Shapiro and Richards on Comment Please

Comment Please by Univest on WNPV with host Darryl Berger hosted Democratic candidates for Montgomery County Commissioner today. State Rep. Josh Shapiro and Whitemarsh Township Supervisor Leslie Richards. (campaign site: www.shapirorichards.com).

These are my rough notes from listening to the taped interview available on the WNPV website; only the first 45 minutes is the interview.

Berger is a wonderful interviewer. He frequently makes a subtle comment that steers the guests answer or has a short conversation intended to move the discussion forward or in another direction. It is difficult to catch all these verbal maneuvers so I frequently leave them out. Nor is this intended as a full transcript -- it is just my notes from listening. I just listened to it once through and typed phrases and notes; later I went back to smooth out the wording and use full sentences, so without doubt I missed quite a few things. I encourage Montgomery County voters to listen for themselves to get the full effect.


DB: Good afternoon, it is March 17, 2011, hope you have a great St. Patrick’s Day. No one on the show is Irish today but maybe we can ask our guests to answer in an Irish brogue. We have the two candidates for the Democratic nomination in the primary and they’re unopposed so they will go on to the general election for Montgomery County commissioner.

JS: can’t sport an Irish accent but am wearing green.

LR: I am willing to talk about my travels in Ireland. It is a friendly country. I rode bike trails along the peninsula. If you want to visit the pubs bikes are a good way to go from pub to pub. Great golf, very green.

DB: The Democrats have never held a majority in the board, or at least not in recorded history. Why this year different?

JS: People want to see their county govt do better. They want four fresh eyes. What Leslie has done in the private sector and what I’ve done in state government we hope to do in county government.

DB: Rendell said you were a rising star in politics. Why leave your state representative seat?

JS: It is an honor to serve Abington and Upper Dublin. A state representative represents around 70,000 people but as county commissioner I would represent nearly 800,000. Could affect things like roads and bridges and care for elderly. Apply skills learned in state govt to county level. And I have a heck of a partner in Leslie Richards.
DB: What is the political equation? Do you want to be governor?

JS: I want to be a Montco commissioner. Flattered by support across county. In life and politics you need to pick a job you want to do and do it well. Create luck and opportunities by working hard. In politics there are so many outside factor so you can’t ever count on going from to a to b to c.

DB: Leslie, you are currently a Whitemarsh Township Supervisor, what prompted you to get into politics and run for Montco commisioner?

LR: Had I known the opportunity existed this would have been an ambition. Asked to run for local office as many women are. Had been involved in community. Helped start Whitemarsh Twp day and enjoyed serving on that as well. Whitemarsh has a big identity, Erdenheim Farm is right in the middle of township but the township also borders on Philadelphia. Just a couple of turns you are in front of a 400 acre farm. The township covers 14 square miles. Work as a community planner, education in economics and regional planning. Entire life worked with communities on economic development, parks, trails, transportation issues. Traffic is always an issue. It has been very helpful to be able to discuss hard numbers and what can be done in long and short term.

DB: regional planning?

LR: That’s where county govt can make that a focus. Often good planning starts at a municipal border. Joint planning can go on. In Whitemarsh we have worked with our neighbors to pool resources to put together design and construction. The county should be proactive using county planning commission to help local planning commissions.

DB: Montco is a huge area, a quantam leap from township to county commissioner. How will running affect your job?

LR: professionally I’ve worked in all areas, rural, suburban, urban, very familiar with area. I’m currently a senior project manager at a civil engineering firm. I feel I’d be able to keep my hand in at least a few hours a week to see projects through.

DB: The governor has come out with budget, how will that impact Montco?

JS: it was an irresponsible budget. He campaigned on cutting spending and I agree with that. The problem I have with the budget is the priorities are all out of whack. He talked about the must haves and be nice to haves then he talked about the education cuts. It will be, for example, 10% of North Penn School Disctrict which will mean an increase in property taxes. I think one of the biggest issues I have is that rather than ask Marcellus Shale gas drillers to pay for the infrastructure they will crumble, he’s asking you and me to pay for it. In Sarah Palins’ Alaska they passed a severance task. If we did that here it would mean less cuts for education. I’ll stand with Sarah Palin and George Bush. Tom Corbett can stand on his own. The drillers aren’t going anywhere. The CEO of one of the largest drilling companies said they were prepared to pay a severance task. The plan that a lot of people agree with is a severance tax with a third to local govt, a third to environmental protection, and a third to the general fund. The group the governor established to look into this – if you added up how much money they gave the governor you can guess what the group will come up with.

DB: I think we are losing money.

JS: if you cut social services the way the governor has proposed but the need still exists, there will be an added burden on county taxpayers and on hospitals. More people are showing up in the emergency room. People who pay into their health insurance will pay for other people’s unreimbursed care. Corbett is proposing to cut higher education 50% . If you do that you get rid of in state tuition when everything goes up. The Republicans are in charge now of the state house, state senate, and governors mansion. He should be able to pass this but lately you see Republicans disagreeing. Republican State Rep Bob Godshall who represents North Penn School District might have some problems with that.

DB: There is currently a coalition govt in Montco. Jim Matthews and Bruce Castor are Republicans but Jim Matthews and Joe Hoeffel, the Democrat, formed a coalition and are running the show. As a Democrat you’d have to be thrilled by that.

LR: People are frustrated. County govt seems distracted and not trying to move things forward. The personality conflict distracts the county commissioners. I serve on split board in Whitemarsh, and was elected chair. It was my responsibility to listen to everyone and work together as a board. The board should be working together for the county and not worry about who is calling who a name.

DB: Matthews and Castor have a tremendous amount of personal animosity.

LR: They just seem more interested in name calling.

JS: People want to see competent good govt. Leslie can bring Republicans and Democrats together to get things done. In Harrisburg I have done that. I worked to get a Republican elected Speaker of the House. People want three commissioners to show up for work and get things done. We will work with Republicans whether we are in the majority or minority. People are sick and tired of the bickering and want to see results.

DB: What has been the effect of bickering, what has not done that should have been?

JS: County bureaucracy not as efficient as it should be. When you have 3 people at the top who don’t always talk to each other then how can you expect county workers to work together? When you have 3 commissioners listening and being respectful more gets done. People want new people with new ideas and a new approach to get things done. The county’s budget is $400Million. It can be more efficient. People don’t think about govt every day but when they have a problem they show up in my office. People want to know how to get an answer to solve their problems.

DB: Joe Hoeffel is a progressive. Some people say the county reflects his activist view. Castor follow s a Republican line of less govt is better govt. What should county govt be?

JS: I guess that depends on how you define activist. I disagree with some of what Castor says but do so respectfully. County has a AAA bond rating but what does that mean to a small business owner who can’t get a loan or someone who needs a social service? I do think the county govt has a role to play in those social services but needs to do so in a more streamlined and efficient way.

DB: What sort of increased efficiencies would you propose?

LR: Not a restructuring but better communication in govt, some departments don’t talk to other departments. Learned this working with Whitemarsh govt. When the police department wanted to upgrade their communications system we talked to other departments and upgraded the whole IT system. On county level it just hasn’t happened. People don’t know what other departments are doing. The leadership needs to come from commissioners.

DB: No pay increase for county workers in a while. Low morale

LR: I am hearing that as I talk with several staff. First we need to listen to county employees. They have some fabulous staff members. I’m very familiar with planning commission. They are so talented and their resources aren’t being utilized as much as they can be. Josh and I have talked about going out to municipalities to work with local planning commissions. Local planning commissioners are volunteers. County planners can help.

JS: County workers have reached out to us. Morale is low. Message we have sent back is we are not interested in balancing county budget on their back. Efficient govt works when we get suggestions from staff. They haven’t been asked. Dedicated workers want county to work better. We need to listen, ask them how we can save money. We want their opinion and advice. When we say that to county employees they get excited about it.

DB: need to restructure county govt. It is ridiculous that we are electing a prothonotary, register of deeds, etc.

JS: We’re going to reform county govt. We’re going to ask “why?” Why do we do things this way? The people elected to county offices are good people. But we need to ask why do we have, for example, 50 different departments. We are not part of Norristown culture so we can look with fresh eyes.

LR: I agree that many people don’t know what a prothonotary does or who the prothonotary is. He’s a great guy and has saved a lot of money and is doing a great job. Judges are also elected.

DB: I think this is something county govt should look at.

JS: Certainly these issues are on the table.

DB: What can people expect from this campaign?

JS: We’ve been all over the county and are seeing excitement for the election and our campaign. Our base is mobilized. An unprecented level of enthusiasm. My district is about 50% Republican but I got 70% of the vote in the last election. You can expect us to talk with everyone and run a substantive campaign but be respectful of the other candidates. Respect and commitment to the county.

LR: I love to talk with people as we travel around the county.

Berger thanks his guests.

PA Dems: Corbett Honeymoon Over

from our friends at the Pennsylvania Democratic Party:

A new poll by Franklin & Marshall College found that Pennsylvanians oppose Tom Corbett's recent budget cuts by a huge margin. Seventy eight percent of of Pennsylvanians oppose cuts to local school districts - which will likely raise property taxes - and 67 percent oppose cuts to public universities - which will likely raise tuition.

Corbett's budget ideas end honeymoon (Tribune Review) Heather Bohaning is tired of getting squeezed. The New Kensington woman has one daughter who will enter school next year and another in junior high school. She knows the state has financial woes, but she worries the education cuts Gov. Tom Corbett proposed in his budget would make things tougher on her girls, and she cannot afford the $16,000 annual tuition at the only nearby parochial school.

