 2006 no one gave Chris Carney a chance then Sherwood was exposed as  the Tunkhanock Strangler. 111th HD candidate Jeff Dalander has an uphill race against long time incumbent Sandra Major in Wyoming County. Good to see him.

My 2nd favorite back cracker turned radio loudmouth Dave Madeira charmed the crowd as did fellow blogger Betty of Pure Bunkem. Blogger Big Dan was there along with health blogger Karin.

The 120th HD candidates Phyllis Mundy and Aaron Kaufer worked worked their magic.  Lou Barletta was stuck in Washington but sent the lovely and talented Renita Fennick to represent him. Tom Marino was somewhere and sent no one.

State Rep Mike Carroll didn't like my baseball bat comments but he is a leader for reform of PA government. Take redistricting away from the politicians and campaign finance reform.

The Young Democrats and Young Republicans were out in force. Tom Shibula and Bob Zaruta are our future leaders that brought along a posse including Alex Milanes, Mike Szu and others.

116th HD candidate Ransom Young told me he wants to run a clean campaign. He was there with his wife and PR person Jana.Tarah Toohil was a no show and didn't send a surrogate. 

GOP Party stalwart Lynette Villano brought a few people.

I'm sure I have missed mentioning some people because there was so many.

 Professor Milburn Cleaver lurking in the shadow smoking a pipe. 

Bible Buck, Karla Porter, Bill Goldsworthy, Justin Vaculla, Angie Fanelli, Jane Waitikus, Bill Urbanski, Terri Stella and many more.

Let me know if  I left you out.

I'm not hotlinking this post because it would days to do it. Blogger is telling me that there are too many labels.


The bloggers report.

Fall 2012 Blogfest another huge success

 The Lu Lac Political Letter 

 Pittston Dispatch

 

NEPA Blogfest packs Rooney's in Pittston

 

Luzerne County finances

I started off blogging about Luzerne County government and politics but haven't written much about it lately. The Yonk  reminded me that I was a unrelenting critic of the games that the Bond Brothers played with numbers that put our county into the hole that it is in. Thankfully convicted criminal Greg Skrepnak and Todd Vonderheid are no longer Commissioners.

As a result of the Juvie Brothers and other scandals the people decided it was time to change the form of government and passed Home Rule. The new county council hired a professional manager after a nationwide search. This new form of government is not perfect but it is a big improvement over the old system of 3 Commissioners and a myriad of elected row officers.

Luzerne County Manager Bob Lawton is getting high marks from the people I have spoke to in county government. He is trying to clean up the mess. I don't agree with all his decisions on some non budget issues such as firing Leonard Piazza as Director of the Election Bureau.

Some of the dead enders will still try to hang on.

Deputy runs office, prothonotary gripes

 

4 seats on the new county council will be up in 2013. I urge all interested candidates to attend Blogfest on September 21st to give your pitch.  The Controller's spot is also up and the only name I've heard on the Dem side is Bob Morgan. Incumbent Walter Griffith is definitely running for reelection.

Mullery wins

With 32 of 36 precints reporting Gerald Mullery has about half the vote in the 119th



Gerald J. Mullery. . . . . . . . 3,081 49.85 %
Gary Zingaretti . . . . . . . . 1,634 26.44
Bob Morgan . . . . . . . . . . 1,457 23.57 0

Morgan on the air

This spot has been running on TV the last few days but just became available.

119th Democratic State Rep candidate Bob Morgan hits his opponents Gary Zingaretti and Gerald Mullery claiming to be The True Democrat.





You can see Zingaretti's spot here.

Vote in the 119th poll

The candidates for the Democratic nomination are Gary Zingaretti, Gerald Mullery and Bob Morgan.


Vote in the poll on the left side bar and tell us in the comments why you think your guy will win.

119th State Rep race

Gort42 Special Correspondent Austin Smith Ford attended the South Valley Chamber of Commerce forum with the 3 Democratic hopefuls and the lone Republican for the 119th State Representative seat being vacated by John Yudichak. I hit a technical glitch trying to post the graphics but will update when that problem is resolved.

His report.


The Democratic and Republican candidates for the 119th faced off in a debate at LCCC on May 10th. It was hosted by the South Valley Chamber of Commerce. For the Dems, this was their second time going at it and it was the first one featuring Rick Arnold the Republican from Mt. Top. Brian Bergman, the Libertarian was not invited to participate.


