Eddie Day Pashinski for State Represenative

Eddie Day had his annual brunch that attracted about 300 people at Genetti's. He brought in some of the heavy hitters in state and local politics like Bob Casey, Matt Cartwright, John Yudichak, Mike Carrol and Guido Sarducci.

In the warm up Yuddy sang Eddie's praises since he rarely does it himself. He recounted the  many infrastructure and economic development projects he has done the hard work to make it happen. He had a nice quip about how he shows up with a piano and his own  Paparazzi. Matt Cartwright also praised him and noted that he is sharing campaign space in W-B. He said "I've had worst roommates but at least he cleans up after himself."  All those losing lottery tickets and empty cans end up in the trash.

Senator Bob Casey continues to impress me. He gave another fiery address about the ACA and his opposition to the Trumplican agenda.


When it came time for Eddie to speak  he told us about he is working with his Republican colleagues to get help for grandparents raising grand kids. He lamented that that the Republican Party has been hijacked by extremist who want to divide us on race, sex, etc. He said they want to divide us because there are "more of us than them."   He decried the money in politics and  defended public schools, labor unions, Social Security and Medicare. He doesn't want to go back to the days of the coal barons and celebrated the gains made on job safety, the 8 hr.workday/ 40 hr. week because of collective bargaining. And then he went on and on and on so I had to leave because I already missed kickoff.

He never mentioned his opponent.

Luzerne County Controller

Nice profiles in the TL.

Bednar says she empathizes with taxpayers

 

 Medico Olenginski says she’ll stand up to powerful

 

Walter Griffith would probably would have won  reelection easily as I think he was most popular politician in the county. But in his quest to expose corruption he put his heart ahead of his head and had to resign because he recorded some conversations without asking for permission from the people being recorded. Don't mess with Judd Shoval. I was disappointed with Walter when I asked him at the Spring Blogfest  if he had recorded the conversations and he told me NO. Then he plead guilty to the charge. Walter Mitchell was a good choice as the interim Controller.

Now the choice in upcoming election is between Michelle Bednar and Carollee Medico
Olenginski.

 Michelle Bednar is the tax collector for Cunningham Twp and Carollee is/was the Probationary of Luzerne County. 

 To put it mildly Carolee doesn't play well with others. See my archive.

  Carolee told me she is not planning any events before the election but Michelle is campaigning hard.  

She has a Meet and Greet at

The Red Mill
340 S. Main St., Pittston, PA
Sunday, October 20th, 2013
2 p.m to 5 p.m.
with Master of Ceremonies,
State Representative
Mike Carroll

 

Third District Dem Picnic

I wasn't able to attend the 3DP on Sunday but a friend was kind enough to send along a report yesterday.

Hello Gort,

New Third District Democratic Chairman, Phil Struzzerri, welcomed a large and loud crowd of about 240 people at their  picnic yesterday at the Pittston American Legion picnic grounds. The food was very well received by the crowd.

All of the usual suspects were there from the area and the county except for Linda Houck, County Council candidate. Representative Mike Carroll was the MC and Sen. John Yudichak gave a spirited keynote speech urging Democratic unity in the upcoming election, and criticizing the irrational Republicans in both Washington and Harrisburg. 

Alexandra Kokura was the star of the event. She was the first to arrive and the last to leave.

No Valenti.

(rumor also heard... there is now a split between Katsock and Grinaway!)

Predictions 118th HD and 17th CD

 
Sorry I have been out of the loop for the last 2 days but I had some family obligations to tend to. I'll start off with the easy ones. You can beat me up on later posts.

Mike Carrol will be reelected in the 118th HD. Terrance O'Connor is the Republican candidate but has not made much of an effort other than putting on tricorner hat and yelling into a bullhorn from the back of a pick up truck just like he did last time. Carroll has pleasantly surprised me with his desire to overhaul the campaign finance laws (there aren't many) of Pennsylvania and reforming the redistricting process.



