This weeks events

A whole lot of meetin n'grettin going on in the runup to the election. The sad thing is maybe 20% of registered voters will actually cast a ballot.

MEET DEFABO NIGHT

A meet-and-greet for Luzerne County Council candidate Paul DeFabo will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the North End Tavern, 553 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre.


Larksville meet-and-greet

Jim Fender, Joe Mazur and Thomas Pieczyncki will host a meet-and-greet for Luzerne County council candidate Renee Ciaruffoli-Taffera and other political candidates from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fiddlers Green Irish Pub, State Street, Larksville.



SOROKAS MEET-AND-GREET

Bob and Joan Pipech will host a meet-and-greet for Luzerne County council candidate Eileen M. Sorokas and the political candidates of Mountain Top from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday at Januzzi's Pizza, Route 309, Mountain Top.


Kokura rally


Attorney Alexandra Kokura, Democratic nominee for magisterial district judge in the greater Pittston area, will hold a free community rally from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Dupont VFW.


Coffee and desert with Harry Haas 

Thursday 6PM

 Join Harry Haas for an informal meet-and-greet as he seeks re-election to Luzerne County Council.
Stop by on your way home from work and talk to Harry about his goals for making Luzerne County government more efficient, transparent and accountable.
Harry would like to catch up with old friends and supporters as well as new ones.
This is your chance to meet Harry in an informal setting.

Culled from the the CV, Facebook and emails.

Luzerne County candidate forum

Via Political scene



The Downtown Residents Association is sponsoring a Luzerne County candidates forum from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 21 at Wilkes University's Henry Center Ballroom, 84 W. South St., Wilkes-Barre.
Candidates running for Luzerne County Council and controller will speak.

Admission is free and parking is available.

Council candidates Renee Ciaruffoli Taffera, Paul DeFabo, Kathy Dobash, Michael Giamber, Harry Haas, Richard "Kick" Heffron, Eugene Kelleher, Linda McCloskey Houck, Sue Rossi, Eileen Sorokas and Rick Williams; and controller candidates Carolee Medico Olengiski and Michelle Bednar plan to attend. For information, call 570-826-0410.

Walter endorses Carolee

Gort


I am supporting Carolee for Controller. We need someone that understands our government and Michelle Bednar is a nice person but doesnt know how the COunty Government is used against the Taxpayers. Carolee will stand firm for the people and wont be intimidated by the Players of COunty COuncil or County Manager. The function of Independent Watchdog is first and foremost before audits and Carolee knows this because she has lived the corruption in our county,

Walter Griffith Jr

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

 

Meet the candidate

 Get together with incumbent Luzerne County Councilor Linda Houk (D)



Meet and greet  for Linda McClosky Houck
Wednesday, October 16, 2013, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Holy Family Parish Hall, 574 Bennett St, Luzerne


On FB:  Campaign Event for Linda McClosky Houck

Barry Kresge for Plains Twp Commissioner

Plains is a great place to live. For the most part crime is low with most of it being a domestic dispute, the Turkey Hill getting robbed or some nonsense at the Moghegan Sun or The Woodlands. Our streets are being paved and the price of trash bags was reduced because of the windfall from the Casino. That being said not everything is perfect and we can always use some improvement.

Barry Kresge is the GOP nominee for Supervisor:

My name is Barry Kresge, Jr. My ambition is to become one of the five commissioners this coming November. Like you, I care about where I live and I would like to play an integral part in helping our community grow stronger and brighter for all residents of today and tomorrow. Below, I would like to address a few issues that I would fiercely attempt to accomplish with the support of the township residents.

FIRST: I propose we put aside a percentage of the income we receive from the casino to start a "Rainy Day Fund." The current board of commissioners bought new DPW equipment, trucks, police cars and other items that the township needed. But in turn, cost the township a significant amount of dollars. We as a township receive a formidable amount of dollars each year from the casino. I would like to put those dollars toward projects that may prove to be beneficial to residents. The township made ends meet before the casino. The extra cash flow should be used to improve our community, make it safer and a more desirable place to live.

Second: I propose we revise and potentially change out recycling program. Right now, Plains offers curb side pickup only once a month. Or, we can drop off recycling at the DPW, yet this is inconvenient for many of us. As such, even Saturday hours are difficult to make when we lead such hectic lives. Many households try to recycle as much as possible. But we find some months we don't have enough space to store all of the recyclables. I would like to convert to two recycling pickups a month (every other week), and switch to single stream recycling. This would allow residents to put everything in one container and have it picked all at the same time. This plan has the potential to save the Township money relative to manpower hours and fule making our recycling greener simultaneously.

Third: I want to spruce up our neighborhoods throughout the Township, by giving our roads more attention and potentially adding sidewalks where that improvement is needed. Along with other measures, the "Rainy Day Fund" would play a key roll in financing these and other long and short term projects.

I would like to thank you very much for your time. I thank you in advance for your support in this upcoming election day. Without your vote I can't proceed to make proposals related to making changes for the better.

Help make these ideas a reality and help take back the Township from one party rule!!! 

 

 

The other guys

 

End the Tea Party Shutdown

Washington DC (October 9, 2013) – Now nine days into the Tea Party government shutdown, hasn’t the middle class suffered enough?   Not enough for Tea Party Republicans in Congress who continue to throw out absurd ransom demands in exchange for doing their job and keeping the government functioning. Brad Woodhouse, President, Americans United for Change: “Make no mistake: refusing to support clean legislation to keep the government open at the 11^th hour was the act of extortionist Tea Party Republicans plain and simple.  Some Republicans even openly cheered it on.  The anti-government Tea Partiers who are calling the shots in the House demanded a ransom they knew they would never get: killing the Affordable Care Act.

This spot is airing in Harrisburg and I will tune into the local news later today to see if it's on the air in our market. I never really associated Lou with the teabaggers because his claim to fame is the immigration issue. But then again that is a natural fit.

PoliticsPA: “The House passed several bills to keep the government open. The Senate rejected each of them, shutting down the government,” said Barletta campaign spokesman Lance Stange. “Rep. Barletta remains committed to discussing how we can re -open the government and pay our bills whenever the Senate decides to have that conversation.”

Kathy Dobash asks for your vote

From the inbox:

I have over 25 years of work experience educating and helping people.  I worked in the public school system, cared for my elderly mother and rejoined the work force as a therapeutic staff support worker assisting autistic children.  Currently I am employed as a Problem Solver for a major Fortune 500 company.

I have served the residents as a volunteer in my hometown of Hazleton with the Chamber of Commerce during annual community events.  I also served the residents across Luzerne County by volunteering many hours at the Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency during the 2006 and 2011 Flooding disasters.

I am writing to ask Luzerne County residents for their vote and support. With your help we can return trust and respect to County Government.  We deserve it.

You can vote for up to 5 County Council Candidates on Election Day.  I am asking for one of your votes.   I have worked hard to promote transparency in Luzerne County government. When Luzerne County Council first took office I requested the audio minutes from the meetings because the written approved minutes were edited. Also to promote openness I submitted a My Right to know request which revealed over 43,000 County Council emails were sent within 14 months.   Decisions and deliberations have gone on since January 2012 with the new council through email correspondence.

The Right-to-Know Law requires government agencies to provide access to public records and information.

The Sunshine Act requires official action and deliberations from a quorum of the members of an agency to be at a public meeting, unless the meeting is closed based on a permissible exception.

As a result of my efforts we now have County Council meetings on audio available on the website and County Council email correspondence posted starting on October 1, 2013.

I humbly request  your vote on Tuesday, November 5th.  Please vote for Kathy Dobash.

Sincerely,

Kathy Dobash

Candidate for Luzerne County Council

Barletta moves the goal post

Rep. Lou Barletta (R) keeps disappointing us. In this whole budget mess he sounded almost reasonable but has reverted to making unreasonable demands for his vote to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling. He voted at first to defund Obamacare and  then to delay the ACA like the rest of the Republicans. When that didn't work out and the government shutdown came along  Lou made a few lists of people willing to vote for a clean continuing resolution but that didn't last long. . Now he wants a repeal of the the tax on medical devices in exchange for his vote to fund the government.

The Republicans complain that the Democrats won't negotiate but there is no need to as the Republicans keep negotiating with themselves. They started off with defunding the ACA , then delay it and now will settle for a repeal of one of the taxes that fund it.

It's a weak position. I suppose the Dems could let them have a vote on the device tax with a promise it will pass the day after they pass a clean CR as way of saving face.

This is more of a worry.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today called for a Constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget as a trade-off for raising the nation’s debt limit as requested by President Obama.