Gerald Mullery and Gary Zingaretti both came out in favor our states current regressive tax structure. It wasn’t a big surprise. Mullery had signed Tea Party type of pledge of his support for the kind of “fiscal conservatism” that has led us into debt on both the state and federal levels. I hadn’t enjoyed Zingaretti’s responses on the subject in the first debate either, but tonight he tried to claim that ending our regressive system would cost poor people more money. His logic is that the federal earned income tax is progressive and that tax costs more than our current state income tax, therefore all progressive tax costs more. This is such a fallacy I think Glenn Beck would have an ethical problem repeating it.


Rich people spend a much lower percentage of their income on things that the property or sales tax applies to. So let us pause for a graphical representation of the realities of regressive taxes in all states:

To make this even worse we do not have progressive income tax like the blue part represents. So go ahead and compare how much their income the bottom 20% of earners are spending on sales and property, to the same number for the top 1% of earners. In fact PA is one of the ten most regressive states in the nation!

So I am voting for Bob Morgan who is willing to fight this crap. I don’t know if many politicians on this level grasp this concept. If there is a logical reason for maintaining this ridiculously unfair structure I would love to hear it.

I did like Zingaretti’s efforts and positions in local government. It sounds like he has greatly improved transparency. He supports separating the legislative and executive powers for our counties and ending their forced dependence on property tax. But none of this really matters if we continue to charge the cost of government to those least benefited by society.

Some other awesomely nonsensical positions from Mullery included hits like: the reason NEPA’s economy is failing is because our laborers lack the work ethic of their fathers and grandfathers, also that he doesn’t see a health care crisis. Then they discussed our area’s brain drain. Which is a term used to describe the effect of college grads going elsewhere for jobs. My question is how are these people finding gainful employment elsewhere if they are lazy?

I spoke with a woman afterwards who asked Mullery if he thought our mothers and grandmothers had any work ethics. She didn’t mention his response but the textile industry was once huge in our area and had a reputation of being intense, sweatshop like work. Our female ancestors deserve admiration too.

As far as Mullery not seeing a health care crisis, I can’t really fault him there. Sure 2.8 million Pennsylvanians will be without care at some point this year, but he didn’t say there wasn’t a crisis, he said he didn’t see one. Since it is unlikely that any of those unfortunate people are in his immediate family, he is probably correct.

Actually I’ve found the graph for just PA’s taxes but I thought I would leave the stuff above because this way you can compare it easily to the rest of the states, and also because I am lacking in work ethic.

The local papers

119th District candidates face off as primary nears


Mullery said he is "adamantly opposed" to a graduated income tax, allowing counties and school districts to impose sales taxes and earned income taxes, and would sign a document saying he opposes every and all efforts to raise taxes....A topic that "nobody wants to talk about," but which had been brought up previously by three heads of Luzerne County chambers of commerce is the need to instill a work ethic in the younger generation, Mullery said. "We're living off the reputation of our fathers and grandfathers when it comes to the work ethic," he said.


119th hopefuls share their views

“If you are a person who is struggling, a great deal of the burden comes to you in personal income tax and property tax. We need to find ways to fix that,” Morgan said....“We were promised great property tax relief by our legislators and our governor. They haven’t delivered,” Mullery said.

Gary Zingaretti sent out a press release last week touting his endorsement by
118th District State Representative Mike Carroll.

Gerald Mullery snagged the endorsement of the Times-Leader who said

One of three Democrats vying for this seat, Mullery seems to sense average residents’ daily financial struggles, as well as the state’s looming budget fiasco, and vows to dig in his heels to contain government spending. He has signed a Taxpayer Protection Pledge, signaling his intent to vote against any proposed tax increase.

Bob Morgan claims to be the only real Democrat in the race.

From a PR:


MORGAN EMERGES FROM DEBATE 119th REPRESENTATIVE RACE FRONT RUNNER
Morgan took on attacks from all 3 opponents and comes out winner and candidate to beat.


Monday night in the 119th District State Representative Debate sponsored by the South Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Newport Township Community Organization at Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke, a leader in the race emerged, Bob Morgan, as the clear front runner for the House seat.

During the debate Morgan took attacks from all three opponents, Gerald Mullery, Gary Zingaretti, and Rick Arnold, vying for the District Seat and despite Republican Rick Arnold attempts to group the 4 candidates into one group Morgan came out the man to beat. Morgan showed the fortitude of an experienced State Legislator by standing up for himself, his ideas, and most importantly the people of the 119th District.

When asked about the work force in the region, Gerald Mullery called the people of the region lazy, saying their work ethic was not like their parents or grandparents and were simply living off their reputation of being hard workers. Morgan stood up for the working families, offended by the insult to their work ethic saying “our students are able to achieve success all over the country, which is a credit to our talent, educational system, and our work ethic.” Morgan reinforced his commitment to in the people in the 119th District by promising to fight for jobs, and education when elected.

