Don’t bother asking State Rep. Mark Cohen whether he, like each and every one of the other House Democratic leaders, is giving back his cost-of-living-adjustment that kicked in Monday.
He’s not saying. In fact, the Philadelphia Democrat might just walk away if you pursue it.
That’s what I found out yesterday.
After top Democratic leaders in the House announced late Tuesday that they were foregoing the 2.8 percent COLA, I stopped by Cohen’s Capitol office. He’s been in leadership since 1990, and currently served as Caucus Chairman.
He wasn’t there, so I left a message. No response.
I tried calling. Still no response.
Yesterday, in the basement of the Capitol, I ran into Cohen and told him I had reached out twice, unsuccessfully.
“I respect your right to make phone calls,” he told me. I then asked if he was going to give back the COLA. He turned from me, without answering, and walked away.
He is now making $94,949 -- $2,600 of which comes courtesy of the annual COLA.
A source told me that when House Democratic leaders were deciding early this week whether to give the money back, Cohen argued against the move.
Cohen is the odd man out.
The seven others in the House Democratic leadership ranks – from presumptive House Speaker Keith McCall of Carbon County to Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans of Philadelphia -- have publicly announced they will return the extra cash given the struggling economy and ballooning state budget deficit.
Cohen, some might recall, is not shy from spending freely when it comes to public dollars.
He has routinely been among the top lawmakers when it comes to racking up state meal and lodging reimbursements and spent more than $28,000 of tax dollars to buy 800 plus books in 2004 and 2005.
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Mario F. Cattabiani (left) has covered state government and politics from Harrisburg since 1994, the last six years for the Inquirer. In July, he was ranked by PolitickerPa.com as No. 1 among the "Most Powerful Political Reporters" in Pennsylvania.
Angela Couloumbis (center) joined The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1998, and has covered government and politics in New Jersey, Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania, including Gov. Rendell’s 2006 race against former Pittsburgh Steeler Lynn Swann.
Amy Worden (right) joined the Inquirer in 2000 and has covered governors, gubernatorial races, U.S. Senate races and three presidential campaigns. When not covering politics she can be found filing dispatches from disaster scenes or digging into local stories of national import.
Thomas Fitzgerald joined The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2000, and has covered Harrisburg as well as city, state and national politics for the newspaper. He was a “boy on the bus” in the 2004 presidential campaign and during primary contests in 2000 and 1996.
Tom Infield, a long-time reporter and editor at The Inquirer, has covered politics from many corners of Pennsylvania. He grew up in Pittsburgh, previously worked in Mercer and Lancaster counties, and has lived in both Philadelphia and its suburbs. He has closely followed campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate, as well as Philadelphia mayoral races.
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