Where's the Fire?

Phillyburbs, the online home of the Bucks County Courier Times and the Intelligencer, has made available a database of fires in Bucks and Montgomery counties, showing response times and locations, overlaid on a google map for ease of use. See accompanying article "Time to respond" by Jacob Fenton (10/21)

Around the Blogs

Just a few notes, though you probably know already:

Sen. Arlen Specter showed his funny bone at the Funniest Celebrity in Washington last week. Pennsyltucky Politics has videos imbedded in a blog post. Specter pokes fun at Bob Dole's viagra use and let's us all know he's still a natural member of the Sharp Pencil PAC (everyone in unison now, EEEWWWWWWWWW!)

According to Capitol Idea's southern cousin, Pennsylvania Avenue, Philadelphia Magazine editor Larry Platt had his DC debut with the DCCC today. Platt is trying out for the part of Democratic challenger for the 6th congressional district. This is in keeping with the new PA policy of having more than one congressional representative with the same name. We have two Murphys at the moment and a Platts already.

Military Experience Among Montgomery County Democratic Candidates

At one debate for the four candidates running for Montgomery County commissioner, incumbent Republican commissioner Jim Matthews mentioned that he was the only veteran among the four. That is true, but there is a notable amount of military experience among the Democratic candidates for commissioner and the row offices. Some of it is included in candidate biographies, some is not. So, here goes:

Commissioner Candidates

Joe Hoeffel, the former congressman, county commissioner, and state representative, was a medic in the army reserves from 1970 to 1976. (Sources: Frank Devlin, "Montco has a primary fight," Morning Call, May 11, 1995, and PBS Online News Hour, Vote 2004)

Ruth Damsker, the incumbent Democratic commissioner is the widow of a veteran. Her late husband was a general medical officer for the Army in Germany. While there Damsker, who has a degree in social work, served as a volunteer counselor for military families. (Source: Melissa Milewski, "Damsker has her eye on the prize in Montco," Oct 5, 2003)

Candidate for District Attorney

Peter Amuso, according to his campaign site:

After law school, Peter began to serve his country in the U.S. Army. He graduated from JAG school and the Army Airborne School and was assigned to the V Corps at its headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany. During the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia, Peter deployed to Albania with Task Force Hawk to advise the Corps commander on war-related legal issues. Returning to Germany, he learned what it takes to be a tough, no nonsense prosecutor. Captain Amuso was solely responsible for every aspect of prosecution for the largest American military community in Europe. Peter also received extensive trial experience in the Army Trial Defense Service where he served as a criminal defense attorney for the soldiers of the 1st Armored Division in Friedberg, Germany.

Candidate for Register of Wills

D. Bruce Hanes is an army veteran

Candidate for Sheriff

Ed Cheri was a bomb disposal unit commander and Vietnam War veteran. I've seen him wearing a VFW 1804 hat (apologies if I misread the number).

There may be other military experience among the candidates that I am unaware of. Apologies if I missed anyone.

Why is this important? According to a campaign press release:

Montgomery County has 62,560 veterans, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, but has seen the amount of benefits secured through the present Veterans Service Office decline each year from 2004-05, when it obtained $82,569 in benefits, to 2006-07 when it received a total of $2,714. The four-year total is less than $135,000, or an average of $2 per veteran.

Neighboring counties have done much better during the same period. Berks County received $7.7 million in benefits, or $220 per veteran; Lehigh County received $2.5 million, or $100 per veteran; Bucks County received $875,000, or an average of $17 per veteran.

later

Damsker and Hoeffel said they would initiate the following efforts:

1. reinstitute outreach to veterans to help them secure veterans’ benefits;
2. institute a program of county assistance to active duty military families, including those in the National Guard and Reserve who are on active duty, by expanding the responsibility of the present Veterans Service Office and renaming it the Military and Veterans Service Office;
3. work with families to help them secure counseling, advice and other services needed while their family member is away from home.

Things To Do Next Week

Here are few items you might want to venture out for:

Delaware County Council Candidates Forum - Tuesday, October 23, 7:30 PM at Riddle Village Retirement Center.

Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts is hosting an interactive forum with three of the candidates for Pa. Supreme Court (Judge Michael Krancer, Judge Maureen Lally-Green and Judge Debra Todd). The forum is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct 24 (1 pm) at the Phila. Bar Association (1101 Market, 11th Floor). You can order lunch there for $5. For more information see http://www.pmconline.org/node/79

A Brief Note for Reps. Peterson, Pitts, and Shuster

Like most "long tail" (smaller) bloggers I am obsessive about the blog's usage statistics. I keep pretty good track, as much as I am able, of the number of RSS subscribers, hits, and referrals that come in. So trends are spotted fairly quickly. And our latest trend is, tada!, people searching for who voted against the SCHIP bill. People around the US have been searching google and other search engines for that information. As might be expected most of the people who found this blog while looking are in Pennsylvania.

So, let's say it again. The three Pennsylvania congressmen who voted to uphold the president's veto were Rep. John Peterson (R-05), Rep. Joe Pitts (R-16), and Rep. Bill Shuster (R-09). Write it down, folks, especially those of you in the 5th, 9th, and 16th congressional districts.

PA in the WSJ

This is a list of articles regarding Pennsylvania in this week's Wall Street Journal. Chances are I missed something, but these are the articles that caught my eye.

It should be noted that I routinely do not read the editorials in the WSJ. So any discussions of the state, its elected officials, businesses, or citizens, in editorials will not be mentioned here.

PA Politicians

Jason Altmire does the honors this week. From “Republican running uphill,” by June Kronholz (10/19):

Over the summer, Pennsylvania Republican Melissa Hart raised $238,000 for her campaign to take back the House seat she lost in 2006.

But that’s only about one-fourth as much as her opponent, Jason Altmire, whom Democrats have identified for party support. The Democrats’ money advantage enables them to take the offensive early, knowing the Republicans don’t have the money to counterattack.

PA Businesses

Pittsburgh-based E.L.F. Entertainment, Inc. of Gibsonia is a focus of “Small firms are taking on second jobs: franchises,” by Raymund Flandez (10/16)

“Hershey’s soon-to-be chief plots course,” by Julie Jagon (10/19)

The Philadelphia Stock Exchange is the focus of “Exchanges, trading firms consider bids for Phil-ex,” by Aaron Lucchetti (10/20)

Brief mentions: Journal Register Co of Yardley (10/15)
Starcite of Philadelphia (10/19)

Other PA

From “Loutish fans disgrace the NFL,” by Mark Yost (10/16):

Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium was long considered the worse in the league for fan behavior. Cops used the walk through the stands in visiting team jersey to bait thugs who prey on visiting fans. Things were so bad that there was a courtroom right in the stadium to arraign the worst offenders. Things have gotten better since the Eagles moved in 2003 to Lincoln Financial Field, which has new luxury suites and nearly 11,000 Club seats that cost $800 or more a game.

Pennsylvania is mentioned as a state with relatively less protection for personal assets if you are sued, in “Protecting your assets in case you find yourself in court,” by Jonathan Clements (10/16). Pittsburgh attorney/accountant James Lange is quoted in the article.

