In the 113th, according to Joe Pilchesky, Kevin Murphy has nearly 900 signatures, Shimkus has 381, and McGuigan has 323. To be on the ballot one needs 300 signatures for a State Rep race.

That means if somebody were to challenge 24 of McGuigan’s signatures, she would be throw off the ballot. Expect that to happen, as the conventional wisdom in this race is that Murphy and McGuigan will split the Irish vote and Shimkus will walk in. Now, I don’t actually agree with this, as Murphy has a strong record and Shimkus is pretty much a slovenly dirtbag (see his crashed state vehicles, lying about residency, abuse of per diems, etc.). Shimkus would be harder to get off the ballot, as 82 signatures would need to be invalidated.

Just some food for thought.

So, there is a local NEPA Teaparty chapter. But get this, it’s an LLC!

That’s Limited Liability Corporation. They are nifty things, because if they do something abhorrent, then the perpetrators don’t get sued for what they did as a company, basically.

Also, that means it’s for profit. It isn’t a movement, it’s a business.

Well, I guess nothing is more patriotic in this capitalist society of ours than taking the money of stupid, deceived masses of the fearful poor.

These assholes should be proud.

The Council vs. Doherty battle is hobbling along just fine. Council rejected Doherty’s appointments to city authorities and then moved to put their own people in.

Janet called for resumes and said she didn’t get them from Doherty’s nominees, and so went with her people. I’m sure that’s the only reason. I would like to see all of these resumes and qualifications, by the way.

But I think this is all a farcical waste of time, just as the budget issue, which I’m sure Evans will lose as well. Not that I enjoy agreeing with Lee Morgan, but he’s right, she should make the cuts for next year because she will lawfully be able to do so then. The 2010 budget was voted on by the 2009 Council. That’s just how it works.
It’s amusing that she said she “won’t play political games on the backs of the taxpayers” when that is pretty much a given for everything she, or any politician, does. That’s just how the game works.

I know most Scrantonians are sick of this fighting. When do you think Evans and Doherty will be?

In the Republican Race to be the Republisaur to battle Chris Carney, two candidates either didn’t file or didn’t get enough signatures on their petitions.

Ted Yale, who wouldn’t have been able to serve anyway because he’s 23, didn’t bother. He originally said, while running as a Constitution/flag-sucker (to borrow the phrase from Hunter S. Thompson), that he would run anyway. Which would mean saying the Constitution could go to hell. Although that makes him a typical Republican, it still sucks. At least he’s not running.
The other, Steve Solieri, who I had an exchange with on this site a few months back regarding health care, also didn’t file. That one was due to a lack of signatures, according to people familiar with Captain Teabag.

Those who remain are all winners. I mean that in the “loser” sense of the word, of course. Malcolm Derk decried the stimulus and then used money from it to create jobs. Republisaur hypocrisy at its finest. Tom Marino has had rumors of corruption swirling around him for some time now. Dave Madiera is probably just as insane as the 10th CD’s Brian Kelly.

Carney should do just fine.

In the 112th, it seems that prolific videographer Kevin Haggerty, in fact, has the support of Paul Nardozzi, and not Ken Smith, as my previous supposition indicated. Of course, I put “supposedly” in my post since I got my information from a source and from inference. My bad! Haggerty put me right.

Nardozzi will be taking him door-to-door. As I wrote, Nardozzi is obviously a proven vote-getter, so this will help Haggerty. Although, I did have it pointed out to me that the blame for the current fiscal disaster that is Dunmore can be laid at least partially at Nardozzi’s feet, as it has happened on his watch.

But I honestly cannot wrap my head around Dunmore politics, so who knows?

In any case, Haggerty has been racking up endorsements. The Dunmore Firefighters got behind him today. Now Nardozzi. He’s got politicians up in the North Pocono Area backing him. And he’s highlighting all of that in regularly released Facebook videos, which is a pretty solid and modern campaign strategy.

To conclude, I just got off the phone with Nardozzi, who stressed that Haggerty is the only reform candidate, which is why he is supporting him. He also stressed that he backed out of the race out of genuine concern for Dunmore and not politics.