Poll: Two-thirds of Pennsylvania adults oppose budget cuts to education (Patriot News) Seventy-eight percent of Pennsylvanians oppose cutting funding to local school districts and 67 percent dislike the idea of slashing funding in half for the state's public universities, according to a Franklin & Marshall College poll out today.

Poll: Pa. supports natural gas tax, not ed cuts (AP) Pennsylvanians are at odds with their new governor over two hot-button issues - whether to tax natural-gas drilling and if education funding should be cut, according to a statewide poll released Thursday.

Poll shows Pennsylvanians support drilling tax, more for cash for education (Times Tribune) Gov. Tom Corbett's push for education and Medicaid cuts and opposition to a natural gas extraction tax conflict sharply with what large majorities of Pennsylvanians want, according to a new statewide poll released Wednesday.

Poll: Don't make health, education cuts - tax drilling, voters say (Philadelphia Daily News) It hasn't gone unnoticed to Pennsylvanians that the natural-gas industry is drilling the Marcellus Shale without paying taxes, while Gov. Corbett has been drilling into education and Medicaid.

F&M poll: Pa. rates Corbett (Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era) A majority of Pennsylvanians are confident Gov. Tom Corbett can handle the state's budget problems, a statewide Franklin & Marshall College poll found

Schwartz Receives BIO Award

from the inbox:

U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz received Pennsylvania Bio's prestigious Federal Public Official of the Year award yesterday evening in recognition of her efforts to advance health care innovation, biotechnology and the life sciences at their Annual Dinner and Awards Celebration in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania Bio, the only statewide association in the Commonwealth dedicated to advancing the bioscience cause, was established to ensure Pennsylvania remains the global leader in the biosciences by creating a cohesive statewide community that unites the Commonwealth’s biotechnology, medical device, diagnostic, pharmaceutical, research, and financial strengths.

“I am very honored to receive this award because I share PA Bio’s commitment to recognizing, promoting and growing biotechnology in Pennsylvania and across the nation,” Schwartz said. “Supporting more than 80,000 jobs in Pennsylvania alone, this fast-growing industry is a key component of growing the economy of the future. From scientists and business leaders to doctors and researchers, every single day critical work is done in Pennsylvania in the field of biotechnology. We know firsthand that Pennsylvania’s biotechnology companies are transforming the field of medicine by developing life-saving cures and groundbreaking new and improved medicines. I am committed to ensuring that our companies are able to compete and grow in a 21st century economy.”

“Pennsylvania Bio is honored to name Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz as our Federal Public Official of the Year award recipient,” said Christopher P. Molineaux, President of Pennsylvania Bio. “Congresswoman Schwartz has long been an ardent supporter of the life sciences industry providing guidance and support in Washington D.C. for the companies and employees in Pennsylvania, especially those in the greater Philadelphia region, working daily to address unmet medical needs globally. Additionally, the Congresswoman recognizes the positive economic impact our industry has on the region and continues to push for policies and legislation that allow our industry to continue having a positive global impact.”

“Congresswoman Schwartz is a national leader in developing and championing public policies that promote the continued success of America’s life sciences sector,” said Jim Greenwood, President and CEO of Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). “Her efforts have helped pave the way for the research and development of breakthrough new therapies for patients and renewable energy sources while driving job growth in the life sciences across the nation. We particularly applaud Representative Schwartz’s leadership on the Therapeutic Discovery Project Program, which provided much-needed capital to small biotech companies working on promising research. We congratulate her on this well-deserved award.”

BIO is the world's largest biotechnology organization, providing advocacy, business development and communications services for more than 1,100 members worldwide. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.

Congresswoman Schwartz has a well earned reputation as one of Congress’ most influential leaders on biotechnology. One of her key legislative initiatives was a groundbreaking tax credit to help promote innovation. The Therapeutic Discovery Project Program – a $1 billion tax credit program for small biotech companies – encourages investment in new therapies that treat diseases. By offering small biotech companies (less than 250 employees) a tax credit or grant it encourages investment in new medical therapies for life-saving diseases. This program is already providing small biotech businesses in Southeastern Pennsylvania and across the country with much-needed capital to bring their innovative treatments to the marketplace.

Because of the Therapeutic Tax Credit:

* Nearly 3,000 U.S. companies received federal tax credits to create new therapies, new devices, and new cures;
* 158 companies in Pennsylvania received more than $48 million in grants; and
* Four companies in the Commonwealth got the advantage of $1.22 million in tax credits.

In the 111th Congress, after years of static resources, Schwartz worked to add:

* $10 billion to National Institutes of Health for basic research;
* $19 billion for Health Information Technology; and
* $1 billion in tax credits and grants to support development of new medical therapies by small biotech companies.

Additional Leadership by Schwartz on Biotechnology:

· Introduced the GREEN JOB Act to encourage the next generation of biofuels.

· Introduced the Life Sciences Jobs and Investment Act of 2010, which provides tax incentives for small and mid-sized businesses to invest in life sciences research and development on a targeted basis.

Three Interesting Stories

A trio of interesting reads gleaned from twitter feeds:

"Tobacco raid: A fund for health should not pay for business loans," editorial from today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"47 Criminals running for city office," by Dave Davies, on WHYY's Newsworks.org

"State's poorest schools will be hit hardest by budget cuts, advocacy group says," by By Monica Von Dobeneck, The Patriot-News

Do Corporations Pay Taxes?

PolitiFact investigates the claim that some large corporations pay not taxes at all. Check out the answer at: http://politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/mar/15/marcia-fudge/rep-marcia-fudge-says-some-largest-corporations-pa/

A Convergence of Sources on the Economy

Yes, that is a very boring blog post title but it's late, I'm tired, and it's the best I can do. Today a number of resources on the same topic came across my screens or table. They all tie together nicely. A more talented writer would be able to write a nice analytical post that covers all the points. But if you want something done that well you'll have to buy a paper or read media sources with full time staff. As a hobbyist this is the best I can do.

We all know that the rationale for cutting government spending, you know, all that money we're wasting on teachers, health care for the poor and middle class, and social services, is that the government is broke. One good question, as posed by E. J. Dionne, Jr. in the Washington Post on Monday, is "What if we're not broke?" One excerpt:

In both cases [remarks by John Boehner and Scott Walker], the fiscal issues are just an excuse for ideologically driven policies to lower taxes on well-off people and business while reducing government programs. Yet only occasionally do journalists step back to ask: Are these guys telling the truth?

The admirable Web site PolitiFact.com examined Walker's claim in detail and concluded flatly it was "false."

Donna Cooper at the Center for American Progress created a visual aid, a chart, to demonstrate the trade-offs and the choices we have made. Take a look at "Infographic: Tax Breaks vs. Budget Cuts."

Paul Breer and Kevin Donohoe at Think Progress write something similar, with a local focus in "REPORT: In 12 States, GOP Plans To Slash Corporate Taxes While Increasing Burden on Working Families " Pennsylvania is one of the states on their list. Here's an excerpt from the Pennsylvania section:

Gov. Tom Corbett (R) presented a budget last week that would cut taxes for corporations, while freezing teacher salaries, cutting dental care for Medicaid recipients, and eliminating more than half of the state’s universities.

State Rep Mike Sturla takes one Pennsylvania spending items and gives his perspective on the choices made. Read his Commonwealth Common Sense blog post, "Pouring salt in the wound," (3/16). The short version:

Less than a month after adultBasic was terminated funding that would have gone to help pay for the health care program for working Pennsylvanians, instead was diverted to another fund, one run by the governor to dole out loans to business friends.

Joseph N. DiStefano's "PhillyDeals" column in the Inquirer often has good political news and today is no exception. He writes about the state's natural gas industry, which is not taxed, comparing the oil and gas industry here with that in Texas, and also comparing the real estate environment in Houston with Philadelphia's. The column also discusses the current US tax rates which are the lowest since 1950, according to Tom Block, whose father founded H&R Bloch. DiStefano is very good at putting things in perspective.

Civility at the Nat'l Constitution Center

This is modified from a press release received today:

The National Constitution Center and filmmaker Ken Burns and PBS will announce on Friday an initiative to foster a national conversation about “Civility and Democracy.”

David Eisner, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and filmmaker Ken Burns, whose upcoming film, “PROHIBITION,” will serve as a starting point for the conversation, will make the announcement. Burns also will participate in the National Constitution Center’s “Can We Talk? A Conversation about Civility and Democracy in America” on Saturday, March 26, along with other participants from across the country, including former U.S. Representative Lee Hamilton, former Dept. of Justice Official John Yoo, and PBS NewsHour’s Hari Sreenivasan, among others. The conference is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Bridging Cultures program.

Sickbed Reading II: Fundraising the Dead

Fundraising the Dead by Sheila Connolly is another book I read while sick with a cold. I picked it up because it is a mystery that takes place in Philadelphia. Connolly used to work at a Philadelphia non-profit (and also worked on two statewide political campaigns). This is a "cozy" mystery -- not a lot of gore and most of the characters are well-behaved. It's a great read when not feeling well, on a train or plane, or as a break from more academic reading.

The main character works as a historical museum / library in Philadelphia. One of the staff dies under questionable circumstances. Readers might be able to identify the culprit about half or two thirds of the way through but, as with many cozies, the characters are more important than the crime. It held my attention through to the end.

Living in the Philadelphia region made it more interesting. When the main character visits Rittenhouse Square or talks about Chester County estates, I have a feel for what she is describing.

This is the first book in a series and the second, Let's Play Dead, takes place in a Philadelphia children's museum and is due out in July. I plan on picking that one up too.

Sickbed Reading I: All Clear and Blackout

I've had the creeping crud or whatever you want to call it -- sore throat, raspy voice, and very tired -- and was home sick most of last week. I'm still not back up to full speed. One nice thing about being sick and unable to do much is the pleasure of reading solely for the pleasure of it.