This week there is a three part series on an investigation into corruption and price fixing in the provision of food to soldiers in Iraq. All three are by Glenn R. Simpson: “Good companies face U.S. probe over Iraq deals,” (10/17), “Houston businessman is key figure in U.S. probe of Iraq food contracts,” (10/18), and “Inside the greed zone,” (10/20). The last article has a Philadelphia connection. The article outlines the actions of whistleblower Marshall Gutierrez. He emailed officials at the Pentagon’s Defense Supply Center in Philly about his suspicions. Two personal notes: I think anyone who willfully overcharges the military during wartime, especially on something as core as feeding the troops, is despicable and ought to go to jail. Secondly, I tend to question the conveniently timed suicides of military personnel involved in sensitive matters, or merely at the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s just me, though.

Other Interesting Tidbits

Nada.

weekly legislative update

This is a list of bills that passed the Pennsylvania House or Senate this week, and mention of any noteworthy resolutions. Standard caveats apply (resolutions not generally included, list of sponsors deleted if it was too long - three lines in the originally formatting).

Our accountant friends at PICPA have provided their usual informative weekly update. They have some interesting things to say this week about a possible increase in the sales tax.


Other updates this week:

PA GOP Senate
PA Democratic Senate
PA GOP House (daily session updates)
PA Democratic House


Resolutions

Nothing caught my eye this week.

Bills

House

HB 1131 Printer's No. 1382. An Act amending the act of May 1, 1933 (P.L.103, No.69), known as The Second Class Township Code, providing for the establishment of fire and emergency medical services.

HB 1133 Printer's No. 1384. An Act amending the act of February 1, 1966 (1965 P.L.1656, No.581), known as The Borough Code, providing for specific powers of boroughs relating to emergency services.

HB 1134 Printer's No. 1385. An Act amending the act of June 24, 1931 (P.L.1206, No.331), known as The First Class Township Code, providing for specific powers relating to emergency services.

HB 1519 By Representatives McGEEHAN, KENNEY, BRENNAN, DONATUCCI, FABRIZIO, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, THOMAS, WALKO, GEIST, CLYMER, CURRY, ADOLPH and CALTAGIRONE. Prior Printer's No. 1849.Printer's No. 2476. An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, prohibiting posting signs on State property in cities of the first class; and establishing the Tree Vitalize Fund.

HB 1179 By Representatives D. EVANS, BLACKWELL, CAPPELLI, COSTA, DALEY, DePASQUALE, FREEMAN, GALLOWAY, GRUCELA, HANNA, KENNEY, KIRKLAND, LENTZ, LEVDANSKY, MAHONEY, PRESTON, RAMALEY, RAYMOND, TANGRETTI, WALKO, WOJNAROSKI, KORTZ, HORNAMAN, JOSEPHS and CALTAGIRONE. Prior Printer's No. 1459.Printer's No. 1848. An Act establishing a temporary State commission to study the Constitution of Pennsylvania to recommend possible amendment or revision; prescribing the powers and duties of the commission; and making an appropriation.


Senate

SB 117 By Senators COSTA, BOSCOLA, FONTANA, TARTAGLIONE, KITCHEN, STOUT, EARLL, RAFFERTY, ERICKSON, O'PAKE, C. WILLIAMS, BROWNE, FERLO, LOGAN and WASHINGTON. Prior Printer's Nos. 156, 1429, 1457.Printer's No. 1466. An Act amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for the establishment and operation of the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission; prescribing its powers and duties; and repealing provisions relating to Juvenile Court Judges' Commission.

SB 986 By Senators EICHELBERGER, SCARNATI, FOLMER, RAFFERTY, ORIE, DINNIMAN, GREENLEAF, REGOLA, PIPPY, BOSCOLA, VANCE, WAUGH, D. WHITE, EARLL, PICCOLA, ARMSTRONG, BRUBAKER, COSTA, ROBBINS, BAKER, RHOADES, WONDERLING, WOZNIAK, TOMLINSON and C. WILLIAMS. Prior Printer's Nos. 1204, 1435.Printer's No. 1468. An Act providing for banning bonuses provided to employees of Commonwealth agencies.

HB 1166 Prior Printer's Nos. 1430, 1477.Printer's No. 1640. An Act designating a portion of State Route 2024, known as Dreshertown Road, in Montgomery County, as the Sergeant James R. Miller Memorial Highway.

The World According to Jim

In 1999 Jim Matthews was running for Montgomery County Commissioner, with Republican running mate Michael Marino. The incumbent Republican commissioner at that time, Mario Mele was not endorsed by his party but ran anyway. According to “Montco maverick shakes up vote for commissioner,” by Matt Stearns, Inquirer May 12, 1999:

Mele has counted that a Marino-Matthews victory would bring back the days of machine politics and result in the return of no-bid professional contracts – which, he said, would only increase county costs and ultimately lead to increased taxes.

Later in the article Matthews responds:

Matthews called the patronage issue “a joke.”

“I walk into that courthouse with a businessman’s perspective,” Matthews said. “There hasn’t been any touch put on us as to political expectations.”

Things changed a bit after Matthews was elected.

In 2003 the chairman of the county’s Aging and Adult Advisory Council recommended Ross Schriftman be appointed to the board and the council supported him. Matthews and Marino declined to second the motion of the lone Democrat on the county commission, Ruth Damsker, that Schriftman be named to the board. Here again, from the Inquirer (“Commissioners enjoy a (mostly) quiet meeting,” by Larry Lewis, July 25, 2003):

Schriftman, a member of the Montgomery County Democratic
Committee and a veteran of three campaigns for political office, is
considered a national authority on long-term care for the elderly.


Marino told Damsker and the citizens gathered for the session
that he had heard Schriftman was a possible candidate for the congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel 3d and was seeking to "build a resume."


Matthews agreed. "I will not be pursuing the appointment of a
lifelong political adversary," he said.

Later in the article:

Marino and Matthews, in turn, accused Damsker of causing
trouble to create election issues.


"This is the way it works," Marino told Damsker. "You've got to
be a big girl on this."

Okay! Well, it’s always nice to know where you stand. That is not a majority commissioner that I would expect to come out very strongly on women’s issues.

As a contrast to Schriftman, an article in the Intelligencer on the same subject “Montco commissioner stirs political storm,” by Milessa Milewski on July 30, 2003, notes:

Damsker said a political agenda did change the Republicans'
mind when it came to state Rep. Ellen Bard, a Republican. She said they did not call for the removal of Bard from the county's Open Space Preservation Task Force after she announced she was running for Hoeffel's seat.

The Intelligencer had another article on the issue on August 18, 2003, “Board appointment process creates county battleground,” by Jeff Shields. Here are a few excerpts:

Granted, it's been 25 years since the Democrat [Ross Schriftman] last ran for the Pennsylvania legislature. But he should have known that Republicans never forget. At least not in Montgomery County.

"I remember he was a pain in the butt, politically," said Montgomery County Commissioner Jim Matthews, who was a Young Republican when Schriftman ran for office.

later

County commissioners appoint about 350 people to 42 boards, ranging from the paid Board of Assessment Appeals to the Office of Children and Youth Advisory Committee. Some boards' by-laws require representation from specific positions, such as a mayor, state representative or agency head, but by far most of the appointments are made at the discretion of the county commissioners.


