Archive: October, 2009
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
With swipes of the pen that took only seconds, Gov. Rendell tonight signed into law a $27.8 billion state budget that was 101 days in the making.
With his “Edward G. Rendell” on the bills — one setting taxes, the other spending — the governor all but ends the nation’s longest state budget impasse. More importantly, it will speed checks to counties, schools and social service agencies that have been financially strained while waiting 3 1/2 months for their normal state subsidies.
This perhaps is the best indication that a final budget is getting tantalizingly close to being sealed at the Capitol.
This morning, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson) – who had been one of the most pessimistic of the top negotiators in the budget process – said this about the status of the overall package:
