The Democratic National Committee is running radio ads against Republican Reps. Jim Gerlach and Charles Dent of Pennsylvania, who represent districts carried last year by Barack Obama yet voted "no" on health-care reform legislation earlier this month.

The ad says that each congressman "stood with the insurance industry, not the people he was elected to represent."

Per the DNC, the anti-Gerlach spot will begin running as early as tomorrow on WBEB-FM in Philadelphia, and the Dent-dinging spot will run on WCTO-FM in the Lehigh Valley. The ads will air at least through the week, and other stations may be bought.

Gerlach, of Chester County, and Dent, of Lehigh County, are among 32 GOP members in Obama-carried districts across the nation who are being targeted for opposing the legislation.

Listen to the Gerlach ad here. Listen to the Dent ad here.

Blaming the tough economy and deep budget cuts, the Rendell administration today announced it would lay off 319 employees across 10 state agencies, bringing to 769 the total number of government jobs cut over the past year.

Administration Secretary Naomi Wyatt said the Department of Environmental Protection will see the greatest reductions, losing 138 positions, about five percent of workforce - while the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will lay off 85 workers, or more than 25 percent of its workforce.

The cuts - effective Nov. 20 - are expected to save the Commonwealth $17 million over the next 12 months. The staff reductions were negotiated as part of the budget agreement approved last month after a 101-day delay.

The reductions come on top of two other rounds of layoffs earlier this year, including 250 cuts announced in August. About 50 of those workers found jobs elsewhere in state government, Wyatt said.

Wyatt said the cuts, the result of the state's $3.2 billion budget shortfall, could have been much worse (as many as 1,000 jobs) under some budget proposals that were under consideration by the legislature.

Wyatt also said cost-cutting measures such as elimination of travel budgets, deferral of new equipment purchases and not filling job vacancies helped reduce the number of layoffs.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will suffer the greatest percentage loss in its workforce, resulting in the suspension of services at six historic sites, closure of the state museum two days a week and eliminate all new exhibit spending. The State Archives also will close Mondays and Tuesdays. Educational programs and other services at historic sites, including Graeme Park and Hope Lodge in Montgomery County and Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks County, will be discontinued and buildings' "mothballed," Wyatt said.

Kirk Wilson, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission, said the agency is hoping local "friends" groups will step up to keep activities going. The agency has nearly completed agreement with the Friends of Brandywine Battlefield Park in Delaware County to help keep that site open.

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The mayor of Scranton is set to officially kick off his campaign for Pennsylvania governor today.

Chris Doherty plans to officially launch the campaign at noon in Scranton. Doherty told the Times-Tribune that he wants to bring "the blueprint" of economic rebirth that has turned around Scranton and apply it to the rest of the state.

The Democrat is joining four other contenders in the spring primary for the open seat. (Under Pennsylvania law, Gov. Rendell cannot run for a third term.)

The other Democratic candidates are Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and state Auditor General Jack Wagner.

At least two other candidates are vying for the Republican nomination: Attorney General Tom Corbett and U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach.
 

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The ballots haven't even been tallied and the state Supreme Court race has broken the campaign fundraising record for judicial races.

Democrat Jack Panella has raised more than $2.35 million, breaking the record set by Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery in 2007, according to the group Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts.

The group - which advocates judicial appointment rather than election -  tallied campaign contributions reported to the Department of State as of the end of the most recent reporting cycle on Oct. 19.

In a press release the group said that "the results are of concern to court watchers, especially in light of public opinion polls that show the public is concerned that justice is for sale to the biggest campaign contributor."

By contrast, Republican Jane Orie Melvin has raised just $733,948.

McCaffrey set the previous record by raising $2.34 million (including $25,000 leftover from a 2005 campaign) in a four way race for two seats on the Supreme Court, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts said.

The group said it expect final fundraising numbers to rise significantly when the campaigns' final reports will be due February 1, 2010.

Executive director Lynn Marks said the amount of campaign contributions is "troubling" because it comes from law firms, unions and businesses which frequently litigate in state courts.

 "These are not the types of records Pennsylvania should be proud of," Marks said. "But when you elect judges in partisan contests, the elections become more expensive, not less so."

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State Rep. Bryan R. Lentz, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 7th District, has hired a campaign manager who in 2006 helped elect the man Lentz hopes to succeed, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D.,Pa.).