Democrats argue - and Republicans agree - that those who cross the GOP will not get appointed. That means not only "pain-in-the-butt" Democrats ("There are too many fish in the sea to appoint a political adversary," Matthews said), but also Republicans who step out of line.

later

Democrats represent 38 percent of registered voters in the
county, but only about 19 percent of the county's appointees are Democrats, according to an Inquirer analysis. Republicans, with 51 percent of registered voters, dominate the appointed boards at 76 percent. The remaining 5 percent of appointees are either independent or did not show up in local voters' databases.

later

Marino, known for being apolitical in other areas of county government, admittedly reserves his political rewards for the committee appointments.


And Matthews doesn't blink when he says that Charles Allebach, the longtime Republican mayor of Souderton, was tossed from the county Agricultural Land Preservation Board last year because he supported Democrat Jim Maza - Allebach's longtime family friend - for state Senate.


"I don't know why they did it, but it's their prerogative," said Allebach, 82, who had been chairman of the board since its inception 13 years earlier.


Republicans put out the word that Allebach and about 20 other Republicans who supported Maza had done so at their own peril.


Matthews said that such retribution "can appear very vindictive and childlike," but that it was important for Republicans to send a message. With so many issues in Harrisburg decided on party lines, Republicans can ill afford to put Democrats in office.


"You can't just give away an endorsement for the Senate like that, because it can tear down a whole legislative agenda," Matthews said.

However, Matthews is not completely unreasonable:

Matthews said he was willing to appoint more Democrats to reach a level of about 25 percent representation.

That was very good of him, don’t you think?

Nor was that the only time partisanship came into play after Matthews was elected. Read this from the June 15, 2000 Morning Call (“Montgomery might rescind ethic measure,” by Frank Devlin:

One of the hallmarks of Montgomery County's previous board of commissioners, which ran the county from January 1992 to January 2000, was its effort to take politics out of county government.


Led by former Chairman Mario Mele, the commissioners put contracts out to bid to avoid the appearance that political allies were getting county jobs.

They banned courthouse employees from taking part in political activity during the work day.


In 1998, they decided that holders of certain county administration jobs, including director of human resources, were not allowed to participate in politics, even on their own time.

Earlier that month the new board, with majority commissioners Marino and Matthews voted to repeal the ordinance banning political activity. Damsker voted against the repeal. Although she herself held an office in Cheltenham, she checked with the state’s Ethic Commission and was told she could hold both, although she did not run again after her term expired in 2001. (“Montgomery commissioners repeal political ethics ordinance,” by Frank Devlin, Morning Call, June 16, 2000)

The Inquirer also had an article on the subject, “A Montco Tammany Hall? Democrats say it could be,” by Matt Archbold, June 7, 2000. Here is the last paragraph:

He [Marino] said that the focus of the resolution was to restore civil rights to all county employees, and that all people should have the right to be involved in the political process.


Of course, Marino said, he would like to hire people of like-minded philosophy, and they are typically Republicans, but he said he would hire the best person for the job in all cases. "Of course, you pick the people that support you philosophically or otherwise," he said.

The requirement for competitive bidding for personal or professional services also came under fire. As reported in the Inquirer on April 20, 2000 (“Commissioner critical of anti-patronage rule,” by Matt Archbold):

Marino did not raise the issue for a vote despite having the two votes necessary to get it approved by the three-member board. He had the support of fellow Republican Commissioner James Matthews.


Marino said he wanted the county government "to function as quickly and as effectively as possible," and he noted that state law did not require counties to solicit bids for professional services.


Marino said that if he did attempt to hire political friends on the basis of contributions and not quality, his fellow Commissioner Ruth Damsker, a Democrat, would point that out.

Remember that “she’s a big girl / this is just how things work” comment earlier? Same guy.

Marino did not run for a second term. Matthews ran instead with Tom Ellis, who is also not running for a second term. This year Matthews is running with Bruce Castor. The Democratic ticket for commissioner is Joe Hoeffel, who helped put into effect the regulations that Matthews helped dismantle, and incumbent Ruth Damsker.

PA Congressman Who Voted Against SCHIP

The US House was unable to override the president's veto on the SCHIP bill. Only three Pennsylvania congressmen voted to support the president's veto. If you want to keep track of who they are just in case, oh, I don't know, you wanted to remember it next November, the three are:

Rep. Joe Pitts
Rep. John Peterson
Rep. Bill Shuster

Rick Taylor and the Importance of Being Earnest

Like Oscar Wilde’s play this blog post concerns mistaken identity, one thing being taken for another, and, had we seen the entire thing played out on PCN, probably some comic relief. It is a tale of two bills, a rose by any other name, and, for all we know, a lost handbag features in there somewhere.

On March 8th of this year Sen. Jake Corman and 9 other Pennsylvania state senators introduced SB 548. It ran exactly 12 lines and gave a brief outline for setting up the Long-Term Care Partnership Program, and amending P.L. 682, No. 284. It wound its way through the Banking and Insurance committee and the Appropriations committee and was passed on April 17. Then it went over to the House of Representatives and there we shall leave it for the moment.

On March 29th, Rep. Rick Taylor and 25 colleagues introduced HB 966, defining long-term care insurance, the Long-Term Care Partnership Program, and amending P.L. 682, No. 284. It was 5 pages long and gave detailed instructions on how the previous law should be amended, such as defining long-term care insurance, what policies shall provide coverage, who qualifies as a resident, what a multiple welfare arrangement is, penalties for fraudulent insurance sales, and assorted other details that, if you are not careful, will render you unconscious if you try to read and understand them. It’s that powerful. The bill was referred to the Insurance committee and amended, referred to the Rules committee and amended, and then passed on June 26. The first amendment added 21 words to the body of the bill and expanded a one sentence section into an 8 line section. The second amendment removed four words and added in 24. Then it went over to the Senate.

In the Senate it was referred to the Banking and Insurance committee, amended, referred to the Appropriations committee and amended, and then passed on June 30. The first amendment removed 69 lines and added in enough material (something about insurance company mergers, I think) to make the bill 16 pages long. It was still 16 pages long after the second Senate amendment. Then it went back to the House, was referred to the Rules committee on June 30 and has not been heard from again since.

Meanwhile, back in the House, SB 548 is referred to the Insurance committee, amended, referred to the Appropriations committee, and passed on July 16. It went back to the Senate which concurred with the amendment and it was passed there as well. On July 17 it was signed by the governor and became law.

The House amendments to SB 548 turned the 12 line bill into a five page law. Those five pages are almost identical to the original form of HB 966, introduced by Rep. Taylor. According to a press release issued when SB 548 was signed into law:

Taylor successfully sponsored amendments to the bill (S.B. 548) as it passed through the House and the Senate concurred in his additions.

The new law (Act 40 of 2007) enables Pennsylvanians to purchase comprehensive insurance coverage from providers for both home care and nursing home care in order to protect their assets. The care of approximately 44 percent of nursing home residents is paid through Medical Assistance, and under current law, those who had personal assets above the limits had to first pay with those personal assets before Medical Assistance could kick in.

