"It’s not a valid strategy, it's ridiculous," Rep. Tom Tigue, D-Hughestown

It maybe a ridiculous strategy but it's worth a try. The Times-Tribune has the story of the anti-pay raise group making some noise in northeastern Pennsylvania:

An anti-incumbent group hoping to recruit challengers to run against more than 200 state lawmakers next year has decided to debut a round of radio ads in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

PACleanSweep plans to run three, 30-second radio ads on Pittston Township-based WILK-AM starting Tuesday. The ads will air a total of 20 times over a weeklong run at a cost of $250, according to PACleanSweep founder Russ Diamond.

"We thought we'd start (the radio ads) in an area where we need to recruit more candidates," he said. "We have a few candidates in the region, but the number pales in comparison to other regions of the commonwealth."Mr. Diamond estimates his group has found candidates for "between 10 and 20 percent" of the legislative races in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. He would not identify specific seats where his group has fielded challengers, saying he did not want to give incumbents a sneak peek at potential opponents."Part of our strategy is to keep the incumbents in the dark for as long as possible," Mr. Diamond said. His group plans to formally announce its roster of candidates during a Capitol press conference during the week of Jan. 30.

Running radio ads to recruit candidates? Unfortunately around these parts if you get elected the first time you are probably there for life. I hate uncontested elections and if the pay raise issue inspires some people to run for office that's great.

Political ghost

Tom Pizano did such a bang up job as Luzerne County Commissioner that he didn't even try to get re-elected and returned to his farm to grow pumpkins and azaleas. But like a scene out of Night of the Living Dead he will again be haunting the halls of the courthouse. A press release from Luzerne County Clerk of Courts Bob Reilly said:

"Tom's knowledge and understand of county government, along with his ability to work well with others make him a fantastic choice for deputy."
After years of making sure the well connected were put on the payroll he gets his payback. First Frank Pizzella is hired by Judge Lokuta, now this. The good old boy network is alive and well in the courthouse. Bob Reilly is in the running to replace Kevin Blaum in the state house and I guess he thinks this will help him with the Democratic party establishment. That may be true but he just lost my vote.

Luzerne County gets a new Coroner

From the CV:

Gov. Ed Rendell has nominated Dr. Jack Consalvo, 59, of Wilkes-Barre, to fill the unexpired term of Dr. George E. Hudock Jr., who died Oct. 2 in the middle of his ninth term in office. Consalvo, a deputy coroner for about 10 years, heads the emergency room at the former Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre. Consalvo is not a pathologist and can't perform autopsies. But he believes he can serve the office well. He interned as a surgeon early in his medical career but has spent the majority of it specializing in emergency medicine and toxicology. He is board certified in forensic medicine and can testify in court as an expert witness on medical issues, as well as interpret medical records and offer expert opinions.

I don't know the man but his resume suggests that he is qualified for the job. Dr. Hudock will be a hard act to follow as anyone who knew him will attest. He was a pathologist who performed his own autopsies which saved the county an enormous amount of money over the years. There was a pathologist in the running for the job but she was registered in the wrong party. This is one job that should not have anything to do with politics but that's not the way the world works.

Wilkes-Barre Township

The outstanding public officials in Wilkes-Barre Township can't even meet a deadline or get the paperwork in order.

A strip club is going to open down the street from the Arena, something the local fathers have opposed and vowed to stop. But they did not follow the law in their attempt to stop it as reported in the TL:

Commonwealth Court on Monday agreed with a Luzerne County judge, saying the township must allow the club to open because it failed to hold a hearing on owner Sal Scalzo’s zoning application.

The court battle hinged on a ruling by Judge Michael Conahan, who said township officials were obligated to issue permits for the club because Scalzo was not provided a zoning hearing within 60 days of his application. That meant the application was deemed approved by default.

The problem, Conahan said – and Commonwealth Court agreed – was that the township never notified Scalzo in writing that it felt the application was faulty.

But it may be a solution to the local unemployment problem if the CV is to believed:

A chance to make money by taking off their clothes and swinging around poles has enticed more than 800 women to seek employment at a planned Wilkes-Barre Township strip club, said owner Sal Scalzo.

Who's going to Harrisburg?

