A boring upcoming election

Most of the PA legislature seats in Luzerne County are uncontested. John Yudichak and Lisa Baker may get a third party challenge but will cruise to reelection to the state Senate. Eddie Day, Mike Carroll, Jerry Mullery and my favorite party girl Tarah Toohil don't have an opponent for state rep in the fall.

The most interesting races are Karen Boback being challenged by Laura Dickson and the open seat being vacated by Phyliis Mundy's retirement.  Eilleen Cipriani is the hands down favorite to succeed one of my favorite state reps although Aaron Kaufer has been working very hard.

The most interesting race is the 117th District which has been redrawn to include Wyoming County and local official Laura Dickson is looking to work the home field. I don't know what it is but the local Republicans out there have a thing for making Karen Boback's life misarable. Davis Haire took her on in the primary this time and James May went after her earlier. I think Dickson's best chance is a depressed GOP turnout because Tom Corbett has pissed off just about everybody on both sides of the aisle. 
 

Dairy issues may be a key

Looking to 2014

As my long time readers know the primary focus of this blog has always been elections. Next year we choose a Governor of the Commonwealth, members of the US House and state House and half the state Senate. In the next few days I will post about these and some races around the country.

PA Gov Tom Cabot Corbett has an uphill climb according to the polls but things can change in the next year and no sitting Guv has lost reelection since they have been allowed to run for a 2nd term. So far there are 8 Dems smelling blood in the water.

The Lt. Governors race is most interesting as I have met most of the Democratic contenders. My early favorite is Brad Koplinski because he sent me a bribe.

Of the 3 local Congressman I keep an eye on only Matt Cartwright has a declared opponent so far. 2 of them in fact. A few people are teasing that they will run against Lou Barletta including Bill Vinsko, Gene Stilp and Chris Carney but I doubt any of them will run. Libetarian Betsy Summers may get into it.

A few weeks ago an old friend called to feel me out about running against Tom Marino in the Republican primary. His rational was Marino is one of the most ethically challenged people to ever hold office.  I had to throw cold water on the idea because his family wasn't behind it and he would need to declare right now and raise at least $100K before the end of the year.


On the state scene Sen. John Yudichak has no declared opponent so far. Neither do Mike Carroll, Phyllis Mundy, Eddie Day Pashinski, Tarah Toohil or Gerry Mullery. I heard a rumor that Mullery may get a primary opponent.

Karen Boback however is being challenged by Laura Dickson. I haven't been this excited about a state rep race since James May took her on.

Rob McCord gets local support

PA Treasurer Rob McCord  is one of the hundred or so people running for Governor next year. He has been rolling out endorsements just like many of the others and he has the backings of some of our local legislators. State Senator John Yudichak and Rep. Mike Carroll from Luzerene County are on board according to PoliticsPA. 

McCord  was the only Guv hopeful that showed up for Yuddy's picnic in August and Eddie Day Pashinski and Mike Carroll were the only local State Reps to make it.

Rob and Yuddy having a laugh

A few neighbors from our north are also on board. Sen. John Blake and Reps. Kevin Haggerty and Sid Michaels-Kavulich.

McCord also rolled out the endorsements of 20 PA state party chairs but our own Luzerne County guy Bob Boyer was not one of them.It was interesting that 5 prospective Democratic Guv candidates made it to the Luzerne County Democratic picnic but McCord wasn't one of them. Yuddy also skipped it. A scheduling conflict I'm sure.

Most endorsements are only good for a press release unless they bring in money or boots on the ground. That is why union endorsements are so important in a Democratic primary We will see if Yuddy can deliver either or both and become a latter day Marty Murray as the Yonk speculates.

Michelle Bednar for Controller

Democratic nominee for Luzerne County Controller Michelle Bednar had a nice turnout for an event at the The Red Mill in Pittston today. State Rep Mike Carroll was the MC  who complimented every person who is willing to offer themselves for office  regardless of party. It takes a combination of guts and ego to run in an election. Mike is one the most accessible people that I know in office. He will talk to anybody at anytime. After the latest redistricting he will become my State Rep replacing Eddie Day. He has moved up in the rankings of my favorite state legislators even outpacing Phyllis Mundy. She didn't show up for Blogfest so I have to vote for Mike in the next election.

