Phoning it in

Congressman Paul Kanjorski likes to do business by telephone. In the last year I have been invited to participate in numerous telephone town meetings but was unable to dial in because I was at work at the time.



A few weeks ago his primary opponent Lackawanna Commissioner Corey O'Brien attacked Kanjo for missing Stimulus Oversight meetings:

As the Democratic representative on the Pennsylvania Stimulus Oversight Commission -- the organization that oversees and directs federal stimulus spending in the Commonwealth -- Paul Kanjorski only attended ONE of the TEN meetings. According to meeting minutes available online, neither Kanjorski nor a member of his staff attended SIX of the TEN meetings. That’s an attendance rate of 40%.

He is also hitting Kanjo for claiming that he is "too busy" to debate him 10 times before the primary election. The person in charge of the commission told the TL that said a member of his staff has participated in every meeting via telephone but she omitted that from the minutes that are published online. “One of Congressman Kanjorski’s staffers has participated in every meeting of the Stimulus Commission via telephone,” Kanjo spokesperson Abbie McDonough said. “Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to get their facts straight.”



Maybe the staffer or the Congressman should show up in person for these meetings. Kanjo has held live town halls in the past in which he has said some controversial things and seems to be playing it safe this time around. With the Teabagers showing up and disrupting these meetings across the country I can understand his reluctance but my I advice to Democrats is simple. Take a position and defend it. From what I have seen of these Tea Party people and have read in the press they are the same names and faces that I have been seeing at GOP events for years. Despite what FOX News tells us there is nothing new about this group, it just has another name .


The Tea Party activist pictured below protesting outside Congressman Carney's office looks a bit familiar.



Flying under the radar Kanjo is looking to limit the Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court.

Would you loan this guy money?

This one has me shaking my head. Former Judge Mark Ciavarella defaulted on a loan from a bank in Minersville. You have to wonder why a bank would approve a loan to an unemployed person under federal indictment who is a defendant in multi-million dollar civil lawsuits that had previously defaulted on a business loan from Louis DeNaples bank. Miners Bank had previously been used to pay the bribes from Robert Powell and Bob Mericle to the Juvie Brothers.

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Scooch and his fellow defendant Michael Conahan filed a bunch of motions last week to delay their eventual trial alleging a violation of attorney client privilege, asking for new Judge and a change of venue.

Petition Day

Today was the last day to file nominating petitions and we got a few surprises. It's almost like the trade deadline in MLB but not as important.

Some surprises.


In the US Senate race Joseph Vodvarka of Allegheny county filed as a Dem making Arlen Specter's and Joe Sestack's life more complicated.

Republican Terrance O’Connor, of Monroe County will be running against against Mike Carrol in the 119th.


In the State Senate 14th Distcrict Michael Saporito of Pittston Twp. will take on W-B Mayor Tom Leighton and State Rep John Yudichak in the Democratic primary.

I'm not dead yet

On Friday Another Monkey revisited his idea of a blogger buddy system to alert the world if one of our electronic scribes bites the dust. He was inspired to write about this subject after learning of the death of Jon Swift who was a brilliant writer. He was like the Stephen Colbert of the blogosphere. I read him all the time.

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Mark liked the idea and suggested that we should all have a pre-written post ready in case we meet an untimely demise and even wrote his own obit. Then on Saturday a death notice for Joseph Sam Valenti, formerly of Pittston, appeared in the TL. My inbox lit up asking if this was the same Joe Valenti who writes PittsonPolitics.com. I'm happy to report that Joe is alive and well. He told me that the Joe Valenti in question is a distant relative of his and we send our condolences to his family.

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I'm not sure how much longer I have on this earth and right now I feel awful. My back still hurts after digging out of the last snow storm, my head hurts because I tripped over my own feet and smacked my head on the water heater. To top it off I just got back from the dentist after getting drilled for a crown. None of this is life threatening but my genetics are a worry. Few male members of my father's family have made it past 60. Factor in my lifestyle, subtract 10 and I think my days are numbered. This post is starting to sound like a Woody Allen movie. Love, death and taxes.

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Before we all croak I have proposed to a few of my brethren in local blogosphere that we get together soon and invite some candidates or their representatives for local office along with commenter's and lurkers. Friday March 26th works for me and we just to need to agree on a venue. The last one we had was at Dan's Keystone Grill that was well attended with candidates for Luzerne County Controller and W-B Area School Board showing up. Even 10th CD candidate Corey O'Brien made an appearance.

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Dan's is to small and Mark's Pub is to loud so we need a new venue for the next meetup. One wag suggested that we meet at Patte's Sports Bar which I think would be fun but some people would like to avoid the place.

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The not dead yet Joe Valenti suggested that we get together at Rooney's Irish Pub in Pittston. That sounds good but I'm open to suggestions.

Update: The Willow Tree in Hilldale section of Plains Twp has a back room and Old Tyme Charlie's has also been suggested .

10th CD happenings

I attended the annual Kiss the Blarney for Carney event on Sunday along with a couple of hundred other people. Despite being to subjected to bagpipe music it was a good time. Many local Lackawanna County elected officials and candidates were in attendance along with reps from Senator Specter's office. I chatted with a few including State Rep Jim Wansascz who is running for State Senate to succeed Bob Mellow.

Carney asked me for my assessment of the race and I told him that I think he is in good shape. I'll repeat it again; Challengers don't win elections, Incumbents lose them. He hasn't done anything to lose this thing. Addressing the Health Care Reform bill in his remarks to the crowd he pointed out that we can't continue with the status quo. Something has to be done to get costs under control and insurance companies can't be in charge of who gets health care in this country. I offered my observation that he voted for it once because it was the right thing to do and his Republican opponents will howl about it but if he now voted no on the bill he becomes John Kerry, I voted for it before I voted against it.

He was little iffy on the FRAC ACT but assured the crowd that he was in favor of clean drinking water. He made the national security argument that the US has to off foreign oil. I'll keep bending his ear on this one. There is no reason this should be excluded from the the Clean Water Act and I'm sure that Kayak Dude can make that case.

