Democratic state Rep. Bryan Lentz today welcomed the endorsement of 71 elected officials and party leaders from around Delaware County today in his effort to win the nomination for the 7th Congressional District seat.

Included on the list are officials from the large Democratic municipalities of Marple, Radnor and Nether Providence townships, as well as prominent leaders like Media Mayor Bob McMahon, Media Council President Frank Daly, and Landsdowne Mayor Jayne Young.

The show of force, ahead of Lentz's anticipated formal announcement of candidacy, is aimed at state Rep. Greg Vitali, said to be considering a race. Political consultant E. Teresa Touey also has announced she is running.

Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Arlen Specter are running neck and neck in the seesaw battle for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, a poll released this morning found.

Forty-three percent of those polled by Quinnipiac University said they favored Toomey, a former congressman, compared to 42 percent for Specter, the longtime incumbent and recently converted Democrat.

The results reverse what the university found when it last polled on the head-to-head matchup in July. Specter then had a 45-44 percent edge. And Toomey has closed what had been a 20-point deficit -- 53-33 – from what the school’s May survey showed.

There was good news for Specter, however.

He remains well ahead – 44-25 percent -- of his primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak.

“Toomey and Specter are neck and neck in what could be a 13-month horse race,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “…Specter has more than enough time to reverse his fortunes, but being tied with the relatively unknown Toomey is evidence that this election has become a referendum on Specter.”

President Obama’s job-approval rating in Pennsylvania has dropped to a new low, 49 – 42 percent, the first time he has been under 50 percent in the state, the poll also found.

The poll was conducted between Sept. 22 and 28. It surveyed 1,100 Pennsylvania voters and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
 

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CC hears that state Rep. Bryan Lentz (D.,Delaware) will have an interesting announcement tomorrow about endorsements in his campaign for the 7th Congressional District. Stay tuned.

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Gov. Rendell’s job-approval rating is still dismally low, but he has seen a slight uptick in his popularity since a tentative budget deal was announced two weeks ago, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released this morning.

Only 42 percent of those surveyed said they approve of how Rendell is handling his job as governor – three percentage points higher than when the university last polled Keystone Staters in mid July.

“Gov. Ed Rendell remains at the low ebb of his governorship when it comes to public opinion, perhaps not surprising given the lengthy budget stalemate,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

About one in four, or 26 percent, approved of his handling of the state budget. And Pennsylvanians also dislike the $28 billion budget deal put together three months late by the governor and legislative leaders.

Only 31 percent of voters approve of the agreement, while 37 percent disapprove and 31 percent aren’t sure, the poll found.

When asked who is to blame for the impasse, more people believe it was Rendell, 27 percent, than Republicans in the legislature, 21 percent.

But one component of the budget – allowing table games at casinos – got a resounding thumbs up. By an overwhelming 67 – 27 percent margin, Pennsylvanians said they backed the idea as a way to increase revenue for the state.

Rendell has said repeatedly that his popularity doesn’t matter to him since he is term limited, cannot run for governor again and plans to call his political career over when he leaves office in January 2011.

Meantime, the poll found that Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican, is best known among potential candidates to replace Rendell.

The poll was conducted from Sept. 21 to Sept. 28. It surveyed 1,100 Pennsylvanians and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
 

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Camille “Bud” George, the plain-talking state representative from Clearfield County, has never been one to mince words.

Through closed doors today, he could be heard scolding his fellow House Democrats as they caucused at the Capitol for the first time on details of a tentative budget their leaders agreed to 11 days ago.

George, whose legislative tenure dates back to the 1970s, stormed out of that meeting, but let his colleagues have it again when a reporter asked him to recap what he had just said in private.

“Shame on these legislators who are shirking their responsibilities. We ought to do what is right and pass the budget now,” he said. “Both Republicans and Democrats have an obligation to get a budget done, and if they can’t make their point by a certain time, then they shouldn’t be here.”

Today marks the 91st day Pennsylvania has operated without a compete budget – the only state in the nation still without one in place.

George supports Gov. Rendell’s come-and-gone proposal to fill the state’s budget hole by temporarily increasing the personal income tax by 16 percent.

And he ripped his colleagues for not supporting an excise tax on smokeless tobacco and cigars.

“Which of these legislators have ever bought their own cigars. They don’t smoke them if someone doesn’t give them to them first,” he joked.

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If you are a reader of Commonwealth Confidential, chances are that you are political savvy and already are registered to vote.