Both Pittston DJ candidates worked the room. Alex and Jerry are both good people and  it's shame one of them will not be elected.  Council candidates Michael Giamber and Renee Zita Ciaruffoli Taffera make it to everything. 

Independent Council incumbent  Rick Williams  told me he is going to go up on TV. That was the difference last time. He is the first Independent candidate to win a county wide election in my memory. 

It was good to chat with Bear Creek Sup Gary Zingaretti.

The highlight for me me was I made a joke about Michelle would be the prettiest county official since Ethel Price. 3rd District  Chair Phil Struzzeri caught that one and we had a great time reminiscing about Ethel, Marty Murray, Wideman, Crossin and the rest. We just needed the Yonk to keep us straight.

It was a fun time

More pics at this link

Yuddy Picnic

.

Michelle Bednar and John Yudichak

My second favorite PA State Senator had an event at the PAV in Plains Twp. today. What a turnout! You couldn't find a parking space in the lot. There had to be a least 500 people who came and went.

2 statewide candidates showed up. Mark Smith is running for Lt. Gov and Rob McCord looking to take the place of Gov. Corbett.  I think McCord just got into this thing. Lot's of locals pressing for votes Eddie Day and Mike Carrol looking to next year. It looked like every Democratic candidate for County Council was in attendance. Eileen Sorokas , Kick Hefron, Mike Giamber, Renee Ciaruffoli-Taffera

I reminded them all that we have Blogfest coming up September 27th.

More pics at this link

Meet the candidate

CV:

State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, and state Rep. Mike Carroll, D-Avoca, will hold an old-fashioned rally for U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, D-St. Clair, who is running for re-election in the 17th Congressional District.
It will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Valenti's Restaurant, 1180 Wyoming Ave., Exeter.

Free Ride

Looking over the candidate roster for the upcoming State Senate and House elections I was struck by how many incumbents will not face a challenger in the primary or general. That might change as the independents and 3rd party candidates have until August 1st to circulate petitions so a handful of Greens and Libertarians may still make the race. I always want a choice in an election but I realize it is a big decision to run for office and put up with the aggravation of press scrutiny, unfair attacks and snarky bloggers.

Capitol Ideas did the math

It'll Be A Lonely Primary For A Lot Of Lawmakers This Year.

if we're counting correctly, it would appear that seven of 25 state senators up for re-election this year are running without primary or general election opposition...In the House,at least 69 of 203 members are running without primary or general election opposition.

Locally it looks like that Karen Boback (R-117) and Mike Carroll (D-118) will have a free ride but that could change in the 117th.

Jim explains how the Supreme Court decision threw a monkey wrench into the process.

As to uncontested races... I think the redistricting fiasco played a part in this. I have to wonder how many people simply decided not to run due to the uncertainty about what district they were going to be in. I'm still waiting to see where we folks in Plains end up: the 121st or the 118th. Redistricting added a whole layer of complication to this year's petition season.

PA State Represenative candidates in Luzerne County

The candidate roster can found at the PA Department of State.

Mike Carroll (D-118) and Karen Boback (R-117) will not have an opponent in the upcoming primary and general elections. Like most political junkies I hate uncontested elections because the people should always have a choice plus you never know if the incumbent might have something blow up on them. It looks looks like Duke started too late to get the 300 signatures needed in the 117th.

The big news is assistant Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Frank McCabe is running in the Democratic primary trying to unseat my 3rd favorite State Rep Phyllis Mundy in the 120th HD.
A resident of the district said "Nice, a stealth undercover petition signing. He must know people to get all of those signatures with no one spilling the beans. Now its getting fun." I don't think that Mundy hasn't has had a primary challenger since she won the election in 1990 taking the seat from Republican incumbent Scott Dietterick who was found guilty of insurance fraud just before the election. The Yonk will correct me if I'm wrong. What Democrat could have a beef with Phyllis? Young Republican Aaron Kaufer is the GOP candidate.