Mullery also said that he did not see a Health Care crisis in America, yet even the registered Republican in the race, Rick Arnold, saw a need for health care reform. Morgan, again, stood up for working families in the debate by supporting Adult Basic Care, and the CHIP (Children Health Insurance Program). In his closing Mullery calmed to be a “new Democrat,” yet his policies and ideas “look like an old recycled of Republican ideas,” said Morgan.

Morgan's tax plan was attacked by Morgan's other primary opponent, Gary Zingaretti. Morgan's tax plan favors reducing property tax and unfair personal income taxes on students and seniors.

One candidate has consistently provided ideas to meet the challenges that we are facing in the region by finding realistic ways to enact solutions and investing in the rebirth of Main Street, not simply offering empty slogans or simplistic pledges on the back of campaign literature. That candidate is Bob Morgan.

The Citizens Voice endorsed Zingaretti


But only Zingaretti has government experience, having served as a township supervisor for the past three years. That experience, plus his efforts to make township government more transparent through a website that includes officials’ salaries, meeting minutes and information on securing documents under the state Open Records Law gives him the slight edge in this race.

119th forum recap

As promissed here is the report from Gort42 Special Correspondent Austin Smith Ford who attended the LWV forum with the 3 Democratic hopefuls for the 119th State Represenative seat being vacated by John Yudichak.

His report:


The League of Women Voters hosted a debate last night between the three Democratic candidates for State Representative from the 119th district. Gort knew I would be going and would have a lot to say so he asked me to prepare a guest post.

The candidates are Gary Zingaretti, Bob Morgan and Gerald Mullery. I had reached out to each of them as soon as I realized that John Yudichak would not be running for the seat again. Eventually I volunteered briefly for Justin Behrens before he dropped out of this race. I have friends who are supporting Morgan, my grandmother has a Zingaretti sign in her yard and at one point I thought I would vote for Mullery on a friend’s recommendation. So I was there without a horse in the race.

One thing that surprised me was that the candidates all took care to position themselves to the right. It was as if they were apologizing for having a “D” after their names, claiming it is mostly because their parents were doing it. I wonder if they realize that this district has one of the highest percentages of Democrats outside of Philadelphia. No matter who wins this seat, they leave themselves open to a challenge from a populist progressive. Especially if that challenger can expand the electorate by speaking to issues that traditional media isn’t covering.

Before the candidates got there I wrote a question about taxation. It stated that property and sales taxes are regressive and a burden to working class families so what, if anything, can be done about it?

Morgan was the only one to answer correctly, that we need a more progressive income tax even if it takes an amendment to our constitution. He added that we can eventually eliminate property tax.

Zingaretti believes that, to lower property tax, we must have economic development first. That we should expand the number of items that sales tax applies to and bring it lower than 6%. With the working poor loosing almost a third of their income on taxes, I believe economic development is dependent on reducing property tax.

Mullery wants to know where the gaming revenue is that was supposedly going to lower our property tax. Yeah where the hell is that money anyway? We gave those casinos low taxes and plenty of incentive to make a killing suckering us out of money and didn’t get our tax relief. I think we threw good money after bad.

Mullery also stated that progressive tax is unfair. That is real bad news for the poorer 98% of us. If our federal government agreed with him we would be paying much higher tax rates and getting much less from our government.

Often, it is mentioned that, our state’s constitution bars a progressive tax with its uniformity clause. But the federal government and other states that have graduated taxes have similar clauses. Uniformity requires that the law applies the same way regardless of geographic location among other things but if they wanted a flat tax to be part of our constitution why didn’t they say so? What we are left with is that the working class people are paying a higher percentage of their income into property tax and sales tax than our very rich.

But less about what they didn’t talk about and more about what they did.

The issue of the state pension crisis came up at several points and I think all of the candidates had real solutions to it. Mullery noted that we should start by not hiring one more person under the current system. Morgan went a step further in saying that we need to role back the pension for legislators but not for teachers or state employees. Zingaretti agreed and pointed out that taking the new pension plan away from teachers would result in an uphill legal battle so it is out of the question.

He feels that we need to move away from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan. This sounds pretty smart to me. Instead of guaranteeing a pension we promise a certain amount that the state will contribute. Again this is all for people that we hire going forward and wont effect anyone already teaching or working for the state.

On library funding Morgan and Zingaretti both see it as part of our commitment to education whereas Mullery expressed his support for libraries but qualified it with something to the effect of, only when our state can afford it.

