Groups representing state and local governments are holding a rare joint press conference in Philadelphia today to ask the presidential candidates to restore their place at the negotiating table.

Gov. Rendell and other leaders of the so-called "Big 7" organizations representing states, governors, mayors, cities and counties, want the next president to renew the state-local-federal partnership on national policy issues that has all-but disappeared in recent years.

 "Back in the day we used to have a seat at the table," said Jim Philipps, media relations manager for The National Association of Counties, which represents 2,400 counties across the country. "Now our lobbyists spend all their time fighting bad legislation."

Philipps cited last year's the battle over what he called the "nightmare" federal election reform bill that he said would have cost counties millions to upgrade voting machines. Philipps said the bill was eventually defeated, but that the fight could have been prevented if counties had Congress had consulted with counties before drafting it.

A Rendell spokesman said the Bush administration in particular has turned a blind eye to states and municipalities when it comes to funding for major federal initiatives including No Child Left Behind, as well as local transportation and infrastructure needs. 

Rendell will speak in his role as chairman of the National Governors Association. Mayor Nutter will also be on hand for the afternoon event. Also speaking are representatives of the United States Conference of Mayors, National Conference of State Legislators and the National League of Cities among others.

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State Secretary of Public Welfare Estelle B. Richman is pushing to establish an independent ombudsman's office to handle issues related to children in Pennsylvania’s child welfare system.

Richman said today that she will be forming a workgroup - which will include everyone from child advocates to legislative staff - to discuss the pros and cons of creating the independent office.

In a statement earlier today, Richman said she is doing so "amid recent health and safety concerns for children involved with Pennsylvania’s child welfare system." Many of her concerns grew out of the recent charges filed against the parents of a 14-year-old Philadelphia girl with cerebral palsy who was left to starve to death while under the watch of the city's child-welfare agency, spokeswoman Stacey Witalec said.

"As partners in protecting the lives of our children, it is essential that we work together to promote accountability in our child welfare system – without it we leave our children vulnerable to the damaging and traumatic affects of child abuse and neglect,” Richman said. “Establishing a children’s ombudsperson would add another level of checks and balances to our system that would greatly aid our mission to provide for the health and safety of all Pennsylvania children.”

The group will also examine the possibility of releasing information now deemed confidential in order to lift the "veil of secrecy" which currently exists when a child dies as a result of child abuse or neglect.

This past summer, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office filed charges against the parents of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly, who had cerebral palsy and was left to starve to death in a rundown Philadelphia rowhouse while under the watch of the city's Department of Human Services. Charges were also lodged against two of the department's social workers who were supposed to be looking out for Danieal's welfare.

Danieal's case has become emblematic of what many believe was a total breakdown in the mission of the city's child-welfare agency. 

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Gov. Rendell today nominated a top advisor to become the state’s new Health Secretary.

Everette James, 46, of West Chester, will succeed Dr. Calvin Johnson, who recently resigned to return to private sector.

James has been as senior Rendell adviser on public health, insurance and pension matters since March 2007. Before that, he practiced health care and regulatory law and served as a deputy assistant Commerce secretary in the Clinton administration.

“Everette’s extensive knowledge of the health care industry has made him an invaluable advisor on the most complex health issues facing the commonwealth,” Rendell said. “In times like these, we need a seasoned regulator to ensure that our hospitals and nursing homes are sound and provide our citizens access to quality health care.”

James’ appointment is effective Sept. 27. He will serve as acting-Secretary pending confirmation by the state Senate.

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Sen. John McCain has pulled ahead of Sen. Barack Obama, 45-43 percent, with 10 percent still undecided in the latest national presidential poll released today by Franklin and Marshall College poll.

The results buck many other recent national polls that have Obama ahead.

McCain leads handily among white, fundamentalist Christians, veterans and southerners while Obama is up among those living in the northeast, African Americans and, by a small margin, Catholics.

By similar amounts, McCain leads among men and Obama among women.

The poll found that more than seven in 10 registered voters believe the country is off on the wrong track, and, of those, Obama leads by 20 percentage points.

The Lancaster college surveyed 1,320 registered voters between Sept. 15-21. The poll has a margin of error of 2.7 percent.

The last Franklin and Marshall poll was in June and had Obama up six points, 42-36.

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A group of House Republican lawmakers is proposing a package of bills squarely aimed at obliterating what they term the "pay-to-play" culture that pervades the awarding of state contracts.

Only problem is, there's barely any time left in this year's legislative session to get these bills debated, approved and sent to Gov. Rendell.

And if they don't pass muster by next month, they will die with the session.

The bills would, among other things, require all contracts for legal services to go out to bid. The way it stands now, certain legal contracts can be awarded on an "emergency" basis without being put to bid. (This bill, Republicans said, would have prevented the Rendell administration from awarding a contract last year on an emergency basis to the firm of Ballard Spahr Ingersoll & Andrews for work on the proposed leasing of the Pennsylvania Turnpike).

The Republicans' bills would also ban any no-bid contract from being awarded to a person or business which donated more than $300 to a candidate for state or local office within one year of the date the contract was posted for public bidding.

Rep. Doug Reichley (R., Lehigh) said earlier today that he believes that if there is the political will, the legislature can get those bills approved and to the governor's desk in the next three weeks. But he pointed out that "the ball" is in the Democratic-controlled House's court to expedite the process.  

"They can bring it up today," said Reichley. "There is time."