A college friend with broad reading interests had sent me two Connie Willis novels, Blackout and its sequel All Clear. Willis is a science fiction writers and I've read some of her other works. Some of her characters or themes appear in more than one of her works. One recurring theme is time travel. Blackout and All Clear concern British time travelers from 2060 who are researching the early years of World War II. Once there the three main characters realize they can't get back. Stuck in London during the Blitz they struggle to adapt to the dangerous environment, and find themselves being drawn into the lives of the people they intended to study for a brief period.

Each of the three had a specific study population. One was working with children evacuated to the countryside, another London shopgirls, and the third everyday heroes such as the people who used their boats to evacuate soldiers from Dunkirk. Willis goes into detail about the British war strategies (decoy inflatable tanks?) that really draws the reader in.

Willis is a demanding author. There's a lot going on and you have to keep up. The What happened to Sir Godfrey? Will there be another book with more info on Colin? We know generally what happened to Eileen and the vicar but that would be a good unto itself.

Highly recommended.

Montco Petition Numbers

A facebook note from Jason Salus, Democratic candidate for Montgomery County Treasurer:

Countywide candidates need 250 signatures to get on the ballot. My general election opponent filed with 436. Commissioner/former DA Bruce Castor filed with 628. GOP "rising star" Commissioner candidate Jenny Brown filed with 727. The next Montgomery County Treasurer, yours truly, filed with 896 signatures.

Adult Basic Lawsuit

from the inbox:

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST GOVERNOR CORBETT, PENNSYLVNIA HOUSE, PENNSYLVNIA SENATE FOR KILLING ADULTBASIC PROGRAM

** Pennsylvania state government’s failure to fund health insurance program violates the Pennsylvania Tobacco Settlement Act and the Pennsylvania Constitution **

Pittsburgh, PA – Today the Caroselli, Beachler, McTiernan and Conboy law firm, on behalf of the Pennsylvania residents harmed by the destruction of the adultBasic program, filed a class action lawsuit against Governor Tom Corbett, the Pennsylvania Senate, and the Pennsylvania State House for failing to provide funding for the program as required by law.

AdultBasic was created to allow low-income workers to purchase health care insurance at a minimal cost. The suit states that by illegally zeroing out tobacco settlement monies from their intended and mandated purpose, Gov. Corbett and the Pennsylvania Legislature violated the Pennsylvania Tobacco Settlement Act and the Pennsylvania Constitution.

“Governor Corbett and the Pennsylvania legislature are in blatant violation of the law and the only way to hold them accountable is to take them to court,” said attorney William Caroselli, of Caroselli, Beachler, McTiernan and Conboy. “Pennsylvania receives significant payments from the tobacco settlements every year, and state law mandates that those proceeds go toward making Pennsylvanians healthier, and that a portion be specifically directed to fund adultBasic. When adultBasic ended in February, it left 41,000 people all across Pennsylvania without health insurance. Thousands of Pennsylvanians are suffering because their own government broke the law, and that is inexcusable. We’re going to work to make this right for them.”

The defendants in the suit are Governor Tom Corbett; Budget Secretary Charles Zogby; the Pennsylvania House of Representatives; Speaker of the House Samuel H. Smith; the Pennsylvania Senate; President Pro Tempore of the Senate Joseph B. Scarnati, III; and the Pennsylvania Department of Treasury.

The plaintiffs in the suit are seeking declaratory, mandamus and injunctive relief on behalf of all similarly situated individuals in Pennsylvania. The complaint was filed in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.

According to the complaint, Pennsylvania receives annual settlement payments from tobacco companies, which amounted to more than $340 million in fiscal year 2009-2010. The Pennsylvania Tobacco Settlement Act provides that the tobacco settlement monies would be “used to make Pennsylvanians healthier and provide for the health of future generations of Pennsylvanians,” and specifically that 30% of the proceeds would be shared between adultBasic Insurance and Medicaid for workers with disabilities.

However, as of February 28, 2011, funding for the program ceased. 41,000 enrollees were left without health insurance, and another approximately 500,000 low income working Pennsylvanians were removed from the waiting list.

The defendants are being charged with violating the Tobacco Settlement Act and with violating Article III, Section 1, 2, 3 and 4 and Article IV, Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

“I know how important is it to have health insurance, and I relied on adultBasic for my coverage,” said Sheryl Sears, a plaintiff in the complaint. “Unfortunately, that’s the only coverage I can afford. Even though it was protected by law, it’s now gone. I’m afraid my only option is to live with the risk of being uninsured.”

Overheated Rhetoric and Shapiro's Response

An employee in Pennsylvania's Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources used some overheated rhetoric in describing Gasland, a documentary on Marcellus Shale drilling. He compared it to Nazi propaganda. Naturally this set off a backlash; for example at the Huffington Post ("Gasland Director Josh Fox Slurred by Pennsylvania Energy Official," by Alison Rose Levy).

State Rep. Josh Shapiro has responded:

State Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, at a press conference today called on Gov. Tom Corbett to condemn the recent statements of a senior member of his administration that compared opposition to natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania to Joseph Goebbels and Nazi propaganda.

Last week the Intelligencer Journal and Lancaster New Era reported on comments made by Teddy Borawski, chief oil and gas geologist for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. When asked about the documentary “Gasland,” which portrays natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania as harmful to the environment, Borawski stated, “Joseph Goebbels would have been proud…He would have given him the Nazi Award. That, in my opinion, was a beautiful piece of propaganda.”

“While I recognize there may be differing opinions of that documentary, there is absolutely no place in society--let alone in the Corbett Administration--for such insensitive and ignorant rhetoric,” said Shapiro. “There is plenty of room in the public discourse for people to disagree, but there is no room for a senior government official to compare someone to a Nazi just because they have different views. I urge the governor to immediately condemn Mr. Borawski's comments and take appropriate action against him.”

Shapiro has been a leading advocate for balancing the economic benefit of natural gas drilling with the need to protect the environment and natural resources of Pennsylvania. Last week, Shapiro joined as a lead cosponsor of H.B. 150, a bill to put a three-year moratorium on leasing any additional state forestland for Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling. Shapiro and 79 other state legislators have also sent a letter urging Corbett to honor the executive order signed by former Gov. Ed Rendell on Oct. 26, 2010, which imposed a moratorium on any further leasing of state forestland for oil and gas development in the state.

Moreover, Pennsylvania is the only major natural gas producing state that does not have a drilling tax or fee. With no excise tax in place, the Commonwealth’s taxpayers currently bear the burden to repair the local roads and bridges damaged by the heavy equipment of natural gas drillers, and the environmental impact of clearing forests and the millions of gallons of chemically treated water taken from the rivers and streams.

For more information read "Shapiro not satisfied by Corbett’s response to Nazi comparison," by Scott Detrow on State House Sound Bites

Local Blog Updates

A few notes from the local blogosphere:

pa2012.com seems to be rebooting; there are some new blog entries. You can also follow them on twitter, pa2012news

The University of Pennsylvania Democrats are also restarting their blog: Demsblog (http://upenndems.blogspot.com/)

There is also a Montco Dems blog but it is someone's personal blog and not an official communication outlet for the county Democratic party organization: http://montcopadem.blogspot.com/

The Chief Cultural Officer of the City of Philadelphia has a blog: http://artscultureandcreativeeconomy.blogspot.com/. You can also follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/gsteuer

And, once again, if you aren't reading the Morning Call's Capitol Ideas blog you don't have the full picture of Pennsylvania politics.

Howard Treatman's Office Opening

Howard Treatman, candidate for Philadelphia's 8th city council district (there are a number of candidates for this district), held an office opening this afternoon. I was in Germantown visiting friends and noticed someone on the sidewalk holding up a Treatmen sign. Thinking that there might be free cookies involved I trotted up the stairs to the second floor office.

Having written this blog for a number of years now I've been in a lot of campaign offices. The people who work there might have personality but the offices themselves often don't. Treatman's campaign office has some zing. The walls are a nice color. Someone had attached a few balloons to the wall, either with tape or static electricity. It's a small office suite and I could see it getting crowded if a lot of people come in for phone banking or mailing preparation but the people were very genial and that always helps in those situations.

Treatman greeted people and answered questions. He's in a suit on his website but today was wearing a tweed jacket and jeans. The hem of his jeans was frayed and his shoes were worn but polished. That provides a "man of the people" impression and he seemed very comfortable in his setting.

I haven't had a chance to look into city council candidates closely. Those interested in Treatman might enjoy reading an in-depth article on him in the Philadelphia Jewish Voice.

The people in Treatman's office were pleasant and easy-going. The event was well-organized (and, yes, there were cookies).

A Few Links from Recent News

I've run across a few interesting notes on twitter and from the papers. For your review:

Delaware County Democrats have endorsed candidates for county office. See details at "Delco Dems endorse candidates for county office," By Timothy Logue, Delaware County Daily Times, March 13th.

"Pa. Legislature places no special rules on surplus cash it says it piles up for budget battles," by Marc Levy, AP (link to Columbia, Indiana Republic) gives a good overview of the legislative slush fund that the state legislature is allowed to accumulate and carry over from year to year with little regulation on what it can and should be spent on. Really annoying when budget cuts to things like schools and education are made, but not cuts made to legislative fund when they clearly don't need that much money.

Great chart comparing cost of tax cuts and spending cuts. Would you rather cut early childhood education programs or do away with the estate tax? No sources are provided but thought-provoking nonetheless.

Joe Grace Update

According to this Facebook page, Joe Grace, candidate for the 1st city council district in Philadelphia, turned in over 3,000 petition signatures.