I asked him about some of the other races this year. I was surprised that he endorsed Manan Trividi in the 6th CD primary against Doug Pike. His 2006 campaign manager is running Pike's campaign but Chris was adamant in his support for fellow military officer Trividi. As far as the Paul Kanjorski-Corey O'Brien race he said "I serve with Congressman Kanjorski" and supports him. 2 years ago O'Brien and fellow Lackawanna Commissioner Mike Washo showed up for the event but were not to be seen this time nor were any of Kanjo's people.

A real treat was meeting the author of NEPArtisan and we plotted another blogger meetup. For some strange reason he really wants to meet the Blogfather. I'll call Mark tomorrow and try to set up a meeting of his fan club and coordinate with the Northeast Blogging Council and the Saturday OT Committee to find an agreeable date.

The Republican candidates had an event in Lewisburg yesterday before 50 people. The tax cut triplets of Tom Marino, Malcolm Derk and Dave Madeira made it but Steven Solieri and young Ted Yale were no shows. Just a guess but I don't think that Yale or Solieri will make the ballot.

The Republican candidates all decry deficit spending but offer no realistic solutions to cutting the federal budget putting large portions of the budget off limits. At the same time they all advocated cutting taxes. Maybe they all need course in remedial mathematics.

I'm not going to pick it all apart so read these press write-ups.


Carney out of touch, Republicans say



Candidates lay out issues at forum

Justin Behrens takes a pass

In the race to succeed John Yudichak in the 119th State House seat we are down to 3 Democrats and 1 Republican. The GOP hopeful is Rick Arnold and the Dems are Bob Morgan, Gary Zingaretti and Jerry Mullery.

Justin Behrens decided to end his bid and sent along this well thought out explaination.





Over the past couple weeks, while working diligently working to obtain signatures in order to placed on the ballot for State Representative of the 119th District, I have come to realize the severity of a much bigger issue, political mistrust. This was evident by acts of angry door slamming, hostile conversations, and lack of interest in becoming registered voters. The voice of the 119th District is clear, whomever is elected into this office will need to carefully listen to the people they serve in order to gain back public trust.
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This is why I have decided to pull my name from ballot and dedicate my next couple years understanding the issues of the people and getting to know them. Serving in the United States Army to defend this constitution and this country with honor, pride and integrity was something that I took seriously. Now, I am going to serve the people of this community with the same values. I want to get a better feel for the people of this district and work on building my grass roots campaign.
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I thank all those that supported me and assisted in obtaining signatures, we will be doing this again in the future. I will consider running for public office again keeping to my promise of running without any money from political action committees. Instead, my campaign will run from the bottom up by volunteer supporters with the focus on grass roots interactions. Inspired by Rep Yudichak who was able to knock on the door of each voter twice during his first campaign for the district, I hope to be visiting each doorstep multiple times in the upcoming years.
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I will continue to address ending regressive taxation, such as property tax, so that we can ease the undue burden that has been placed on working families. With progressive taxation we can fund our public schools properly, empowering the next generation of leaders.
I will support for legislation that will empower communities to choose a system of governance that would include checks and balances. I believe public money should not be given to private schools. Our public school teachers are heroes and there is not a better investment a society can make than to support their efforts.
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Together, with supporters, I will also endeavor to bring about quick meaningful healthcare reform at the state level. I am open to working with any solution that will increase access and quality for everyone.
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Finally, I do not consider myself a politician, but rather a statesman. I will continue to build the voice of the people and encourage candidates that are running to speak that voice, which I so passionately helped defend while serving in the United States Army. I will continue to have my website up running at www.friends4justinbehrens.com where I will dialogue and work with the people addressing their needs and concerns. Honor, Pride, and Integrity back in Harrisburg and this great Nation.

Jim Wansacz

The PA 22nd Senate district is mostly in Lackawanna County with a slice of Monroe and just 3 Luzerne County towns-Avoca, Dupont and Duryea. With so many state legislature races in Luzerne County I have to draw the line somewhere so I won't be putting in a lot of time covering this one. Fellow blogger NEPArtisan has been following the twist and turns since Bob Mellow announced his retirement who will have to scrape by on a $300K a year pension. It must be nice to write the laws governing your own retirement.

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Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty dropped his bid to be Governor

and now wants to be the State Senator from this district seems to be the frontrunner. Former Lackawanna Commissioner Joe Corcoran got the Democratic Party endorsement for whatever that is worth and 2 others are in the race.

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Which brings me to 114th District State Rep Jim Wansascz who wants to be a State Senator. He is getting beat up over the per diem thing but is open to changing rules about them as he explained to the Scranton Public Policy Examiner. I met Jim today and thanked him for including me on his press list. He requested that I publish his press releases and I'm happy to oblige. The one question I forgot to ask was "Do you think you can beat Frank Scavo in the fall"?

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Jim doesn't have a campaign website up yet but he is on Facebook. His state rep site is http://www.pahouse.com/Wansacz/

WANSACZ FIRST TO FILE FOR 22nd SENATORIAL DISTRICT

On Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010, Representative Jim Wansacz filed in excess of 2,000 signatures for the 22nd Senatorial District. Wansacz was the first candidate to file and plans on submitting supplementary signatures before the March 9th deadline.

“I am encouraged by the outpouring of support I have had since announcing my intention to run for the Pennsylvania State Senate,” Wansacz said. “This is a testament to the dedication of my volunteers who have made a tremendous effort to obtain these signatures in the face of the weather we’ve recently experienced.”

While several candidates having announced their intentions of running for the seat, only Wansacz has submitted the requisite signatures for inclusion on the Democratic ballot this May 19th. State law requires the filing of 500 signatures of qualified electors within the party and District of the seat.

“This is the beginning of a long campaign, one we intend on focusing on what matters most to the people of the 22nd District,” said Wansacz. “I look forward to discussing the issues that affect our every day lives; job creation, property taxes, education and preserving our environment.”

Taxes

One of my goals in life was to get to a level of prosperity that I needed a professional to do my tax return. I'm happy to report that I reached that goal in 2003. I'm certainly not rich but the rules about depreciation of rental property and the different treatment of stock dividends, etc. have got to be so complex that I want a Tax Pro to do my return. I won't to go a seasonal place like the one that hires people to stand out front of the place in a ridiculous costume.