The balanced budget amendment sounds good but it is nonsense. Government finances are somewhat complicated so who decides that the budget is in balance? Will accounting ledgers go to the Supreme Court that will rule on the question 2 years later? The Constitution is about rights and processes not specific policies.

You can argue about the budget but raising the debt ceiling is non-negotiable.  

Tweedledummies

Billboards

4 of the 5 Democratic Luzerne County Council candidates have pooled their resources to rent 8 billboards until the election.  Mike Giamber, Renee Ciaruffoli-Taffera, Eileen Sorokas and Richard “Kick” Heffron have kicked in about a grand apiece for the buy. The other Dem nominee Linda Houck passed on it.

 In a low profile local race the key is to get your name out so this is a cost effective way to do that. I see many yard signs on the side of the roadways for various candidates and I think they help until it gets to the point that there is a swarm of them at various intersections that just turns into sight pollution. I'm always more impressed when someone actually puts a yard sign in their yard. Whenever one of my neighbors put one up I make an effort to talk to them and ask why they are supporting that candidate.

It's a bit of a surprise that Eileen Sorokas is part of this effort as the other 3 have been handing out a palm card with their names on it with the top line reading Accountability for Luzerne County!!! Maybe they will get new cards and add her name.

Councilor Ed Brominski is a big supporter of the Accountability ticket.

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!)

More on the Debt Limit

A comment on my last post: if the dems were doing this you would call then heros(sic), standing on ideals.


No I wouldn't and the Dems have never been this irresponsible. As I wrote
The debt limit was raised 18 times under President Reagan and 7 times when Dubya occupied the the White House.

Every economist in the country left, right and center have warned against a default on the debt. Should the US government run out of authority to issue new debt instruments such as T-Bills and Savings Bonds the entire world economy would be impacted. The first thing that would happen is the stock market would crash wiping out a big chunk of wealth not only for the big investors but everyone with a mutual fund, 401K or IRA.

Then interest rates would go through the roof and people will not be able to afford to buy a car, a house or anything else you usually buy on credit such as appliances, etc. Business will not be able to replenish inventories or upgrade plant or expand.

If people in our consumer driven economy can't buy stuff that will lead to widespread unemployment.

There would be one positive effect, sort of. The price of gasoline would drop to below $2 a gallon because of a collapse in demand.

The Republicans forcing a government shutdown is playing with dynamite. Threatening not to raise the debt ceiling is playing with nuclear weapons.

The Debt Limit Farce

Up until 2011 the raising of the debt limit was just a a housekeeping chore that Congress had to go through occasionally. Whichever party that was  in power would vote to raise it  and the opposition against, usually unanimous on both sides. The debt limit was raised 18 times under President Reagan and 7 times when Dubya occupied the the White House

Saint Ronny even warned against not raising the limit:

"The full consequences of a default -- or even the serious prospect of default -- by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and the value of the dollar."

When the Republicans took control of the Senate after the 1980 election it was time to raise the debt limit again and Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker met with his caucus and told them they had to vote to raise the debt ceiling. He got the usual objections from his members like "I never voted to increase the debt limit in my life", etc.  His response was the American people elected us to govern and now we must show them we are fit to govern. The Republicans then  all voted to increase it and all the Democrats voted against it. 

Now the Republicans are moving on from shutting down the government to threatening to blow up the world economy if they don't get their way. Do you know how many financial instruments are tied to the 30 year T-Bill? Not only in this country but around the world. If the Treasury has to decide between paying the interest on  the debt or issuing Social Security checks or paying other obligations there will be chaos not seen since 1929.

As I have said before these Tea Party people are not conservatives. They are anti-government anarchists. 

There is a way out of this ridiculous situation and Sen. Mitch McConnell of all people came up with it in 2011:

HP:
Under current law, Congress raises the debt ceiling, which allows the Treasury Department to issue more bonds to pay off debts and fund projects that Congress has already authorized. Raising the debt ceiling does not authorize or appropriate new spending, but merely settles old bills. 

Yet under McConnell's plan, which he called his "last-choice option," the White House would request an increase in the debt ceiling and Congress could only block that request with a veto-proof super majority -- effectively ceding control over the debt limit to the White House. A super majority would likely be difficult to amass, especially when neither party's leadership genuinely wants the nation to default.