Assorted Philadelphia Updates

Here are a few assorted Philadelphia city council updates:

Howard Treatman, a Philadelphia native who has lived and raised a family in Germantown for the past 17 years, has declared his candidacy for the 8th city council district. He is the immediate past president of Germantown Jewish Centre and serves on the board and the real estate committee of Mt. Airy USA. Treatman's campaign turned in more than 2,000 petition signatures. campaign website: TreatmanforCouncil.com

Also in the 8th city council district, candidate Cindy Bass and her campaign worked to get over 5,000 petition signatures, more than six times the number needed. Bass is currently a Senior Policy Advisor on Urban and Domestic policy to Congressman Chaka Fattah. Bass also served as special assistant to State Senator Allyson Schwartz. She is a graduate of Temple University and Philadelphia Public Schoolscampaign website: www.cindybass.com

In the first city council district, candidate Joe Grace also filed thousands of petition signatures. Grace was the executive director of CeaseFirePA, the state's largest gun violence prevention organization. Prior to that he worked in government in a variety of ways, from being communications director for the City of Philadelphia to being an assistant district attorney. campaign website: www.electjoegrace.com

Congressional Redistricting Resources

For those who wish to play along at home in the congressional redistricting process, here are some resources:

1) chart of current Pennsylvania congressional districts, both statewide and individual districts

2) list of current districts, population change since 2000 and how many people each district needs to add or cut to meet the new state average (from the Morning Call's Pennsylvania Avenue blog)

3) interactive census map showing the 2010 state population by county, along with some information on demographic changes over the past ten years (for instance, the number of Hispanics in the state increased over 82%, which probably made State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe's head explode)

Okay, now you can slice and dice, add and subtract, and carve out your version of the state's new congressional district, but remember, we are losing one, so you'll have 18 not 19.

Goolsebee at White House White Board on Patents

The newest White House White Board video features, again, Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. The topic is patent applications, the current application backlog, and the plan to speed up the process. The white board doesn't flip over in this one but there are some cool pie charts. Goolsbee's diagonally striped red and white tie reinforces the red color used in the charts in the white board graphics.

Prez O on Oil

from the inbox:

The Obama Administration is working to increase the responsible and safe production of oil and gas in the United States to help consumers and support a comprehensive energy plan for the country. This builds on historic investments in clean energy and efficiency that will help to secure our long-term prosperity and cushion the American economy from fluctuations in oil prices. For example, the Administration established a groundbreaking national fuel efficiency standard for cars and trucks that will save consumers money at the pump while conserving about 1.8 billion barrels of oil. And beyond our efforts to break dependence on oil, we are working to diversify our energy portfolio with investments in clean sources like renewables including biofuels, wind, and solar. We are also investing in cutting edge R&D to help us achieve new breakthroughs and win the future.

Production: by the Numbers

Since 2008, U.S. oil and natural gas production has increased, while imports of foreign oil have decreased. As a result, the United States’ dependence on foreign oil has declined by more than 7% in the last two years.

· Total U.S. crude oil production was higher in 2010 than in any year since 2003.

Ø In the last two years, oil production from the Federal U.S. Outer Continental Shelf has increased by more than a third, from 446 million barrels in 2008 to an estimated more than 600 million barrels in 2010.

Ø Oil production from federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico reached an all-time high in 2010. The region accounts for most of the Outer Continental Shelf production, and 30 percent of total U.S. oil production.

Ø Oil production from onshore public lands increased 5 percent over the last year, from 109 million barrels in 2009 to 114 million barrels in 2010.

· Imports have fallen by 9 percent since 2008. Net imports as a share of total consumption have declined from 57 percent in 2008 to less than 50 percent in 2010.

· U.S. natural gas production is also increasing, reaching 26.9 trillion cubic feet in 2010, a 5% increase from 2008 and the highest level in more than 30 years.

The Obama Administration has offered, and continues to offer, millions of acres of public land and federal waters for oil and gas exploration and production

· Onshore: In 2010, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held 33 oil and gas lease sales covering 3.2 million acres. In 2011, BLM is scheduled to hold an additional 33 lease sales. Currently, just 45 percent of all total leases are actively producing.

Ø 41 million acres of public lands are currently under lease for oil and gas development, of which only 12 million acres are producing.

Ø In 2010, the BLM processed more than 5,000 applications for permits to drill (APD) on Federal and Indian lands. In 2011, BLM expects to process more than 7,200 APDs.

· Offshore: In 2010, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) offered 37 million offshore acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas exploration and production.

Ø 38 million acres of the Outer Continental Shelf are under active lease, of which 6.5 million acres are producing.

Ø More than 70 percent of offshore leases are not producing.

Ø Since the Deepwater Horizon spill and the implementation of stronger safety standards, BOEMRE has approved 37 shallow water permits in the Gulf of Mexico. BOEMRE also recently issued its first deepwater permit since the new standards went into effect, including the requirement that operators demonstrate the ability to contain a deepwater blowout. BOEMRE has also issued 23 permits for deepwater activities that were not subject to the deepwater drilling suspensions.

Safe and Responsible Production

The Obama Administration has undertaken needed reforms to make oil and gas development safer and more environmentally responsible.

· The worst oil spill in American history made it clear that reforms to the safety and oversight of exploration, development and production were needed.

· DOI raised the bar for safety and environmental responsibility, setting standards and certification protocols for well design, testing, and control equipment and establishing rigorous performance standards to reduce workplace error and require comprehensive safety and environmental management. Operators must now submit well-specific blowout scenarios and revised worst-case discharge calculations. Deepwater operators must also show that they have the capability to contain a sub-sea discharge like the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. These standards set a clear, achievable path for responsible offshore exploration, development and production.

You can also view this document online here.

SEPTA on New Technology Payment System

from the inbox:

SEPTA is inviting the public to learn about plans to modernize its fare payment and collection system, during a New Payment Technology Information Session on Friday, April 1st.

SEPTA wants customers to be part of the New Payment Technology process, starting with the April 1st forum. The session will be held on the mezzanine level of SEPTA’s Headquarters at 1234 Market Street, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Attendees can browse displays, watch presentations and ask questions about the “open” fare system they will be using in the not-so-distant future.

The New Payment Technology initiative will fully modernize SEPTA’s fare payment and collection system. Riders will be able to pay for travel on trains, buses and trolleys using common retail methods such as bank cards, mobile devices, and other emerging “smart” technologies. It also means a move away from outdated fare instruments such as tokens and paper transfers.

A contract for the “Smart Card” initiative – the major New Payment Technology project – is expected to be awarded by early summer. The fare modernization-related work is expected to be completed in about three years.

Information about the New Payment Technology Information Session is available on SEPTA’s Website, www.septa.org.

Public Employees and Health Care Costs in PA

There is a lot of discussion today about the benefits public employees receive. Take a note of this from Capitol Ideas:

The chamber has also adopted internal operating changes – which have yet to take effect – that require lawmakers to contribute 1 percent of their salaries toward their healthcare. The Senate has had the same policy since 2006. The House changes take effect on July 1.

That's the Pennsylvania State Senate and State House of Representatives he's talking about. Yep, they pay 1% of their salary for health care. State legislators receive $78,314.66/year during legislative sessions. There are no educational requirements and the salary is the same regardless of how many years a legislator has been in office. The legislature is in session part of the year, though many legislators meet with constituents and lobbyists on days the legislature is not in session. Some have outside jobs as well.

Teachers in Pennsylvania are required to have a college degree. According to the Teacher World:

Your Pennsylvania teacher salary will also vary according to a number of factors, including how much experience you have, your level of education, and the grade level you teach. The average annual salary for preschool teachers is $25,610, while the average salary for middle school teachers is $57,000.** The average Pennsylvania teacher salary in secondary school is $55,150. However, at the entry level, secondary school teachers make an average of $37,950, while those in the 90th wage percentile may make over $80,000.***

Finding out how much teachers pay for health insurance is tricky. I found a couple of sources that say teachers pay $25.00 per week for a basic plan. That would be $100 per month. If that is pro-rated for the school year (and the sources I found didn't say if they paid in over 9, 10, or 12 months), let's say 9 months to take the most conservative view, that is $900, that is about 2% of their salary, roughly twice what legislators pay. Plus, teachers have to pay more for better coverage:

However, even the teachers share of the most expensive plan, called "Personal Choice 5" — which costs a teacher $3,328 a year out of his or her paycheck — is still below the national average of $3,823 for a PPO plan, according to Dove's figures. (from "Teacher talks hinge on cost of health care," By Evan Brandt, Local News (Chester County), March 6, 2011)

The current Philadelphia School District's contract is online as a pdf. Medical coverage is on pages 39 and 40 of the contract (p. 53 and 54 of the pdf). For the first few years of hire, when salaries are at their lowest, teachers don't pay for health care but then pay either 3% or 5% of the cost of their health insurance. I'm not a lawyer so may not be reading this correctly. Readers are encouraged to review the contract for themselves.

Any way you slice it, legislators, public employees who, once in office seldom lose it, are paid more in salary and less for health care than teachers. So why is the focus on what teachers earn / pay and not what state legislators earn / pay?

Throwing in a non-Pennsylvania factoid, the head of Massachusetts Blue Cross / Blue Shield, a non-profit health care organization, was paid $11 million when he left his job:

Last week, the Boston-based insurer disclosed that it agreed to give Killingsworth, who resigned last March, more than $11 million in salary, retirement, and severance payments. Public outrage was magnified by the fees Blue Cross pays to its 18 directors, most of whom are prominent business, labor, and education leaders. Those payments ranged from $11,415 to $89,886 last year. (Source: "Insurer's board suspends own pay," By Robert Weisman, Boston Globe 3/09/2011

I find that maddening.

