Russ Bigus for State Represenative

"I want to be in Harrisburg. I'll do whatever it takes to get there."-Russ Bigus

PolitickerPA has an interview with 117th State Rep District Democratic nominee Russ Bigus. The last time he ran for office he was a Republican candidate in the 20th Senate District primary in 2006, he came in fourth. Since then he switched party's along with his pal Bill Jones.


Chris Borick, a pollster and political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown thinks he has a good chance of winning; "Because he had his roots as a Republican, he might be able to draw some support from across party lines." He also points out that a freshman that had a competitive primary race may be vulnerable. James May gave Karen Boback a good run in the spring but came up short by about 1100 votes out of 7300 cast while Bigus was unopposed for the Democratic nomination and garnered 5665.

Bigus takes some unconventional positions for a Democrat backing the NRA and bashing teacher's strikes and is trying to win over May supporters.

PAPoliticker reporter Dan Hirschhorn tried to get Karen to talk about the race but:

Boback did not return nearly a dozen messages left in July at her district office, her campaign office and her house.

Maybe this constituent has her cell phone number.

Now Russ Bigus is a Democrat

Last month Republican Luzerne County Commisioner candidate Bill Jones jumped ship and today his buddy Dallas School Board Director Russ Bigus joined him.

TL: "Yes, I have switched; I’m now a Democrat as of four hours ago,” Bigus said. “This was a decision I didn’t take lightly because I have been a Republican all my life...Bill (Jones) and myself have the drive, the work ethic and the ability to be successful in politics,” Bigus said. “We understand that we need to be there for the people, not for the party. The party should support the candidate, but I didn’t find that to be the case in my experience...People change careers all the time.”

If Mitt Romney is a conservative I guess anything can happen.

He recently left his job as the HR Director of the Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 and before that he was the Principal of of Regis Elementary School in Forty Fort. In 2006 he ran in the Republican Primary to succeed Charlie Lemmond in the 20th Senatorial District of Pennsylvania finishing 4th with 13% of the vote.

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He provided some interesting moments in that contest including having one of his large signs being torched and somehow he garnered the endorsement of PACleanSweep even though it was an open seat. The high comedy of the race was when Dave Madeira got into an argument with him about who had shot more animals in their lives. A now long lost blogger of the time proposed a duel to settle the question.

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Now it looks like he is running for the 117th District State Rep seat of Freshman Karen Boback who is facing a tough challenge from conservative Republican James May. My guess is that he looking for a bruising GOP Primary that will leave the loser's supporters bitter and then he will try to unite them with the Democrats of the district to win the seat.

Bigus gave money to Boback

I was searching through the PA Campaign Finance Reports for the candidates in the Pennsyvania 117th District State Represenative race and I spotted this interesting contribution to incumbent Republican freshman Karen Boback.


RUSSELL P. & MELANIE A. BIGUS DALLAS, PA 18612
9/6/2007
$175.00


Bigus was a candidate in the 2006 Republican State Senate primary coming in 4th with 13% of the vote. Not bad for a first time candidate without the money or the name recognition of his opponents. Recently he became a Democrat after quiting his day job and is looking to take on the winner of the Republican primary between Boback and James May. Bigus doesn't have a campaign website set up yet and I don't have his email address to ask his version of events. I know you read the blog Russ, please contact me. Silence is deadly.

There are more interesting tidbits in these reports about the race. I'm also looking at the 118th District contest.


James May sent me this :

James May Leads Karen Boback in Campaign Cash

May is more than $18,000 ahead of Boback, whose campaign is in the red

The first campaign finance report of the primary season was recently published, showing that Republican James May has already raised significant funds in his bid to replace Karen Boback as State Representative in the 117th District. Often seen as a marker of early support, May’s campaign committee leads Boback’s in both cash balance and in bottom line figures after debts and obligations.

Boback reported $24,893 in her campaign coffers, while May reported $28,818. Of note, Boback’s committee holds a debt of more than $25,000, largely stemming from an earlier home equity loan she took out for her campaign. This debt leaves her committee $677 in the red. Although May and his wife made a personal loan of $11,201 to his committee, they carry no outside debt. May’s committee netted $17,617—an overall lead in excess of $18,000.