2014 Lt Guv race

Bradford County Commissioner Mark Smith and Harrisburg City Councilor Brad Koplinski came to the Spring Blogfest and impressed me and many others. Brad sent me a bunch of campaign buttons including a "I Like Ike"  (collectors item)  after I told him that I collect them. Mark has been to other Luzerne County events including the Yuddy get together at the PAV and the county Dem Picnic in Ashley and he  brought along his best campaign asset,  W-B native Jane Clements Smith. One of the jobs of the Lt. Guv is to deal with local government issues and these guys know what challenges cities and counties face.

Former Congressman Mark Critz (PA-12) has also jumped into the race  and has got off to a  mixed start. He snagged the endorsement of the Steelworkers Union. but  his positions on social issues are a problem for some Democrats.He also offended many people with a rape joke. Rape is not something you joke about.

Former U.S. Rep. Mark Critz runs afoul of some Democrats over rape remark and marriage equality

 

 “The joke, and the main setup of the joke, was a home invasion and a rape scene, and in the end the perpetrator is gay,” said Missa Eaton, a Mercer County Democrat who attended the meeting....Lancaster County state committee woman Sue Stoltzfus was receiving a “Woman of the Year” award at the meeting.

“It had been a great day, and that ruined it,” Stoltzfus said. 

He got booed at the state committee meeting


Critz is presently running for Lieutenant Governor. This morning when he took the podium at the South Central Caucus meeting, past PFDW president Michelle Lellito was in the audience. She called him out again for the joke, saying he was unrepresentative of the Democratic Party. According to several people who were in the room, Critz fumbled through an apology and left the room without completing his speech.

New software and an end to a tradition

 “The tradition is gone. It ended the minute computers came out,” board solicitor Mike Butera said of the courthouse gatherings.


Jennifer tells in the TL that Luzerne County will no longer have the traditional gathering in the courthouse rotunda on election night awaiting the results. County Election Director Marisa Crispell-Barber will be switching election night tallying from the courthouse to the county’s Penn Place building...Crispell-Barber told the board it makes more sense to keep her staff and equipment at Penn Place where the election office is housed.

Yes it does cost a few bucks to do it at the courthouse but former Director Leonard Piazza not only pulled it off without a hitch but actually wowed people with the setup he put together.  And he didn't make careless mistakes like not talking to the other county that had an overlapping school board race that resulted in a expensive do over. I like former Controller Walter Griffith but the pissing contest that he got into with Lenny that resulted in Piazza getting fired did a great disservice to us all.

In the May primary election the county website crashed and Though he was sorry to learn about the website issues, county Election Board solicitor Mike Butera savored the action from a seat in the rotunda. “This is great, just like the old days,” Butera said. So what is it Butters? In May he liked the rotunda gathering and today he doesn't.

The website had never crashed in the previous elections including the 2012 Prez contest when many more people were looking for results.

Now those problems should be over because the county bought some off the shelf software. 

 

County Election Director Marisa Crispell-Barber said she originally ruled out purchasing the “Clarity Election Night Reporting” program from Florida-based SOE Software Corp. because the company gave a prior election director (shot) a quote of $54,000. She negotiated the price down to $7,000 annually for three years.

“I think the public will be happy, and the implementation of this software should resolve any issues experienced with website traffic.”


The program allows the public to search for results by candidate, precinct or race. Maps, charts and graphs are available to put results in perspective, and reports can be downloaded in various formats — all options not available on the county website, Crispell-Barber said.

We will see if it works.

Here we go again

(Photo via The Dish)


After over 40 votes by the House to repeal Obamacare the Republicans now have shut down the government over this unreasonable demand. You would think that they would have learned the lesson from the shut downs in 90's. Albert Einstein said it best.

Shut down or not the health care exchanges start enrollment tomorrow. The real fear of Republicans is that health care reform will work. Bill Kristol warned against that in 1993.

I haven't seen the Democrats this united since Bush tried to destroy Social Security.

Describing these people as conservative is a misnomer. There is nothing conservative in rejecting the result of the last election. It is not conservative to disrupt the function of the government or threaten to default on the obligations of the United States.

These people are anti-government anarchists.

The DCCC is getting to be a pain

5 times a day a I  get fund raising email from the DCCC. I tried to unsubscribe without success.