The race to succeed Kevin Blaum, D-Wilkes-Barre, as 121st Legislative District representative is on. Kevin has held this seat for the last 25 years and the next person might be there just as long. Unlike some of our local placeholders, George Hasay comes to mind, he actually did some good for the area. There's alot of speculation and feelers about who is going to run for this seat and this is what I've heard. Wilkes-Barre Attorney Bill Vinsko is the early favorite according to a few elected officials and committee people I have talked to . He has been a good party soldier and has some favors to call in. W-B city councilwomen Kathy Kane won the most votes in the last election and her husband Marty Kane is a fixture in local politics. Bob Reilly has been threatening to run for higher office for a long time. He was a city councilman and Democratic chairman when he got elected to the Clerk of Courts job. A few years back he was talking about taking on Kanjorski. The O'Conner clan has there golden boy in Neil O'Donnell and Marty Murry's grandson might be a candidate.

We have some good races in Luzerne County with 2 open seats. Haggerty is the favorite to win the state senate seat Charlie Lemmond has held for so long and the W-B represenative's spot is anyone's guess.

Happy Christmas

I'm note sure if this guy is a part of the War on Christmas or if he just wants to make sure he gets his presents. I wish everyone a joyous Holiday Season no matter what or how you celebrate.

Check out Miss Cellania for more holiday fun.

Bush and Santorum poll numbers

The new Strategic Vision poll of likely voters in Pennsylvania indicates that the people of the Commonwealth are not happy with these two.

Do you approve or disapprove of President Bush's overall job performance? Approve 38% Disapprove 55% Undecided 7%

Do you approve or disapprove of President Bush's handling of the economy? Approve 35% Disapprove 57% Undecided 8%

Do you approve or disapprove of President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq? Approve 41% Disapprove 50% Undecided 9%

On the 3 big questions of the day over half disapprove of Bush's job performance. But Santorum (R-VA) is still carrying water for him even when he does things that may not be legal like spy on people in the US without a warrant. From the Inquirer:

Santorum, a member of the Senate GOP leadership, had no qualms. "The senator recognizes that in times of war, the President has the constitutional oversight or the constitutional ability to do whatever is necessary to protect the American people," Santorum spokesman Robert L. Traynham said. "He fully supports the President's ability to protect American lives by going this step in terms of listening in on conversations." Traynham said Santorum was not among the congressional leaders who had been briefed on the surveillance program.

Santorum's numbers are also in the tank.

Do you approve or disapprove of United States Senator Rick Santorum's job performance? Approve 40% Disapprove 47% Undecided 13%

If the election for United States Senate were held today, and the choice was between Robert Casey, Jr., the Democrat and Rick Santorum, the Republican, whom would you vote for?
Robert Casey 50% Rick Santorum 39% Other 1% Undecided 10%

Now he is running away from his support of teaching Intelligent Design in public schools. The Inquirer documents his flip-flop:

In a 2002 Washington Times op-ed, Santorum wrote: "Therefore, intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes." But in recent interviews, including one in August on National Public Radio, Santorum said: "I'm not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom." Santorum said his statements are not contradictory, nor has his position changed.

Santorum raised the national profile of intelligent design in 2001 by introducing a "teach the controversy" amendment to the No Child Left Behind bill. The Santorum amendment was approved, 91-8, by the Senate and placed in a legislative history report. It validated the push by some school districts to teach alternatives to evolution. But science groups attacked the amendment and lobbied successfully to keep it out of the final version of the legislation.

Maybe Ricky is starting to realize that people are tired of having religion used to divide us and want our leaders to concentrate on what is important. He will now have to worry that Pat Robertson will put out a contract on him.

Barons heading to Allentown

According to the Philadelphia Daily News my baseball team is heading south:

The ride to the major leagues will soon get shorter for top Phillies farm hands. After next season, the Phillies are expected to end their affiliation with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after nearly 20 years and move into a new Triple A park that has been approved for construction in Allentown and is scheduled to be completed by 2007.

"Nothing is finalized, but after 2006, we probably won't end up with a working agreement with Scranton," said Mike Arbuckle, the Phillies' assistant general manager in charge of player development.

The stadium is assured of a replacement team, probably the Orioles AAA team now located in Ottawa, but if this is true it stinks. I wonder how much the political wrangling between the Lackawanna County Commissioners and the stadium authority has to do with this. I can't blame the Phillies management if they decided that these people are nuts and don't want to do business with them anymore. Commissioners Robert Cordaro and A.J. Munchak should be run out of town if they let this happen without a fight.