The Times article about Jim Wansacz testifying in a corruption trial today is actually a tad overblown if you read it. He isn’t even really the focus, and the trial isn’t about him or any alleged misconduct on his part. But the headline puts “Wansacz” and “corruption” together, so it doesn’t really matter what the article’s about. The two words will get associated.

His testimony isn’t a big deal, it’s whether or not Mike Veon, who has been accused of corruption, actually engaged in corruption. The witnesses say they’ve been pressured and harassed by Tom Corbett’s people. Not surprising, as the last big Corbett case, Rep. Remaley out in Western PA, fell apart. Corbett is just out to get his name in the paper and make Dems look bad (we’re good enough at that without your help, Mr. Corbett).

Regardless of whether or not Veon gets charged, Wansacz shouldn’t have his name paired with “corruption” unless he is actually accused of it. People seem to see this as validation of the Times-Doherty connection. If Wansacz is the biggest threat, well, articles like this knock him down a peg or two or three. Then, Doherty only gets buoyed. Hell, the Times didn’t even mention Chris Phillips the last time they wrote about the race. Why leave his name out? Shoddy reporting, maybe? Agenda, maybe?

Who knows. But I know that I loathe the traditional media more and more as time goes on. Bloggers of the World, Unite!

Rep. John Yudichak’s proposal to force lawmakers who claim per diems to provide receipts is just common sense. That doesn’t make him a hero, especially since he used his per diems to get a 25% stake in a house in Harrisburg. He’s going to sell it off to set a good example. How sweet of him.

Yudichak is running for State Sen. Musto’s seat, so I’m guessing this is damage control and a PR gimmick. He needs the good press. It is a good idea, sure, one that should’ve been in place years ago. But I’m glad he’s proposing it now, even if it’s late in coming.

Anybody see Ken Smith’s billboard? The one that says “Let’s Continue the Journey”?

That’s a bit of a poor choice of slogan, considering what his journey constitutes. Let’s think about this. Do we want to continue giving Ken Smith taxpayer funded loans that he doesn’t repay? Do we want to continue electing a legislator that doesn’t pay his taxes? Do we want to continue with a guy who blames his wife when his fiscal house isn’t in order? Do we want to continue preventing addicts from getting treatment, thereby improving the quality of life of the region?

I don’t think so.

What good has Smith done?

Anybody have any suggestions for a better slogan? Feel free to be wiseasses.

Reminder! Tomorrow is the filing date for petitions, so we will see who is in and who is out.

The word on the street, and directly to me, is that a group of locals will be trying to take over the local Democratic Committee by voting out Harry McGrath enthusiasts. Four years ago, Doherty and Mellow people tried to do that and get Eugene Hickey elected, but failed. This year, it seems like there is even less organization. Supposedly, the Upvalley committee spots are well in hand, and there is an intense effort in the city. It only takes ten signatures to get on the ballot for a Democratic Committee spot.

We shall see what happens!

Personally, I think the local party brand is too tainted for it to be worth taking over. No matter who is in there, there will be resentment and dislike of the establishment. Only when the establishment takes the time to recover its image will any progress be made. That’ll take years and that’s if they even bother to message properly. The Democratic Party should bouy working class candidates who support working class values. Hell, they should act like a charitable organization and reach out to the poor and indigent if they really want to live up to the values they supposedly espouse.

But I’m dreaming, my bad.

Maybe I shouldn’t characterize it this way, as people who buy into the null of socialism will immediately pass judgment without thought, but, hell, I’m going to anyway. Today, we get a proposal from Lackawanna County to have the County itself provide wireless Internet services to government agencies, police forces, hospitals, and possibly even businesses and people. The move will save money.

Well, well, well. That’s socialism people. And it saves money. Why? Because the County is going to provide a service and, since it is government, which is of course for, of, and by the people, doesn’t need to make a profit, it only needs to break even!

Those of us who have Internet access know how expensive it is. If you have DSL, you know that the phone company requires a phone line, even if you don’t use it (like people who have cell phones instead of home phones). That’s money in their pocket. If you have Comcast, which has exclusive cable rights in the city of Scranton, then you have to get cable, or pay exorbitant money rates.