Democratic Party tomorrow

Luzerne County Democratic Committee Fall Picnic, Sunday September 29th noon till 3pm at the Catholic War Vets Grove in Ashley. This is a free event. We hope to see you there!

Brad Koplinsky racks up the endosements

Most endorsements are good for a press release and not much else unless they bring in money or boots on the ground. That's why union endorsements are so important in the PA Dem primary.

Harisburg  City Councillor Brad Koplinski has few dozen friends.

Brad Koplinski Announces Another 86 Endorsements For His Campaign For Lt. Governor With 204 Total Democratic Statewide Endorsements from 54 Counties

Former State Treasurer and  Auditor General Barbara Hafer; Former Congressman Joe Hoeffel Tops List of Endorsers

Today, an additional 86 elected and Democratic Party officials throughout Pennsylvania, led by former Pennsylvania Treasurer and Auditor General Barbara Hafer and former U.S. Congressman Joe Hoeffel endorsed Harrisburg City Councilman Brad Koplinski’s campaign for Lieutenant Governor.

The list of Democratic Party officials endorsing Koplinski now includes 25 Democratic County Chairs, 53 additional members of Democratic State Committee, 20 Countywide Elected Officials, 30 Mayors and dozens of municipal and former elected officials.

In giving his endorsement, York County Democratic Chair Bob Kefauver said, “I have known Brad for many years and know that Pennsylvania can trust him to do the right thing.  He is a pragmatic progressive and will make an excellent running mate to defeat Tom Corbett.”

Councilman Koplinski said upon the release of the list, ““I am proud and grateful for the support of these distinguished leaders of the Democratic Party.  I am especially honored to have the backing of Former Treasurer & Auditor General Hafer, Former Congressman Hoeffel and over one-third of the state’s County Democratic Chairs.  Our campaign for Lt. Governor is building strength every day and we will continue to work until we reach the goal of beating Tom Corbett in November 2014.”

The list of new endorsements is below – the full list can be found at www.Koplinski2014/endorsements

The Luzerne County list:

Frank Coughlin – Councilman, Borough of Plymouth
William Dixon – Councilman, Borough of Plymouth
Dan Hartman – Democratic State Committeeman
Dan Lello – Mayor, Borough of Dupont
Clif Madrack – Councilman, Borough of Plymouth
Keith Moss – Mayor, Duryea Borough
Rebecca Sammon – President, Pennsylvania Young Democrats & Democratic State Committeewoman

Play by play from the State Democratic Committee meeting.

PoliticsPA has rundown of what Governor candidates are doing to woo the faithful at this weekends get together.

 David Diano  tells you what really is going on:


At the dessert event, candidates for the 13th and for Lt Gov were trying to give speeches, but the acoustics were terrible and everyone was milling around and talking. It was a waste of time for the candidates, as no one but their own staffers paid the slightest attention. They did better just working the room one on one.

I finally got to meet Tom Wolf. Seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t even bother with the Schwartz staffers who were wearing candidate t-shirts over regular shirts, while mostly everyone else was dressed for success, and just had a few buttons or stickers. Except for the head fundraiser, the staff just seems like amateur hour and like they showed up at the wrong event by accident.

McGinty seems very nice. If she is able to raise enough money, I think she will do well in first-person commercials explaining why she is running. When Kane ran, she explained herself and did well. Murphy had surrogates (the usual suspects) in his commercials. We know how that turned out. McGinty has a similar quality to Kane in the direct way she speaks.

I didn’t even waste my time with Pawlowski and his tiny entourage. No one I talked to could figure out why he was wasting his time running. The two leading theories were
1) that the illusion of a Gov run would give him leverage in backroom deals in Allentown
2) that this was a way to filter money to his cronies by having them pretend they were running a Gov campaign.

If anyone has a better theory, I’d like to hear it, because we are all pretty stumped about what he is really up to. Of course, it’s possible he’s actually dumb enough to think he has a chance, but I doubt it because he does have opposable thumbs and can walk upright. So, it must be something else.
I saw Rob McCord. He was laughing and enjoying himself. I’m guessing the Teamsters endorsement was part of it. People were commenting how Rob timed it just right for his announcement. I think those “McCord for Gov” stickers had been gathering dust for months. 

Rob is pretty popular with Delco and Montco crowd, so he was in his element.
Oh, yeah, and it seems like a lot of people are following Politics PA, because they recognized my name from here.