A Note on the New CrossRoads GPS Ad

I end up on a lot of mailing lists; no idea how -- I don't sign up for them. The emails just arrive.

As an example, today a press release from Crossroads GPS, a conservative Republican PAC, sent me an email trumpeting new anti-union ads they are producing and paying to air.

Part of the email states:

This morning, Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies (Crossroads GPS) launched a new nationwide issue ad, “The System,” that exposes how government unions protect their pay and benefits by backing politicians who give them everything they want – at the expense of taxpayers.

The spot includes footage of Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), Barack Obama, and a particularly candid (and chilling) quote from the National Education Association’s general counsel Bob Chanin, the teachers union boss who says “it is not because we care about children…NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power” deriving from “hundreds of millions of dollars in dues.”

Two points:

1) Union members are taxpayers. There are not two distinct groups -- union members and taxpayers; all union members are taxpayers.

2) Mr. Chanin is exactly correct, elected officials, by and large, do not pay attention to people who care about children unless those people also have money in their pocket. Daycare workers care about children but their political influence is very weak, because they do not have the money to influence the system. Elected officials do not listen to teachers because teachers care about children; elected officials listen to teachers because teachers' unions have money. I can tell you from personal experience that when I contact officials as a PTA member or a parent I am most often ignored. I am a union member; when my union talks people listen. Why? Parents are organized and PTAs don't spend money on politics. If Crossroads GPS did not have wheelbarrows of money the people behind it could rant about unions all they wanted; the reason their ads will air is because they can pay for them. Go figure.

A Few PA Budget Notes

Much more will be said about the governor's proposed budget but here are a few starters:

"Corbett’s budget: No tax hike, lots of spending cuts," by Angela Couloumbis and Amy Worden, Philly.com

"Pa. budget showdown: Waging middle-class warfare," op-ed by State Rep Tim Briggs

Remarks from State Rep. Steve Santarsiero:

State Rep. Steven J. Santarsiero, D-Bucks, today released the following statement in response to Gov. Tom Corbett's 2011-12 budget address to the state legislature:

"We are at a turning point in Pennsylvania and throughout our country. The choices before us are stark: either we continue to invest to build a brighter future, or go backward, threatening our still weak economy and future opportunity for us and our children. I fear that the budget proposal outlined by Governor Corbett today takes the latter road.

"Particularly troubling to me are the following:

· A cut of $1.5 billion to education, K-12 plus higher education, including cuts of 50 percent to our colleges and universities such as Temple, Penn State and Pitt. The cuts to public schools will result either in a spike in property taxes or draconian cuts in education programs. The cuts to our colleges and universities will result in massive tuition increases at a time when our students can least afford them. Proposed cuts to Council Rock and Pennsbury school districts are $1.46 million and $1.44 million respectively.

· Further cuts to environmental protection, while giving the natural gas industry a pass that it gets nowhere else in the United States by not calling for a natural gas drilling tax. We need that revenue to protect the environment and to fund our education and transportation needs.

· No mention of our nearly $3.5 billion transportation infrastructure crisis. This is both an economic need – indeed, a dire need – as well as a public health and safety issue.

· A proposal to allow teachers to be fired to cut budgets because, he claims, schools must be run like businesses. Well, schools are NOT businesses. We don't discard children who are struggling. We work to teach them. Make no mistake: this proposal will do no more than create larger class sizes and a lower quality public school system.

"While I applaud the governor for his proposal to provide targeted tax cuts for research and development and for the growing film industry in Pennsylvania, I am deeply concerned about the direction in which this budget would take our Commonwealth."

State Rep. Josh Shapiro

Earlier today Gov. Tom Corbett presented his proposed FY2011-2012 state budget to the General Assembly. State Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, issued the following statement regarding the governor’s proposal:

“The numbers in the governor’s budget add up but the math doesn’t work for most Pennsylvanians. The governor’s self described ‘reality based budget’ is rooted more in political ideology than in meeting the real needs of Pennsylvanians. Cuts are no doubt necessary, but they ought to be done with careful thought and precision. The governor has not executed a single performance audit on any state program that he has proposed cutting.

“While this proposed budget may be balanced, in reality it shifts the burden to county and local governments. This budget fails to look forward and put Pennsylvania in a position to grow our economy and prepare for the next generation of leaders in our workforce. It also fails to address the serious shortfall in transportation and infrastructure needs that could threaten the safety of our residents.

“The Corbett budget cuts $1.5 billion in education funding from K-12 all the way up to our colleges and universities. These cuts threaten to end full day kindergarten, investments in critical technologies to aid learning, and may cause in-state tuition rates at Pennsylvania colleges and universities to rise. Locally, this budget will cut funding for Upper Dublin schools by 9.3 percent and slash Abington schools by 8.5 percent. We cannot compete in the 21st century economy and create jobs if we don’t effectively train our workforce of tomorrow. Balancing the budget on the backs of our children does not reflect my values.

“In his remarks today, the governor was largely silent on government reform, which is extremely disappointing. Improved transparency and accountability is critical to rooting out the causes of many of our problems in Pennsylvania government today that lead to wasteful spending. In fact, he made no mention of the fact that the legislative leaders continue to control a $188.5 million surplus—money that ought to be returned to the Pennsylvania taxpayers and not hoarded in Harrisburg.

“This budget fails to protect our environment by continuing to allow gas drillers to destroy our environment while taxpayers foot the bill for the drillers’ mess. Every other state with natural gas drilling protects taxpayers from paying for the damage created by drillers—Pennsylvania should not stand alone on this. This threatens our environment, infrastructure and public health.

“While I believe this budget is wrong on so many levels, I am committed to working in a bipartisan manner to fix it and make sure it works for the people of Abington and Uppper Dublin, Montgomery County and Pennsylvania.”

A Union Note

One of my favorite slogans is "Unions, the people who brought you the weekend." It's true -- just as manufacturers often had to be pushed into making safety devices standard (think airbags), employers usually had to be pushed into offering worker benefits (child labor laws, unlocked doors in factories -- think Triangle Shirtwaist fire).

Here is an editorial that also discuss these issues:

"Employers' generosity had little to do with today's working environment," Patriot News Op-ed

Shapiro and Richards Launch Campaign

from the inbox:

Today Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards announced their candidacy for Montgomery County Commissioner with a rally on the courthouse steps with more than 100 volunteers and supporters. Immediately following the rally the Shapiro Richards ticket filed with more than 2600 signatures, more than 5 times the number required, on the petitions to have their names appear on the official ballot in May.

“I am energized by the unity our campaign for County Commissioner has demonstrated today,” said Shapiro. “This extraordinary effort so early on in the race shows the support Leslie and I have for a fresh start in the Commissioners’ office. I am proud today as we take the next step and make our candidacy official to bring about new leadership in Montgomery County.”

“Josh and I will bring two fresh sets of eyes to the Commissioners’ office,” said Richards. “The great quality of the citizens of Montgomery County must be matched by the quality of its leaders, and we will bring that leadership to the courthouse.”

Shapiro and Richards were endorsed by the Montgomery County Democratic Committee on February 17, to lead the row officer ticket as the commissioner candidates.

Shapiro, 37, represents the 153rd Legislative District in Montgomery County in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Shapiro is a committed public servant who has worked in federal and state government for more than 15 years and was named “Best State Legislator” by Philadelphia Magazine. Rep. Shapiro was first elected to the House in 2004 and served as deputy speaker of the House from 2006-2008.

Supervisor Leslie Richards, 43, represents Whitemarsh Township in Montgomery County. A businesswoman who has helped create private sector jobs, Richards has made a difference in our community. Supervisor Richards was elected in 2007 and has served as both Chair and Vice Chair of the Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors.

For more information about the Shapiro Richards ticket please visit www.shapirorichards.com

Wired Government

DCI has put together a cool interactive map listing how many state legislators in that state are using Facebook or Twitter. Interesting.

An Assortment of Education Links

"PSEA seeks improvements to legislation allowing economic furloughs for teachers," on PSEA site. Excerpt:

But schools are not businesses, Oleksiak pointed out. “Schools cannot shut their doors when revenue is insufficient, nor can they turn away any student, regardless of the individual challenges they may present or the unique needs they may have,” he said. “In fact, schools must accommodate these students and rise to the challenge of helping them succeed regardless of circumstances. We are required by constitution and law to educate all children, our communities expect it, and our students deserve it.”

"Teacher Incentives and Student Achievement: Evidence from New York City Public Schools," by Roland G. Fryer, National Bureau of Economic Research
Excerpt:

Financial incentives for teachers to increase student performance is an increasingly popular education policy around the world. This paper describes a school-based randomized trial in over two-hundred New York City public schools designed to better understand the impact of teacher incentives on student achievement. I find no evidence that teacher incentives increase student performance, attendance, or graduation, nor do I find any evidence that the incentives change student or teacher behavior. If anything, teacher incentives may decrease student achievement, especially in larger schools. The paper concludes with a speculative discussion of theories that may explain these stark results.

"Paying Teachers Too Much? Or Too Little?," by Jonathan Cohn, in the New Republic, has some interesting charts on teacher pay by country.

"Teachers, secretaries and social workers – the new welfare moms?," by Randy Albelda on the Employment Policy Research Network

New SEPTA Schedules

SEPTA is shifting some of the Regional Rail schedules, starting March 13. Check online (www.septa.org) or watch for new schedules.