I was dealing with a firm in my little burgh of Plains Township for the last few years but it changed ownership and the person I dealt with moved on. Last year I never talked with the person who did my return despite requesting an audience. Pretty poor customer service.

So I'm trying out a new number cruncher and will report back to you.

Walter on the job

I've been busy with the horse race aspects of the upcoming elections for state and federal offices and have neglected the happenings of Luzerne County government so it's time to catch up.

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Republican Walter Griffith was elected as Luzerne County Controller by a wide margin on a promise of being a "pain in the ass" and so far he is living up to that. The way to be a pain is to simply ask that county government follow the law. I know that that is a novel idea around here. He has exposed various expenditures that were were not authorized by the Commissioners, Salary Board or Union contracts such as the Chief Public Defender collecting on-call pay or employees trying to cash in unused sick days far in excess of what the union contract allows. He has refused to pay invoices from companies that may not have valid contracts with the county because the Commissioners never approved them.

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Then there is the out of control Sheriff's department. They have been selling guns to a select few and Griffith wanted an accounting of all firearms in the office and was forced to subpoena acting Sheriff Charlie Guanieri who refused to cooperate. Some select deputies were getting bonus payments that exceeded their annual salaries for driving their own cars on county business that even the the union objected because it wasn't offered to all employees. When county employees use their own cars they should get 50 cents a mile not some sort of vehicle lease. The PA Attorney General is supposedly investigating this arrangement but he he is busy running for Governor so I don't expect much.

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The Luzerne County theme song.

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Charlie's money

Just about every campaign has a few of these give the money back squabbles.

In 2008 Paul Kanjorski's camp demanded that Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta return a contribution from crooked Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens. I don't think that he did. Kanjo got some cash from NY Congressman and Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel who is under fire for ethical violations and the Republicans are apopolectic “It comes as no surprise to the residents of Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District that Paul Kanjorski has once again chosen personal greed over ethical and decent behavior,” GOP Executive Director Renita Fennick said in a PR. Ed Mitchell says the Kanjorski campaign hasn't decided to give back the money or donate it to charity or just keep it. Democratic primary opponent Corey O'Brien piled on “Decisions like these, to not return or donate the money, are why we’ve lost confidence in our leaders.”

A few days ago Malcolm Derk sent out a release demanding that Congressman Chris Carney "should immediately return this tainted money” from Rangel.

TL: U.S. Rep. Chris Carney will send $21,000 from his campaign war chest to a local charity, keeping a promise that if embattled U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel were ever found to have violated House ethics rules, he would return the money.

“I have long said that I would give to charity any contributions from Mr. Rangel if the ethics committee found wrongdoing. I will be donating the contributions my campaign has received from Mr. Rangel to the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute,” Carney said

I've received emails from the Derk camp and others taking credit for Carney's decision to dump Rangel's money like so many others across the country.

Another 10th CD Republican candidate Dave Madeira says:“Chris Carney may parade himself as a bipartisan fiscal-conservative, but the truth is revealed in his sources of income. Even without the scandal, what is Carney doing taking money from Rangel,” Madeira
asked “Better yet, what does Carney owe Rangel for that $21,000?”

Most of the time these inside baseball arguments are don't register with voters. Maybe a public financing scheme for Congressional campaigns is the best way to get past it. An added benefit would be that the "special interests" won't be able to buy legislation.

O'Brien gets some labor support

The Scranton Building & Construction Trades Council and Northeast Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council endorsed Corey O'Brien for Congress over incumbent Paul Kanjorski. I find this surprising because Kanjo has always had solid union support but then again he has never had a serious primary challenge.

TT: While Mr. Kanjorski has been a "good friend" to unions, affiliate unions to the Scranton trades council feel the congressman didn't do enough to ensure local contractors were selected for work brought in by federal money, said Scranton trades council president Drew Simpson...
Lackawanna County commissioners have signed a project labor agreement to ensure projects through Lackawanna County are performed with local union labor... "There are out-of-area contractors and work force doing work on the project while our affiliates are looking to put our members back to work," Mr. Simpson said.

O'Brien again claimed that he is more electable than Kanjorski; This election is also really not about myself and Paul Kanjorski - it's about winning and keeping the seat in November," Mr. O'Brien said. "Paul Kanjorski has a zero percent chance of beating (Republican candidate) Lou Barletta in November."

Kanjo spokesman Ed Mitchell disputes that; "Our polling data not only shows Kanjorski crushing O'Brien in the primary, but Barletta crushing O'Brien in the general," he said. "We've beaten Barletta twice."

I'd like to see that poll.

Look for the the union label

“Public office is an office of public trust. Any violation like this is a violation of the public’s trust. I don’t care how big or small it is"-Robert Corcoran



Wilkes-Barre Area School Board Director Christine Katsock is being accused of trademark violation for misusing a union label on one of the those annoying sticker ads that was stuck on the front page of the Citizen Voice in April.

Robert Corcoran of Airmont Printing in Plains Township said he co "It's a personnel issue."ntacted the Allied Printing and Trades Association after he discovered Katsock had included Corcoran’s union printing label – which indicated he had printed the document – on campaign material Katsock utilized during the May 2009 primary.

The problem, Corcoran said, is he did not print the material and did not give Katsock permission to use his label. As a union shop, the label is licensed exclusively to him and any use of it without his permission could be considered a violation of trademark laws.

So the ad was not only printed by by another shop they used Corcoran's label and he is pissed. I'm sure this will end up in court.

Ms. Katsock is not as loquacious as she used to be. Back in the old days (pre-2009) she was always good for quote in the local rags. Since she actually got elected to something Katsock is not available for comment.

The TL reports that she did not return a phone message Tuesday seeking comment on this story. When asked why she voted for Gary Polakowski to take the place of to take the place of admitted crook Frank Pizzella she demurred saying "It's a personnel issue." She earlier voted to reappoint Pizzella as board president despite the fact that Frankie Kneecaps was under indictment and declined to explain her vote.

It's like having our our own version of Sarah Palin who never answers questions from the press.