Public education is the best investment our state can make. A national study showed that we get back 17 dollars for every 1 we put into educating. That is only a ten year turn around too. A similar, more recent, one in New York State showed that their return is closer to 27 dollars. If these numbers hold up at all, we need to be pumping cash hand over fist into our schools not waiting till we can afford it.

On another topic Mullery supports term limits and serious campaign finance reform. He even supported a limit on how much money can be spent for a campaign. Hells yeah, this would help force candidates to get out and talk to people more about specific policies instead of raising more money for TV adds that make you look like a nice guy but don’t reveal any of your ideology.

Morgan mentioned that we need more controls on lobbyists. He said we have legislators getting paid to lobby the governor. I didn’t know that but I did know we have some of the weakest campaign finance reporting laws in the country.

When they were asked about the budget impasse they all had some ideas on the budget. I didn’t take notes on the impasse part because as ridiculous as the delay was it is still more important that the thing works, which for the most part, it doesn’t.

Mullery believes that we need to cut way more than the 1% of spending like we did with the most recent budget. He talked about the 20% of our budget that is reserved for discretionary like he couldn’t wait to find stuff to cut. The other 80% is the money they have a more specific plan for when they write the budget. He believes we need “sheer fiscal responsibility.” I don’t see how his brand of fiscal conservatism is responsible and I argue that it has led to this state to conserving more problems than cash in the past.

Zingaretti pointed out that much of the discretionary spending is used to keep our kids in school and that makes us money in the long run (DING!). He believes the state should ask its agencies to prepare budgets, not based on how much money they got last year, but a 10% cut.

On gas drilling it was Morgan’s turn to answer first and he feels it will be a boon to our economy but that we must do it right to protect the environment. He and Zingaretti agreed we need higher standards than we had with coal mining back in the day. Zingaretti again offered some operational specifics like properly staffing DEP agents at the well locations and charging those costs to gas companies who are making a profit.

It is a great idea to internalize the costs, but I wish there was someone on stage to rail against the privatizing of this effort. If we are going to rape our land in a risky move to pick up a few bucks can’t we put all of the profits into our state instead of a portion? We could still involve the free market but it would be subservient to our democracy instead of vise versa.

Mullery is opposed to a moratorium on drilling because we need the jobs so desperately. If I can light the water in my tub on fire, I’m moving. I don’t care how awesome my job is.

There was a question about infrastructure and some of the candidates talked about the proposal to toll I80. Mullery did not. He said we should maintain our current budget and infrastructure. Which is impossible, over 20% of our bridges are in substandard conditions and at the current rate we will still be over 20% in five years. PennDot did a study and said they need $400 million to ensure we don’t have a collapse.

Morgan wants 40% of the money from gas drilling in Marcellus Shale to go towards infrastructure in the communities affected by it. Zingaretti would not move forward with another proposal to tax I80 and would also use money from gas drilling. He believes we need to privatize our interstate highway system (facepalm).

All of the candidates noted that Pennsylvania’s small businesses are paying a tax of 9.9%. That is good for second highest in the nation. In post game questioning Morgan noted that 71% of companies doing business here are not paying that tax. Many of them achieve this by incorporating in Delaware where it is easy and cheap. I didn’t realize it was that bad.

There were some opening and closing arguments, wherein the candidates touted their experience and reputation. There are some differences in experience but I don’t think it would be a big factor in their overall performance as a legislator. They all seem like great members of their communities.

I was very pleased that we heard some distinctly different policies and some new viewpoints. There were a bunch of people covering it and if there papers hit their mark, the voters will probably know a bit more about these candidates then they usually do when there isn’t an incumbent. In that regard the evening was a win for everyone.

I am surprised to report I might vote for Morgan. I tore him up in his last effort to become controller for what I felt was a conflict of interest. Zingaretti and I had a great, although quick, conversation about local government reforms including the forthcoming home rule charter and we saw eye to eye on a lot of them. He is hesitant to fight for a more fair system income tax though and that is a big issue to me. Regardless I will tell my grandmother to keep the red sign in her yard and I will probably not endorse anyone to my friends. They will be shocked.

Another big issue for me is healthcare. Nobody mentioned tonight that there are a couple million people in this state without care. That the states are more empowered to deal with it even considering the restrictions in the recent federal bill. We will either fight like hell for a real solution or continue to see our care decline in quality and rise in costs.

I also had a chance to speak with Rick Arnold the lone Republican in this race. I asked him about how the Democratic candidates are talking up their conservative credentials and asked if he was impressed. He avoids the labels and says that in this district we are cut from the same cloth of traditional values and real character. “It is about the people not the party.”