May cautions that an early lead does not necessarily predict success. “While I’m thrilled with the wide grassroots support I’m already seeing in this race, Rep. Boback has some heavy Harrisburg hitters supporting her, including the PSEA teachers’ union. They’re a powerful lobby that bankrolled her campaign with $9,200; they won’t sit idly by and watch,” says May.

May also notes that incumbency has aided Boback in getting her message out. “I have personally gotten multiple high-gloss full-color flyers mailed to my house from Rep. Boback’s office. These mailers, paid for with taxpayer dollars, give Rep. Boback a distinct advantage. It’s a system I certainly would like to reform if I am elected,” May notes.

Boback and May will face off in the April 22 GOP Primary. The winner will take on Democrat Russ Bigus, whose committee was not activated before the reporting deadline and did not file a report.

Online copies of the reports are available at http://www.campaignfinance.state.pa.us.

20th District race gets hot

ROSS TWP. - A little mischief is to be expected during a hot political campaign, but a recent incident shows just shows how heated the race for the 20th state Senatorial District seat is getting. Someone torched a Russ Bigus sign along state Route 118 in the Sweet Valley section of the township Tuesday night.

Signs are always being stolen during a campaign but this is the first time I remember someone torching one.

The debate went off with surprising little acrimony. The CV write-up emphasizedpropertyt taxes. David Madeira said Act 72 is a disaster and favors eliminating property taxes. Carl Sutton thinks raising the state income tax to 4.5 percent is the way to fund schools. Lisa Baker wants to put school district budgets to a referendum. James Haggerty wants to cut costs. Russ Bigus is in favor of Act 72 and the only Democrat in the race, Robert McNamara, agrees.

Health care costs were also discussed. Madeira felt everyone should pay for his or her own health care, but Baker felt accountability was a better option. She thinks everyone involved, including drug companies, employers, health care providers and patients, should work together to reduce costs. Haggerty believes people need more options so pricing could be more competitive, and Sutton thinks drug companies are spending too much money on advertising. He would like to see pharmaceutical ads banned from television. Bigus, if elected, would immediately order a intensive study on Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania. McNamara thinks the burden is on elected officials. He believes that as leaders, they should make it their priority to find ways to cut costs.

Clean Sweep has local candidates

An anti-incumbent organization has thrown its support behind two local candidates for state offices.

PACleanSweep founder Russ Diamond said the organization is supporting the candidacies of Republicans Russ Bigus for state Senate in the 20th District and Edmund Sieminski, running for state representative of the 119th District.



"The pay raise issue raised a lot of concerns with me regarding the process and procedure in the way it was done," Bigus said. "There is no entitlement to this position. It's a job where we're supposed to roll up our sleeves every day and go to work for the people. I contacted PACleanSweep in November for their support, and I'm excited to get it because we share the same philosophies."

Sieminski, the only challenger to Rep. John Yudichak (D-Nanticoke), has served as a state representative in the past, and tried to instill reform while in the position.

Bigus will face a crowded field in the May 16 primary, with opposition from Republicans Lisa Baker, James Haggerty, David Madeira and Carl Sutton. The winner will square off against Democrat Robert McNamara for the seat of retiring Sen. Charles Lemmond.

I'm not sure if this a good thing or a bad thing.

Leadership squabble divides anti-incumbent group . Russ Diamond is running for Governor and the rest of the bunch is not happy about it.

Russ Bigus for State Represenative

Russ Bigus is circulating petitions to run for state rep as a Democrat against Republican incumbent Karen Boback in the 117th District. He got clobbered last time out.

117th State Legislative District debate tonight

Incumbent Republican Karen Boback and Democrat Russ Bigus will face off at 7 p.m. tonight Oct. 30 at Crestwood High School.




The latest dustup in the race is that Boback has been endorsed by the NRA and Bigus isn't happy about it.


TL: I just want to make certain that everyone knows this is a slap in my face,” he said. “I’m real sensitive about this issue.”
Bigus, running as a Democrat, says it goes back to 2006, when Boback, a Republican, asked him for assistance in filling out the NRA’s candidate questionnaire when she first ran for the seat.
“Before she was an elected official, I don’t think she had a position on the issue,” Bigus said. “I believe, just like she’s always done, she’s voted the party line. She doesn’t know what these issues are.”


CV: I’m honored to have earned the respect of the NRA. Their endorsement is proof positive that I represent the people I serve,” Boback said.Asked about critics’ claims that she’s not a sportswoman, she replied, “It just goes to show that you don’t have to be a hunter to vote like one.”