One of the funniest or saddest things is that Katsock is in charge of developing an anti-nepotism hiring policy.

A repost.


Katsock had no comment when asked to explain her vote for Pizzella but it's not hard to figure out if you look at her Campaign Finance Report. Frank Pizzella was her top cash contributor pitching in $3000. She also got $1800 as a in-kind contribution from the Friends of Frank Pizzella. Other notable contributions came from engineer Michael Pasonick who does business with just about every government agency in Luzerne County and has been implicated in the ongoing corruption scandal. Owners and employees of Apollo Electric chipped in $2000 and the owners of Popple Construction $2000.

The trouble with Harry

To nobody's surprise the Wilkes-Barre Are School Board replaced admited crook Frank Pizzella with another longtime politico, Gary Polakoski, who was nominated by former reformer Christine Katsock. This is not a not a knock on Mr. Polakoski who has served on the Wilkes-Barre Township council for 16 years who works for PennDOT and seems to be qualified. My choice was Harry Haas who fell short of a seat on the board by 116 votes in the last election or any other of one of the unconnected candidates.


Eight people submitted letters saying they wanted to be considered for Pizzella’s seat: Haas, Polakoski, Dr. James Susek, Al Smith, David Rubbico Sr., Peter Gagliardi, Jean Brodie-Druby and Lysandra Caiozza.



I didn't expect this bunch to do the right thing after they reelected Pizzella as board President and they didn't disapoint.



Haas released this statement after the vote. It's a PDF so I can't cut and paste. He promises to be back in 2 years.

Carney in the middle

WASHINGTON – Today, the highly respected National Journal Magazine released its annual “Vote Ratings” issue and Congressman Chris Carney (PA-10) has been ranked among the most bipartisan members of the 435-member House of Representatives. The nonpartisan magazine analyzed the 92 most significant votes in 2009 and ranked Congressman Carney the 11th most centrist member in the entire House of Representatives.

Congressman Carney, in his short time in Congress, has established himself as a pragmatic lawmaker who puts people in the region above political party. It is the third straight year since his election that he was named among the most bipartisan members in Congress by National Journal.

“I strive to be an independent voice for our region who represents the people, not a political party. I am glad to see those efforts recognized,” Congressman Carney said. “The families in our district want a representative who will put solving our country’s problems above ideology.”

In particular, the National Journal analysis ranked Congressman Carney the most fiscally conservative Democrat in the 19-member Pennsylvania House delegation. That finding is a point of pride for Congressman Carney, who played a key role in the recent enactment of pay-as-you-go rules in order to bring down the deficit. Pay-go rules force lawmakers to make an equal cut for every new dollar in spending.

Carney also recently voted to end the health insurance industry's exemption to the anti-trust laws and announced that broadband Internet access grants are available because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He defends his vote for the stimulus noting that in Bradford County alone 26,000 families got tax cuts, schools got $10 million and has paid for roads, bridges and sewers. That has been the story throughout the 10th Congressional District. This recession would be a lot worse if the government hadn't spent money to replace the demand that was sucked out of the economy because of the bank and mortgage collapse. Macroeconomics has never been a strong suit of my Republican friends.

The Republican challengers to Carney all sound the same. They oppose deficit spending but propose more tax cuts saying that is the only way to stimulate the economy. If that was the case the Bush tax cuts should have led us into a period of unending prosperity. In 1993
tax rates on the wealthy were increased a point or two and millions of jobs were created when President Clinton was in office.

Bob Morgan in the 119th race

I'm taking a break from digging out and this popped up in my inbox.



BOB MORGAN TO RUN FOR PA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Morgan will run for seat vacated by John Yudichak in the 119th District

Bob Morgan announced his candidacy to become the next Representative from the 119th District. The seat will be vacated by John Yudichak, who is currently running for State Senate. Morgan, 47, is a Financial Advisor from Fairview Township.

Morgan, a Democrat, feels that economic issues are a priority for the constituents of the House District: “I believe that many of our residents have felt the effects of the recession and have had to make tough financial choices in the face of ever present increases in the cost of health care, prescription drugs and school and county property taxes. I believe that my background in finance provides me with a keen awareness of the impact of these issues on our everyday lives and has prepared me to clearly assess the ramifications of proposals before the General Assembly in these areas.”

“Completing the budget in a timely manner and getting people the property tax relief they were promised are tops on my list of priorities; we need to have smart solutions to handle these issues and not just anti-Harrisburg rhetoric,” stated Morgan. “Seniors need relief from crushing tax burdens, jobs need to be created by it. Instead, we need plans. We need green energy programs that provide new skilled, long-term jobs to skilled workers. We need to continue to develop the industrial parks as well as the downtown revitalization projects in our district so that we can keep employers here as well as create new, good-paying jobs. We need to have solid schools so that our teachers are able to shape the leaders of tomorrow and a solid vision for our educational system to train the next generation of workers. I will dedicate myself to these projects to benefit our citizens.”

“The people of the 119th District work hard, pay their taxes and make sacrifices to educate their children. I believe that we need a person who recognizes their needs, works hard to address their concerns, and reaches out,” said Morgan. “My office will always be open to help people in any way that the state government is able. The people of this district deserve that in their representative.”

The 119th District extends from Bear Creek Township, portions of Mountaintop, Nanticoke, Newport Township, Nanticoke, Hanover Township, Sugar Notch, Warrior Run, Plymouth, Plymouth Township, Larksville and Edwardsville.

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New 11th CD candidate

“A regular person holding an office becomes a politician when trying to be re-elected.”- Brian Kelly





Brian Kelly is a retired IBM executive and assistant professor at Marywood University in Scranton. He will not accept campaign donations and vows to serve only one term if elected. If he actually gets on the ballot it is good news for Congressman Kanjorski because the anti-Kanjo voters will have another choice other than Corey O'Brien. The Machiavelli in me has been expecting another Scranton area Democrat to get into the race.

He has a website
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Brian Kelly for Congress
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Reading his Patform Bullets he takes some interesting postions for someone calling himself a Democrat, to put it mildly. He says he has been influenced by the writings of Allan Keyes saying that they think alike.
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Some of his positions:


Abortion is "prohibited" in Declaration of Independence

Public display of the Ten Commandments is a state’s right.