The War on War

The War on War

We have many wars going on. The War in Iraq, the War on terrorism, the War on drugs, the War on poverty, the War on want, the War on Journalism, the War on Christmas, the War on spam, etc……………

How many wars can we fight at once? Maybe we should use a different word to define the challenges before us.

The Dover decision

The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy. It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy.-U.S. District Judge John E. Jones

Yahoo News: A federal judge dealt a major setback Tuesday to backers of the idea that some forms of life are so complex that they must be the product of an intelligent designer. Judge John Jones ruled that it is unconstitutional to teach the concept in public school science classes because it is :a religious view. The case, the first court test of intelligent design, or ID, was the latest in a series of challenges to evolution that go back to the 1925 Scopes trial, when a Tennessee high school science teacher was convicted of teaching Darwin's theory that humans and apes evolved from a common ancestor.

Just because a judge ruled it is religion and not science will not deter some people. From the CV:

Northwest Area School District has no plans to add intelligent design to its science classes, after a federal ruling Tuesday banned the theory from biology classes in Dover, PA. School board member Randy Tomasacci, who has been advocating a discussion of intelligent design's place in the curriculum since February, said members of the board "came to an understanding" last month that intelligent design wasn't appropriate for a science curriculum.
Still, Tomasacci isn't entirely giving up on the theory, which U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III called "a mere re-labeling of creationism" in his decision. The board member has received support from district residents and he wants to encourage "a healthy exchange of ideas."Intelligent design might be destined for a Northwest social science course, or as a topic of discussion in current events. The board will discuss the theory"s future at a January curriculum board meeting to see "how to teach it where," Tomasacci said.

This guy wants to find a back door to teach religion in public schools and if he is successful the school district will surely end up in court

Tomasacci seemed glad another district had tested the issue in the courts. The Northwest board has no desire to get locked up in litigation, he said.

Maybe he should read the whole opinion. Especially this part:

The students, parents, and teachers of the Dover Area School District deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom, with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources.

Kevin Blaum

State Rep. Kevin Blaum, D-Wilkes-Barre, 121st Legislative District announced he will not seek a 14th term in Harrisburg. I speculated a few weeks back on who might run for state represenative when I heard a rumor that he may retire. He will always be remembered for his leadership to get the Arena built. I first met him when he was a young high school teacher that won a seat on the Wilkes-Barre City council at the ripe old age of 22. We both worked on the 1976 Jimmy Carter campaign and he later defeated a long time party hack for the state rep seat. I missed the race against Bernie O'Brien because I was off seeing the world in the Air Force but have always followed his carrer. Now we speculate on who will run for the seat but I'm going to hold off on that until I talk to a few people. Here are some highlights from his letter in the TL:

In May 1974, at the age of 22, I graduated from the University of Scranton with a bachelor of science degree in education and a burning desire to serve my community. By the end of the year I was announcing my candidacy for city council. There were 21 candidates in the 1975 primary to fill four seats on council. Unknown and fresh out of college, my chances of victory were further diminished when I drew the 21st spot on the ballot: dead last. I was so far down on the list of candidates, voters needed binoculars to find my name. Yet, when the numbers were tallied, in May and November, we received more votes than any other candidate. I had won my first two elections. Little did I know there would be 28 more elections to come. After serving five years on council, you elected me to the House of Representatives in 1980. I was 28 years old. Two years later I was married. Caroline was born in 1985, Elizabeth in ’88. This is the only life Beth and the girls have ever known. Indeed, it is their unwavering love and support that allowed me to do this wonderful job … and to build an arena. When my current term is complete on Nov. 30th of next year, I will be 54 years old and have served 13 terms or 26 exciting years in the House of Representatives.....

From the bottom of my heart I thank all of you for your trust, your kindness, endorsements and the extraordinary opportunity you gave me to serve. Each day I consciously worked to be the best representative any community ever had. However, I now write to tell you there is more I wish to do. First and foremost I do not want to miss any more field hockey games. I want to return to the field of education, I’d like to volunteer my time to organizations and projects that seek a better and brighter community for us all, and so much more. Therefore, I respectfully ask your blessing and support as I now seek a promotion from the humble status of public servant to the lofty position of private citizen. Toward that end, and for the first time in my adult life, I will not be a candidate for election to the House of Representatives in 2006. Beth and I reached this decision four years ago when I was quite ready to step out of the political arena at age 50.
But in early 2002, after long deliberation, I decided to remain in the House two additional terms because of several important pending community projects and the near certain election of a governor who might be persuaded to help fund them. While we look forward with great anticipation to our new private lives, be assured I am not going anywhere. The future of our region remains paramount in my mind.