The other matchups include Ransom Young (D) taking on freshman Tarah Toohil (R) in the Hazleton area 116th HD. Rick Arnold (R) has a rematch with Gerald Mullery (D) in the 119th. Pete Mailloux (R) is taking on incumbent Eddie Day Pashinski (D) in the 121st HD for now but all this could change depending on the mapmakers response to the Supreme Court.

Mike Carroll voted for the Congressional gerrymander

I'm surprised that there has not been more outrage over the new Congressional districts approved by the state legislature in the print and electronic media. But the reaction has been "so what, that's the way it is." Much like the national press accepting that every bill in the Senate needs 60 votes to pass without pointing out that the filibuster was rarely used in the past. The only people who are kicking up a fuss are bloggers.

Pittston State Rep Mike Carroll (D-118) voted for the new Congressional map joining 36 other Democrats in the PA legislature and 128 Republicans to approve it. I only met Carroll once at the 1st Blogfest so I don't know why he wants Republicans to win more elections to the US House of Representatives. Maybe he is looking to run for Congress in the future in the now Democratic friendly 17th CD when/if Tim Holden retires.

In the next election the 118th includes my little burgh of Plains Twp. and I'm open to helping a real Democratic primary challenger and if that fails maybe even a (shudder) Republican candidate. I'm not a one issue voter like the abortion hotheads or gun nuts but this vote betrays his party and the people of the the 11th Congressional District.

See NEPartisan for a Lackawanna County perspective


Selling Out PA in NEPA: Ken Smith, Sid Kavulich, Ed Staback

PA State House redistricting

Late this afternoon the new boundaries for the Pennsylvania State House and Senate were revealed. As usual Borys is on top of what it means for Lackawanna and Luzerne counties with a list of what towns will be switching districts. It's hard to visualize without a map to actually look at but I'm sure our local papers will have them tomorrow.

I don't cover Lackawanna County much so I will leave it to my friends at NEPartisan to analyze what this means to citizens north of the border with the move of the 115th to Monroe County and 117th and 118th that have been mostly in Luzerne County getting chunks of Lackawanna.

The 120th represented by Phyllis Mundy appears to have the least change picking up Edwardsville from the 117th which makes it a bit more Democratic as far a registration goes.

Mike Carroll's 118th seat has Monroe County towns taken out and is moving both north and south. According to this Plains Township will now be in the 118th despite being in the 121st for a long time and will now snake up to include some Lackawanna towns such as Moscow. I know both towns and they have different concerns. I live in Plains and we have more in common with W-B than Moscow or Pittston.

The 121st (Eddie Day Pashinski) will still be centered on Wilkes-Barre and W-B Township but will move south to include a part of Mountaintop, more of Hanover and throw in Laurel Run, Sugar Notch and Warrior Run. Ashley moves to the 119th ( I'm not sure how they pulled that one off) and the district makes into the Hazleton Area that has freshman Rep. Gerry Mullery objecting.

I only looked at 3 of the traditional 6 House Districts in Luzerne County and have yet to look at the Senate bounderies but is apparent that the people drawing the lines ignored geography, the common interests of the people invovled and common sense.

It may take 10 years but it would be good idea to take the redistricting process out of the hands of the politicians. Much as I advocate Judge's on Merit. Sometimes we need less politics deciding the ground rules.

Patrick Murphy for Attorney General

Former Congressman Patrick Murphy is running for Pennsylvania Attorney General. I'm a bit disappointed that he is not trying to regain the PA 8th District seat that he exchanged with Mike Fitzpatrick but I think he would be a good AG.


He went to King's College here in Wilkes-Barre and if I remember right he was the President of his class who had the honor of introducing President Bill Clinton in the gym after the Prez inspected the latest flood damage. Kanjo got Clinton to visit the area and I still remember seeing Air Force One on the tarmac at Avoca.




Murphy was a Captain in the 82nd Airborne and a JAG in Iraq. After he was elected to Congress he led the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the discriminatory policy that prevented gay men and women from serving openly in the military. I was in the military in the 1970's and we knew who was gay but didn't give a shit. All that mattered was if you could do your job.

He will be a tough but fair prosecutor unlike the last guy who had the job who only prosecuted Democrats for campaign violations but not Republicans for doing the same thing. .

Murphy has a lot of local support

Patrick Murphy has picked up the support of some big names in Luzerne County Democratic politics.

