10th CD update: Derk in, Peifer out

Republican State Representative Michael Peifer told the Pike County Press that he won't take on Democrat Chris Carney next year for the PA 10th Congressional seat citing family reasons.
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Last night Snyder County Commissioner Malcolm Derk kicked off his campaign for the seat in Freeburg. Some highlights from the Daily Item:
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He doesn't like the stimulus “I feel passionately that it’s not government’s role to create jobs.That is something that businesses and entrepreneurs do. They are the engines that fuel the economy, and they will ultimately get us out of the recession.”

Throwing money at a problem hasn’t helped, Derk said.

“We were promised unemployment wouldn’t hit more than 8 percent; we hit 10 percent last month. This proves the funding priority of Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats didn’t work. And as a county commissioner, I know that the jobs we were promised never came.”

About his youth “Everyone mentions how young I am. But I have experience running a government agency. As commissioners, we had to balance multimillion dollar budgets, and we did so without raising taxes.”

He said he plans to raise money on the internet from small donors.

Malcolm Derk for Congress

Republican Snyder County Commissioner Malcolm Derk will announce Monday that he is running for the Pennsylvania 10th US House of Representatives seat currently held by Democrat Chris Carney.

He is a graduate of Susquehanna University with a degree in both Political Science and Religion and at 27 is the youngest person ever elected Snyder County Commissioner. He won his first election when he was 20 serving on the Freeburg Borough Council between 2002 and 2007.
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Derk has been making the rounds telling a GOP crowd in Pike County

“I know what it’s like to juggle scarce resources and meet federal mandates passed down to us. One thing I know for certain is we have to get that seat back. As far as the role of government, some people believe that bigger is better. I’m not one of them.”
Derk criticized Carney’s votes in favor of the federal economic stimulus plan and health care reform.
“Those votes don’t match the values of the district. They’re not the votes of a fiscally responsible person,” he said


He recently blasted the use and oversight of stimulus funds.

Derk's official campaign site won't be up until after he makes it official Monday but you can learn more about him at Draft Derk for Congress or the Facebook page Derk 2010 for Congress
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State Rep. Michael Peifer is looking at the race and Shira Toeplitz reports that former U.S. Attorney Tom Marino has met with the NRCC about posible run for the seat. Since Marino left government service he has represented junkyard and casino owner Louis DeNaples. His successor, Martin Carlson, uncovered the biggest public corruption scandal in the history of Luzerne County.

10th CD: Peifer in, Meuser out

From PoliticsPA





PoliticsPA has heard from multiple GOP sources that Republican state Rep. Michael Peifer will run in the 10th Congressional District against Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Carney. Peifer, elected in 2007 to the legislature, represents an area in the the wide-ranging congressional district’s northeastern region. He won’t face former Republican candidate Dan Meusser, who told PoliticsPA he’s focused on helping elect GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett instead.

Peifer succeeded long time state rep Jerry Birmelin the in the 139th district. Looking around his website it appears that he is an avid hunter and fisherman who opposes any gun control laws. He sponsored a constitutional amendment to ban unfunded mandates and supports the Boy Scouts. I sent him an email asking for comment and will post it when/if he responds.