“There are two big pluses to moving new and existing long-term care insurance policies into the Partnership Program,” Taylor said. “Before receiving benefits, participants would not have to first divest themselves of assets like their home, investments or priceless family heirlooms they hoped to leave for future generations.

“Secondly, individuals who buy into partnership policies would most likely never have to go on Medical Assistance, alleviating taxpayers from footing the bill for any residential or nursing home care they may need, and right now those assistance figures are enormous.”

Sen. Corman’s press release is also available online.

It should be noted that before being elected to represent the 151st legislative district, Taylor worked as a manager of global compensation for IMS Health and has a background in industrial and labor relations.

A Correction on NGP

In yesterday's post on third quarter campaign finance reports I said that NGP, a favorite of local congressional representatives and candidates, was a bipartisan firm. This was an error. NGPSoftware works with Democratic and progressive campaigns and organizations. They are indeed the local favorite. All but one of Pennsylvania's Democratic congressional representatives (the lone exception is Bob Brady), as well as Sen. Casey, are NGP clients.

Third Quarter Campaign Finance Reports

Okay, our congressional buddies from the general suburban Philadelphia area have filed their third quarter fundraising reports. Remember that these reports are often amended (you can throw stones if you have ever prepared one, otherwise keep any snark on that topic to yourself).

If there are two sets of numbers in a category the first is for this past 3 months (July – Sept), the second is for the campaign cycle total. I did not break down individual contributions by itemized and unitemized (large vs small amounts). I also did not include a category of there were no numbers in it, just to keep this from being any more blindingly difficult to work with than it already is. If you are interested in itemized / unitemized numbers or more information on any of the finance reports, check them out at www.fec.gov

This time I romped through the reports individually and took note of assorted things. Some campaign finance software will let you scramble the report so it isn’t listed in alphabetical order. This is to make it difficult for your opposition to see what you are up to. It is, to be sure, annoying if you are trying to get a sense of the campaign via the reports. I also looked to see how many donors were already maxed out for both the primary and general elections. Generally speaking about 7 contributor records will fit on my screen at a time so I kept a general mental tally of how many of the seven were usually from out of state. Those are not reliable numbers as I didn’t write it down or keep close track – it is a general gist/guess. I counted how many people are being paid to work on the campaign and whether or not there is evidence of the campaign paying their health insurance. What software and other campaign vendors do they use? Paychex seems to be the universal vendor for payroll. For campaign software there are a variety of products. NGP seems to be the most popular and is bipartisan to boot(update: NGP is used by Democratic candidates) (note to campaign finance wannabees – in PA it would be a good idea to try to get trained on NGP). Most campaign consultants (and these often take up more money than the salaries) are from out of state. Note to candidates: Buy local! If I contribute to a campaign I don’t want a goodly percentage of that money going to some hired gun in DC or MD or elsewhere.

A few odd tidbits – Rep. Sestak’s campaign pays for TiVo. Rep. Schwartz’s campaign is making car payments. Rep. Dent is receiving money from the Sharp Pencil PAC (a GOP leadership PAC) which brings a number of jokes to mind but I will spare you.

So, in district order, here we go!

6th Congressional District

Incumbent Republican Jim Gerlach

I RECEIPTS
Individuals 146,216.38 / 457,519.47
Political Party Committees 220.50 / 976.82
Other Political Committees (such as PACS) 90,500.00 / 429,000.00
Total Contributions 26,936.88 / 88,7496.29
Transfers From Other Authorized Committees (none this quarter)
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, Rebates, etc) 239.75 / 4,685.30
Other Receipts 2,718.06 / 4,531.10
Total Receipts 239,894.69 / 900,136.99

II. DISBURSEMENTS
Operating Expenditures 177,767.91 / 599,258.46
Refunds of Contributions 3,800.00 / 4600.00
Other Disbursements 350.00 / 1,850.00
Total Disbursements 181,917.91 / 605,708.46

III. CASH SUMMARY
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 342,489.88
Total Receipts This Period 239,894.69 / 900,136.99
Subtotal 582,384.57
Total Disbursements 181,917.91 / 605,708.4
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 400,466.66
Debts and Obligations 18,388.47

Personal observations: Debt is a bill for direct mail expenses. Rep. Gerlach has his reports scrambled so they are not listed alphabetically. I counted 6 maxed out contributors; most contributors from PA. Paychex, Complete Campaigns software, 3 salaried (one reimbursed for health insuranced). DC webhosting & fundraising, TX direct mail, NJ media consultant. For this cycle, almost even amounts from individuals and PACS


7th Congressional District

Incumbent Democrat Joe Sestak

I. RECEIPTS
Individuals: 337,407.50 / 966,560.65
Political Party Committees (less than $10.00 this quarter)
PACS 88,551.70 / 404,051.89
Transfers From Other Authorized Committees (none this quarter)
Refunds, Rebates, etc ($.500 this quarter)
Total Receipts 425,973.99 / 1,413,330.91

II. DISBURSEMENTS
Operating Expenditures 67,287.63 / 286,348.67
Total Contribution Refunds 5,750.00 / 6,110.00
Total Disbursements 73,037.63 / 292,458.67

III. CASH SUMMARY
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 1,072,436.82
Total Receipts This Period 425,973.99
Subtotal 1,498,410.81
Total Disbursements This Period 73,037.63
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 1,425,373.18

Personal observations: scrambled,15 maxed out contributors, roughly 1 out of 7 out of state, from ActBlue $96,777, 3 on payroll (2 named Sestak), wired for change – dc, online campaign tools, TiVo, NGP, paychex. Almost twice as much from individuals as PACS


8th Congressional District


Incumbent Democrat Patrick Murphy

I. RECEIPTS
Individuals 158,084.49 / 836,801.23
Political Party Committees (none this quarter)
Other Political Committees (such as PACS) 72,000.00 / 546,020.33
Total Contributions 230,084.49 / 1,389,877.59
Transfers From Other Authorized Committees (none this quarter
Other Receipts 1,883.34 / 37,784.04
Total Receipts 231,967.83 / 1,463,282.11

II. DISBURSEMENTS
Operating Expenditures 133011.58 / 464,684.01
Contributions Refunds 1,749.00 / 3,377.00
Other Disbursements 3,000 / 3,000
Total Disbursements 137,760.58 / 471,061.01

III. CASH SUMMARY
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 963581.53
Total Receipts This Period 231,967.83
Subtotal 1,195,549.36
Total Disbursements This Period 137,760.58
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 1,057,788.78
Debts and Obligations: 44,972.83

Personal observations: His report is not scrambled, only 4 maxed out, 3 salaried employees, health care expenses listed, roughly 1 or 2 out of 7 from out of state, a lot of candidate travel, looks like around $30K for legal services?, NGP software, website in MA. Doing better in the individual / PAC ratio

13th Congressional District

Incumbent Democrat Allyson Schwartz

I. RECEIPTS
Individuals 156,173.98 / 810,139.33
Political Party Committees 113.28 / 397.42
Other Political Committees (such as PACS) 99,750.00 / 366,650.00
Total Contributions 256,037.26 / 1,177,186.75
Refunds, Rebates, etc (none this quarter)
Other Receipts 6,201.20 / 10,601.46
Total Receipts 262,238.46 / 1,207,782.09