About our income tax he feels replacing it with a progressive one would be unconstitutional. He wants to cut wasteful spending and create a better business environment. That we have a huge amount of red tape and fat to cut although he wouldn’t be casual about supporting the elimination of state employee jobs.

He seems like a pretty genuine guy who I happen to disagree with on everything he said. I wonder if he will give on of our conservadem candidates a run for their money.


The CV and TL covered the event

119th Democrats find middle ground

As three Democrats sought to separate themselves in the chase for the 119th Legislative District seat, a longtime finance man embraced business, another called himself a Blue Dog Democrat and a third declared himself "quasi-Republican" when considering economic development.



House hopefuls talk issues

Morgan, Mullery and Zingaretti are scheduled to debate again during the Meet The Candidates Night hosted by the South Valley Chamber of Commerce at 7 p.m. May 10 at the Luzerne County Community College’s Educational Conference Center.

I chatted with and exchanged emails with Jerry Mullery a few days ago. I said I was disapointed with him and he thought it had to do with his CV interview about a teachers union questionnaire that he refused to answer. That wasn't it. I was talking about the Taxpayer Protection Pledge promoted by Grover Norquist.

He emailed: So, I've received literally dozens of questionairres from just about every PAC, special interest group and lobbyist you could name and I've told them all to "go to hell I'm not for sale" and the one I sign causes you disappointment. That, in and of itself, is disappointing.

I suppose I could make like every other pol in the mix and continue to make promises I know we cant keep. I've chosen to be honest. I also know that the people I've spoken with when I've gone door-to-door are taxed out. That is why I signed the Pledge.

As I told the voice and as I'm telling you now, I will represent all the taxpayers if elected. What better way to show that then to sign a pledge protecting them.


On the phone I asked him if he knew anything about Norquist and his association with the Club for Growth. He admitted he didn't know anything about him but signed the pledge anyway.

Norquist is best known for this quote, "My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years," he says, "to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." He's also a good friend of Jack Abramoff, even helping him with his work for some Indian tribes' that landed him in jail.

I asked him how he would close the budget gap next year if he would handcuff himself by ruling out tax increases. He railed about the the size of the legislature and the associated cost. I pointed out that cutting the legislature would not close the budget gap and would take years to implement anyway and asked him "what programs or agency's would you eliminate to close next years gap? He said he would get back to me. To be fair no politician I have ever talked to, Republican or Democrat, has ever answered that question.

He later sent me an email:

You asked how we close the deficit gap. I will go through each line of the proposed budget before Tuesday's debate, but I am certain it can be done. After the 101 day budget impasse and all the fighting, we cut spending a whopping 1%. 1%. I repeat ... 1%. We can do much, much better. And, we have to (the $2+ Billion in federal funding is gone next year and the "fiscal tsunami" is coming the year after).

Government waste must be stopped.

On gas drilling Mullery supports a moratorium on drilling in state parks and has a family connection to Moon Lake Park so he doesn't want the place destroyed.

Morgan claims he is only "Real Democrat" in the race



BoB MORGAN ONLY DEMOCRAT IN THE ROOM
Bob Morgan only candidate defending Democratic principles

Bob Morgan, Democratic candidate for the 119th District State House Seat, left the House Candidate's Debate the only Democrat in the race. At the debate held Tuesday April 20 held at King's College, one opponent said he was “often accused of bring a Republican” and yet another declared himself “quasi-Republican.”

Morgan, Fairview Twp, was the only candidate who stood up for Democratic principles and repeatedly pledged to put the people of the 119th District ahead of partisan politics.

In the debate, hosted by the League of Women Voters, Morgan was the only candidate committed to dramatically altering the state’s tax system. Morgan said that he would work toward eliminating the use of property taxes as the major funding source for schools and local communities in Pennsylvania. He also expressed support for a Constitutional Convention to deal with fixing the Pennsylvania personal income tax to create a graduated income tax similar to the Federal system. Morgan said “For too long we have created a tax structure that penalizes part-time employees, students and working seniors while preserving a tax structure that benefits corporations. One of my opponents has proposed cutting the corporate tax, while I have advocated restructuring the income tax and property tax systems to benefit the great majority of our citizens.”

Morgan also addressed the upcoming pension funding crisis and placed the blame squarely on the State Legislature for the 2001 pay hike and 50% pension increase. “We must remember that the Legislature voted to increase their own pay and benefits at 2 a.m. in the hopes we wouldn’t notice. We now have to solve that crisis.

“It is time to remember we serve the people when we are in Harrisburg, not the powerful. For too long our citizens have felt their elected representatives do not work for them, to that end I have pledged to be a full-time representative, I will not have any outside business interests. ” said Morgan. The remaining candidates chose not to make this commitment.