If this proposal goes through, cheaper, genuinely affordable Internet access may be made available to people. Comcast exists to make a profit. Phone companies exist to make a profit. The Lackawanna County government exists to serve its people. Which would be more affordable?

It gets better though! Austin Burke, head of the local Chamber of Commerce, said this would give poorer and less fortunate people access, thereby admitting that business has no use or care for the poor. And admitting that socialism benefits people!

Mwahaha! I’m reveling in this, in case you didn’t notice.

But seriously though, this will be good for the government, for businesses, and for people. Kudos to Lackawanna County for trying to save people money.

I got home from Blarney Carney to find out that PA-119 is short a candidate, Justin Behrens is dropping out.  See, I finally cover a Luzerne race and it all falls apart.  I’ll leave it to Gort to deal with these things from now on!

From the e-mail:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Honestly, it sounds way too touchy-feely for me.  I’m sure something more is at play.  Maybe not enough signatures?  A lot of politics is on-the-job training.  Being green, as Behrens argues for his departure, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  In fact, in this climate, outsiders are welcome.  But the man made his call.  A progressive that I trust down Luzerne way was a big fan, so I was happy to have seen him in.

So ends a chapter (and maybe book) of my Luzerne coverage!

Yes, the title is silly, but it is inspired by the name of Congressman Carney’s fundraiser, Kiss the Blarney with Congressman Carney, I think it’s called.  Hey, the name is silly, but I guarantee people remember it.  That’s what matters.

So, I went to this fundraiser, where I met Gort, incidentally.  He said he likes to cross that Berlin Wall, aka the Luzerne-Lackawanna border, for Carney.  Good man, Carney is worth it.  Gort also informed me that a Blogger Council (which is actually semi-official, despite its silliness — we bloggers are a blend of serious and silly) will be meeting soon.  Maybe I’ll get to meet the Blogfather!  I always wanted to meet a conservative who uses the Internet-tubes!

Anyway, onto the matter at hand.  The fundraiser was well-attended, especially by political players.  Jim Wansacz (22nd State Sen Race) and John Moran (114th State Rep Race) were in attendance, and I had a chance to speak with them.  Both are plugging away at their respective races.  I asked Wansacz how he is dealing with all of this negative press, he said he’s going to work to get his message out there regardless. He knows how to wear out the soles of his shoes knocking on doors, so I’m sure he’ll make up for lost ground.

Carney spoke of the need to pass health care reform, as costs are out of control and will only get worse if nothing is done.  Ed Staback, who introduced Carney, highlighted his military service and pointed out that Carney has killed terrorists.  While that probably plays well with the 10th, I was eating some finger food at the time, and the thought of death and murder, however valiant and defensible, just isn’t dinner conversation (or luncheon in this case).  Plus I’m not much of a war guy.

Carney also gave the best defense of not having a term limit that I’ve ever heard.  He said that the Founding Fathers didn’t put them in, and instead gave voters the power to throw people out or keep them once every two years.  I like that vein of thinking.  Although people will inevitably gripe about the incumbency advantage, I think in a competitive district like Carney’s, this principle works just fine.

I suppose I could go on, and make this into a social column, but I won’t.  I will end by saying that even though there was a bagpiper at this luncheon, there was no Blarney Stone to kiss.

From Paul Nardozzi’s Facebook Page:

I have decided NOT to run for the 112th District seat after all. I was elected to do a job in Dunmore, and we are making some progress, so I must turn the energy needed for a winning run, toward Dunmore, to help out. I feel that is more important at this time, instead of running for another office. Thanks for all the well wishes, and thank you to the 514 people who signed my petitions, and who passed them around.

Well, that’s an interesting exit.  First off, it’s obviously a cover.  Why?  He was a Dunmore elected with a job to do in Dunmore before he decided to run.  Changes of heart like this don’t happen because of sudden realizations about calls to service that were present from the get-go.  They happen because of other factors.  The key would be to find out who he’ll be supporting instead.  I don’t know Dunmore politics as well as I should, but supposedly he’ll be throwing his support behind Ken Smith.  That’ll only help the disgraced incumbent and hurt the other Dunmore candidate, Kevin Haggerty.  We’ll have to see how this all plays out.