Changes to the schedules include:
• Sunday service to Delaware began on March 6, coinciding with the opening of the
Philadelphia Flower Show. SEPTA’s Wilmington line now stops at Claymont and
Wilmington Stations on Sundays. Train times replicate the line’s Saturday
service.
• Due to Amtrak track maintenance work, weekday midday departure times on the
Trenton and Chestnut Hill East lines have been adjusted.
• Two new evening Glenside express trains have been created, traveling from
Temple University to Glenside stations. Train number 6444 will continue as a
local to Warminster and train number 578 will continue as a local to Lansdale.
• A new Glenside Local (train number 6446) will make stops at Temple University,
Wayne Junction, Melrose Park, Elkins Park and Jenkintown Stations.
• On the West Trenton Line, weekday morning train numbers 6321 and 323 have
been re-timed and will depart earlier. Weekday morning train numbers 6322, 326
and 328 will now stop at Wayne Junction, accommodating passenger requests.
• Lansdale/Doylestown train numbers 6576 and 6595 will make stops at Temple
University Station.

Teachers, Contracts, and Wall Street

This has been widely discussed on the blogs and around the net, but in case there are people who haven't seen it yet, Jon Stewart had a wonderful segment on cutting education funding and the pr campaign against teachers. It is available on a variety of places on the web (just google "jon stewart" teachers), here is one link. Since this blog is syndicated I worry about the copyright aspects of embedding commercial videos.

Stewart shows clips of television commentators saying families earning over $250,000 a year are nearly at poverty level, and that Wall Street executives couldn't have their pay cut because they had contracts. These are compared with the same commentators saying teachers should have known bad times were coming and that their contracts wouldn't be honored and that they earn too much, at an average salary of $50,000. It is enlightening.

In the interest of full disclosure, as has been mentioned here before, I am a union member, with a contract (that has not been honored); I have a 401(k)and not a pension.

Shapiro Richards Campaign Kickoff

Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards are the endorsed Democratic candidates for Montgomery County Commissioner. Their official campaign kickoff will be this Monday at 10:30 on the steps of the Montgomery County Courthouse. For details and information on the candidates see: www.shapirorichards.com

Spies, Traitors & Saboteurs

The National Constitution Center opened a new exhibit on Thursday, March 4th. It focuses on enemies within our borders, from the founding days of the country to the present. Visitors will uncover stories of espionage, treason, and deception in Spies, Traitors & Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America. The exhibit opened March 4th and will run through May 30, 2011; it was created by the International Spy Museum.

Here are some of the highlights:

Exhibition Details

Through major events and periods in history when America was threatened by enemies within its borders, Spies, Traitors & Saboteurs depicts how responses to domestic attacks have driven counterintelligence measures that continue to affect our everyday lives. Events include:



o American Helps Japanese Pilot Terrorize Hawaiian Island After Pearl Harbor Attack – December 7, 1941
o Kremlin Launches One of the First Cold War Attacks Against the U.S. – April 1945
o Radical Group Explodes Bomb in the U.S. Capitol – March 1, 1971
o Massive Bomb Destroys the Federal Building in Oklahoma City – April 19, 1995
o Beyond September 11th – Terrorism Today

Artifacts, interactive displays, and themed environments accompany these stories. Highlights include:



+ Burnt piece of the White House (1814), on loan from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. [Exclusive to the Center’s showing of Spies, Traitors & Saboteurs.]
+ Anarchist Globe Bomb (replica, c. 1886) presented as evidence in the trial of the men tried in connection with the Chicago Haymarket riot.
+ APL Badge and ID Card (1917) carried by Operatives of the American Protective League (APL) who spied on their fellow Americans on behalf of the U.S. Justice Department during World War I.
+ Ritual Klan Red Robe (c. 1965) worn by the Klan “Kladd,” the elected Klan officer who presided over the secret rituals and ceremonies of the Ku Klux Klan.
+ Glass and granite fragments from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, as well as a shoe that was recovered from the wreckage, on loan from the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. [Exclusive to the Center’s showing of Spies, Traitors & Saboteurs.]
+ Fragments of the Planes that hit the World Trade Center (2001) recovered after the attacks on September 11, 2001, and used as evidence by the FBI in their ensuing investigation.
+ Visitor Polling Stations, unique computer interactives that allow visitors to express their opinions on questions raised in the exhibition about how the nation has responded to the historical events presented. Poll questions were developed in consultation with The Gallup Organization. Visitors also can see how Americans responded to similar questions posed by The Gallup Poll throughout history.


Admission to Spies, Traitors & Saboteurs is $15 for adults, $14 for seniors (ages 65 and up) and students, and $11 for children (ages 4-12). Active military personnel and children ages 3 and under are free. Group rates also are available. Admission to the Center’s core exhibition, The Story of We the People, including the award-winning theater production “Freedom Rising,” is included.

Schwartz on Budget Cuts

from the inbox:

As the country begins to see signs of real job growth, U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, senior member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following statement warning against deep and immediate cuts that could eliminate 700,000 American jobs and slow economic recovery by 2 percent.

The Department of Labor today issued its monthly employment report finding that in the month of February, the economy created 192,000 jobs, with an increase of 222,000 private sector jobs and a drop to an 8.9 percent unemployment rate.

In Pennsylvania, the unemployment rate took a significant dip, as the state compiled its fifth straight month of job gains. The state Department of Labor and Industry estimated that employers increased payrolls by 6,000 jobs.

“Today’s job numbers are an encouraging sign of real economic growth. We are no longer seeing sky high job losses month after month. Instead we are seeing job gains all over the country, including right here in the Commonwealth.

“Our goal should be to continue creating private sector jobs. But instead, Republicans are trying to push through billions of dollars of reckless spending cuts that threaten our economic competitiveness. These are dramatic and irresponsible cuts that would undermine our jobs and our public safety.

“Over 300 economists believe these short-sighted cuts will put 700,000 American jobs at stake, and over 30,000 Pennsylvania jobs.

“Cutting spending is critical to reducing the deficit. This is not about whether to cut or not. This is about where to cut, how much to cut, and how fast to cut. The Republican agenda to immediately slash billions of dollars from our core obligations to our seniors, our safety and our future is not the answer.

“Instead of enacting job destroying cuts, House Republicans should be focused on job creating legislation. Unfortunately, Congress has been in session for over two months and not a single job creating bill has come to the floor for a vote.

“It’s time to get serious about promoting private sector job growth. We cannot afford to move backwards.”

REPUBLICAN SPENDING PLAN WOULD DESTROY PENNSYLVANIA JOBS

Ø Independent, non-partisan analysis has found that H.R. 1 will cut 700,000 jobs through 2012, with Pennsylvania set to lose more than 30,200 jobs.
Ø Nearly 5,000 community health center jobs will be eliminated in Pennsylvania if the House-passed bill is enacted.
Ø A $15 million federal transportation grant to help make improvements to the Dilworth Plaza and Concourse in Philadelphia, creating jobs and boosting the local economy, would be eliminated, as would a $10 million grant for a Central Pennsylvania Rail and Road Expansion project.

REPUBLICAN SPENDING PLAN WOULD HURT EDUCATION IN PENNSYLVANIA, MAKE PENNSYLVANIA’S WORKFORCE LESS COMPETITIVE

Ø Under H.R.1, the average Pennsylvania undergraduate with Pell college tuition assistance will see their assistance cut by nearly $700.
Ø More than 8,000 Pennsylvania children will lose access to Head Start, an early education program that is proven to help students complete high school.
Ø Pennsylvania could lose upwards of $100 million in job training investments under H.R.1, which would impact approximately 207,000 potential Pennsylvania workers.

REPUBLICAN SPENDING PLAN WILL MAKE PENNSYLVANIA LESS SAFE

Ø H.R. 1 reduces Byrne Justice Grants for Pennsylvania by $5 million.
Ø H.R. 1 reduces Pennsylvania’s homeland security investments by more than $3 million, hurting local law enforcement’s ability to keep Pennsylvania families safe.
Ø The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will lose more than $2 million in Transit Security Grants under H.R. 1, while Pittsburgh’s Port Authority of Allegheny County will lose almost $600,000.
Ø The Port of Pittsburgh Commission will lose over $850,000 in Port Security Grants.

Wagner: Use Tobacco Money for AdultBasic

from the inbox:

Auditor General Jack Wagner today recommended that Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly use incoming tobacco settlement dollars as intended to provide adultBasic health insurance to Pennsylvanians who don’t qualify for Medicaid. He said that $1.34 billion in tobacco settlement funds have already been quietly diverted from the uses originally intended by the Tobacco Settlement Act of 2001.

More than 40,000 Pennsylvanians lost the state-subsidized health coverage Feb. 28 when the state shuttered the program for enrollees who couldn’t afford private health insurance but earned too much to qualify for Medicaid. An additional 500,000 Pennsylvanians were on a waiting list for the program when it was shut down.

In a special report issued at a press conference today, Wagner noted that the $1.34 billion in diverted funds represents 30 percent of the Tobacco Settlement Fund payments received since 1999. The diversions, which include $432 million to the general fund for unspecified purposes, siphoned money not only from health initiatives like adultBasic and tobacco cessation activities but also from a separate endowment account intended to benefit future Pennsylvanians.

The Tobacco Settlement Act, passed by the General Assembly in 2001, specifically mandated how the state should use the annual tobacco company payments. But according to Wagner’s special report, the mandates were quietly overridden, thus allowing the decimation of adultBasic, the Health Endowment Account, and the tobacco use prevention and cessation program. The endowment account will be empty by June 1, and the tobacco prevention/cessation program was drained to the point that it received an “F” grade from the American Lung Association.

Wagner said that Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly should use incoming tobacco settlement payments for adultBasic until 2014 when federal health care reform kicks in. He also said the state should actively search for additional public and private funds if more are needed.