In addition Morgan expressed strong support for increased education funding for our schools and libraries.

119th event tonight

The League of Women Voters of the Wilkes-Barre Area is planning a public forum for its members and the general public to learn more about the Democratic candidates running for State Representative in the 119th District on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the King’s College McGowan School of Business

The candidates are

Bob Morgan

Gary Zingaretti

Gerald Mullery

Gort42 should have a report from a special correspondent later tonight. I had a chance to talk with Mullery over the weekend and will include it in the recap.

119th update

119th Democratic State Rep candidate Gerald Mullery has a shindig tonight in Naticoke details here. He has also signed onto Grover Norquist's Taxpayer Protection Pledge.



Bear Creek Township supervisor Gary Zingaretti is the first Democratic candidate on the air with this TV ad:





Bob Morgan has a website up.


The lone Republican in the race Rick Arnold has an interview posted on the Luzerne County GOP YouTube channel.



The League of Women Voters of the Wilkes-Barre Area is planning a public forum for its members and the general public to learn more about the Democratic candidates running for State Representative in the 119th District.

The forum will be held on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Kings College in the Burke Auditorium of the McGowen School of Business.

Justin Behrens takes a pass

In the race to succeed John Yudichak in the 119th State House seat we are down to 3 Democrats and 1 Republican. The GOP hopeful is Rick Arnold and the Dems are Bob Morgan, Gary Zingaretti and Jerry Mullery.

Justin Behrens decided to end his bid and sent along this well thought out explaination.





Over the past couple weeks, while working diligently working to obtain signatures in order to placed on the ballot for State Representative of the 119th District, I have come to realize the severity of a much bigger issue, political mistrust. This was evident by acts of angry door slamming, hostile conversations, and lack of interest in becoming registered voters. The voice of the 119th District is clear, whomever is elected into this office will need to carefully listen to the people they serve in order to gain back public trust.
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This is why I have decided to pull my name from ballot and dedicate my next couple years understanding the issues of the people and getting to know them. Serving in the United States Army to defend this constitution and this country with honor, pride and integrity was something that I took seriously. Now, I am going to serve the people of this community with the same values. I want to get a better feel for the people of this district and work on building my grass roots campaign.
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I thank all those that supported me and assisted in obtaining signatures, we will be doing this again in the future. I will consider running for public office again keeping to my promise of running without any money from political action committees. Instead, my campaign will run from the bottom up by volunteer supporters with the focus on grass roots interactions. Inspired by Rep Yudichak who was able to knock on the door of each voter twice during his first campaign for the district, I hope to be visiting each doorstep multiple times in the upcoming years.
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I will continue to address ending regressive taxation, such as property tax, so that we can ease the undue burden that has been placed on working families. With progressive taxation we can fund our public schools properly, empowering the next generation of leaders.
I will support for legislation that will empower communities to choose a system of governance that would include checks and balances. I believe public money should not be given to private schools. Our public school teachers are heroes and there is not a better investment a society can make than to support their efforts.
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Together, with supporters, I will also endeavor to bring about quick meaningful healthcare reform at the state level. I am open to working with any solution that will increase access and quality for everyone.
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Finally, I do not consider myself a politician, but rather a statesman. I will continue to build the voice of the people and encourage candidates that are running to speak that voice, which I so passionately helped defend while serving in the United States Army. I will continue to have my website up running at www.friends4justinbehrens.com where I will dialogue and work with the people addressing their needs and concerns. Honor, Pride, and Integrity back in Harrisburg and this great Nation.

Bob Morgan in the 119th race

I'm taking a break from digging out and this popped up in my inbox.



BOB MORGAN TO RUN FOR PA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Morgan will run for seat vacated by John Yudichak in the 119th District

Bob Morgan announced his candidacy to become the next Representative from the 119th District. The seat will be vacated by John Yudichak, who is currently running for State Senate. Morgan, 47, is a Financial Advisor from Fairview Township.

Morgan, a Democrat, feels that economic issues are a priority for the constituents of the House District: “I believe that many of our residents have felt the effects of the recession and have had to make tough financial choices in the face of ever present increases in the cost of health care, prescription drugs and school and county property taxes. I believe that my background in finance provides me with a keen awareness of the impact of these issues on our everyday lives and has prepared me to clearly assess the ramifications of proposals before the General Assembly in these areas.”

