GOP leader Pileggi loses two Senate backers

HARRISBURG - In a move that underscores an apparent growing divide between the Southeast and the rest of the state, two members of the Senate GOP caucus have withdrawn their support for the majority leader.

Sen. Donald White of Armstrong County said Friday that he would not vote for Dominic Pileggi of Delaware County should he seek a fifth term as Republican leader next month.

White accused Pileggi of refusing to advance legislation on liquor privatization and pensions, and pandering to environmentalists and gun-control advocates.

"You have succeeded in fracturing our caucus and bastardizing the committee process to promote an unknown agenda that is debilitating to our caucus and, more importantly, our commonwealth," White wrote.

In the two-page letter, obtained by The Inquirer, White accused Pileggi of "hijacking important legislation" and refusing to allow Senate votes on bills to prohibit unions from deducting dues and address the pension crisis and liquor privatization.

In his response to White, also obtained by The Inquirer, Pileggi did not address White's comments about his leadership and political alliances.

Rather, he said that he was supportive of the committee process and that White was mistaken about the status of several bills mentioned that were either still in committee or under discussion by the caucus.

Pileggi, who was elected in 2002 and elevated in the wake of the 2005 legislative pay-raise controversy, is expected to run for another term as majority leader in caucus elections scheduled for Nov. 12.

Last month, Sen. Scott Wagner (R., York) told Pileggi in a letter that he would seek other candidates for leader, saying Pileggi was obstructing the "Republican agenda" and was too pro-union.

The letters bring to light a political rift between more conservative Republicans from the central and western parts of the state and moderates in the Southeast.

The Republicans hold a 27-23 majority, and Democrats are hoping to capture at least one more seat this fall.

Political analyst and pollster G. Terry Madonna of Franklin and Marshall College said that it was extremely unusual for Senate caucus grievances to be aired in public and that the factionalism could lead to gridlock next year - especially if Democrat Tom Wolf were elected governor Nov. 4.

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