Editorial: Just do one job right

Rep. Mario Civera (R., Delaware) is a decent, longtime public servant, but it's not like he was instrumental in saving Pennsylvania from a budget embarrassment this year.

Yet he's been urged to become the state's next poster child for dual officeholding, a vice Pennsylvania really needs to give up.

Remember the budget mess? With Republicans and Democrats feuding, the legislature missed its June 30 deadline by 101 days. State workers missed paychecks, and social-service agencies were thrown into chaos. Even now, issues of funding higher education are still unresolved. It was one of the most rancorous budget fights in state history.

Civera is the highest-ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee. It's an important job, until the budget process turns into a partisan food fight, which it does at least half the time in Harrisburg.

After 29 years in the legislature, Civera on Nov. 3 won a seat on the Delaware County Council. He'll be sworn in on Jan. 4. He said he would quit his job as a state representative.

But then Civera began to have second thoughts about leaving the legislature. And after a VIP asked the Republican not to leave, Civera has decided to stay on the job in Harrisburg for the time being.

Who was the VIP? Gov. Rendell, a.k.a. the titular head of the state Democratic Party.

Civera said Rendell told him: "I want you to stay and get the budget done. We could use you."

Yes, by all means. Without Civera last summer, who knows how long the budget delay would have dragged on? One hundred and two days? A hundred and ten?

Civera said he will leave the legislature as soon as next year's budget is finished. Figure on sometime around Halloween.

Dual officeholding is a bad idea, even though experts disagree on whether it is unconstitutional in Pennsylvania.

New Jersey has eliminated the practice, with good reason. It forces elected leaders to serve two different constituencies, splits their workload, and divides their attention. It also can lead to abuses such as pension-padding and conflicts of interest.

Civera also said he would forgo his County Council salary for the time being, and take only his state salary of $105,000. But by virtue of Civera's trying to perform the duties of two jobs, state taxpayers will be getting something less out of him than they were getting previously.

Moonlighting in either job is unnecessary.

This is not a knock against the past performance of Civera, who gets good marks from colleagues in both parties. But nobody is irreplaceable, especially in the giant playpen known as the state capitol. Dual officeholding in Pennsylvania needs to end.