Finally, there are 11 months remaining in this, my final term in the House of Representatives. I better get back to work. Thank you again for an extraordinary 31 years.
God bless you all.

Klink 2

When Bob Casey was selected by the power brokers in Washington to run against Rick Santorum (R-VA) it was de ja vu all over again. In 2000 Ron Klink was the insiders choice to take on Ricky because of his stands on abortion and guns. Of course the abortion hotheads and gun nuts all backed Santorum anyway and Klink could not raise enough money from Democratic donors to be competitive. I find it insulting that the rest of the country thinks that all we have to do is nominate a Republican-lite candidate to have a chance. In 2000 the clear choice was Allyson Schwartz. She would have made her differences with Santorum clear instead of saying "me too" and would have excited the Democratic base. In the end Gore won the state and Klink lost by 5% after being outspent 7:1 (thanks LV). If we had a real Democrat that talked about important issues instead of the hot button nonsense things may have been different.

I have covered the other senate candidates and they are not afraid to spell out their positions. Almost a year out from the election the only people paying attention are political junkies but I am seeing a growing rebellion in the Netroots. This post on Lou's List got me thinking:

Chuck Pennacchio clearly believes that getting on the same stage with Casey is his chance to pick up significant support, and the poll results show he may be right. And that's only one issue. Casey is widely considered to be a weak debater and his mastery of many national issues is questioned. Santorum has also been chomping at the bit to debate Casey.

One thing that is certain is Casey will have no problem raising money. In fact he is getting money from the same people who back Santorum as Maria of 2 Poltical Junkies point out:

THERE'S STILL A PRIMARY ON MAY 16TH. There's a candidate out there who refuses to take money from any PAC. He's actually pro-choice in a BLUE STATE. And that matters because Casey is completely anti-choice. Perhaps that's why Casey's slipped 6 points in the polls. Despite his best efforts, the electorate is starting to learn what his views are and who backs him.

Furthermore a recent Quinnipiac Poll shows that:

When it is pointed out to pro-choice Casey voters that he and Santorum both oppose legalized abortion, 63 percent of the Democrat's supporters say they still will vote for him, while 22 percent say they will not vote in this race. Hear that Schumer, Reid and Hillary? Twenty-two percent will sit out the race because you all decided that it was good for the party to run an anti-choice candidate in a BLUE STATE. And that 22% means bye-bye to a Casey win.

Dragonballyee ( did I spell it right?) talks about how Casey is not in touch with the people who care and can help him:

I don't have a problem with Casey Jr. speaking at a law firm. But it seems that it's stops like this that are the only ones he's making and I think that's shitty. I haven't heard or read of a single account of him showing up at a grassroots event. A Meetup. A Drinking Liberally. A rally. There's nothing wrong with raising money. There is something wrong with not talking to the people.

I haven't seen Casey Jr. speak clearly on a lot of issues. Say the Iraq war. The slow-moving Casey campaign still hasn't reacted to Rep. Murtha's call for withdrawal. Chuck Pennacchio didn't see the Iraq war as the right move and has been calling for troop withdrawal for ages.
It annoys me that people agree with Chuck Pennacchio's stance on the issues but give money to Casey Jr. It really annoys me that Rendell-Reid-Schumer made the PA Senate race what it now is.

Comments From Left Field has hope:

Currently Casey's biggest challenger, Chuck Pennacchio, recognizes this weakness as well and is stumping all over the state picking up supporters at a rapid pace. While his campaign is not highly financed, this should not be seen as a negative because he has refused to take corporate PAC money, something Casey certainly can not say. In an interview earlier this week with Family Life TV in Kittanning Pennacchio had this to say about the money issue;
"We turn that to our advantage by running against the money, I'm happy to be running without that albatross (of corporate donors)."

I will repeat what I have stated all along about this race, Pennsylvania Democrats deserve to make up their own minds about who is best suited to challenge Rick Santorum in a general election, not have it decided by power brokers in Washington. It is my opinion that Chuck Pennacchio is a people's candidate formed in the mold of Paul Wellstone and someone I would be proud to call Senator.