Official Language of US is English.

Marriage is between a man and a woman.

This is a Christian Nation.. Prayers to Christ should not be barred.

Schools forfeit funds if they expose kids to gay propaganda / pornography.

Sex education if it exists at all, should be abstinence-based

Eliminate Department of Education

Drill here, Drill now

Global Warming is a hoax

CAFE standards kill people in crashes - abolish them

Recognize the UN as an anti-US agency

Repeal all aspects of Obamacare including the "Porkulus" bureaucracy

Seal the borders of the United States

No U.S. citizenship for “anchor babies” of non-citizens

Repeal the Sixteenth Amendment

Abolish the income tax and IRS and spend money responsibly

Constitution does not require separation of church and state

TL: 11th needs non-politico, Kelly says

Harry Haas for school board

A few weeks ago I suggested that Harry Haas should be appointed to the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board to take the place of disgraced former board President Frank "kneecaps" Pizzella. Harry finished 5th in the recent election to choose 4 board members and if they follow recent precedent in choosing replacements for admitted crooks he should be a shoo in. Christine Katsock was the top vote getter in the primary so she was chosen to take the place of previous board President Jim Height who plead guilty to taking a bribe. The other admitted (so far) crook on the board, Brian Dunn, didn't stand for reelection.

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The TL reports that 8 people have applied for the vacancy but the identity of the applicants is a secret. When will these people ever learn? The Luzerne County GOP put out a press release backing Haas which will probably be a kiss of death.

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WILKES-BARRE (Feb. 24, 2010) – The Luzerne County Republican Party is urging the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board to “do the right thing” and appoint Harry Haas to the open seat on the board.

Haas, a Republican, finished fifth in the November 2009 race for four seats on the school board. Haas missed out by 116 votes.

“We are asking the School Board to do the right thing,” Republican Chairman Terry Casey said. “Harry is exactly the type of person we need to make decisions for the district, its taxpayers and most importantly, its students. He is intelligent, open-minded, fair and has a background in education.”

Appointing Haas to the vacancy created by the resignation of Frank Pizzella would offer the school board the opportunity to prove to residents of the district that it is “not business as usual, or even, politics as usual,” Casey said.

Haas, 34, of Wilkes-Barre, is a teacher in the Dallas School District. During his campaign last year he advocated the preservation of the Wilkes-Barre Area School District’s old buildings, promised a fair-hiring process and supported training and advanced technology to meet the needs of a changing student body.

Haas has submitted a letter of interest to the school board which is expected to make an appointment on March 8.

Tax bill flap

Luzerne County started sending out tax bills this week that didn't include the Homestead exclusion so they had to stop the mailing and print new bills.


County officials: Homestead tax break remains in effect

In a first for this blog Commissioner Chair Maryanne Petrilla sent me a press release about this issue and listing her accomplishments.


Statement by Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla
February 24, 2010

I want the taxpayers of the county to know I hear their frustration and anger at the recent mix-up concerning the Homestead Tax Exemption. There was a mistake made here. We’re all human. I told the people attending the commissioners’ meeting last week who protested that we would correct this. And we have.

I can’t dial back the play clock on this one item. We will make sure things like this don’t occur again.

I also hope that all I have tried to do to improve county government at this crucial time in our history will not be judged by this one incident. I’ve finally put an end to the wasteful practice of seemingly endless county borrowing. We had to raise taxes, but we made many cuts in this year’s spending to try to minimize the pain. We now have a fairer tax system with everyone paying their fair share instead of some receiving a better deal over others. This preferential treatment went on for decades beyond when other counties reassessed. Additionally:

• I singlehandedly worked with the principals of PA Child Care to end their lease that cost $58 million.
• Discovered the practice of contract piecemealing, stopped and exposed it, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• Completely put an end to nepotism and cronyism by hiring professional and experienced directors to fill jobs.
• Developed a cooperative working relationship with the courts to streamline their budget and save taxpayer’s two million dollars a year.

There has been much to cleanup since I became chairwoman of the commissioners. I’ve worked hard to begin the cleanup. I hope people won’t rush to judgment on my overall record before some time passes and it can be judged in it’s entirety.

These have been tough times in Luzerne County for a variety of reasons. We’re doing our best in these trying days. I hope people will look at the big picture. Thank you to the taxpayers for any patience they can afford us. We will continue to try and do better.

We're all going to die!

Most people will be off to the grocery store for bread, eggs and milk but I have the essentials already. Charcoal, steaks, gas for the snowblower and a case of beer plus toilet paper.

Arlen Specter in Wilkes-Barre

Senator Specter was in Wilkes-Barre yesterday touring the new muli-million dollar over budget and behind schedule parking garage (intermodal transportation center) promising more money for the project. The city needs another $500,000 to replace sidewalks on Public Square. The Blogfather has documented the incompetence of the last administration in doing simple maintenance especially because the materials have been available for years. On a side note Mark is feeling bit neglected by the local blogosphere so I thought a little link love would be appropriate.

While in the area Specter picked up the endorsement of a couple of local unions. Specter has declined a debate invitation from Meet the Press so his Democratic challenger Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey are going to try to recreate the magic of the Alllentown beer summit.

A few months ago the reports I was getting was that Sestak's campaign was a mess. He could show up on MSNBC all the time but his campaign couldn't bother to return a phone call or send out an email alerting local supporters when he would be in town. That is improving.

In his latest web ad he slams President Obama for supporting Specter despite his own support of Hillary Clinton in the primary.





I really can't make up my mind in this race. I've never been an Arlen fan but Sestak's campaign has been just so incompentent until lately.

Another 119th state rep candidate

A fourth Democrat has thrown his hat into ring to succeed John Yudichak who is running for the state senate. Justin Behrens is an Iraq war vet from Mountaintop.

TL: “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to serve our community and what we can achieve together.” said Behrens.
“I served my country with pride, honor and integrity. I will serve the 119th District upholding those same values along with vision, leadership and compassion.”