At a fundraiser tonight in Wilkes-Barre, Murphy will be joined by Congressman Paul Kanjorski, Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton, and State Representatives Michael Carroll, Phyllis Mundy and Eddie Day Pashinski.


His Website is

Patrick Murphy Attorney General

Predictions: Home Rule Yes and some state legislature races

I have been doing an informal survey of office holders, fellow bloggers and other political watchers over the last few days and we pretty much agree on the following races.

The Luzerne County Home Rule Charter will win big. Unlike 2003 there has not been a very organized effort against it and people are so fed up with what has been going on for years that just has recently been exposed that they are willing to take a chance on another form of government. The charter is not perfect but the biggest objections about an elected county executive and council elections by district can be addressed in 5 years by amendment instead of going through the whole process of electing another commission and writing another charter.


The PA 14th Senate race will be won by John Yudichack(D). The district has an overwhelming Democratic registration and Yuddy has been a good state rep. I like Steve Urban (R) and think he has been a good county commissioner. The Libertarian candidate Betsy Summers will eat into his vote but even if she wasn't in this Yudichack would still win big.

In the 118th State Rep District incumbent Mike Carroll (D) will be returned for another term.
Carroll has pleasantly surprised me with his desire to overhaul the campaign finance laws (there aren't many) of Pennsylvania and reform the redistricting process. His opponent Terrance O'Conner likes to dress up in 18th century garb and stand in the bed of his pick up truck yelling into a bullhorn. Today is Halloween so O'Conner should fit right in. One of his campaign planks is repeal ling the sales tax on ammunition. It's hard to win an election when you make yourself into a cartoon character and a joke.

Karen Boback (R) will win big in the overwhelmingly Republican 117th District. I have to congratulate Richard Shermanski (D) for running a energetic campaign.

James O'Meara (R) is my favorite underdog in this cycle. He has stayed positive in his uphill challenge to unseat Eddie Day Pashinski (D). He came to every blogger event and he married a great girl. I have never cast a straight ballot so this is one Republican I will be voting for. Pashinski wins big.

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.

O'Connor Kickoff tonight

The Luzerne County GOP sent this heads up:


Campaign Kickoff

Terrence O’Connor

Republican Candidate for State Representative, 118th District

Monday, April 19, 7 p.m.

Dupont VFW, Main Street, Dupont

O'Conner is the only candidate for the nomination and will take on Democratic State Rep. Mike Carroll in the fall.

Here is list of what is important to him from the issues page on his website:

Issues

PROTECT OUR LIBERTIES
• Support state sovereignty under the 10th amendment.
• Fight unconstitutional federal takeovers of healthcare and industry.
• Support the Pa. Freedom of Healthcare Act (House Bill 2053 of 2009).

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
• Reduce the size of state government
• Lower taxes on individuals and businesses
• No toll booths on Route 80
• Lower property taxes

ENERGY
• Build nuclear power plants to meet growing energy needs and create jobs.
• Drill for natural gas to reduce dependence on foreign energy.
• Marcellus shale drilling creates jobs, economic growth and domestic energy.

PROTECT 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS
• Repeal state sales tax on ammunition.
• Reclaim abandoned quarries by converting to public shooting ranges.

Renee Butts out

At a campaign event for GOP Controller candidate Bob Sypniewski last May Renee Butts announced that she will be seeking the Republican nomination for the 118th State Rep District seat held by Democrat Mike Carroll. Well, things change and Renee now has other priorities.

.

So far I haven't heard of any Republican willing to take on any of the Democratic Luzerne County state legislators next year. I hope that some people will be willing to step up to the plate because I hate unopposed elections. After this year's version of the state budget fiasco they all deserve an opponent and that includes Republican Karen Boback.

.

Renee was kind enough to send along an explanation of her decision:

.

I apologize to the many who pledged to support me in my race for State Representative for the 118th Legislative District, and to all the people of the 118th who need a voice and need to be heard by their state representative, but I am no longer going to contend for this position.