But, we also remember what our mother told us about ASSUMING anything. So, we are sharing this public service reminder from the good people at the Pennsylvania Department of State:

Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortés today reminded all eligible Pennsylvanians that the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 municipal election is Monday, Oct. 5.

“I encourage all eligible residents to register to vote and to take an active role in shaping the future of their communities and our state,” Cortés said. “To find registration materials and to prepare for this important municipal election, please visit the Department of State’s voter education Web site, VotesPA.com.”

The municipal election, the press release continued, will feature a variety of local and county races, as well as candidates for supreme, superior, common pleas and municipal court seats.

To be eligible to register to vote in Pennsylvania, you must be:
• a citizen of the United States for at least one month before the next primary, special, municipal, or general election;
• a resident of Pennsylvania and of the election district in which you want to register and vote for at least 30 days before the next primary, special, municipal, or general election; and
• at least 18 years of age on or before the day of the next primary, special, municipal, or general election.

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HARRISBURG - Gov. Rendell today gave legislative leaders a Sunday deadline to deliver to him an approved state budget to sign.

"We need to bring this to a conclusion," said Rendell at a news conference this afternoon after a meeting with House and Senate leaders at the Governor's Mansion.

Rendell said counties, municipalities and non-profit groups are struggling to make ends meet in the absence of state funding.

Ten days ago, Rendell and Democratic legislative leaders, joined by Senate Republicans, announced a handshake agreement to end the state's three-month-old budget impasse. But details on the $27.9 billion deal promised at that time have not yet emerged and Rendell wants to see legislature work through the week and the weekend if necessary to get the fine-tuning on the budget completed.

Rendell's deadline order comes as growing discontent among factions of rank-and-file lawmakers which oppose various revenue-generating options. Some are opposed to expanded natural gas drilling on state land. Some are against a tax on small games of chance. Others are dead-set against a tax on arts events.

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Attorney General Tom Corbett and the Humane Society of the United States are hoping a little cash will help crack down on dog fighting in Pennsylvania.

Corbett and several animal welfare groups on Monday will announce a program to reward tipsters up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone engaging in dog fighting or the fighting of other animals, according to a press advisory that will be released tomorrow.

A Corbett spokesman said the effort is not specifically related to the arrival of Michael Vick in Philadelphia, but is part of HSUS's national anti-dog fighting campaign. Vick, who admitted to torturing dogs as part of a fighting ring, is working with HSUS as part of his rehabilitation.

The Pennsylvania SPCA says there has been a surge in the number of dog fighting cases in Philadelphia. Last year the Allegheny County District Attorney's office estimated there are as many as 8,000 dog fighting rings throughout Pennsylvania.

The press conference will be held at 11 a.m. at Corbett's Philadelphia office on Essington Ave. Also on hand will be dogs saved from fighting rings.

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A group of Democratic lawmakers and environmentalists say the current budget proposal that calls for reductions in funding and increased gas exploration on state land would cause irreparable environmental harm.

The proposal, agreed upon by three of the four legislative caucuses and Gov. Rendell would "put revenue ahead of science" by opening up an additional 250,000 acres of state land to gas leasing and would compel the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to generate revenue at the expense of land protection, said Rep. David Levdansky (D., Allegheny).

"The damages and consequences will haunt us forever," he said. "It sacrifices the integrity of the state forest by tying DCNR's hands."

The lawmakers, who are pushing budget negotiators to reconsider their proposal, said they also oppose the planned elimination of the state's Oil and Gas Fund, which supports state parks, and the reduction in the Department of Environmental Protection budget by 25 percent.

At the same time, they said, the state is allowing multi-billion gas companies off the hook by not imposing a tax on natural gas extraction in the lucrative Marcellus Shale deposit.

The Marcellus Shale formation is a rich, underground natural gas reserve that runs from the northeast to the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania.

About 660,000 acres of the 1.5 million acres of state forest land in the Marcellus Shale region has already being made available for drilling. Estimates suggest a tax on the extraction of natural gas would generate as much as $600 million in five years.

Jan Jarrett, president of PennFuture, a statewide environmental advocacy group, said the proposal helps only the natural gas industry.

"To add insult to injury, this proposal hands over public lands to the natural gas industry," she said. "This budget deal is not in the public interest."

Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware) said he is angry that DEP budget is being slashed and that hundreds of people risk losing jobs as a result.

"Under this budget agreement as we understand it, DEP's budget would fall from $229 million to $173 million," Vitali said. "DEP's programs have already been cut, including the black fly and West Nile virus programs. The Keystone Help Energy Program cut half of its 1,500 contractors as of August, and the entire program will close in December."

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