II. DISBURSEMENTS
Operating Expenditures 63,700.04 / 296,284.45
Refunds of Contributions (none this quarter)
Other Disbursements 155,110.00 / 217,910.00
Total Disbursements 218,810.04 / 516,894.45

III. CASH SUMMARY
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 1,298,880.31
Total Receipts 262238.46
Subtotal 1,561,118.77
Total Disbursements 218,810.04
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 1,342,308.73

Personal observations: not scrambled, 10 maxed out, 3 salaried employees, 2 out of 7 contributions from out of state, pays health insurance, 3 car payments?, NGP, Paychex, DC fundraising consultants. more than half from individuals as opposed to PACS


15th Congressional district

Incumbent Republican Charlie Dent (R)

I. RECEIPTS
Individuals 63,578.00 / 288,918.44
Political Party Committees 98.00 / 294.00
PACS 93,324.00 / 277,674.00
Total Contributions 157,000.00 / 566,886.44
Rebates, Refunds, etc 228.00 / 2,857.00
Other Receipts 1,006.20 / 1,392.71
Total Receipts 158,234.20 / 571,136.15

II. DISBURSEMENTS
Operating Expenditures 66,963.06 / 382,276.33
Other Disbursements 3,800 / 3,800
Total Disbursements 70,763.06 / 386226.33

III. CASH SUMMARY
Cash on hand at beginning of reporting period 371,462.69
Total Receipts 158,234.20
Subtotal 529,696.89
Total Disbursements 70,763.06
Cash on hand at close of reporting period 458,933.83

Personal observations: scrambled with pac and individual together (annoying), none maxed out, one salaried employee, VA and NH fundraising, one PA fundraising consultant, Aristotle software, a student and retiree at same address in NH each gave $2300. Almost as much from PACS as individuals

Democratic Challenger "Sam" Bennett

I. RECEIPTS
Contributions from individuals: 22,942.15 / 61,964.71
PACS 5,000 / 29,000
Total Contributions: 27942.15 / 90,964.71
Other Receipts: 250 / 250
Total Receipts: 28,192.15 / 91,214.71

II. DISBURSEMENTS
Operating Expenditures 39,631.17 / 58,288.42
Other Disbursements 365 / 365
Total Disbursements 39,996.17 / 58,653.42

III. CASH SUMMARY
Cash On Hand at Beginning of Reporting Period: 44,330.31
Total Receipts: 28,192.15
Total Disbursements: 39,996.17
Cash on Hand at Close of the Reporting Period: 32,526.29

Personal Observations: not scrambled, a third or more out of state, none maxed out, 1 employee, local web host, a lot of money going to TeamBlue Politics in MD, NGP software

Montgomery County Commissioner Candidates on “Comment Please”

This past Tuesday all four candidates for Montgomery County Commissioner appeared on “Comment Please” (sponsored by Univest) on WNPV 1140. Host Darryl Berger is an exemplary moderator. His questions or gentle prods for follow-up were so skillfully done that it was often unnecessary to indicate where he spoke. He guided the conversation along without appearing to do so, a great talent.

The Intelligencer published an article on the debate, “Debate goes overtime” by Jacob Fenton on October 10th. I am indebted to Mr. Fenton for including a link to the online version of the interview; without his diligence I would not have known it was there.

The format allowed each candidate one minute for an opening statement and one minute for a closing statement. The Republican candidates are incumbent commissioner Jim Matthews and current District Attorney Bruce Castor (www.castormatthews.com). The Democratic candidates are incumbent commissioner Ruth Damsker and Joe Hoeffel who has previously served as a county commissioner as well as congressman and state representative (www.votedamskerhoeffel.com)

These are rough notes from an online audio tape. At points the candidates spoke over each other or traded jabs and I could not always tell who was talking, so those exchanges are not included. As always I apologize in advance for any errors or misconceptions.

Opening Statements

RD: I am the only female running in the race. It’s a wonderful time actually now in Montgomery County. I have the privilege of running with a strong teammate with federal state and county experience. Four high priorities. The first is to work on open transparent government, inclusive of all residents, reflect the face of Montgomery County, all of residents, regardless of ethnicity can participate, does not happen at this time, open contracting, better hiring practices, transform county government.

JM: It is great times in Montgomery County, approx 3% or 3.2% unemployment, taxes have to be more than agreeable to taxpayers, less next year, provide wonderful public services, new tactical training center for police, expanded fire training, new 911 service, working on open space program

JH: Ruth and I are delighted to be teamed up and running for county commissioner, stand for fundamental change, clean up courthouse, fraud, bring economic development to older communities, such as Lansdale, Pottstown and Norristown. Improve family and human service, reduce waiting lists, Ruth has led the charge to deliver those services in a more collaborative way. Quality of life issues, traffic problems are terrible, provide political leadership to deal with sprawl

BC: Lived in Montgomery County my whole life, in listening audience of channel 1440. Think Montgomery County is a great place to live unlike Dem candidates, low taxes, great open space program, very safe streets. With 22 years in DA office, primarily interested in safety issues, just over 3 % unemployment, people think this is a nice place to live, wants to continue that trend.

Q: Montgomery County Democratic chairman Marcel Groen says BC involved in prosecutorial misconduct, used DA’s office to forward your political career. [blogger’s note: this involves a Democratic official who owns a bar that is suspected of having an illegal video poker machine in it. This official also played a role in the Damsker Hoeffel campaign]

BC: I hadn’t heard the latest call for my resignation. The answer is no, again, the case we are working will become public very soon, involves an investigation we began over a year ago. A county resident involved in running illegal video poker game. The governor wants this cracked down on because it competes with legal slots. Gaming control people and the governor said they wanted us to work on that issue. Obviously a great deal of that going on in Montgomery County, want to stop this. One main person, primary suspect, detective followed him, noted bars he went to, visited the bars to see if probable cause. In August got a report from detectives that investigation ready for search warrants. One small aspect involves a political family. Dilemma, go ahead knowing that it will be spun as a political move or wait until after election? Waiting would be wrong so we went ahead. Doing job as DA could be detrimental but went ahead. In history I have gone after 5 Republican and this is the second Democrat.

JH: My view is that this initial decision to investigate illegal gambling not politically motivated. Do disagree with DA’s comment that maybe something will become public in next few days. Already released to the public, a leak to KYW that had to come from the DA’s office, statement made that a highly placed elected official involved, the matthews castor website had a report up before the DA’s press conference. When Marcel Groen asked BC to resign, BC talked about woman’s statement publicly, total prosecutorial misconduct. Would be much better served if DA and first assistant da stepped aside, gave investigation to someone else until after election. [blogger’s note: The first assistant district attorney is currently running for District Attorney.]

BC: It would be unprecedented to step aside. KYW broadcast report did not mention a Democrat, said a political person might be involved, no information leaked. We did announce press conference, said a public official, did not name official or party, Dems released name. Search warrants sealed until target of investigation aware of investigation. (tells RD and JH they don’t know what they are talking about). I did everything I could not to confirm this until Joanne resigned. Then we began to defend ourselves. Ds have made fraud waste abuse center of their campaign for months and months and months. Now as it turns out their campaign chair might be a crook

JH: We’ve never said you were crooks.