Mr. Right proposed to me, and Mr. Right (one of the few conservative young men in this area) does not live in the 118th, and I’ve chosen the greater certainty of a life with Mr. Right over running against an incumbent Dem in NEPA (i.e. David vs. Goliath). My fiancé works in Hazleton – a long commute from the 118th. It would have been a bit premature to ask him to sell a house and move for an election I may not win. (I don’t think there are too many jobs for chemical engineers in the area, either.)

I feel as if I am letting down many of you. I’m sorry I was not able to be the person and the voice you needed. I wish I could find someone to take my place. I hope and pray that the 118th will find someone worthy to represent them or that the incumbent will make you more of a priority and change some of his stances, such as the tolling of I-80.

As I am no longer running, I feel compelled to tell you what else colored my decision. The other element to my decision was people in my own party. Yes, fellow Republicans. And I suppose what this comes down to isn’t one party or another – it is what is right for the people. I met with some resistance from Republicans who felt I should have worked for other state reps. They trotted out my former opponent’s resume, which includes working for people whom they wish to remove from office. (Why would they have wanted me to work for these people again?) They were willing to support someone they disagreed with instead of a young woman with a will to fight and a heartfelt desire to defend the best interests of the 118th and the interests of all Pennsylvanians, not to mention a woman whose ideals jived with their own. However, this was not the primary reason. Again, the primary reason is Mr. Right. Otherwise, I thought it might have, at the very least, been fun to try to win over these people. And, if not, prove them wrong, prove to them that I could have been their voice and worked tirelessly for them.

However, I do want to give a special thanks to the West End Republicans of Monroe County. These people were willing to whole-heartedly throw their support behind a political newcomer, not even from their hometown. But they liked what I had to say. There is a lot of heart there and anyone who would take my place would find a wealth of tireless enthusiasm and great welcome from these wonderful people. I wasn’t even from their county, but we connected over a desire for a different direction for Pennsylvania.

And to the many people who think I loathe Democrats, all of my bridesmaids are members of your party. But friendship, and the willingness to pull each other out of sticky situations definitely crosses the aisle. Though we disagree politically (I may loathe their ideals, and they may loathe mine), we are always there for each other. I hope that whichever party your next state representative is from will make the same commitment to you, because that is his responsibility. I hope that your next state rep can be truly a part of your communities, a part of your lives, and serve you proudly.

God Bless you all! I only hope for the best for you!

.

Renee Butts

The Mericle of money

Multi-party Bob Mericle was named as Participant number 2 in the Juvie Brothers bribery scandal that hit the news last January and in August he was charged with being part of it.

He is going to skate.

That hasn't prevented him from greasing the wheels this year as he has always done.

The Pennsylvania Department of State’s Campaign Finance website lists the money Mericle has been spreading around just this year. It's an old habit with Bob.

March 17th he gave $500 to State Rep John Yudichak

May 27th $10,000.00 to State Senator Ray Musto

On July 1st Mike Carroll recieved $2500 from Bob.


The kicker is his May 24th contribution to Bill Amesbury, Luzerne County Judge candidate, on May 24th of $500.

Update: Mericle donated $100 to Democratic Prothonotary candidate Nancy Bellas on April 9th

Renee Butts for State Represenative

At a campaign event for GOP Controller candidate Bob Sypniewski a few weeks ago Renee Butts announced that she will be seeking the Republican nomination for the 118th State Rep District seat held by Democrat Mike Carroll.


Renee is a resident of Laflin and graduated from Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre. She got a BA in English from Kings College and her Masters from Wilkes University. Her hot issues are reducing property taxes, cutting wasteful spending in Harrisburg and opposes tolls on I-80. She wants to crack down on puppy mills and has a Husky named Reagan. Butts made a short speech emphasizing that she wasn't going to run away from the area like so many people who have aspirations to be a teacher but don't have the political connections to get hired. She said she will stand and fight.