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Perzel

A Republican who lost his bid for the state House in the spring primary has filed a lawsuit against Rep. John M. Perzel (R., Phila.) alleging the onetime Speaker was behind a slanderous dirty tricks campaign.

Lowell Gates, a lawyer from Mechanicsburg, alleged in the suit filed yesterday in Cumberland County Court that Perzel orchestrated a series of anonymous robo-calls to voters in the 88th House District.

Among other things, the calls said that Gates had committed crimes and that Gov. Rendell and State Sen. Vincent Fumo, both Philadelphia Democrats, had given his campaign money, none of which are true.

“I am not going to tolerate this kind of behavior from someone as reckless as John Perzel,” Gates said in an interview today. “This is exactly why good people don’t run for office.”

Gates alleges that Perzel launched the robo-calls to retaliate against him for publicly stating that, if elected, he would not vote for the Philadelphia Republican as speaker.

Asked what proof he has, Gates said that similar anonymous calls also were made in House races in Erie and Crawford County against GOP candidates who took similar stances against Perzel.

“All roads lead back to Rome,” Gates said. “All roads lead back to Perzel.”

Through a spokesman, Perzel refused comment on the suit.

Also named in the suit is Michael Karp, a longtime Perzel supporter, and the phone company he once headed, ATX Communications.

In the spring primary, Gates finished second in a seven-candidate field for the Republican nomination to replace outgoing Rep. Jerry Nailor (R., Cumberland). Gates lost by 200 votes in the heavily Republican district and believes the robo-calls made the difference.

“I am going to grind Perzel down,” Gates said of his suit, which he estimates will seek damages in the millions. “He has tangled with the wrong person.”

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With just six weeks left until the election, Attorney General Tom Corbett holds a sizable lead over his Democratic opponent when it comes to raising campaign cash.

Corbett raised just over $1 million over the last four months, compared to John Morganelli's $408,000. With campaign expenditures taken into account, the Attorney General has just under $1.8 million left to spend in the last six weeks, while Morganelli has $1 million in the bank.

The Attorney General's race is a closely-watched one this year, given Corbett's sweeping indictments in the state investigation known in Harrisburg simply as Bonusgate. The probe has centered on whether taxpayer time and resources were used for political campaigns - and so far, Corbett's office has charged 12 former and current House Democratic lawmakers and staffers.

Over the last few months, Morganelli has criticized Corbett's handling of the investigation, saying Corbett made a mistake by executing search warrants only for records from House Democrats, giving the legislature's three other caucuses the opportunity to destroy possible evidence of wrongdoing.

Morganelli has said Corbett also should have appointed an independent prosecutor to oversee the Bonusgate investigation to avoid any criticism that the probe was politically motivated. Some Democrats have complained that Corbett, a Republican, has singled out Democrats.

At the monthly press club luncheon Monday, Corbett said he will not bring a fresh round of indictments before the election - he said there is still too much work, and not enough time. Click here to read Mario Cattabiani's story in today's Inquirer on Corbett's reasoning: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20080923_Bonusgate_charges_delayed_till_after_election.html.

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Attorney General Tom Corbett said today that he will not bring fresh charges in the 19-month-old Bonusgate probe until after the Nov. 4 elections.

“There are many chapters to this novel and it’s just not ready,” Corbett said at the monthly luncheon of the Pennsylvania Press Club in Harrisburg.

In July, Corbett, a Republican, filed charges against a dozen House Democratic insiders – including the former caucus whip and a sitting legislator -- alleging they were part of a conspiracy to use millions in public funds to underwrite political campaigns to get Democrats elected to the House.

Afterward, the probe shifted its focus to House Republicans.

Since then, Corbett, who is seeking reelection, has come under heavy pressure from many around the state, including numerous newspaper editorial boards, to announce charges against Republicans before the election in order to balance out the perception of partisanship.

Corbett said he accepted as inevitable complaints of partisanship “especially in an election year.” But, he stressed, they “are just dead wrong.”

Two weeks ago, Corbett held out the possibility that he could bring charges before the election but only if “all the dominoes” happened line up by the end of September. Otherwise, he said it wouldn’t be fair to announce indictments within a month of the elections.

There is just too much work left to be done to meet that deadline, Corbett said today, acknowledging the importance of the probe. He called it “clearly the most serious investigation that I or any of my attorneys have ever participated in.”

“And we and are going to do it the right way,” he added. “For me to do it any other way would be like saying we are going to build a house but we are not going to build a foundation.”

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It’s easy if you try…

As part of a nationwide effort, a group of atheists have erected a billboard several blocks from the Pennsylvania Capitol positing a John Lennonesque thought - “Imagine No Religion.”

Made to look like stained glass, the billboard was paid for by the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, which bills itself as “the nation's largest membership association for freethinkers.” (Freethinkers, in the group’s view, are atheists and agnostics.)  They event sent along a photo, to the left.

"In September especially, many of us wistfully imagine what the world would look like without religion," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, the group’s co-president. "The Twin Towers would still be standing, for example. If people couldn't pretend 'God told me to do this' or insist 'God is on my side,' most wars could have been avoided.

"Humanity,” she continued, “should stop wasting its time, money and efforts on the next world - a supernatural, unprovable world. We should concentrate on leaving this world a better place for future generations.”

The Foundation said it is taking its message to what it calls the “unmassed masses” and plans to eventually place billboards in every state capital. Harrisburg is its sixth.

The billboard is expected to stay up for a month. At that time, the group should have its new sign "Keep Religion Out of Politics" up in Des Moines.

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