Target Lisa

First Jim Haggerty calls her a Harrisburg insider because Sen. Lemmond endorsed her and Gov. Ridge was the featured attraction at a couple of fundraisers. I liked Lisa Baker's response:

Baker said she viewed running for the office as applying to voters for a job. "Having Tom Ridge as my reference is something I'm very proud of," she said. Baker said Ridge, of Chevy Chase, Md., had occasionally urged her to run for office when she worked for him."The governor said to me if I ever ran for public office, no matter where he was, he would want to come back and be supportive," she said.

Next Haggerty goes after her campaign manager's occupation. But Haggerty is not the only candidate attacking her over tactics. Bigus: Baker flier is sneaky:

A campaign flier touting support of state Senate candidate Lisa Baker by area sportsmen is misleading and underhanded, rival candidate Russ Bigus claims.
The flier features comments of Dale Butler, president of the Red Rock Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, and Mike Protz, president of the Northeast Division of the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsman's Clubs, pushing Baker as a supporter of hunters and gun owners. Bigus called the flier "a clever way" to make it look like the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsman's Clubs back Baker as organizations.

Bigus is also running an ad in the CV describing himself as "new" and Baker as "old." It says he is new blood with new ideas and cites his approval by PACleanSweep.

David Madeira has also attacked Baker but he sticks to issues that he disagrees with her instead of inside baseball. From a press release:

The conservative Republican candidate for the State Senate, David Madeira, says he is not surprised. "The recent endorsement of Lisa Baker by Senator Charles Lemmond and Tom Ridge comes as no surprise. Minority Pro-abortion Republicans tend to stick together." Madeira said. Lemmond and Ridge are known to be pro-abortion advocates. "Next we might hear about her former boss, Senator Jubilier backing her as well."

Lisa Baker, aligning herself with pro-abortion advocates, has also had a hand in taking away gun rights for Pennsylvanians. It has been reported that she assisted in the removal of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Game Commissioner as well as blocking a proposed shooting range on state gamelands in Luzerne County.

The other Republican in the race is Carl Sutton and the lone Democrat is Robert MCNamara.

Local blogger news. Norton is blogging the race at 20th Senatorial. Check it out.

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.

117th State Rep race

117th State Rep District Democratic nominee Russ Bigus finally has a website up. The last time he ran for office he was a Republican candidate in the 20th Senate District primary in 2006, he came in fourth.

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http://www.russbigus.com/index.html

He is taking on freshman GOP Rep Karen Boback who beat back a strong primary challenge from James May. Her website is here:

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http://www.karenboback.com/

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This contest has been somewhat quite in the newspapers and paid media. I haven't wandered around the back mountain lately so I don't know who is winning the yard sign contest. I did spot this letter to the editor from a Bigus supporter.

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Experience makes Bigus a good candidate

Bigus signatures challenged

In the 117th Pennsylvania State Rep District the lone Democrat, Russ Bigus, has had some signatures on his nominating petitions challenged. My sources tell me that the challenge is coming from the Boback campaign, surprise. I sent an email to the Boback campaign asking for a statement but they have not yet responded. When (if) they do I will share it with you. I don't have an email address for the Bigus campaign and he doesn't have a website up yet. Please contact me. A call to the Commonwealth Court confirmed that there is a challenge and they provided the name of the person who filed the challenge. I'll hold off naming names until I hear from both sides.

Luzerne County Controller

So far we have 2 Democrats say they will run for the post.


Dallas School Board member Russ Bigus said “We need some competency in the courthouse. I think I might be able to bring some order"...“I would like to build up the public trust and get a real grasp of the financial crisis in the county.” Though he stressed that there’s a need for “teambuilding within the dome.” Last year Bigus lost the race for 117th District State Rep to Karen Boback and in 2006 he came in 4th in the 20th Senate District Republican primary.


The other declared candidate is former Pittston Area School Board member and Yatesville councilman Anthony Rostock. He pledges to be a full time Controller and takes a few shots at previous Controller and present Luzerne County Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla "There are certain things that have happened when the previous controller was there, things that should have been seen,” Rostock said, referring to Petrilla. “Even shortcomings in the county budget – that should have been seen years in advance.” Rostock said he’s not criticizing employees in the controller’s office.“I blame the people running the show,” he said.