“Completing the budget in a timely manner and getting people the property tax relief they were promised are tops on my list of priorities; we need to have smart solutions to handle these issues and not just anti-Harrisburg rhetoric,” stated Morgan. “Seniors need relief from crushing tax burdens, jobs need to be created by it. Instead, we need plans. We need green energy programs that provide new skilled, long-term jobs to skilled workers. We need to continue to develop the industrial parks as well as the downtown revitalization projects in our district so that we can keep employers here as well as create new, good-paying jobs. We need to have solid schools so that our teachers are able to shape the leaders of tomorrow and a solid vision for our educational system to train the next generation of workers. I will dedicate myself to these projects to benefit our citizens.”

“The people of the 119th District work hard, pay their taxes and make sacrifices to educate their children. I believe that we need a person who recognizes their needs, works hard to address their concerns, and reaches out,” said Morgan. “My office will always be open to help people in any way that the state government is able. The people of this district deserve that in their representative.”

The 119th District extends from Bear Creek Township, portions of Mountaintop, Nanticoke, Newport Township, Nanticoke, Hanover Township, Sugar Notch, Warrior Run, Plymouth, Plymouth Township, Larksville and Edwardsville.

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119h update

Bear Creek Township Chairman Supervisor Gary Zingaretti is seeking the Democratic nomination for state rep in the 119th district to succeed John Yudichak who is running for the the state senate. He has been in the news trying to reduce the fatalities on Route 115 urging a reduction of the speed limit as a first start. He brags that "I'm the only one who's got actual experience in government."

That may not be a plus this year.


Ziggy is a number cruncher who went to Coughlin HS in Wilkes-Barre then went to King's for his undergrad degree then got a masters from Wilkes U.

His opponent in the Democratic primary is Jerry Mullery who welcomed him into the race.

"Anybody who believes that they can help the citizens of the 119th should get involved and should make a run for the seat, and hopefully the voters will educate themselves as to the position of each candidate and select the one that they believe can best serve them."


The other Dem mentioned as possibly running is Bob Morgan who lost the Luzerne County Controller's race to Walter Griffith in the last election.


Mullery sent out this PR a few days ago:



I am that type of leader and I ask for the support of anyone else who shares these values.

Attorney Mullery resides in Alden with his wife, the former Michele Mech, and the couples four children, Leah, 9, Lauren, 8, Liam, 4, and Louden, 2. Attorney Mullery operates a private law practice in Kingston. He is a graduOn Wednesday, February 17th, Attorney Gerald J. Mullery of Newport Township officially announced his candidacy for the 119th Legislative District. His reasons for running are outlined below:

My political aspirations of late have been fueled by the corruption at all levels of government and the overwhelming evidence that many of our elected officials have demonstrated a complete lack of fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately many elected officials have abandoned their constituents, pandered to those few who can secure the elected officials' influence by the promise of large donations, a quid pro quo or alternatively by way of creating a perception that a particular group can deliver the vote necessary to keep those already in public office well entrenched, to the detriment of the rest of the community. This unfortunate environment is no less a threat in the 119th Legislative District of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania than in our country as a whole.

I have four young children, an elder parent, elder in-laws, relatives and friends whose children's futures are at stake, much like my own. We need leaders who are willing to put personal ambitions aside and work toward creating a better community for all, regardless of race, age, sex, religion or political beliefsate of Greater Nanticoke Area High School, King's College and Duquesne University School of Law.

Mullery for State House

Nanticoke Attorney Gerald Mullery is a candidate for State Representative in the 119th Legislative District. His campaign kickoff is scheduled for tonight at 7PM at the home of Jim McDermott, 4 Marie Drive, Nanticoke, PA 18634 (735-1713)

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He doesn't have a website up yet but those of you on Facebook can get more information at Mullery for State House.



Republican Rick Arnold is the only other announced candidate in the race but we are waiting to hear from Hanover GOP politico Dave Shipula and Democrat Bob Morgan.

Candidate announcements

Senate 14


The Blogfather is reporting that Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton will announce that he is running for the state senate seat currently held by retiring Ray Musto tomorrow at 5:15 p.m. at Rodano’s on Public Square in W-B. State Rep John Yudichak has previously announced he is running for the seat. No Republican has thrown their hat into the ring yet.


119th

With Yuddy trying for the senate spot the first Republican in the race to succeed him is
Rick Arnold, 47, of Rice Township, who will announce his candidacy for Pennsylvania’s 119th Legislative District at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 2260 Church Road, Rice Township. Other candidates looking at the race are Republican Dave Shipula and Democrats Bob Morgan and Gerald Mullery.

Walter wins big

Controller


Walter L. Griffith Jr. (Rep) . . . 28,160 48%
Bob Morgan (Dem) . . . . . . . .21,916 38%
Wil Toole (Ind) . . . . . . . . 8,197 14%


I predicted that Griffith would get 50% of the vote and he came close.