Paul Kanjorski, as we all know, is owned by Wall Street.  Just check his campaign contributions.  Only four real people donated to the man as of his most recent filing.  The rest of the near million he has in the bank is from financial, bank, and insurance PACs.  As you know, this disgusts me.

Evidently, it disgusts somebody else out there, so much so that they’ve made a pretty good quality YouTube video.  Since this is Episode 1, we can assume more will be coming.  Enjoy!

Governor Ed Rendell rightfully took it to business leaders who decry taxes as a matter of course.  Rendell talked to Scranton businessers who said that an increase in the sales tax would kill jobs.  I’m not sure how taxing candy will do that exactly, but business is against anything that helps government function.

Right now, Pennsylvania is facing budget shortfalls that can only be plugged by taxes.  The sales tax is actually getting reduced here, it’s just that exemptions are being lifted.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

This is much better than increasing income taxes, which would hurt the little guy.  It’s also better than cutting funding to school districts, which would then have to increase property taxes, which would also hurt the little guy.

In fact, I’m in favor of even more taxes.  Put an extra tax on unhealthy foods (the reason I am a diabetic).  I just read a study that said a special tax (in addition to existing taxes) on soda, candy, snacks, etc. would reduce calorie intake of individuals, reduce obesity, reduce health problems, and generate revenue for the state.

That’s win-win-win-win in my book!

I remember very many years ago, when I was particularly young, my mother told me her thoughts on taxes.  She said that they help pave our streets, put people to work, and make education better.  We wouldn’t have a functioning society without taxes.  They are not a bad thing if they are implemented properly and fairly and spent properly and fairly.

Despite businesses not liking the elimination of 69 tax exemptions (none of which make sense), it is both proper and fair and will help keep Pennsylvania solvent.

Cathy Hardaway of the Abington Heights School Board and crony of the Munchak-Cordaro criminal conspiracy, will be running for Jim Wansacz’s seat in the 114^th.  That’s yet another Republican in the race that will vie with one of two Democrats in the General, either Sid Michaels or John Moran.

Hardaway ran the Voter Registration Office for Muchak-Cordaro for years, until they were booted.

Personally, I’m not a fan of anybody who associates with those two.  And she’s a Republican, so there’s another few strikes.

As per the usual, this election cycle, she won’t be taking per diems.

She is definitely the favorite to win the Republican nod, and she’ll be competitive in the General.  Ugh.

Borys’s Roderick Random column in the Times today gives a tad too much credence to Joe Corcoran’s run.

While it’s true that Corcoran was an electoral powerhouse, there are a lot of factors tainting and handicapping his current candidacy.

Here are a few:

Joe Corcoran has been out of the game, and out of the public eye for seven years.  Oscar Wilde said the only thing worse than being in the news is not being in the news.  Whatever kind of press Doherty has gotten over the past few years, it still means name recognition.  Corcoran has been out of the public consciousness.

Corcoran was voted out of office primarily due to two factors: the idea that he was there too long and the Times coverage of the prison scandal.  This causes two problems for him.  The first is that his reputation probably remains sullied in some voters’ minds.  The second is that he’s already had his time and that time is far gone.

Corcoran has a Party endorsement and Party backing.  This not only means nothing, since the party doesn’t really have votes and barely has money these days, but it is also detrimental.  In Lackawanna County, the Democratic Party does not have a good reputation, and rightfully so.  When was the last time you heard the local Democratic Party actually talk about Democratic values, helping the working man and such?  Never.  The last we really heard was that they wanted the primary field cleared for their endorsed candidate.  That just looks bad.  Not only bad, but cocky.  People don’t like being told who to vote for by their Party.

So Borys’s assertion that the Party endorsement could mean something in this election makes little sense.  Corcoran won’t energize stalwart Dems enough to change the election.  I’m a stalwart Dem and, sorry, “Vote for Corcoran Because the Party Said So” isn’t going to rally me.  Or anybody else, for that matter.  Most voters vote on issues.