Q: patronage tax?

RD: We have 3 examples of personnel issues, director of public property Andy Gulotta, for years his employees have complained and filed grievances of hostile work environment, resigned after many complaints, then given a consultancy for twice his salary for two years. Other examples, chairman hired a woman he is dating, who would supervise the CEOs (?), do not post hirings.

JH: Seven examples, 3 personnel, 3 contracts (forensic, lobbying, tax collecting), chairman violating state ethics code by putting himself on the Independence Blue Cross board.

JM: I really do consider this humorous. In 2004, 2005, 2006, we had about 1480 hirings, approximately 2000 personnel actions, plus contracts, awards, RD did not vote nay for any of those items for 3 years, now that we are in an election year they say abuse and patronage. But she voted aye for every personnel matter. The Damsker Hoeffel campaign put out statement 9/07 citing fiscal abuses. On 21 Sept, are you going to have to borrow, RD said current commissioners have built up reserves. What happened? This is just election babble.

RD: It is not political babble. I vote with them when they’re right, oppose when they’re wrong. When they keep me in the dark I can’t do my job as commissioner. Lobbying issues brought up by Castor about giving monies to head of GOP. Forensic lab and a woman in the DA’s office alleged to do political work on county time, brought up by Republican county controller. Where has the controller been the last 3 years? He’s only now bringing up issues. The three of us were unaware that RFP’s did not have a separate written documents, no written contracts.

BC: All of those votes are in public. Do we support this or hire that person? How are you the dark?

RD: I don’t get all the information. In the last few months, very little dialog.

BC: Dangerous not to have best forensic service.

Q: Is that a service that could be bid out?

BC: Was bid out. RD did not read contract or bid.

RD: We have thousands of contracts. JM did not read it either. Marino did not read it either. Vast majority of votes are routine.

BC: Make pledge. I will read everything before I vote.

JH: When I was commissioner, we trusted the dept heads to say send out rfps. The forensic rfp was a sham. Could only be filled by a business in Montgomery County.

BC: Complete nonsense. When re-did bid the same company got it.

JH: Why did you mislead, said it was competitive. It was a sham.

BC: You have limited command of the facts. Two agencies, DA and the coroner, put together rfp. Coroner was the one who wanted geographic limitation.

RD: Talk to your fellow commissioner.

JM: I could have cared less. It was a quality firm.

Q: Was this company costing a lot of money?

JH: When rebid the county did not take labs with lower prices

BC: You might as well go the road runner and get ACME testing. [names company] was terrible [used different words but slammed them].

Q: Will you serve out 4 year term?

JH: No plans to run for anything else. Want to be best majority commissioner I can be. It is my intention to serve out 4 years.

BC: Joe says interested in being best majority commissioner. I am not interested in running for anything else, majority or minority. After this may not run for anything else.

JM: in for the duration as either minority or majority. I ran for lt gov and fell on sword for party

RD: no intention of running for anything else. Most incumbents don’t run with a stronger candidate but Joe has higher name recognition, endangering my own position on board but I want the best for Montgomery County.

Q: driving issue?

JH; Economic development, sprawl and transportation, have economic development plan, Grow Montco, $50 million development fund just to jumpstart projects, river front in Norristown, #1 priority, jumpstart projects in other part of county, hire for transportation, housing, do this w/o raising taxes, not reassess properties, do it with economic development program. Asked about reassessment, now understand this is not the time. 10 years ago I voted to reassess, controversial but it was time, rendered an unfair system much fairer. Now not that far out of whack. Secondly public won’t stand for it. They want the state to fix the property tax system.

BC: precision in language is of some value. RD said earlier that she thinks it is time for reassessment, then at debate said no. They still think it’s a good idea but since public doesn’t like it for political reasons they won’t do it. JH’s reassessment generated 16K appeals. In Philly reassessment made taxes go up on 94% properties

RD: Make it clear. None of our taxpayers need to be concerned. JH and I just said we will not have a property tax reassessment. Property tax issue needs to be addressed in Harrisburg

JM: Cameras don’t lie. We tape our sessions. RD very clear, in favor of reassessment. Joe said earlier he ordered property tax assessment. Now says wants to lead change. He was in office. Hypocrisy to say not in charge when in charge. Wants $65 million to generate economic development. Much evidence that government can’t drive econ development. Does drive debt.

Closing Statements

BC: Disappointed in rhetoric from Democrats this year. Campaign in search of a scandal because there are no issues. What matters most are low taxes, good schools, safe streets, GOP has provided that. Democrats so anxious to pull this coup that they’ll simply make things up.

JH: All we have heard from Bruce and Jim in this campaign and now are complaints about Ruth and me and attacks. No plans on their website. Ruth and I are running because we want fundamental change. Want to clean up courthouse. Norristown needs attention of the county commissioners. Restore reforms that Jim rolled back. Improve family services. Sprawl and bad development decisions.

JM: Charge that we haven’t done enough for boroughs, just silly, we have invested in zoo and library, supplied police officers, patrolling sheriffs. Statement from Democratic Norristown chair, saying how great commissioners doing. Borrowing $65 million, where does that come from? In my first year as commissioner debt dropped $10 million, in Joe’s first year it doubled

RD: Yes I did vote with GOP majority for budget, tax cuts, did not vote for gutting ethics code in our handbook, done in first months of first administration. Not only time I have spoken out. I have spoken up for years. Can’t get qualified residents, who happen to be Democrats on boards. Things are beginning to improve in Norristown.

Allyson Schwartz, Queen of Green

[This is my contribution to Blog Action Day, which has the environment as its theme this year.]

When someone is in office for a number of years you can look to see if there are themes to their work and legislation. Certainly every elected official does, or should, work on burning issues of the day, but like those outside of office, they often have personal interests that are reflected in the long-term work they do.

Let’s take a look at one such official and one of her key themes. Allyson Schwartz, currently the representative for Pennsylvania’s 13th congressional district, served in the State Senate from 1990 to 2004 when she was elected to Congress. In the biography on her congressional website we find:

In Congress, Schwartz has continued to focus on healthcare, including working for the expansion of federal SCHIP to cover all eligible children. Schwartz is also instrumental in legislative efforts redirecting the nation’s environmental and energy policies towards energy independence and the reduction of global warming. Her energy legislative accomplishments include smart reuse of Brownfield sites, incentives for businesses to build energy efficient buildings and securing tens of millions of dollars to enable communities throughout the 13th district to revitalize commercial business districts and develop new greenways.

Her work on SCHIP has been widely documented elsewhere so we’ll leave it for now, and look at some of her environmental work.