Karen Boback is unopposed in the 117th HD as is Eddie Day Pashinski in the 121st HD. I told Pashinski  that I'm not voting for him this time. More on that later. As a political junkie I hate unopposed races. Sorry but I have to put up James favorite Karen pic.






In the newfangled gerrymandered 17th Congressional District Matt Cartwright (D) will win in a blowout over Laureen Cummings(R). Probably 60%+. Cartwright beat incumbent  Blue Dog Tim Holden in the primary in the overwhelmingly Democratic district because people wanted a real Democrat not Republican lite. It's great that both candidates have run positive campaigns discussing issues. My contact at the DCCC tells me that Cartwright is up 26% in their latest poll.

If you are still undecided here is the video from WVIA debate.

 

Watch 2012 PA 17th Congressional District Debate on PBS. See more from WVIA Special Presentations.

Luzerne County Democratic Picnic

This little girl pictured above doesn't want Mitt Romney to take her Big Bird away.

Congrats to recently installed Luzerne County County Democratic Chair Bob Boyer for putting together a great event that was attended by about 400 people according to my head counter Bob Caruso. Let's do it in the summer next time Bob.

The Luzerne  County GOP picnic had about 50 attend but they have gone back to the old ways of fighting each other. Urbanski won the Chair so the Casey supporters will boycott everything. More on that later in the week.

State Rep Eddie Day Pashinski was the Master of Ceremonies and I highly recommend him to MC your wedding the next time you get married.

 Senator Bob Casey spoke about the 100% of the American people and I blamed him for creating a monster that is Rick Santorum. He beat Ricky by 18 points in the last Senate race only to see Santorum come in 2nd in the Republican Presidential primaries. I predict that Santorum will be the GOP nominee in 2016 because he came in 2nd and the GOP is an orderly party. He will start his run  after he eats Big Bird.

Blast from the recent past Chris Carney who teased us about another run said Romney is not fit to be Commander in Chief. He noted that he is a Catholic war veteran speaking at the Catholic War Vets grove.

One of my favorite state reps Phyllis Mundy said the state GOP is as evil as the Tea Party yahoos on the national stage. She pointed out that 2/3 rd of Medicaid spending goes to people in nursing homes. We can't tax Shale but we can give corporations tax breaks.

State Rep Mike Carroll said the cartographers got it wrong Moosic is part of Luzerne County. Matt Cartwright corrected him  saying Luzerne County is part of Moosic.

Matt Cartwright reminded the crowd that "We are the Democrats" and did a shout out with the crowd  challenging them to stand up for Democratic values.

The thing that really struck me was the diversity of the crowd. This is not the Luzerne County Democratic Party of your father or even 4 years ago when the crooks that have gone to jail ran the show. I wasn't welcome then by Skrep, Lupas, Makowski and Vondy and the rest.

People from Hazleton turned out to support Ransom Young and Gene Stilp. Many of them Hispanic.

When a picture was being taken the shout wasn't cheese

It was HOLA!

The Delaware loophole lives

HB2150 has been advertized as closing the infamous "Delaware Loophole" in exchange for lower corporate tax rates. Many people say it won't close the loophole while providing a big tax break to corporations.

How Loopholes Work

One common way corporations avoid taxes is by conducting transactions between their subsidiaries. Using an array of “tax planning” techniques, companies can shift profits from one subsidiary to another or into or out of a particular state – with no real economic purpose other than tax avoidance.

The best-known strategy is the infamous “Delaware loophole,” of which the Toys “R” Us Geoffrey Giraffe case is the most widely known example. Toys “R” Us set up a company[1] in Delaware to hold the trademark for the Geoffrey Giraffe logo. The holding company charges Toys “R” Us retail stores across the country a royalty to use the trademark. The retail stores deduct this payment to the holding company as a business expense, reducing their income in other states and, in turn, their taxes. This is legal, even though there is no need for a company to sell the use of a trademark to itself – and no reason to grant an expense deduction. Because royalty income is not taxed in Delaware, the Geoffrey holding company (owned by Toys “R” Us) gets to keep the money tax free.