Pittston litigation specialist Wil Toole has had cards printed up put has not formally declared his candidacy. He made sure that the public was informed about Rostock's $30,000 no-bid contract to provide landscape consulting services at Luzerne County Community College.

Bob Morgan, a financial adviser from Mountain Top said it’s “very likely” that he will run.


On the Republican side Attorney Nanda Palissery has been mentioned. He ran for Judge a few years ago and I voted for him. If we can have a President with a weird name we can put up with a Controller with one.

Two names are not mentioned in the press have been kicked around on this site and I have asked them for a comment.


Wilkes-Barre resident and unsuccessful city council candidate Walter Griffith does a great job of keeping an eye on things. Some people consider him to be a pain in the ass. My opinion is that the Controller should be a person who is willing to ask the tough questions like Steve Flood did.


Bob Sypniewski was the chairman of James May's 117th State Rep primary campaign is a local mortgage broker. Some of the back mountain big money people may be willing to back him.

Pennsylvania 117th state rep district

This looks to be the most interesting state representative race in Luzerne County. Incumbent Karen Boback is facing off with challenger James May in the Republican primary and the winner will will go up against recent Democrat Russ Bigus in the fall.

Bigus braved the recent snow storm to file his petitions in Harrisburg on Tuesday and said “We’re approaching this campaign very seriously and diligently...I plan to win in November.”

Boback will kick off her reelection campaign today in Dallas with the opening of her HQ.

A bunch of people showed up for May's official announcement on Monday in Dallas and he sent me this press release:

James May Kickoff Rally a Huge Success

More than 130 people braved the frigid cold temperatures on Monday night to support James May in the kickoff to his campaign for the Pennsylvania State House. "This would be an incredible turnout under any circumstances", said May, "but considering the weather, this is just stunning!".

May stuck to his conservative themes of lower taxes, less spending and traditional American values. "In 1976, Ronald Reagan called on Republicans to support a platform of 'bold, unmistakable colors, rather than pastel shades'". said May. "When my opponent lives in a state that has more teacher strikes than every other state in the nation combined, yet she refuses to support legislation that would guarantee every child in the state a strike-free education by banning teacher strikes, that is an indication that she is not a Republican of bold unmistakable colors, but rather a Republican of pastel shades", said May.

One individual in attendance was Bob Guzzardi, from the Conservative Reform PAC. May pointed out that when the PSEA Teachers' Union donated $9,200 to Karen Boback's campaign, the Conservative Reform PAC quickly sent him a check as well: for $9,201. Guzzardi received a thunderous standing ovation for his willingness to financially take on the PSEA.

The speaker for the event was Mr. David Barton, senior staffer in the Republican National Committee and the Bush/Cheney Election Team. In 2006, Barton was named by Time Magazine as "The Lesson Planner" for the conservative movement in America. Barton said that James May represents the conservative principles envisioned by our founding fathers. "I want to elect a person that I don't have to lobby" said Barton. "James May is such a person".

May announced that the Chairman of his Election Committee was Bob Sypniewski, President of Penn Mortgage in Dallas and the Treasurer was Deborah Cragle, Branch Manager of the Wachovia Bank in Tunkhannock. Deborah's father-in-law, Al Cragle, who was also in attendance, served as the Treasurer for Lisa Baker's 2006 campaign.

"This campaign will be about one thing", said May: "Issues". "If I am fortunate enough to be your next Representative, I will fight for the conservative principles of Ronald Reagan. I will follow Reagan's example and be a Republican of 'bold, unmistakable colors, not a Republican of pastel shades'".


Note to the other campaigns, send me your stuff and I will publish it.

20th Senate District roundup

As predicted State Sen. Charles Lemmond has endorsed his former aide Lisa Baker as his successor.

And the other candidates are not happy about it.

Baker opponent Russ Bigus was angered by Lemmond's endorsement, saying the incumbent should have stayed neutral.

"If he is going to support her, it puts her in the status of an incumbent," Bigus said. "I don't think we need any more Harrisburg insiders in our state."

Another Baker opponent, Kingston Mayor Jim Haggerty, claimed Baker's upcoming fund-raisers with former Gov. Tom Ridge prove Baker is "a Harrisburg insider" who is "out of touch." Ridge plans to attend Baker fund-raiser on Monday.

Last week Haggerty blasted her list of accomplishments.