This is good news for bloggers and the taxpayers having Walter and Carolee in the Courthouse kicking ass and taking names

Exit polls

We voted about 6PM tonight and were voters 373 & 374 out of approximately 1000. Wilkes -Barre School Board candidate was greeting people out front and he was the only School Director hopeful that I voted for. Me and Mrs. G also wrote in David Yonki for Jury Commissioner.

Our side polls are now closed and the result that jumps out is the retention questions.

Peter Paul Olszewski Jr Yes 21 14%-No 136 86%

Tom Burke Yes 83 50%-No 83 50%


Of course this is an unscientific sampling of readers of Gort42 done for our amusement but couple this with what I've been hearing and it looks like PPO-2 is going down and Burke will hold on.

The Controller final has

Walter Griffith (R) 80 54%

Wil Toole (I) 44 30%

Bob Morgan 22 16%

Our next Judge

Dick Hughes (R) 90 49%

Tina Gartley (D) 55 30%

Bill Amesbury (D) 35 21%

Predictions-Controller

The Luzerne County Controllers race has been the hot topic on this blog over the last few months with 2 of the 3 candidates even mixing it up in the comments. I've taken some guff from a radio talk show and others for allowing you to vent your spleens with sometimes unfair comments but as I have said before this a free speech zone but if you think that something is out of bounds send me an email and I will consider deleting it. No one has objected to any comments although I did delete a few that were tasteless.

In the Controller's race I stick by my original analysis. This is the first time in a very long time that having an (R) after your name is an asset in a county race. That is why there was a crowded Republican primary and oddly only one Democrat sought the nomination. I thought that Walter Griffith (R)would win a head to head matchup with Bob Morgan (D) and a long time Democrat from Pittston, Wil Toole, being on the ballot even if he is running as an Independent probably sealed the deal.

If the Republicans don't win this one they may as well shut the doors to their campaign HQ in downtown Wilkes-Barre and go back to all their backstabbing and begging for crumbs that fall off the Dems plate that has gone on for years.

Griffith wins big with 50%+ of the vote with Morgan 2nd and Toole finishing a close 3rd.

On a personal note I like all 3 gentleman. Walter has been a "pain in the ass" for a long time and is tenanacious when he thinks something is wrong. Bob Morgan is very qualified but has the unfortunate luck of running in a Republican year. When I first heard that Wil Toole wanted to be the fiscal watchdog of the county I laughed it off because of his Pittston overtime controversy and numerous lawsuits over health insurance and other things. After seeing Toole in action at the LuLac Debate debate and talking with him afterward I changed my mind. He has a world of knowledge about the way local government works and has many good ideas to improve county government. Despite his past baggage I think he is in this race for the right reasons.


Whoever wins this race I think it would be great if all 3 candidates got together after election day and brainstormed their ideas on how to improve things

Luzerne County Controller

The Controller's contest continues to be the hot race with Walter Griffith complaining about Bob Morgan's campaign finance report after Morgan complained about his last one. They both filed corrections to the reports.

Griffith has been critical throughout the campaign of Maryanne Petrilla's performance as Controller in the brief time she held the office before becoming a Luzerne County Commissioner and Wil Toole took a shot at her in Monday's debate.

Toole gave the play by play of his pursuit of the endorsement of the AFSCME local that covers county employees saying he was a founder of the local union. They didn't endorse him. He said he wanted it then lobbed this bomb on why he didn't get it. "Then I found out that Maryanne Petrilla had hired the President's daughter two months previous."

Maryanne's response "He should be careful about what he says."

The Union President, Paula Schnelly, said "With all the controversy and corruption, we decided not to endorse anyone and stay clear of endorsements," she said. "Why he is making it personal, I don't know. ... I heard he alleged I am tight with Maryanne Petrilla. I know Maryanne Petrilla as well as I know Wil Toole."

Director of Assessments Anthony Alu recommended hiring Ms. Schnelly because she was the best qualified applicant.

Wil Toole chimed in on the CV website:


I think it incredulous to think that there are a hundred union members out of work and the Commissioners hired the union presidents daughter. I don't know about you but I don't think a hundred union members should be out of work and not even be offered the opportunity of a job. And by the way, if anyone believes that the commissioners hiring the union president's daughter is a coincidence then I have a bridge to sell. Where was that job advertised? I also find it amazing that after a hundred years of patronage, these Commissioner's have offered up the gift of job giving to their managers. Right!


Wil Toole, Former County AFSCME Union President

One last poll. Who should be the next Controller? Vote on the sidebar and give your reasons in the comments.