The League of Conversation Voters, in 2006, rated congressional representatives and senators on their environmental voting. Nationally the average score was 45%. Pennsylvania house members averaged 34%. Schwartz ranked the highest in the state with a 94%. (“Fitzpatrick earns D-minus for environmental voting,” by Brian Scheid (3/06/2006). In 2004, she also had the support of the League, whose endorsement read:

LCV has endorsed Democrat state Senator Allyson Schwartz for the open seat in Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District. As state Senator, Allyson Schwartz established an impressive environmental record, regularly receiving high marks from the Pennsylvania League of Conservation Voters, including a 90% in 2002. She supported brownfields clean up legislation and worked to make sure that the program safeguarded public health. Schwartz fought to create the office in the PA Department of Environmental Protection that gives small businesses advice on compliance of environmental legislation. During the Pennsylvania energy deregulation debate, state Sen. Schwartz sponsored legislation to increase the use of renewable energy in power generation.

The Pennsylvania Sierra Club, in their Sept 04 Sylvanian newsletter also endorsed her:

Allyson Schwartz has an unparalleled record of accomplishment as an environmental legislator in the Pennsylvania Senate. She has been a leader for the state's landmark land use and planning reforms as well as a strong supporter of open space preservation initiatives such as Growing Greener. During her 14 years of public service she has consistently been rated among the best pro-environment Senators in the state, and has been endorsed by the Sierra Club for her work in the General Assembly three times.

In the Fall 2003 PennEnvironment Newsletter, she was the only state senator to earn a higher than 80% rating from the group; she earned an 88%

The Nov./Dec. 04 Clean Water Action News noted:

Of particular note was the victory by state Senator Allyson Schwartz in the 13th Congressional District in the Philadelphia area. Senator Schwartz has been a long-time friend of Clean Water Action in Harrisburg, and we look forward to working with her in Washington. All of the candidates Clean Water Action endorsed for the state House of Representatives won, including Josh Shapiro from Montgomery County who won a hotly contested race for an open seat.

Another of Schwartz’s self-stated interests is business development and this has, for a notable period of time, overlapped with her environmental interests.

As early as 1992 (“Big bite for small firms environmental rules hit hard,” by John J. Fried, Philadelphia Inquirer 4/12/92):

And, to help small Pennsylvania businesses cope with the demands of the Clean Air Act, Sen. Allyson Schwartz (D, Phila) has proposed legislation to make available low-interest loans to small businesses for environmental projects. The senator also wants the state to establish an outreach program to educate small businesses about the Clean Air Act requirements and help them design compliance efforts.

Earlier that year, same paper, the same reporter on 2/21/92 wrote “Clean-air aid urged for businesses in PA.:”

Small businesses in Pennsylvania would get state support to help them comply with the 1991 Clean Air Act under legislation being proposed by state Sen. Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Phila).

Schwartz unveiled her ideas, contained in a three-bill package Wednesday in a news conference attended by state and business officials.

Later

Under her proposals, small businesses would be able to obtain low-interest loans from the state to finance projects that would enable them to comply with federal regulations.

On Feb. 20th the Daily News ran an article “Regs may cost small biz big $,” by Ramona Smith, which detailed the legislation.

Schwartz proposed to set aside 10 percent to 40 percent of all Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority loans for environmental compliance projects – an estimated $10 to $40 million an year.

She also proposed to spend $135,000 on informing small businesses what they’re expected to do.

A third bill would reserve 10 percent of the Department of Commerce’s technology development funds – about $3.2 million – to spur development of pollution prevention businesses.

This has continued in her congressional career. The American Planning Association praised her in their May 1, 2007 newsletter, the APA Advocate:

Since the beginning of the 110th Congress there has been a lot of talk about the importance of addressing global warming. After less than four months in session, dozens of energy and climate bills already have been introduced. Among the proposals, a set of bills focusing specifically on green building design has steadily gained momentum. In addition to legislation introduced by Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) to extend and increase the current tax credit for green buildings and Sen. Boxer's work on greening federal buildings, three new measures have recently been introduced: …

The American Institute of Architects also highlighted Schwartz’s role in this legislation. As did the American Council of Engineering Companies. Also the National Electrical Contractors Association. That is a very diverse group of organizations. (For more information on the original legislation, see this page. http://www.efficientbuildings.org/about_the_provision.html)

On July 10th of this year the American Society of Landscape Architects mentioned her work on HR 2643:

The bill also includes increased funding for the EPA and its Green Infrastructure Partnership, a pilot program that ASLA supported and worked on with the Natural Resources Defense Council and Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-PA). The pilot program will seek to use green roofs and other green infrastructures to control sewer overflows and stormwater management.

She also practices what she preaches. In July of this year she introduced HR 3037, the Green Meetings Act, which would require all branches of the government to follow the rules the EPA does when selecting hotels and conference facilities. According to the press release on this:

Conferences and meetings consume large quantities of environmental resources. For instance, a typical five-day conference for 2,500 attendees will use 90,000 cans or bottles, 75,000 cups and 87,500 napkins. By adopting environmentally-conscious policies hotels and conference facilities can significantly improve the environmental strain and reduce energy consumption of large meetings. If one hotel initiates a linen and towel reuse program it can conserve 200 barrels of oil - enough to run a family car 180,000 miles.

On May 1, 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency changed its acquisition rules for planning meetings and conferences to give preference for facilities that manage their resources in environmentally positive ways. When the EPA solicits services for conferences and meetings, it uses a 14-point checklist to locate facilities that use good conservation practices such as providing guests with a towel reuse option, having an energy efficiency program, or having easy access to public transit options.

The federal government spends billions each year on travel and meetings. These funds should be used wisely to encourage businesses to take responsible actions that reduce their energy consumption and environmental footprint. That’s why I have introduced the Green Meetings Act (H.R. 3037), which would expand EPA’s green meeting policy to all federal government agencies.

The EPA rules are available as a pdf file, scroll to page 3, 1523.703-1. (http://www.epa.gov/oppt/greenmeetings/pubs/48cfr1523.pdf). The October issue of Meetings and Conventions has an article on this topic also ("Earth's Ambassadors," by Cheryl-Ann Sturken

The same goes for her office. As noted on the Clean Air Council website:

State Senator Allyson Schwartz's Office cut the amount of trash disposed each week by 50% by reducing the amount of office paper used and reusing paper whenever possible.

Even The Hill mentioned her, in their August 3rd article, “Going green: It’s the new red, white and blue,” by Emily Belz, she is listed among congressional representatives who drive hybrids. The article also said:

You will also find Schwartz surfing that wave. Her office keeps the heat on a moderate setting in the winter. “Occasionally that means wearing an extra sweater,” she said.

Schwartz rides trains to and from her native Philadelphia, and she tries to be strategic when she runs errands so she doesn’t make multiple trips.

“My time in Washington is limited,” she said. “I don’t do that much shopping — I’m not such a domestic. When I can I like to buy fresh food, not packaged.” She shops at local Pennsylvania farms.

If one measure of a legislator is the consistency of their core values and a clear demonstration of that value echoed in their own life then Rep. Schwartz passes the test on environmental issues.

Adolescence and Social Adjustment

I've been carefully reading the news stories about the young man in Montgomery County who had accumulated a number of weapons. One sentence in Saturday's Inky story ("Gun charge for mother," by Kathleen Brady Shea) stood out for me, a statement by District Attorney Bruce Castor:

"The suspect is a socially maladjusted boy who doesn't have real close friends," Castor said.

The boy is 14. Perhaps my adolescence was unusual but aren't most 14 year olds socially maladjusted? It just seemed to be an odd thing to say.