On her campaign Web site, Baker touts a long list of accomplishments when she was a top aide for former Govs. Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker and state Sen. Charles Lemmond, who 'sn’t seeking re-election as the state senator of the 20th District.
Kingston Mayor Jim Haggerty, one of four Republicans running for the seat, said "it’s silly and a disservice" for Baker to take credit for others' accomplishments.
"She has no record of her own," Haggerty said. "The voters are entitled to a list of Lisa Baker's government accomplishments, not Tom Ridge's, not the legislature's, not things she attended ribbon cuttings for."

TL columnist Casey Jones has picked his early favorite in the race:

I had to choose today I'd go with Carl Sutton for state Senate. That's a decision based entirely on his occupation. Sutton is a psychotherapist. Having a psychotherapist on the floor could only help. Say the Senate was about to vote themselves a big pay raise. That’s where Sutton would come in handy.

"Fellow senators," he would say, rising to his feet. "You’re out of your minds."

I can guess who will be the primary target in the upcoming debate at College Misericordia March 29, 7 p.m.

The other candidates are Republican David Madeira, Dallas and Democrat Robert McNamara, Susquehanna.

Bill Fitz has a great rundown of the mechanics of the race at My Take.

117th State Legislative District debate?

Freshman GOP state rep Karen Boback wouldn't agree to a debate with her primary challenger, James May, so I'm sure she will find an excuse to avoid a conversation with Democratic nominee Russ Bigus.

This story in the TL today is full of ifs, ohs and uhs.


Don't hold your breath Russ, she will not appear on the same platform with you.

117th State Legislative District debate set

Incumbent Republican Karen Boback and Democrat Russ Bigus will face off at 7 p.m. Oct. 30 at Crestwood High School. This Sunday Russ is hosting a Meet and Greet at the Harveys Lake Legion starting at 1:30 pm.

Clean Sweep

DALLAS TOWNSHIP - PACleanSweep visited Luzerne County Friday, supporting some candidates for state office and sweeping others under the rug.

At a rally at the Irem Temple Country Club, the political action committee supported the candidacy of state Senate hopeful Russ Bigus, a republican, and the State Representative bids of Randy Tomasacci and Ed Sieminski.

Every candidate is against the pay raise and a few feel slighted by the organization. They are against it now but we will see what happens when they get to Harrisburg.

John Yudichak (D-119) cries foul:

An anti-pay raise political action committee is supporting a challenger for the only legislator representative in the region who voted against the controversial legislation...."My commitment has existed before CleanSweep ... The most recent pay raise was an opportunity to uphold my principles," Yudichak said. "Not one dime of that pay raise touched my hands."

Cleansweep is in the midst of some sort of civil war.

PAClean Sweep is suffering from a case of political schizophrenia.

Two rival organizations - both bearing the same name - are laying claim to being the springboard for a grass-roots political movement that raised challenges to the incumbencies of legislators across the state. Michele Diehl, a South Greensburg resident, heads one faction and accuses Russ Diamond, founder of the original PAClean Sweep, of selling out the organization by planning to run for governor. She accused him of putting his political plans ahead of the organization's.

"It's a big ego thing," she said.....After becoming involved in PAClean Sweep, Diehl was elected vice chairwoman and began helping to build a statewide organization. Problems developed when the board of directors learned through an e-mail that Diamond was considering running for governor, Diehl said....."We didn't start this organization so he could run for governor," Diehl said.

"We've been treated badly," she said. "We want to clean sweep him."

Blogger/Candidate Meetup September 17th postgame

The picture above is from Another Monkey who raised the question on what to call this semi-annual event. I probably created some confusion by posting it as a Blogger/Candidate Meetup on the blog but created a Facebook event page titled Happy Hour-Fall Edition then sent out a promo email refering to it as the Mega-Meetup. Joe Valenti tagged it Blogfest which appeared on the sign outside Rooney's. Beer Summit was suggested by the Blogfather who was MIA and many people were asking about him.

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We had another great turnout and expect the spring event to be the best one yet when all the local offices are on the primary ballot. National and state elections are not as nearly intense as the local ones and primaries have all the activists more fired up than the general election.

Gene Rooney and his staff did an outstanding job like they always do taking care of our need for beverages and really good food.