Gary Zingaretti and Jerry Mullery have previously announced that they are running for the seat and Bob Morgan is circulating petitions for the Democratic nomination.

The lone Republican so far is Rick Arnold. I miss attributed a quote yesterday by Arnold to Zingaretti.

Arnold said

"In my mind, I have more opposition now in the primary than I will in November," he said, adding "we'll pretend like we're running a primary right through May."

My apologies to both gentleman and thanks to the reader who corrected me.

119h update

Bear Creek Township Chairman Supervisor Gary Zingaretti is seeking the Democratic nomination for state rep in the 119th district to succeed John Yudichak who is running for the the state senate. He has been in the news trying to reduce the fatalities on Route 115 urging a reduction of the speed limit as a first start. He brags that "I'm the only one who's got actual experience in government."

That may not be a plus this year.


Ziggy is a number cruncher who went to Coughlin HS in Wilkes-Barre then went to King's for his undergrad degree then got a masters from Wilkes U.

His opponent in the Democratic primary is Jerry Mullery who welcomed him into the race.

"Anybody who believes that they can help the citizens of the 119th should get involved and should make a run for the seat, and hopefully the voters will educate themselves as to the position of each candidate and select the one that they believe can best serve them."


The other Dem mentioned as possibly running is Bob Morgan who lost the Luzerne County Controller's race to Walter Griffith in the last election.


Mullery sent out this PR a few days ago:



I am that type of leader and I ask for the support of anyone else who shares these values.

Attorney Mullery resides in Alden with his wife, the former Michele Mech, and the couples four children, Leah, 9, Lauren, 8, Liam, 4, and Louden, 2. Attorney Mullery operates a private law practice in Kingston. He is a graduOn Wednesday, February 17th, Attorney Gerald J. Mullery of Newport Township officially announced his candidacy for the 119th Legislative District. His reasons for running are outlined below:

My political aspirations of late have been fueled by the corruption at all levels of government and the overwhelming evidence that many of our elected officials have demonstrated a complete lack of fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately many elected officials have abandoned their constituents, pandered to those few who can secure the elected officials' influence by the promise of large donations, a quid pro quo or alternatively by way of creating a perception that a particular group can deliver the vote necessary to keep those already in public office well entrenched, to the detriment of the rest of the community. This unfortunate environment is no less a threat in the 119th Legislative District of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania than in our country as a whole.

I have four young children, an elder parent, elder in-laws, relatives and friends whose children's futures are at stake, much like my own. We need leaders who are willing to put personal ambitions aside and work toward creating a better community for all, regardless of race, age, sex, religion or political beliefsate of Greater Nanticoke Area High School, King's College and Duquesne University School of Law.

The Coffee Party

The Tea Baggers have received all the attention lately so it's natural that there would be a blowback.

From the Pennsylvania Progressive

A new Facebook group called The Coffee Party now has over 6200 members. At least we'll be more alert than those teabaggers.


Join the Coffee Party Movement

We recognize that the federal gov't is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will...As voters & volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, & hold accountable those who obstruct them.

Patte's Sports Bar

Pat is down in the Bahama's on a long planned trip and the Fed's are trying to seize his bar using forfeiture laws that are also used in drug cases that have been abused in many cases. He hasn't been convicted of anything yet but they are already trying to grab his property. No matter what your political stripe is you should find this action to be outrageous.

A Facebook group has popped up supporting him and the website he is accused of running is still online. Willtobet requires a login and password that I have never been privy to.

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.

Kanjo is running for reelection

“Corey O’Brien is a nice young man; he supported me in the past. I understand ambition.”- Congressman Paul Kanjorski

With no kickoff rally or other hoopla Paul Kanjorski announced on twitter that he is seeking a 14th term in the US House of Representatives. Congressman Paul Kanjorski's volunteers in PA-11 are circulating his nominating petitions. He's running for reelection.

He sat down with both the Times-Leader and Citizens Voice (but not bloggers.. Abbie?) to state his case that his seniority is more of an asset to the people of the district than ever before.
“If I were to leave this year, the longest-serving legislator in the region will be Sen. Bob Casey,” Kanjorski said. “We are losing state Senators Bob Mellow and Ray Musto, who are retiring. If I go and Sen. Casey is not re-elected in his next run, then we might as well close down the ballroom....“We must avoid the shock of having no legislator with clout,” he said. “When I leave and Sen. Musto and Sen. Mellow are gone, there could be a long desert to cross.”

He has some irons in the fire such as his "to big to fail" amendment and defended the stimulus bill that has brought $150 million to the district. He said the focus on health care reform was a disconnect from people's anxiety about the economy and jobs. He attacked the Senate Republican strategy of filibustering everything in the Senate in order to defeat the President.

"They've decided that it doesn't matter what's good for the country, 'let's bring him down,'" Kanjorski said. "It's not having an impeachment, literally, but it's a political impeachment. If you destroy the validity of a presidency, you don't have to worry, he's just putting in time and then he'll be out of there."

He gives an honest assessment of the political environment like he always does:


"If the election is decided as a referendum on the last 14 months, this coming November, the Democrats are going to lose."

For all you Cornerstone obsessed people he says that Bush Justice Department found nothing illegal.


“Don’t you think with a Republican president and administration that I was checked out thoroughly?” Kanjorski offered. “And they found nothing wrong.”

Chris Doherty for Govenor, Lt. Governor, Congressman, State Senator or whatever

This guy has now become a joke.

Elect me to something!

From Borys

Scranton mayor to run for state Senate, not governor

Pennsylvania 14th Senatorial District

Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton tossed his hat into the ring to succeed Ray Musto in the state senate yesterday before a big crowd at Rodano's on Public Square. He pointed to the remake of Wilkes-Barre's downtown and said he wants use his experience to help other distressed cities in the district. You can read his entire announcement speech on his website.


On Monday119th State Rep John Yudichak kicked off his his campaign to be a state senator at the construction site of the new LCCC food school in Nanticoke.