And his chances are cut by a few factors.  His base, Scranton, has Phillips and Doherty, both of whom cut into his votes, particularly Phillips.  Not only that, but the anti-incumbent vibe will help Phillips more than anybody.  He’s relatively young and he’s a fresh face.  The other issue is John Blake, he’s going to take any remnant of midvalley and upvalley support that Corcoran could’ve counted on.  They’ll support their own.

While Borys threw the Party a bone today, making it seem like they remain relevant, the fact of the matter is that they have been crumbling for twenty years and that trend doesn’t seem to be abating.

From a moral standpoint, the existence of lobbyists is abhorrent to me.  Lobbying may as well be legalized bribery.  I often think that if more politicians took a stand, rather than playing the game out of practicality and pragmatism, then this country would be a better place.  With that in mind, I find the hiring of lobbyists for Lackawanna County to be wasteful, both in terms of cost and in terms of ethics.

Sure, it’s legal, but that doesn’t make it right.  Paul Kanjorski and Chris Carney are a phone call away for the Commissioners.  What’s more, Senator Bob Casey is from Scranton, and I’m sure the Commissioners can run a few ideas and requests by him.  Why pay somebody to do what we already have the ability to do?  And not only that, why enable the continuation of a morally bankrupt and ethically dubious practice?  Not to mention that it shuts out the average voter, who, of course, can’t afford a lobbyist.  Hey, us little guys only get one vote.  That’s our voice.

It’s odd to think the government is hiring a lobbyist to lobby the government.

Paul Kanjorski, in fact, says he never even spoke to lobbyists to get money steered to the region.  It’s like the example I used the other day, if I claim the sun is going to rise tomorrow, that doesn’t mean I’m responsible for it.  Same with the lobbying firm.  They can’t claim success for all the money that comes into the region.  I dare the Commissioners and the lobbying firm to definitively prove that lobbying was responsible for the money.

Corey O’Brien basically admitted that the lobbying firm didn’t secure the funds, it just gave the Commissioners the idea to ask for the funds.  Hmm…  So we, the taxpayers of Lackawanna County, are paying people to give the people we elect ideas.  Why elect people without ideas?

Even better, the lobbying firm said that legislators don’t have to time to do the work of securing funds.  Really?  So they don’t have the time to do their jobs?

The lobbying firm should be fired and so should any legislator that doesn’t have the time to do what they were elected to do.

Joe Sestak has scored a NOW (National Organization of Women) endorsement, which is a nice boost for his campaign.

From NOW:

“The National Organization for Women Political Action Committee is proud and excited to endorse such a strong candidate for the United States Senate and I am proud to support that endorsement. He has been a leader in the struggle to achieve full equality for women and girls and we looking forward to working with him both in this campaign and then in the US Senate.”

Endorsements like this are good news, but not everything in Sestak’s world is golden and he’ll need a lot more than this to even the playing field.  He still has yet to do anything about staff payment issues.  The man campaigns on providing a living wage, and then pays his staff less than minimum wage.  Sestak has a few healthy million in the bank, so he can afford to pay decently.

The Haggerty and Lesh campaigns in the 112^th got in touch with me about my PP&L post from yesterday, so I thought I would post their thoughts on the issue.

In an e-mail I received, Kevin Haggerty calls for a community board that represents families of differing income levels which should communicate directly to PP&L.  In particular, he points out that, “These people need to hear what these rate increases mean to families.”

Indeed.  All too often companies do not look at the human side of their choices.  As a matter of fact, I would argue that they almost never do, as they have no incentive to do so.  A community board would need to have teeth for it to make sense, like the PUC has to vote on a recommendation drafted by them, or some such thing.

Bob Lesh called to weigh in as well.  He said that the transmission/distribution increase is “unjustifiable” given their ability to already raise generation rates without approval (something that they’ve done already, by the way).  Furthermore, Lesh said that if the PUC agrees to the rate increase, they should be disbanded.  I asked what should oversee utility companies without the PUC.  His response was that a State House Committee should handle oversight, because that way the people who vote on rate increases are directly answerable to voters.

I’m not a fan of the PUC, as they simply enable rate increases rather than mitigate them.  If a Committee of State Representatives voted on rate increases, then there would be more incentive to keep rates low, as voters could just throw the bums out.