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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Will it be a three-way race for the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania governor next year? 

The Associated Press reports that state Rep. Samuel Rohrer, of Berks County, says he may take on Attorney Tom Corbett and U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach in the 2010 primary contest.

Rohrer, 54, has supported government reform and fiscal responsibility during his 16 years in the state House. He also has mounted an unsuccessful effort to eliminate local property taxes and replacing them with income or sales taxes.

Rohrer, who is currently the ranking Republican on the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee, says he would make fiscal and tax reform key planks in his campaign platform.

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Sen. Arlen Specter (D.,Pa.) reported raising $1.82 million for his reelection effort in the three months ending Sept. 30, and his campaign committee had $8.7 million cash on hand.

He might need every penny. A Susquehanna Polling & Research Survey of 700 RVs, released today, found that 31 percent said he deserved reelection, compared to 59 percent who thought it was time for someone else. A 40 percent "re-elect" number is considered deadly territory for an incumbent politician.

The poll reported a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. It should be noted that the ratio of Republican to Democratic respondents seemed higher than in the state at large. (A separate question asked only of Democratic respondents found 44 percent believe Specter deserves reelection).

Specter, a Republican until late April, faces a stiff challenge for the Democratic nomination from Rep. Joe Sestak (D.,Pa.).

Pennsylvania already has Powerball. Will it jump into a new multistate lottery? Inquirer reporter Peter Mucha has the latest:

Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware - as well as 40 other states - now have the right to choose to sell tickets for both major multistate lotteries, Powerball and Mega Millions.
The cross-selling could begin in early 2010, according to yesterday's announcement of a deal between the Mega Millions consortium and Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees Powerball.

At first, both could in effect become national lotteries, if all or nearly all of the existing jurisdictions - including the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands - elect to participate. More than 285 million people live in areas with these lotteries.

But an even bigger game is in the works as well.

"If we develop a national game, it will probably be at a different price point," said Tom Shaheen, president of the Powerball group. "It might be $2. It might be $5. It will be a single game, but we haven't worked out all the details of that yet. The other two games, I believe, would remain intact."

Such a super lottery could happen by next fall, said Chuck Strutt, the Powerball group's executive director.

The hope is to raise more money for state treasuries.

In March, Gov. Corzine's proposed budget suggested adding Powerball as a way to raise $10 million more a year for coffers of New Jersey, one of the 12 Mega Millions states.

Pennsylvania and Delaware are among the 31 states that offer Powerball.

One reason revenues should rise is that as jackpots soar, so do ticket sales.

When Mega Millions rolled over last night, its jackpot grew by $30 million, because it was already huge. As a result Friday's jackpot will be $200 million.

(Last night's numbers: 17, 31, 34, 45 and 51, with a Mega Ball of 24. Two New Jersey tickets won $250,000.)

Powerball, on the other hand, grew by "only" $5 million on Saturday night, because its jackpot was relatively low. Tonight's annuity jackpot is $30 million.

Increased sales should also mean giant jackpots would rise much faster - and get hit much sooner - perhaps heightening the frenzy.

Small jackpots, on the other hand, might grow more slowly as they wait for the higher payout to reboot.

Such consequences might spur modifications to either or both games, as well as lead to new games.

Although states do not have to opt in, they'll probably be under great pressure to do so, for fearing of losing revenue.

One impetus for the merger came from observations that many people crossed state lines to chase giant jackpots.

If New Jersey, New York and Maryland offered both games and Pennsylvania didn't, Pennsylvania's lottery revenues might fall, as people from neighboring states buy Powerball tickets at home.

Pennsylvania hasn't decided yet, and New Jersey expects to release an official statement later today.

"There are a lot of details that still need to be worked out," said Stephanie Weyant, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, which oversees the state's lotteries.

For more lottery information, go to www.philly.com/philly/news/lottery, www.powerball.com or www.megamillions.com.
 

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