“The construction you see happening here on Main Street in Nanticoke, a $30 million investment that will bring hundreds of new jobs to Luzerne County, represents just how hard I am willing to fight to create jobs and economic opportunity for all of northeastern Pennsylvania,” Yudichak said. “I have listened to the workers on this site and they want Harrisburg to get to work for them; they want good jobs, betters schools for their kids and safer communities for their families. I believe, with the support of working families from Luzerne, Carbon and Monroe Counties, I can be a leader who gets things done in the Pennsylvania State Senate.”


“That’s not a lot to ask for,” Yudichak said. “People need a safe place to live and work and they want health care security.

Yuddy has all the muli-media bases covered.

Website: Yudichak for State Senate

Facebook: Yudichak for Senate

Twitter will probably follow shortly.

YouTube: YudichakForSenate's Channel






SPPE covered Leighton's announcement and Lu Lac handicaps the race.

The only Republican in the mix so far is Republican Luzerne County Commissioner Steve Urban who is circulating petitions for state senator and Lt. Governor.

Mullery for State House

Nanticoke Attorney Gerald Mullery is a candidate for State Representative in the 119th Legislative District. His campaign kickoff is scheduled for tonight at 7PM at the home of Jim McDermott, 4 Marie Drive, Nanticoke, PA 18634 (735-1713)

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He doesn't have a website up yet but those of you on Facebook can get more information at Mullery for State House.



Republican Rick Arnold is the only other announced candidate in the race but we are waiting to hear from Hanover GOP politico Dave Shipula and Democrat Bob Morgan.

Richard Shermanski for State Represenative

Back Mountain Republican State Representative Karen Boback has an opponent.





TL: Richard Shermanski Jr., a 23-year-old law student, announced Monday he is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for state representative in the 117th Legislative District.




The Pennsylvania General Assembly is “plagued by our representatives’ inability to work together, which, in effect, is only hurting this state’s citizens.
“I, for one, am tired of it,” he said. “If elected, I promise to finally set aside this partisan arguing and work to create a General Assembly that works for the people and not the party.”

Good luck with that bipartisan thing.

Shermanski has worked in the state house and interned for Congressman Paul Kanjorski.

He has a website that has more information.

Elect Richard Shermanski for the 117th district

Candidate announcements

Senate 14


The Blogfather is reporting that Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton will announce that he is running for the state senate seat currently held by retiring Ray Musto tomorrow at 5:15 p.m. at Rodano’s on Public Square in W-B. State Rep John Yudichak has previously announced he is running for the seat. No Republican has thrown their hat into the ring yet.


119th

With Yuddy trying for the senate spot the first Republican in the race to succeed him is
Rick Arnold, 47, of Rice Township, who will announce his candidacy for Pennsylvania’s 119th Legislative District at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 2260 Church Road, Rice Township. Other candidates looking at the race are Republican Dave Shipula and Democrats Bob Morgan and Gerald Mullery.

I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!

One of worst kept secrets in these parts is that you could make a friendly wager on sporting events at Patte's Sports Bar in the North End of Wilkes-Barre. When I was a little boy my dad would take me there occasionally on a Saturday afternoon for a burger and a soda to watch a baseball or football game. Listening to the chatter of the patrons I remember asking him "what is a point spread?"

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When I was a kid the place was just another corner bar that was later renovated and expanded and over the years the clientèle expaned from just the local working stiffs to include the who's who of the local Democratic Party. That seemed to accelerate after the closing of Aldino's Manor in East End.

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The owner Patrick Patte and an employee have now been charged with what amounts to bookmaking. The TL story suggest that they were wiretapped. I have seen many local politico's there over the years and many of them are now under indictment or copped a plea. It looks like they are all singing to the Feds trying to save their own asses and will give up a name no matter how unrelated to the government corruption that has been going on forever.

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A crime is a crime but you can legally gamble a few miles to the north at the casino in Plains that used to be called Pocono Downs. I think that the thing that should be investigated is how his kid got the job as the Coughlin High School football coach.

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The Blogfather wasn't impressed by the food or the atmosphere. I think the food is good and I always enjoy talking politics.

Spam attack

In the space of 3 minutes tonight the same spam comment was left on 15 different posts. It is just gibberish so I clicked on it to find the source to find out it was from a Chinese porno site. Now I will have to expend my precious Blogging Energy Units deleting the garbage.

Because of the brief time frame I fear that the the spammers have found an automated way to defeat word verification that is supposed to prevent this kind of bullshit.

Anybody else have this problem?

Libertarian candidates

I'm glad to see there are couple of Libertarian Party candidates running for seats in the state legislature. The Libertarians and the Greens put a lot of energy in putting up candidates for President, Governor or US Senator with no hope of winning those races but rarely field candidates for school board, city council or county commissioner, etc. I always ask my friends in those parties 'how to you expect to win a statewide race if you don't build a bench'?


Betsy Summers has announced that she is in the the race to succeed Ray Musto in the 14th state senate district. She has previously run for US Senator and Auditor General and coming back to earth was a member of the previous Luzerne County Government Study Commission. She has a website

SUMMERS FOR STATE SENATE

State Rep John Yudichak is the first Democrat in the race to take Musto's place and Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton will announce his intentions shortly. Luzerne County Commissioner Steve Urban is mulling over this race or a long shot campaign for Lt. Governor.


Another Libertarian, Tim Mullen, will be taking on long time state rep Phyllis Mundy in the 120th District. He is a registered nurse and an Army Reserve vet.

From his website:

In the past two years I have become active with the Campaign for Liberty and the Tea Party movement, speaking at the latter's events and writing letters to the editors that have appeared in both local newspapers on both groups' behalf. The economic events of the past year and the steepening slide toward the abyss of socialism as evidenced by nationalization of the banking, insurance, and auto industries, and the push for socialized medicine has pushed me to act.


The Republican Mayor of West Pittston, Bill Goldsworthy, is also expected to get into the race.

No school today

Or blogging because of the snow that these guys think disproves global warming.

10th CD happenings

Dave Madeira's Magical Mystery tour of the district started in Honesdale yesterday and made it to the Pierce Street Deli in Kingston but cut it short because of the predicted snowstorm skipping his last stop in Lewisburg disappointing tens of people awaiting his arrival. What is it about the Pierce Street Deli and Republicans? Tom Marino also made a stop at the place on his announcement tour. Maybe they like the really rare roast beef sandwiches that I enjoy.