“The mishandling of tobacco settlement funds is yet another example of how the state’s dysfunctional budgetary process is negatively impacting the lives of Pennsylvanians,” Wagner said. “With the commonwealth still mired in its greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, now is not the time to reduce or eliminate health coverage for hard-working Pennsylvanians – or for reducing funds to prevent smoking and to help those who want to quit.”

Wagner noted that more than 20,000 Pennsylvanians die each year from smoking-related illnesses, and that residents of the commonwealth spend more than $5 billion a year treating smoking-related illnesses. He also pointed out that, according to the American Lung Association, 18.4 percent of Pennsylvania’s high school seniors are smokers – not far below the adult smoking rate of 20 percent.

Yet, Pennsylvania ranks only 30th in the nation in funding programs to prevent youth smoking and to help smokers quit. According to Wagner’s special report, funding for tobacco prevention and cessation declined from $50.5 million in 2002-03 to $14.7 million in 2010-11.

“This is an ominous trend line for the health of future Pennsylvanians,” Wagner said. “We can do better for our children – and we should.”

Pennsylvania was one of 46 states that settled litigation in 1998 with five major tobacco companies to recover medical expenses for Medicaid enrollees with tobacco-related illnesses. Under the Master Settlement Agreement, the tobacco companies agreed to pay the states beginning in 2000 and each year thereafter.

Wagner said that in 2000, then-Gov. Tom Ridge issued Pennsylvania’s Health Investment Plan, which proposed several health initiatives to be funded by the tobacco settlement money. The Tobacco Settlement Act followed, outlining the principles in the Health Investment Plan, which included making Pennsylvanians healthier. Wagner voted for the law as a state senator.

The Tobacco Settlement Act mandated that annual tobacco settlement payments be used according to these percentages: 8 percent deposited to an endowment account for the future, 30 percent for adultBasic and Medicaid for workers with disabilities, 18 percent for health research, 13 percent for home- and community-based services for the elderly, 12 percent for tobacco prevention and cessation programs, 10 percent to reimburse hospitals for uncompensated care, 8 percent to expand the PACENET prescription drug program, and 1 percent for cancer research.

Wagner said that the programs were funded as mandated until 2005 when Pennsylvania started its “redirections” that year and every year thereafter.

When the funding for tobacco cessation programs was at its intended level, the state paid for year-round programs to educate the public, including children, on the dangers of smoking, and to promote a quit-smoking hotline. The quit-smoking hotline used to get most calls from television advertising, but the reduced funding now allows only one statewide media effort each year.

Funding for adultBasic plummeted over the past seven years, going from $112 million in fiscal year 2003-04 to just $21.7 million this fiscal year. Enrollment declined from a high of 54,000 to just over 40,000 on Feb. 28, 2011, the day the program ended. About 63 percent of the enrollees who lost coverage this week were women, many of whom were employed by jobs that had no
health benefits, Wagner said.

Former Gov. Rendell induced four of the state’s private insurers – Capital Blue Cross, Highmark, Independence Blue Cross and Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania – to make annual contributions to adultBasic as a substitute for the state’s funding, but their voluntary contributions ended this week without a back-up plan by the state to replace them.

In total, $1.34 billion in tobacco settlement dollars was redirected from its original purpose, Wagner said. His auditors found that $432.4 million was redirected to the state’s General Fund for unspecified purposes, $121 million was used to fulfill a General Fund obligation to the Public School Employees’ Retirement System, and $795.3 million was used to fund Medicaid long-term care for seniors and persons with disabilities.

Wagner expressed concern that the Health Endowment Account, which was created to set aside funds for future use or to pay for emergency health care needs, will end this fiscal year with a zero balance. In fiscal year 2007-08, the account contained $658 million.

“It is unconscionable that this account, designed to provide funding for health-related programs if and when the annual settlement payments decreased or stopped, has essentially been raided to cover General Fund budget shortfalls,” Wagner said.

Wagner’s special report made two recommendations for the remaining $5.4 billion in tobacco settlement payments the state is projected to receive over the next 15 years, including:
· In the near term, Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly should use incoming tobacco settlement funds to pay for adultBasic, to bridge the gap until health insurance becomes widely available under national health-care reform beginning Jan. 1, 2014.
· Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly should hold immediate public hearings throughout the commonwealth to discuss the long-term use of incoming tobacco settlement dollars to determine if the money should be used according to the original intentions, including funding critically important tobacco prevention and cessation programs, or if new priorities should be established.

Cindy Bass on Healthy Eating

from the inbox:

Today, Cindy Bass, candidate for Philadelphia City Council in the 8th District, announced her plan to increase access to healthy foods in lower-income neighborhoods throughout the District and the City.

“There is a dire need for lasting and stable sources of healthy food in our communities,” Bass said. “As Councilwoman I will be both a leader in the community and a facilitator of commonsense business in the 8th District. Attracting more grocery stores and farmers markets to the District will not only improve the overall health of the residents and our children, but will also create new, sustainable wage jobs and services in the community.”

In addition to grocery stores and farmers markets, Bass proposed the development of “Healthy Food Hubs,” which would combine the sale of healthy foods with information about eating healthy, cooking classes, and community gardens.

Bass outlined the importance of healthy food, citing increased obesity, and other diet-related diseases. She went on to applaud aspects of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative as a model for what is needed in Philadelphia . In particular she wants further implementation of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, a federal partnership which provides financing for developing and equipping grocery stores, convenience stores and farmers markets selling healthy food in underserved areas.

“The preponderance of convenience stores and fast food restaurants have left the most vulnerable of our citizens—children in low-income neighborhoods—without the nutrition they need for brain development during their early, formidable years,” said Bass.

Cindy also wants to facilitate small business and startup grocery stores by helping their owners navigate bureaucracy. As Councilwoman, she will use her office to bring community leaders, business leaders, and government entities together to do what is best for the 8th Council District and the City as a whole. Additionally,

Bass added, “The job of a City Councilperson is to assist projects that will be beneficial to the District and the City. I plan to help cut through the red tape on the issue of healthy food accessibility and improve the quality of life for our residents.”

Santarsiero on Public-Private Partnership

from the inbox:

State Rep. Steven J. Santarsiero, D-Bucks, today called for greater public accountability on legislation that would create a board to allow public-private transportation partnerships to lease, build or operate state roads and bridges.

Santarsiero, who voted against H.B. 3 in the House Transportation Committee today, said the legislation would fast track the leasing of highways and bridges without valuable public input and disclosure. House Bill 3 would create a seven-member board to enter into agreements with private corporations from around the world to operate, maintain, construct and enforce the collection of tolls on highways, bridges, tunnels, overpasses and other similar transportation facilities in Pennsylvania.

"I am not ready to give private companies – very possibly from foreign countries – the authority to toll our roads and bridges in Southeastern Pennsylvania without public hearings and comment on this," Santarsiero said. "We have to look no further than the Scudder Falls Bridge to see an example of how a non-legislative body can decide to toll our infrastructure without elected officials and their constituents having any vote in the matter. It truly is taxation without representation."

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, which operates the Scudder Falls Bridge, is pursuing a public-private partnership to rebuild and maintain the bridge, which carries I-95 from Lower Makefield Township, Bucks County to New Jersey. The partnership will institute a ticketless toll to motorists on the new bridge. Santarsiero said neither the elected officials from the area nor their constituents have a vote on this.

Santarsiero said he supported a motion to table the bill at today's meeting in order to allow for public hearings on the measure. When that motion failed, he voted against reporting the bill out. However, the bill was reported out of committee and sent to the full House for consideration where it could be voted on as early as next week.

"Today's action to move House Bill 3 without public hearings is a move to stifle public input, and further rejects the opportunity to explore amendments – especially related to public safety – to strengthen the bill,"
Santarsiero said. "It is a dangerous abdication of the responsibility our constituents have entrusted to us."

Santarsiero said Republican leaders believe this legislation is necessary to address the multi-billion-dollar transportation crisis in Pennsylvania. "But the fact is it would only be able to address the more heavily travelled roads and bridges – a disproportionate number here in the more heavily populated Southeastern Pennsylvania – and therefore only address about 15 percent of the total problem statewide," he explained.

"While there are certainly potentially good matches for public-private transportation partnerships, there must be accountability to communities, taxpayers and motorists," Santarsiero added. "There is no reason we as public officials can't consider each application on a case-by-case basis in order to accommodate the concerns of local residents and their communities."

Searching for Equality

I've written a few times about non-discrimination ordinances being passed at the local level, since the state's doesn't include protection for gays and lesbians. You may wonder, as many have at public meetings, what difference it makes. Does anyone really care about such things from a practical other than emotional standpoint?

Regular readers may remember that I've mentioned a habit of closely tracking usage statistics. Most of the time it gives me little data on where people are when they find the blog but it does often tell me what search terms someone typed in that brought them here.

As an example, a few weeks ago someone from out of state searched google for

can unrelated people rent a house in Abington township, PA

and that brought them to my post on non-discrimination clauses. Abington does not have a non-discrimination ordinance. Therefore a landlord can refuse to rent to a perceived gay couple and can refuse a rental contract based on their proclaimed or perceived sexual orientation. So someone could legally refuse to rent a house to two people of the same gender based on assumptions about their social status in relation to each other.

If the search was from one person, who is likely to decide to live elsewhere, that's one thing. But if the person doing the search could possibly be the HR person at the larger firm, as part of corporate research before moving their manufacturing plant or corporate headquarters, it cost the township a number of jobs.

It's something to think about.

Inky's One Great Idea

The Philadelphia Inquirer has been running a series of essays called "One Great Idea," which presents an idea from a series of local luminaries. These essays are also available in visual form on the Inky's website (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/112982349.html?c=r).