Haggerty has the bucks and Skrep opens a restaurant

"Trust me, this isn’t going to be a place to let people get drunk out of their mind." Greg Skrepenak Luzerne County commissioner

That makes me feel good. So his Dad has a place that will display all of his trophys called Big Ugly's on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard. From the TL:

The younger Skrepenak, a former NFL lineman and All-American football player at University of Michigan, said he told his father he won’t be able to work there during the day because he must focus on his commissioner duties. He does intend to be a regular at night, helping out and socializing.

It looks like he will not get into the race for the 20th senatorial district and hopefuly will give up being a county commissioner when his term expires. My advice is ride your fame and make your bucks. It looks like he may be taking that advice.



Kingston Mayor James Haggerty spent $90,000 to win a job that pays $8000 a year. He has $18,000 on hand but debts of over $29,000. I'm sure he can raise much more for this race and the TL gives a summary who he is indebted to already.

He will fit right in. Harrisburg has many politicians that owe their loyalty to the money that sent them there and send them back. More of the same.

Government pay raise

As a service to those who find this site by doing a search for "government pay raise" here is the scoop.

December 1, 2005

Bush approves 3.1 percent pay raise

President Bush has formally approved a 3.1 percent average pay raise for white-collar federal employees next year. The raise is included in the fiscal 2006 Transportation-Treasury appropriations measure (H.R. 3058), which Bush signed Wednesday.

The 3.1 percent increase provides pay parity between civilians and military service members. The Bush administration had proposed a 2.3 percent civilian increase, but as in previous years, the president ultimately accepted a larger raise backed by both the House and Senate.
Now President Bush must decide how the raise will be divided between an across-the-board increase and locality pay differentials. Earlier this year, the Federal Salary Council recommended that 2.1 percent be allocated to across-the-board pay and 1 percent to locality raises. Historically, the president has followed the council's advice.

John Spencer

LOS ANGELES - John Spencer, who played a tough and dedicated politico on The West Wing who survived a serious illness to run for vice president, died of a heart attack Friday. He was 58. Spencer died after being admitted to a Los Angeles hospital during the night, said his publicist, Ron Hofmann. He would have been 59 on Tuesday.

Spencer played Leo McGarry, the savvy and powerful chief of staff to President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet (Martin Sheen). In a sad parallel to life, Spencer’s character suffered a heart attack that forced him to give up his White House job. McGarry recovered and was picked as a running mate for Democratic presidential contender Matt Santos, played by Jimmy Smits; the campaign against Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) has been a central theme for the drama this season.

Many of us are big fans of the West Wing, including this guy. We are going to miss the Leo character and it will be interesting to see how they write this into the show.

More tax forgiveness

The Wilkes-Barre Area School Board voted to forgive more than $310,000 in school taxes on four blighted city properties. Newcomer Lynn Evans on Wednesday night was the lone dissenting vote. I knew there was a reason why she was the only one I voted for in the school board election.

The Times-Leader has had a series of articles examining the Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) program that confirms what many of has suspected, it hasn't worked. I did some math using the TL numbers for Wilkes-Barre. I may be wrong but I come up with $3.7 million in tax breaks since 1999 that has produced a net 640 jobs.

These items caught my attention:

Half of the KOZ properties in the city are owned by the city itself or government-related agencies. Many are dilapidated or abandoned properties that haven't attracted investors, even with their tax-free status. Others such as City Hall, Public Square Park and police headquarters make little sense as targets for developers.

Thirteen property owners who were granted KOZ status, and have enjoyed about $37,000 in relief from municipal property taxes, have reported no new investment or jobs since joining the program, according to applications filed with the state.

Tax reasons may help when a business is opened but is not the only one. The KOZ program is not the answer.

The report in the CV had this: Leighton said his desk is stacked with developers willing to revitalize the former Old River Road Bakery, Radnor Building on South Washington Street, Academy Street Market and First National Bank building on Public Square. Outstanding taxes are the only obstacle, he said.

"Everything in the city is tax exempt and none of the places are filled," Evans said following the meeting. ""Bring us the people who are interested. He said he has a stack of people interested. Where are they?" asked Evans.

A resonable request. If there are companies interested in developing these properties and want a tax break to do it they can at least tell the taxpayers want they have in mind.

Progress in Wilkes-Barre

I just heard on channel 16 that the new state office building is now open where the hole used to be. It's relocating over 200 jobs to downtown
W-B. The theater project is behind schedule but will be completed soon. The new firehouse in North End (left) is coming along. Thanks to Markie for the pic. And Coal Street Park is getting a makeover. I know all these government sponsored projects are important but the most promising thing to me is the opening of the new Schiel's Supermarket in Parsons.