Some choice quotes

He predictably called incumbent Chris Carney a "liberal" that is “deceiving the district into thinking he’s a Blue Dog Democrat.”

His message is simple. “I’m running because I believe the time is right for a businessman and not a professional politician to represent the people of this region in Washington,” he said from his home Tuesday night... “I’m making no personal attacks on him, but it’s his record I strongly disagree with. He likes to wave his Blue Dog credentials, but one year ago, he voted for President Obama’s stimulus plan that not only brought no stimulus, but saw unemployment jump to over 10.1 percent. I’m alarmed at the deficit. And Carney has to take responsibility for his votes. Is this who we want representing us?”

He then talks about being inspired by the Tea Bag Movement " It’s a grass-roots movement comprised of independent thinkers, businessmen, doctors, but the common thread in the group is how people feel disconnected with their congressmen. It doesn’t seem like Congress is listening to us. ”

Nice try Dave but you wanted to run for this seat long before the tea parties started.

The Dems react

DCCC: With the official launch of his campaign, this morning David Madeira became the latest candidate to enter the contest for the Republican nomination in Pennsylvania ’s 10th congressional district. With his announcement, however, he is also bringing a heavy dose of irresponsible rhetoric with him, highlighted by his recent call for the expiration of regulations that protect children from dangerous lead toys.



“Dave Madeira's recent call to sunset regulations that ensure children have safe, lead-free toys speaks volumes about how grossly out of touch he is with northeastern Pennsylvania ,” said Shripal Shah , Northeast Press Secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Dave Madeira is seriously mistaken if he thinks voters across the 10th district are going to buy in to these kinds of beliefs.”

From his blog Could we please have our country back now?

Yesterday I featured a clip from Stossel's expose' on Crony Capitalism with the other Carney. In todays clip, Stossel says that Salvation Army says it had to dump $100,000,000 worth of second hand toys and another $100,000,000 worth of second hand clothing to comply with new regulations...Congressman Chris Carney proudly touts his support for these new measures on his website. We need to sunset all regulations so Congress has to review them regularly to make sure that they are counting the cost of all these good intentions.

PA Democratic Party Chairman TJ Rooney:


"Dave Madeira offers more canned partisan rhetoric at a time when Washington needs to come together to solve our nation’s problems. Now is the time to bring the parties together, not separate them further. Congressman Carney is a leader who voters in the 10th District can be proud of, having shown the kind of bipartisanship that has twice ranked him among the most independent members in the House. He is a strong advocate for the needs of his community, having fought to fund area projects and pushed for tax cuts for area families and tax credits for small businesses."

Congressman Chris Carney's camp said:

"Congressman Carney is proud to have fought hard to bring investments to our region that boost employment, provide improvements to our region’s hospitals and infrastructure and enable our community’s law enforcement officers to have the equipment they need to keep us safe. He stands up for the needs of our region every day in Congress and will never stop fighting for the many worthy projects throughout our community."

The other GOP candidates are Steven Solieri and young Ted Yale who not eligible for the office according to the Scranton Public Examiner and Malcolm Derk.

Derk sent out a press release today that said this about the stimulus "Malcolm Derk strongly opposes this type of reckless spending . The Daily Item reports that the Snyder County Commissioners will create a job using, you guessed it, stimulus money.

Update: a dissent from the inbox


Hi Gort,I read your blog frequently and I saw this today about Malcolm Derkwho is running for Congress in PA10:"Derk sent out a press release today that said this about the stimulus"Malcolm Derk strongly opposes this type of reckless spending . TheDaily Item reports that the Snyder County Commissioners will create ajob using, you guessed it, stimulus money."

I think the whole premise of the paragraph is misleading. I'm fromSnyder County and have followed the county government issues closely. My understanding on the matter is that the Snyder County Commissionershaven't yet voted on creating the position- and all of the quotes inthe article come from Joe Kantz (the other snyder countycommissioner). The article only mentions Malcolm Derk in passing.

And personally I think it's different if a Congressman votes against legislation and then later claims credit for the bill's benefits-that's being hypocritical. Congressman have a vote on the house floor, therefore they directly have a say in the matter. Chris Carney has voted against Appropriations bills in the House, but then claims credit for the earmarks in those bills- which annoys me. But Governors, Mayors, and Commissioners don't have a vote in Congress- so they can't determine the amount of federal money that is allocated to their constituents. Similarly, Governors, Mayors, and Commissioners don't get to pick and choose which federal laws tofollow- they have to follow all of them.

Mellow out

HARRISBURG -- Sen. Robert J. Mellow, D-Peckville, the Pennsylvania State Senate’s longest-serving member and its highest-ranking Democrat, announced today that he will not seek re-election.


“It has been my profound personal honor to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania. It has literally been my life’s work. I am deeply grateful for the trust that my friends and neighbors from northeastern Pennsylvania have shown me by electing and re-electing me to work for them. We have accomplished many great things together,” Mellow said in a statement.

Lou Barletta's campaign owes money to Lou Barletta

According to lastest FEC report Republican 11th CD candidate Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta has debt of $263,170 including $65,000 owed to Legacy Bank in Harrisburg that he says he is making the payments himself. The dean of local political reporters Borys points out that Barletta sent out a fundraising letter last November asking donors to help retire the debt but He has not paid off a cent yet. His campaign Manager Vince Galko said that will happen soon.


Barletta's Republican opponent, Chris Paige, charged that "The undisputed and indisputable reality is that Barletta is taking money from his campaign and putting that money into his own pocket."

Outsourcing

This is rich. The shady company that Luzerne County gave a no bid contract to do a basic function of government, paying it's employees, subcontracted the work to another outfit. Former HR Director and debit card abuser Doug Richards has been indicted for taking a bribe from an unnamed contractor. It's not hard to figure out the connection.

Outsourcing a basic government function like housing juvenile offenders blew the lid off this mess.

It's not hard to understand why many people oppose a 15% increase in county property taxes to pay for years mismanagement and corruption.