The latest effort is from Tom Kaiden, president of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. His suggestion is that we have an Arts stimulus. This wouldn't be government funding but encouraging everyone to go to one more theatrical or musical performance, or buy one more painting, or some other cultural event. He recounts a tradition in his family of going to see a play at Thanksgiving.

Prez O on Continuing Appropriations Amendments

from the inbox:

Statement by the President on Passage of Further Continuing Appropriations Amendments, 2011 (H.J.RES.44)

I’m pleased that Democrats and Republicans in Congress came together and passed a plan that will cut spending and keep the government running for the next two weeks. But we cannot keep doing business this way. Living with the threat of a shutdown every few weeks is not responsible, and it puts our economic progress in jeopardy. That’s why I’m calling on Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress to begin meeting immediately with the Vice President, my Chief of Staff, and Budget Director so we can find common ground on a budget that makes sure we are living within our means. This agreement should cut spending and reduce deficits without damaging economic growth or gutting investments in education, research and development that will create jobs and secure our future. This agreement should be bipartisan, it should be free of any party’s social or political agenda, and it should be reached without delay.

New Federal Porgram to Cut Through Red Tape

from the inbox:

Today, Federal Chief Performance Officer and OMB Deputy Director for Management Jeffrey Zients announced a major new initiative to cut through red tape and politics and rid the Federal Government of excess real estate. This initiative is projected to save taxpayers $15 billion.

The Federal Government owns 1.2 million properties across the country, making it the biggest property owner in the United States, but billions of taxpayer dollars are wasted each year on government properties that are no longer needed. This includes roughly 14,000 buildings and structures currently designated as excess and thousands of others that are underutilized. These properties range from under-utilized office buildings to empty warehouses.

The President’s legislative proposal would establish an independent board of experts to expedite the disposal of unneeded properties and identify opportunities to consolidate offices across and within agencies. It applies approaches that have been proven successful by the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Recommendations will be presented to Congress in a package to be voted on in an up-or-down manner. Upon passage, all properties will swiftly be disposed of or consolidated.

“With this new initiative, we can cut through the red tape and politics that prevented the federal government from getting rid of unneeded real estate for far too long – and save taxpayers upwards of $15 billion over the next three years, “said Jeffrey Zients, Federal Chief Performance Officer and Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget. “We look forward to working with Congress to make this commonsense reform a reality and deliver a government that is smarter, more effective, and more efficient for the American people.

This Board will allow us to overcome the traditional barriers to the timely disposal of excess property:

· Cut Through the Red Tape: There are over 20 requirements to sell a Federal property, whether the facility is a small warehouse or an office building in a major metropolitan area. The current process takes at least a year to dispose of any property and often wastes hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in maintenance costs. If a package of properties is deemed appropriate for disposal by the Board and approved by Congress, all of those properties will be swiftly disposed of or consolidated.

· Overcome Financial Barriers: Agencies often can’t afford the short-term costs involved in selling an asset, which prevents them from realizing the real, ongoing cost savings of getting rid of property they don’t need. The proposal will fix this by enabling the Board to manage a fund that can be leveraged to cover these upfront costs.

· Move Beyond Political Interests: Creating an independent board that can assemble a bundle of recommendations for sale or consolidation for an up-or-down vote in Congress will keep political interests from slowing down or completely stopping efforts to eliminate property.

This new proposal builds on the work of the President’s Accountable Government initiative, including an effort the President announced last year to achieve $3 billion in real estate savings for civilian property by the end of 2012. Federal agencies, working closely with the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration, are taking the necessary steps to achieve this goal and are identifying further opportunities for real estate savings that the new, independent Board can consider.

Over the past two years, the President’s Accountable Government Initiative has focused on transforming how government works to deliver a government that is smarter, more effective and more responsive, saving taxpayer dollars by cutting waste and excess and consolidating duplicative or outdated programs. For example, this Administration is:

· Cutting Contracting Costs - curbed uncontrolled growth in contract spending, decreasing spending for the first time in 13 years and saving $15 billion over the prior year’s spending.

· Modernizing Information Technology - saved billions of dollars by improving how the government buys and utilizes information technology. Using the IT Dashboard we’ve conducted intensive reviews on high priority IT projects, reforming or terminating troubled projects, reducing planned budgets by $3 billion and accelerating delivery of key functionality.

· Cracking Down on Improper Payments – avoided nearly $4 billion in improper payments and doubled the amount of improper payments to contractors recaptured last year. Additionally, the Administration is deploying state-of-the-art fraud detection devices to achieve further gains.

· Consolidating and Eliminating Duplicative Programs - the President’s 2012 Budget released last month included over 200 terminations, reductions and savings that will save Americans more than $33 billion in 2012 alone. Additionally, during his State of the Union Address, the President announced a new effort to take a hard look at how we can better organize federal programs and functions to boost our nation’s competitiveness.

Schwartz on Spending Bill

from the inbox:

U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, senior member of the House Budget Committee, delivered the following speech today on floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Pennsylvania Congresswoman believes that while cutting spending is necessary to reduce the deficit, the Republican spending bill makes deep and immediate cuts that threatens our economic growth and destroys American jobs.

“I rise today to offer some truth on the Republican spending bill. Over 300 economists believe the Republican bill to cut $61 billion in midyear could eliminate 700,000 American jobs and shrink economic growth by 2 percent. These are short-sighted cuts that threaten our recovery and our economic competitiveness.

“Our goal should be job creation, not job destruction.

“My colleagues across the aisle only care about cutting without regard for where the cuts come from, how they negatively impact American families, or how detrimental they are to our economy.

“This is not governing. Spending cuts should not be politically motivated or economically harmful.

“We do need to cut spending to reduce our deficit. But they must be targeted and responsible. They shouldn’t cut into our core obligations to our seniors, our safety or our future.

“Our nation’s economic growth depends on investing in education, innovation, and infrastructure – all critical to private sector competitiveness. Balancing spending cuts with smart investments is the only way to ensure new jobs and economic growth.

“It’s time for Republicans to move from political rhetoric to actions that will really work to move the economy.”

Watch Rep. Schwartz on the floor here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrXziI6Iqsg

Women on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners

There are four people running for county commissioner in Montgomery County, two Republican, two Democrats, two men, two women. Each party has endorsed a man and a woman. The possibility that two women could be elected to serve on the board at the same time made me wonder if that would be a first for the county. It would not.

For background, there are three commissioners on the board, with at least one representative of each party. Usually two candidates from each party run and the top three vote getters take office. This year the Republican team is incumbent Bruce Castor and Lower Merion Township Commissioner Jenny Brown (I cannot find a website for them either as a team or individually). The Democrats have endorsed State Rep. Josh Shapiro and Whitemarsh Township Supervisor Leslie Richards (www.shapirorichards.com)

It is a relatively recent development for women to be elected to the board at all. Rita C. Banning was the first. She ran in 1975 and lost, ran again in 1979 and won. Taking office in 1980, she was the only Democrat, serving with Republicans Paul Bartle and Allan C. Myers.

In the 1983 election Banning won re-election, as did Bartle and Myers. Halfway through their term, in 1986, Myers died and Betty Linker was appointed to serve out his term, which meant that two women were on the board, one Republican and one Democrat.

Four years later both all three (Banning, Bartle, and Linker) were returned to office. Linker died in 1989 and another Republican woman, Floriana Bloss, was appointed, meaning that there were again two women on the board.

Bloss did not run lost the Republican primary in 1991; and neither did Banning did not run. Three men were elected, Democrat Joe Hoeffel, and Republicans Mario Mele and Jon Fox. They took office in January, 1992. Two years later Fox was elected to Congress and was replaced by Richard Buckman.

Those three were returned to office in 1996, but Hoeffel resigned in 1998 when he was elected to Congress. Jim Maza replaced him on the board, keeping it an all male preserve.

Nearly ten years after Rita Banning and Floriana Bloss left office another woman joined the county board. In 1999 Democrat Ruth Damsker, along with Republicans Jim Mathews and Michael Marino were elected.

In the 2003 election Tom Ellis took the place of Marino and both Damsker and Mathews were re-elected.

In the 2007 election Damsker ran with Joe Hoeffel against Jim Mathews and Bruce Castor. Hoeffel was elected but Damsker was not. So, starting in 2008 the board was a boy’s club again.

Now in 2011, it is clear that barring any unforeseen events a woman will be elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners again. Either Democrat Leslie Richards or Republican Jenny Brown will be elected, and possibly both. If that does happen it would be the first time since 1986 that two women were in that office at the same time.

Selected Sources:

Byrd, Jerry W., "Betty Boger Linker, 67, commissioner in Montco," Philadelphia Inquirer October 22, 1989

"Floriana Bloss sworn in as Montco Commissioner," Morning Call Nov. 16, 1989

Infield, Tom, "Montco GOP pays for its infighting," Philadelphia Inquirer December 20, 2007

Lounsberry, Emilie, "Montco election is the usual bland contest," Philadelphia Inquirer April 21, 1983

Rozansky, Michael, "Montco's Democratic watchdog calls it quits," Philadelphia Inquirer December 30, 1991.

various web sites

Rob Teplitz, Candidate for State Senate

This is out of my geographic wheelhouse, but the candidate is impressive. Rob Teplitz is running for State Senate, in the 15th district, in York and Dauphin Counties. He's on Facebook, twitter (@robteplitz), and act blue.

According to the York Dispatch ("Democrat announces run for Piccola's state senate seat," by Charlie Lardner, 3/01/2011), Teplitz currently works in the Auditor General Jack Wagner's office, and also for former Auditor General Bob Casey, Jr. He also worked for Wagner when he was in the state senate.

I heard Teplitz speak briefly once and he comes across as very earnest and good-hearted. I wish him well in the campaign.