A new business in the city done without tax breaks or government funding is the best news the city can get. How many properties have been given a tax break to the well connected owners that never produced a job? This is the first major business to open in the city in a long time. The place is great, brand new building, wide aisles, lots of parking and all the latest gizmos at the check-out. They opened their first store in the old Giant store on Hanover Street and created over 100 jobs. There were tax incentives that lured them to that location and it has been a hit but it was not the most important reason. Mayor Tom Leighton is trying to get everyone to buy into his "I believe" campaign and he may even get an old cynic like me to buy into it if we see more success like this.

Politics and sports don't mix

I hope the people who made this decision remember Dubya is a big baseball fan.

Daily News Wire Services

Cuba won't be allowed to send a team to next year's inaugural World Baseball Classic, the U.S. government told event organizers yesterday.

The decision by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control was conveyed to Major League Baseball yesterday, according to Pat Courtney, a spokesman for the commissioner's office. A permit from OFAC is necessary because of U.S. laws governing certain commercial transactions with Fidel Castro's communist island nation.

Paul Archey, the senior vice president of Major League Baseball International, and Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the Major League Baseball Players Association, issued a joint statement saying the organizers would try to have the decision reversed. The commissioner's office and the union have jointly organized the 16-team tournament, which runs from March 3-20 in the United States, Puerto Rico and Japan.

"We are very disappointed with the government's decision to deny the participation of a team from Cuba in the World Baseball Classic," Archey and Orza said. "We will continue to work within appropriate channels in an attempt to address the government"s concerns and will not announce a replacement unless and until that effort fails."

If only Castro had signed with the Yankees.

The Mayor demurs

From the Times-Tribune:

If Mayor Chris Doherty is running for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor next year, it’s news to him.

Posts on a message board on the political Web site www.keystonepolitics.com, speculated last week about the mayor running for the seat currently held by Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll. "No truth at all," Mr. Doherty said. "I just got re-elected. " Gov. Ed Rendell, who is up for re-election next year, is an ally of the mayor. However, Mr. Doherty said the governor hasn't asked him to run and he would say no if asked.

This guy raised almost a million dollars to get re-elected the mayor of a small city so I think he can raise enough money($5mil) to make a statewide bid. It stinks that you measure the viability of a candidate by the amount of money they can attract but that is the way of the world of politics. If Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll decides to bow out, and there is pressure on her to do that, he would be an attractive replacement. For all the ins and outs, and this and thats, and ticket balancing, no one votes for Lieutenant Governor or Vice-President. But they may get the top job. Just don't hurt the ticket.

LVDem calls it:

We're making waves here folks! That's a great mention. Follow my logic. Somebody close to Doherty plants the news here. The print folks pick it up. Doherty initially says he hasn't thought about the matter. His people float it again. Print folks pick it up again but this time Doherty says he is considering it as people from around the state are starting to approach him for a run. Two weeks later, Doherty makes a formal statement about whether or not he is running.

The Mayor and higher office

To everyone's surprise (not) Kingston Mayor Jim Haggerty has entered the race to succeed retiring state Sen. Charles Lemmond. It's funny that there were no stories about his official announcement in the local rags today, yesterday both papers had pre-announcement stories. The CV story wasn't on the website but was in the print version and the TL write up was available in both. The Times-Leader had this write-up:

Kingston Mayor Jim Haggerty will throw his hat in the ring in the competitive Republican race for retiring state Sen. Charles Lemmond's seat. Haggerty plans to announce his candidacy tomorrow at his Kingston law office.

"Obviously, we'll get into greater detail on Wednesday," Haggerty said Monday night.
"What I can say now is since Sen. Lemmond's announcement, there has been a tremendous outpouring of support for me to run for this office because of the tremendous record of success in Kingston under my leadership," he said. "After looking at the district and the race, we"re convinced it"s a campaign we can and will win."

Don't you just love politicians who talk about themselves in the third person? We are not amused.

The Citizens Voice (not on web) points out he spent big bucks for TV ads in his re-election bid for Mayor of Kingston against token opposition. And he admits it helped gain name recognition in the six counties that make up the 20th senatorial district.

Four other Republicans have announced their intentions to run for the seat: Russell Bigus, Dallas Township, Lisa Baker of Lehman Township; Ronald Chvotzkin, Jackson Township home; and Dallas resident David Madeira.