She should have a website up soon. I asked her for a statement on her candidacy:

My name is Renee Butts and I am running for State Representative for the 118th Legislative District. I will cut wasteful government spending and thus lower taxes. I shall encourage more businesses offering more desirable jobs to come to our area to help combat the brain drain. I will make some changes in our state that will benefit the taxpayers.
.
I have been an active member of Voice of the People USA since 2007. We have spoken out for legal immigration, spoken out against drugs and crime in our communities, spoken out for free speech, and spoken out vehemently against wasteful government spending. Pennsylvania ranks 44th in the country for personal income growth. I'm hoping to better this deplorable statistic.
.
I have also worked for Luzerne County Commissioner Steve Urban. He has been a mentor and role model to me.
.
I have also volunteered at His Resting Place Maternity Home to tutor a woman residing there as well as teaching a free creative writing class. I have been closely involved with the my father, Bob Butts, in his Kindness Grant program. Among the Kindness Grants we have distributed, we have given to Wyoming Seminary Lower School to promote empathy among students and also we gave a Kindness Grant to an animal shelter to save a Siberian Husky with heart worms.
.
I have taken education courses at Wilkes University and completed my student teaching at Pittston Area. I am well-aware of the wasteful spending of school districts, the rife nepotism, the problems within our educational system, and also the struggles of working parents to be there for their children. I possess a BA from King's College in English/Writing and an MA in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. Cee Kay Auto is our family business. I am in touch with the struggles facing business owners and their employees.
.
I will, if the people choose me, hold monthly town hall meetings - each in a different area of the 118th - to address the concerns of the taxpayers and to keep them informed of what is taking place in the PA House. I am hoping that we can work together to revitalize Pennsylvania.


She has experience speaking to a crowd like this address to the anti-immigrant group Voice of the People in May 2008.

Gerrymandering

During the last round of redistricting they took Scranton out of the 10th Congressional District adding it to the 11th and split Luzerne County in half putting the back mountain in the 10th. Above Average Jane points out that Montgomery county has been chopped into pieces and the Pocono Record reports that Monroe county was diced into six state senate districts after the 2000 census. An Inky Columnist says one family has Joe Sestak as it's Congressman but if you live in the garage Jim Gerlach is your guy and a block away it's Allyson Schwartz's territory.

This is nuts, as a minimum districts should make geographic sense as much as possible. Sure, there will have to be nibbling at the corners to meet the population requirements but the computer modeled machinations of both parties has to end. The only way to end this is to take the power to draw district lines away from the legislature and give it to an independent commission like other states. But the catch is that it would require amending the Pennsylvania Constitution and the clock is running out.

Inky: On Monday, a strong reform, backed by Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, will be unveiled in Harrisburg as House Bill 2420. The clock is ticking on it already. Because the reform requires a constitutional amendment, the bill must achieve first passage this June to prevent another Keystone gerrymander in 2011. (New Jersey has a relatively sane system.)
This bill would ordain that districts should be compact and contiguous, should not split municipalities needlessly, and should preserve communities of interest. Importantly, the bill would bar the use of voter data to lock in political advantage through computer modeling.

Luzerne County 118th State Rep Mike Carroll is a co-sponsor of HB 2420. Thanks Mike, now convince Todd, Phyllis, Yuddy, Eddie Day and Karen to get behind this effort.

Looking to the fall-State Rep races

Or lack of contests. Barring some write-in efforts that I'm not aware of it looks like our 5 Luzerne County Democratic state representatives will be unopposed in November. I read that Todd Eachus has secured both nominations in the 116th District getting 800+ write-ins on the GOP side. In the 120th Phyllis Mundy has no opposition and the same goes for Eddie Day Pashinski in the 121st as well as John Yudichak in the 119th. Mike Carroll cruised to victory in the 118th primary with no announced Republican taking him on in the general.

That leaves the 117th District Republican Freshman Karen Boback as the only one being challenged in November. 2006 Republican 20th Senatorial candidate Russ Bigus recently switched to the Democrats and is on the ballot. Boback beat a little known Dem last time by 2 to 1 after winning a crowded primary. This time she won the primary by about 1100 votes out of 7300 cast while Bigus was unopposed for the Democratic nomination and garnered 5665. The question now is will Bigus be able to use his past GOP ties and tap into the resentment I'm hearing from some back mountain Republicans about the slash and burn tactics of the Boback camp.

118th State Rep debate tonight

The League of Women Voters of Wilkes-Barre is hosting a public debate between state Rep. Mike Carroll and P.J. Best at 7 p.m. Thursday at Pittston Area High School auditorium, 5 Stout St., Yatesville