Phyllis is Phuming

HARRISBURG, May 2 – State Rep. Phyllis Mundy voted against a $3.3 billion corporate-tax-cut bill that passed the state House today, noting that it would result in devastating budget cuts and fails to make big corporations pay their fair share of taxes in Pennsylvania.

"Giving large-multi-state companies a massive, multi-billion-dollar tax break and allowing them to continue to use accounting schemes to avoid paying their fair share of taxes is the definition of corporate welfare.”...

Beyond the bill’s failure to close corporate loopholes, it also provides multiple corporate tax cuts. Mundy said the House Democrats tried to offer amendments to the bill that would have eliminated property taxes for Pennsylvania homeowners but Republicans used a procedural maneuver to block those amendments from being considered.

The end result, Mundy said, is a bad bill for Pennsylvania taxpayers.

"This bill gives corporations new ways to avoid paying their fair share, while also giving them a massive tax cut," Mundy said. "And, worst of all, it would place an even greater tax burden on everyday hard-working citizens who will be left holding the bag."

According to the TL Mundy was joined by Eddie Day Pashinski in voting against the bill. Predictably Republicans Karen Boback and Tarah Toohil favored it. Mike Carroll, and Jerry Mullery  were among 23 Democrats who joined 106 Republicans to vote in favor of the bill.

The bill blows such a big hole in the state's finances that even Dept of Revenue Secretary Dan Mueser and Governor Tom Cabot have reservations. Hopefully it will die in the State Senate.

118th State Rep

PJ Best has done well but he won't beat Mike Carroll. He hasn't even updated his website. Young Mr. Best will be heard from again

A guest post

From an email about the Pennsylvania 118th State rep race:

I have lived in Duryea for quite a while now, and I just received a"Capitol Update" from State Representative Mike Carroll. I feel the timing of this "public service announcement" is rather suspicious considering that it's primary season and Carroll has an opponent in his election, when he probably assumed he would not.


This is OBVIOUSLY more of a campaign newsletter than anything but it is funded by the taxpayers(comes from Harrisburg, not from Mike's campaign).


Previously I have been skeptical of Mike, and thought that at best his first year in the house could be described as mediocre. Now I am quite upset. Wasting taxpayer money attempting to legislate baseball bats is one thing, wasting it for election year pandering is completely different!

If Carroll wants to campaign he should do it on his own time with his own money, not with ours. So representatives have spent over $100,000a year on these letters which amount to no more than campaigning with our money. This must stop, and I feel that this must be addressed on a public forum!

Thanks for your time.

Corey

An angered taxpayer

Meet the candidate

118th District candidate PJ Best can be found Thursday , March 13, 7pm – 9pm at the Hughestown Hose Company 30 Center St. Hughestown, PA.


If you have any events coming up Mike please let me know so I can pass it along. And you should update the campaign website.

Chris Hackett will be in Sayre Saturday, March 15, 3pm – 6pm at the Sayre VFW Post #1536, 932 West Lockhart Street.

If anyone knows where to find Dan Meuser without an invitation please let me know.

This Friday Congressman Chris Carney has a campaign event in Dickson City. Kiss the Blarney with Congressman Carney, Friday, March 7, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Genetti’s • 1505 Main Street • Dickson City. And he has yet another town hall meeting in Sayre at 10:00AM on Saturday, March 8th at the Skiff Bower Post 1536 VFW. Sayre is a popular destination.


Again, a message to all campaigns. Let me know where to find your guy/girl and I will be happy to pass it along.

Mike Carroll for State Represenative

Freshman Democrat Mike Carroll kicked off his reelection campaign. I'm glad he got that over with because the suspense was killing me.



JENKINS TWP-Facing more than 100 supporters at the Volunteer Hose Co., state Rep. Mike Carroll formally announced his candidacy for re-election to the 118th District, for which he amassed 1,500 signatures though only 300 are required to appear on the ballot.