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Me and Mrs. G got there early and the first one in the door was 117th State Rep Candidate Richard Shermanski and Bob Caruso. This was real treat for me because I haven't seen Bob since we both worked for different candidates in the 1976 Presidential primary then organized a Young Democrats chapter in Luzerne County with a lot of help from State Senator Marty Murray. We shared some great memories like the time Jimmy Carter came to town and we lost Kevin Blaum in Mountaintop and the future Mayor of Boston, Tommy Menino, didn't know what a CMP was.

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Luzerne County Commissioner and PA Senate 14th District hopeful Steve Urban worked the crowd all night as did the Libertarian candidate Betsy Summers. Lackawanna PA 20th Senate District Republican nominee Frank Scavo was there with his lovely wife and he didn't get into a shouting match with Bart Simpson. Another Lackawanna county candidate was Republican Theresa Kane who is running against longtime State Rep Ed Staback in the 115th. She was accompanied by Scranton Tea Party activist Lauree Cummings.

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My 3rd favorite Congressman Paul Kanjorski showed up with a posse that included Joe Terrana, his COS Karen Feather and Nicole Giambusso and stayed well into the night. For some reason they all wanted to know how I learned to speak Polish. Lou Barletta didn't make it but his press guy Shawn Kelly made the rounds. Él estaba muy emocionado cuando le dije que si el alcalde Lou gane las elecciones voy a empezar a referirse a él como el congresista Nelligan.

118th Republican candidate Terrance O'Conner walked in the door dressed up in his 18th century garb but I didn't get a picture before he changed. He said he lost his bullhorn

I asked State Senator Lisa Baker what she thought her margin of victory would be and we recounted the 2006 race when Dave Madeira and Russ Bigus got in to that argument over who had killed the most animals. She confided that she ran into a deer around that time that totaled her car and was going to put out a satirical press release saying she was the only candidate that got a deer that year but demurred.

Hoping to win the 119th Rick Arnold (R) and Gerald Mullery (D) mixed it up with the crowd. 121st Republican candidate James O'Meara is a great guy and I just recently learned that he married a girl that I had a crush on in high school. Small world.

From the courthouse Solicitor Vito DeLuca made it as did Controller Walter "the hump" Griffith. I think Mary Jo was blushing when the wags were busting on him.

All 3 120th State Rep candidates attended like they always do for my events, thank you. In this cycle I have had the most contact with them and I'm sort of like the Will Rogers of the local blogosphere since I have got to know and like all of them. Whoever wins the district will be well represented. West Pittston Mayor Bill Goldsworthy (R) tells me he is good shape and is keeping an eye for yard signs for Tim Mullen in Democratic areas. My 1st or 4th favorite State Represenative Phyllis Mundy (D) has an energetic young staff including Omeed Firouzi who is running the show and is still in high school! Omeed, when I was your age I could only dream of such things. After I got some experience I was instrumental in sinking more than one candidate's aspirations when they were dumb enough to make me the campaign manager or field director. The difference is you have a great candidate and I never did. Libertarian Tim Mullen continues to impress me. The number of signatures on his petitions and actualy being able to open an office is impressive for a 3rd party candidate. He brought some his supporters including the head honcho of the local Libertarians, Lou Jassikoff, who sends out a great email everyday.

Speaking of third parties the Greens didn't show up but Renee was flying the banner of the Pirate Party, arrgh.

Radio personality Dr. David Madeira brought his "oldest daughter" and other radio guys in attendance were Duke from Dallas and Bible Buck. The mad drummer and special Gort42 correspondent Austin Smith jones Ford deSoto was in the crowd and talked policy with Harry Haas. My pals David Baloga and Zen always light up a room. I finally got to meet Luzerne County elections honcho Lenny Piazza and thanked him for all the help he has given me over the years.

A couple of our local bloggers that concentrate on national issues should write up this event. But as I told Kanjo the beauty of blogging is that you don't have an editor or a deadline although Mrs. G and Renita are pretty good editors and I welcome all the help I can get.

Big Dan's site moves so fast I can't keep up. He looks taller on the internet. It was great to meet Mrs BD who does great work with the Fresh Air Fund . Chris NovoRockey used to post about local stuff but has gone full tilt to the dark side on national issues. Just remember that Colbert married his hand.

People kept asking me before and during the gathering what are the rules for the event.

There are 3 rules.