PA in the WSJ

This is a list of articles regarding Pennsylvania in this week's Wall Street Journal. Chances are I missed something, but these are the articles that caught my eye.

It should be noted that I routinely do not read the editorials in the WSJ. So any discussions of the state, its elected officials, businesses, or citizens, in editorials will not be mentioned here.

PA Politicians

Sen. Arlen Spector gets a brief mention in “Big-money battle pits business vs trial bar,” by Kara Scannell (10/09)

In “Escalating health-care costs fuel medical identity theft,” by Victoria E Knight (10/11) has this paragraph:

”You need to treat your medical ID card as if it were a Visa card with a million-dollar credit limit, says Mils Frederiksen, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, which ha successfully brought prosecutions against medical ID thieves.

A specific case from PA is also cited.


PA Businesses

“Cadbury’s path to Hershey,” (10/11)

“At Hershey, sweetness is in perilously short supply,” by Julie Jargon (10/10)

The 10/11 Smartmoney Stock Screen by Jack Hough in on Pep Boys

“Gaining wisdom from older directors,” by George Anders focuses on Souderton’s Univest (10/10)

From “Advisor turnover roils investors,” by Jeff D. Opdyke (10/09):

[Financial] Planners are getting older – the average age is 55, and nearly a third are over 60 – and they are retiring at an accelerating pace, often without a specific succession plan in place. That in turn is helping to fuel a wave of consolidation in te industry, as big financial-advisory firms and banks, including Wachovia Corp., Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. and Alabama’s Compass Bancshares, Inc. seek to control a larger share of American’s retirement assets.

“Adelphia’s found appeals to high court,” (10/12)

Other PA

From “The United States of subprime,” by Rick Brooks and Constance Mitchell Ford (10/11) we find this:

”Old industrial cities like Philadelphia have a poverty problem, and that’s why people had to use subprime loans,” says Kevin Gillen, a research fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. But in pricey areas such a sMiami, where the high-rate market share jumped 25 percentage points from 2004 to 2006, subprime loans didn’t have a downscale reputation. They were seen as the answer to sky-high housing costs. “They are different groups, but subprime served both of them,” Mr. Gillen says.

According to “Senior play: the graying of sports medicine,” by Shirley S. Wang (10/09): “The University of Pittsburgh recently opened a wellness center called the Performance and Research Initiative for Masters Athletes, offering competitors over 40 years old a package of medical care, nutrition counseling, mental training and physical therapy previously aimed only at younger athletes.”

Carnegie Mellon economist Allan Meltzer is quoted in “Zoellink fights for relevance of World Bank,” by Bob Davis (10/09)

One of the world’s best Morse code readers is Dr. Barry Kutner of Newtown. As the mother of a youngster interested in Morse I personally hope it hangs on for years to come. See “(In plain English: one man’s bid to save Morse code),” by Michael M. Phillips (10/08)

The Phillies are discussed in “Baseball promotes from within,” by Russell Adams (10/12)

Other Interesting Tidbits

Apparently illegal immigrants pay their mortgages on time. See “Exception to a meltdown: illegal-immigrant loads have been solid bets; threats are looming,” by Miriam Jordan (10/09). Take that, Daryl Metcalfe!

weekly legislative update

Nothing to report. Even our accountant friends at PICPA are silent. I'm going to take advantage of the lull and maybe get 8 straight hours of sleep for the first time in a very long time.

Resources from the Sunlight Foundation

Our friends at the Sunlight Foundation have created some new playgrounds for wonky-types. Earmarkwatch.org lets you search for earmarks from a couple of bills, by sponsor, by state, recipient, etc. Fun for all ages!

There is also now a Pennsylvania portal on Congresspedia for those wishing to keep up with all the doins' in congressional races and other congressional matters. They do list local bloggers for each congressional district and, in full disclosure, I'm listed in a few spots. It's a wiki so you can play along at home.

Jason Altmire in CQPolitics

According to "Republican motions try to force freshman Democrats into difficult votes," by Kathleen Hunter, at CQPolitics 10/11, Rep Jason Altmire (D-04) is one of those in the hot seat.

Conscious of the political ramifications of appearing to entertain anything resembling a tax hike, 10 Democrats including eight freshmen backed a GOP motion calling for permanent repeal of the estate tax. The motion was defeated, 196-212, after a brief but intense lobbying blitz.

Here is where Altmire comes in:

Freshman Jason Altmire, D-Pa., said he is determined to avoid compiling a voting record that can be attacked as pro-tax. He faces a likely 2008 rematch with his 2006 opponent, three-term Republican Rep. Melissa A. Hart, a fiscal conservative who supported tax cuts and served on the Ways and Means Committee.

“I have a fairly conservative district,” said Altmire, who voted with Republicans on the estate tax motion. “I get asked a lot about taxes.”

He is the only PA congressional representative mentioned in the bill.

Meet John Nagle

I read far too much about the presidential race this soon in the cycle. Senate races get a lot of press. Congressional maybe not so much. Governor’s races you can read about, but anything below that usually doesn’t get a lot of press. Readers don’t clamor for it and there are too many state senate and state house seats to keep track of. At the township and municipal level voters are dependent primarily on retail politics and direct mail to find out about the candidates. Yet this level of politics can often have as much or more impact on daily life. This is the level for trash pickup, a lot of road repair, and so on.

The folks at the township and municipal level aren’t in it for the money, because there usually isn’t any, or so little it isn’t enough to entice many people to run. There is often little power, although the unscrupulous will always find opportunities for graft. Most of the people serving at this level are doing so out of a love for their communities, even if we don’t always like the way it is demonstrated.

Let me highlight one candidate who really exemplifies what community service is about. John Nagle is running to represent the 5th ward of Radnor Township in Delaware County. He has been active in community affairs for over a decade. According to the Delaware County League of Women Voters site he has:

• Served on Parks and Rec 13 years (Chaired)
• Served on Environmental Advisory Committee 3 years (Chaired)
• Helped found Radnor Conservancy, now Treasurer and Board of Directors
• Served on Pastoral Council

That’s a lot of volunteer work, in addition to a job in engineering and raising a family. According to “Nagle no stranger to Radnor,” by Deede Formachella in an issue of Main Line Life earlier this year:

In his aggressive concern about the environment, he wrote grant applications that generated $60,000 for park improvement projects, and directed his energy to the development of trails through Skunk Hollow, the Willows, and Brooke Farm, all of which residents enjoy today. In addition, he worked with the Township Environmental Advisory Committee for three years and chaired it for its first two years. Years ago, when the debate was still red hot, Nagle fiercely supported the creation of the now much used P&W bike/walking trail. That was when many myopic township leaders dug in their heels against its construction. Sixth Ward residents know that he supported the purchase the of the Levin tract, one of that wards most effective natural storm water management open space parcels.

In 2003 he came within 33 votes of being elected to office. If you’d like to know more about John, he has posted an interview he did on a local television show on his website, www.radnor5thward.com. He also has a blog, http://roundradnor.blogspot.com/

If you aren’t paying attention to the local races in your area you are probably missing out on meeting some fine people in your neighborhood, probably some people just as nice as John Nagle.