No Republican is running in the district to my disappointment because I hate uncontested elections. But a young man is taking him on the Democratic primary.


PJ Best State Candidate

Meet the candidate

From the inbox:


Coffee with PJ Best

Dear Supporters,

I'd like to thank all of you for your support thus far on the campaign trail. I'd like to invite all of you to a meet and greet this Saturday, February 9th from 8-10am at the Pittston Diner on Laurel St. in Pittston.

I'd love the opportunity to meet with each of you to discuss the issues concerning you.

Let's bring the government back to the people.

PJ

PJ Best is a candidate for state rep in the 118th District. The seat is held by freshman Democrat Mike Carroll

PJ Best for State Represenative

The mad batter of Pittston has a primary challenger and he, incumbent Freshman Democrat Mike Carroll, is not happy about it. Art Bobbouine is one thing but a primary challenge is quite another.

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From Best's website:

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So as expected, Mike is overreacting. He’s been overheard saying “I won this seat fair and square in 2006.” My response to this: You’re right Mike. You did win fair and square in 2006. That entitles you to TWO YEARS in the General Assembly. Just because the Good Ol’ Boys like Tom Tigue and your former boss have been given de facto life appointments doesn’t mean that 118 will be giving one to you. We still live in a democracy unless I missed something. The people will decide if you get another two years. I feel that a representative should be elected to represent the people and not represent themselves.

So Mike, if you did a good job you have nothing to worry about. But of course, we know that the reason you’re scared is because you didn’t do a good job. You’re worried that the people will realize that they can do better. And the truth is that they can.

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Update: Here is his official announcement

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PJ BEST TO RUN FOR DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION FOR STATE LEGISLATURE IN DISTRICT 118.

Pittston, PA- PJ Best, lifelong resident of Pittston, PA, officially announced his bid for the office of Legislative Representative in Pennsylvania district 118. Best is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelors and Masters degree in Public Policy, and feels that he can give the government back to the people.

“I’ve lived here my whole life. I love NEPA. I love everything about it: the people, the scenery, the character. I truly believe I live in the greatest place in America. This hometown pride that I have really focuses me on the direction we’re taking. We need a representative that knows where we want to go and how we need to get there. I can say whole-heartedly that this representative is me.”

PJ recognizes the need for change in North Eastern Pennsylvania as well as in Harrisburg: “I am not a political insider. I am not a politician. I am a regular guy from NEPA that wants to see the wishes of other regular people in NEPA granted. I feel my education has trained me to do this and my ambition will allow me to achieve this. I would sooner cut my own pay than see another fruitless tax increase.”

PJ will oppose incumbent Mike Carroll D-Avoca, who was elected to his first term of office in November, 2006.

Additional information about Candidate Best can be found on his website, http://www.pjbest.org/.

Challenger in the 118th?

From StopNEPACorruption:

Yesterday we received an email via our contact form denoting a rumored candidate in the PA 118 legislative race:

Apparently local Republican Art Bobbouine is circulating nominating petitions for the 118th district….More info to follow.

In 2006 Bobbouine lost the Republican nomination for the district to Maureen Tatu. On election night it appeared that he was the winner but a recount put Tatu on top. She went on to a blowout loss to incumbent Democrat Mike Carroll. I guess Art needs a job since the new Sheriff Mike Savokinas fired him from his job as chief deputy under Barry Stankus and he's been unsuccessful in passing the bar exam.

PA State Represenatives from Luzerne County -118th

The mad batter of Pittston looks to be in good shape for reelection. I like his website and this freshman will probably face only token opposition. There are rumors of a Republican challenger but I haven't heard any names yet.

Let me explain the mad batter thing. He proposed banning aluminum bats in little league because of the perceived danger of a hard hit ball. I'm sorry Mike but you can't legislate away every possible danger to our kids and it's an area the government should not stick it's nose into. I've been involved in Little League baseball for a long time and the last thing we need is some politician rewriting our rules.