1. No Speeches

2. You must wear clothes even it is warm.

3. Agree to disagree but don't be a disagreeable.

One of my favorite moments from this night is when Chris Hackett and Dan Mueser shook hands and spent a few minutes chatting. I'm sure you remember that they had a knock down drag out primary in 2008. Dan gave me some credit for driving that race and he said he wanted to get together during it but his press guy kept jerking me around.

Vito said it best:

"You should do this more often! It was probably the most stress-free 'political' event I have ever been to. It was so refreshing to meet people from all parties and discuss issues at such a casual affair. In addition to typical politics, I had the opportunity to engage in conversations about gas drilling, home rule, college football, and how my three boys believe it is their Constitutional right to maintain a messy bedroom. Great job Gort!

Maybe we should call this event The Rodney King Get Together.

The bloggers report

Another Monkey

NCFE

NEPartisan

LuLac

Pittston Politics

Loreley's Musings

More photos at this link.

Luzerne County Controller

PHOTO BY FRED ADAMS/THE TIMES LEADER

Nanda Palissery (left) kicked off his candidacy on Tuesday for Luzerne County controller at Luzerne County Republican Headquarters on Public Square. Palissery said “For too long, there has been a Democrat culture of corruption in the courthouse. Enough is enough.” He is a lawyer that focuses on criminal defense and civil litigation and ran for Judge a few years ago. I understand that Palissery is the favorite to win the endorsement of the county GOP in the primary.

Another Republican also announced her intention to seek the office. Alice B. Coffman has worked as a certified public accountant for the last 16 years. “I am very disheartened by the inappropriate behavior recently uncovered within our local government,” Coffman said in a statement. “The citizens of Luzerne County have the right to expect the highest level of professional conduct from their elected officials.” Wow, a CPA with plan to audit various county programs if elected. She wants to “implement and enforce internal control procedures to deter future misconduct and wasteful spending." So far she is the only candidate for this accountant's job that is a professional accountant. We can't have that, can we?


Our friend Walter Griffith will formally announce his bid for the Controller's job today at the Luzerne County Republican Headquarters, 25 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre at 6PM. He previously let us know that he is running for the post. And in the Department of 'if you live long enough' Wilkes-Barre Online is backing him.

On the Democratic side longtime party insider Bob Morgan is seeking the post as is Pittston landscaper Tony Rostock. Rostock was a former Pittston Area School Board member and Yatesville councilman and got a sweet deal at LCCC. Morgan is an investment advisor and it would be great if he could offer some advise on how to make up my 401k losses over the last 2 years. Educator Russ Bigus is also in the race.

Dave Madeira for Congress

My friend and political sparing partner Dr. David Madeira is running for the Republican nomination in the 10th Congressional District to take on incumbent Democrat Chris Carney.

Madeira came in a surprising 2nd to Lisa Baker in the 2006 Republican primary for the 20th State Senate seat. My favorite memory of that race was the argument between Dave and Russ Bigus about who had shot the most animals in their lifetimes. He was looking at taking on Carney in 2008 but decided to back Chris Hackett's bid and took a top job in his campaign.

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Madeira is a graduate of Bob Jones University and the New York Chiropractic College and practiced for 20 years even serving as President of the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association, but gave up being a back cracker for a business and political consulting gig.

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After helping Hackett's campaign go down in flames he started a political blog and tells me that I was the inspiration (blame) for it because I had the audacity to opine that Chris Carney has been a good Congressman.

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I talked with him on Monday and he accused Carney of deception and opposes the stimulus bill that kept us out of another depression. He opposes Health Care Reform calling it socialized medicine and has pledged to repeal it if he is elected. On his blog, Could we please have our country back now? , he is crowing about the election result from Massachusetts tonight. And he doesn't like earmarks. Good luck explaining that to every local government in the 10th district that needs a piece of pork to buy a new fire truck or put in new sewers because they are tapped out on the property tax.

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Dave hasn't done the FEC paperwork yet so we don't have an official website but you can read his thoughts on his Facebook page and blog. Some other media coverage:

Lehman Twp. consultant is second GOP contender against Carney

Madeira promises an energetic challenge to Carney


Malcolm Derk is the only official candidate so far but Tom Marino is expected to get into the race and Political Pike points out that Ted Yale has announced on his Facebook page that he is running for the Republican nomination.

Madeira has promised me an interview in a few weeks. Send me your questions.