Vincent A. Rongione was deputy finance director for Sestak, instrumental in building up an early warchest in the race to unseat then-U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R.,Pa.). Later that same year, Rongione took over the fundraising operation for Democrat Chris Carney's ultimately successful campaign in the heavily Republican 10th District. He managed Carney's reelection campaign last year, and has since been working as communications director in Carney's Capitol Hill office.

Lentz announced the hiring today, praising Rongione's "excellent track record both on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail."

 Born and raised in Delaware County, Rongione graduated from Haverford High School, Villanova University and the Villanova School of Law.

So far he has the field to himself, but ex-Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel is working hard to sew up the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor before anybody else gets any bright ideas.

Saidel recently won the enthusiastic endorsement of the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association, which is the third statewide union to back him. "Your character, achievements, skills and abilities espouse what firefighters stand for...you are the best person for the position of lieutenant governor," union president Art Martynuska wrote to Saidel in an Oct. 21 endorsement letter.

The Communications Workers of America and the American Federation of Teachers also have endorsed Saidel, who is the only announced Democratic candidate for LG.

Talk about a cheesy bet.

The U.S. senators from Pennsylvania and New York have agreed on a World Series wager with cheesesteaks and cheesecakes up for grabs.

If the Phillies win the Fall Classic, Empire State Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand will pony up a supply of cheesecakes. If the Yankees win, Pa.’s Arlen Specter and Robert P. Casey will ship off a package of cheesesteaks, according to a joint news release issued today by the four Democrats.

Then they started talking trash.

“I give Sens. Specter and Casey credit for sticking with their team, but I can already taste those delicious Philly cheesesteaks,” Schumer said.

Countered Specter, “Unfortunately for the Yankees, tradition alone will do them little good against Charlie Manuel’s fearsome lineup. I look forward to enjoying the New York cheesecakes, although nothing will be as sweet as the Phillies’ back-to-back titles.”
 

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Gov. Rendell this morning said he would veto any bill to legalize table games at the state’s slot parlors that doesn’t produce at least $200 million in new revenue this year.

And, according to his figures, that means that each casino would have to pay an upfront fee of $15 million and a tax rate of at least 16 percent on blackjack, poker, roulette and other table games.

His proposal is the floor and it will be up to lawmakers to erect the ceiling.

Rendell said that striking a proper tax rate was a “pretty delicate balance” between raising the most revenue and still making it profitable for casinos to add table games.

“We don’t want to kill the Golden Goose here,” Rendell said, noting that other states, notably New Jersey, have a lower tax rate.

Rendell’s figures are between what the state House and Senate have sought to impose. The House has prepared a bill seeking a 34-percent tax rate; the senate favors 14 percent, 12 going to the state, 2 going to local municipalities.

The governor made the comments at an unrelated press briefing outside his Capitol office just before he was to meet with legislative leaders on the table games issue.

He said he would tell the legislators about his minimum revenue threshold for table games and that he wanted a bill on his desk by the end of the week.

Table games are the final piece of Pennsylvania’s budget puzzle.

The governor, 101 days late, signed a spending and revenue plan Oct. 9 for the fiscal year that started July 1. But he has withheld his backing of separate bills containing $730 million in funding to museums, hospitals and state-related universities such as Penn State, Temple and Pitt until the table games legislation is enacted.
 

Also this morning, Rendell announced that since the budget was signed, the state has rushed out $3 billion in checks to vendors and non profits -- from child care agencies to drug and alcohol treatment centers --  that have waited months for the funding.

Rendell praised the efforts of his administration as well as that of State Treasurer Rob McCord for working so quickly to get the checks in the mail. 

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Is Republican Supreme Court candidate Joan Orie Melvin: tough on big government and Commies?

That's what the banner ad running on the conservative politics Web site Grassroots Pa in recent days says.

Against a not-so-subtle Soviet red, the ad reads, "Tired of Barack Obama, Ed Rendell, Arlen Specter and big government Democrats running our nation?" Then, it flashes to blue: "Hit them where it hurts. The voting booth!"

Inside the "O" of Obama is a hammer and sickle - the symbol of the Communist Party.

A disclaimer states the Orie ad was paid for by the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. The ad appears to have been removed since Morning Call Capitol Ideas blogger John Micek highlighted it on Saturday, but thanks to Capitol Ideas we have a copy.

Orie takes on Democrat Jack Panella to fill the Supreme Court vacancy in the Nov. 3 general election.

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