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November 29: Signing Off

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Good Tuesday PA. It’s win-or-go-home for the USMNT this afternoon against Iran. Nicely asking the General Assembly not to do anything important between 2-4 p.m.

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Erie | Mostly Cloudy, 50
State College | Cloudy, 45
Wilkes-Barre | Partly Sunny, 47

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Steelers (4-7) | Indianapolis, W 24-17
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Today In Harrisburg
House scheduled to convene at noon.
Senate scheduled to convene at 2 p.m.

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Top Story

1. The Problem Of Certifying Results

Luzerne County Election Board fails to certify election

At least two counties in the Commonwealth were unable to certify their election results by the state-mandated deadline yesterday.

Luzerne County’s Election Board had a 2-2 deadlock on certification after one member abstained, looking for more answers to questions. Berks County said it was unable to certify its results due to a large number of pending recount petitions.

“The department is aware of several recount petitions filed in multiple counties across the commonwealth,” said Ellen Lyon, a spokesperson for the Department of State. “Counties have a statutory duty to certify returns. Only in the event of a legally valid and properly filed recount petition may a county withhold certification of the election returns for an office that is the subject of the recount. Counties should certify races that are not subject to such a properly filed recount petition. This partial certification process has been done before and allows the Secretary to certify those races not impacted by legitimate recount petitions.”

Related

As PA Certifies And Audits Elections, Lawsuits And A Deadlock May Slow It Down. “As Pennsylvania counties submit certified election results to the Department of State, state officials are conducting audits to ensure no mistakes occurred.” (The Center Square)

Luzerne County Election Board Now Poised To Certify Results. “A Luzerne County’s Election Board majority is now poised to certify the Nov. 8 general election. The board was unable to certify the results at a Monday morning meeting because board member Danny Schramm abstained, creating a 2-2 tie. Board Chairwoman Denise Williams said Schramm notified her after Monday’s meeting and indicated he is now comfortable certifying the results because he received sufficient responses to his lingering questions and concerns. (Times-Leader)

  • Luzerne County Deadlocks On Certifying Election Results. (Associated Press)
  • Lawsuits Likely After Handful Of Counties Refuse To Certify Midterm Results. (POLITICO)
  • Blair Voters Ask Judge To Order Recount. (Altoona Mirror)
  • Berks Cannot Certify Election Results Due To Pending Recount Petitions. (Reading Eagle)

 

Harrisburg

2. State Senator John Gordner Resigns

John Gordner

State senator John Gordner (R-Columbia) announced his resignation from the chamber in a statement on Monday.

His resignation will take effect on Wednesday, November 30. He had planned on serving out his term until 2024 before retiring.

Gordner will be joining the office of Pennsylvania Senate Interim President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) as Counsel. (PoliticsPA)

Related

State Lawmaker Resigns To Take New Role In PA Senate. “A state legislator who represented parts of northcentral Pennsylvania for the past three decades is resigning his Senate seat to take on a new role in that legislative chamber.” (PennLive)

Gordner Retiring As State Senator, Accepting Position As Counsel For State Senate leader. “Longtime state legislator, Sen. John Gordner (R-27) announced Monday he will be retiring Wednesday to take on a new role at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Gordner will become counsel to interim Senate Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-39).” (Daily Item)

  • Senator Set To Represent Mountain Top, More Of Luzerne County, Resigns To Take New Job. (Standard-Speaker)

 

PA Senate Set To Begin Constitutional Role In Krasner Impeachment. “The Pennsylvania Senate returns to Harrisburg this week, officially beginning its constitutional role in the impeachment process against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who faces a trial that could end with removal from office.” (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

Freedom Caucus Brings Its National Brand Of Conservatism To PA State House. “The new Pennsylvania branch of the House Freedom Caucus is open and ready for business.” (PennLive)

Patel Announces Candidacy For HD34 Vacancy. “With three seats available in the State House after the November elections, it is time for candidates to make their intentions known and the first hat in the ring belongs to Bhavini Patel.” (PoliticsPA)

 

Washington

3. Fetterman Brings His Irreverent Style To Washington

“When John Fetterman goes to Washington in January as one of the Senate’s new members, he’ll bring along an irreverent style from Pennsylvania that extends from his own personal dress code — super casual — to hanging marijuana flags outside his current office in the state Capitol.” (Associated Press)

Related

Toomey Has No Regrets, But Believes He Would Have Won PA Senate Race. “Preparing to retire in less than two months, Senator Pat Toomey says he has no regrets about not being on the ballot in the 2022 election cycle in Pennsylvania.” (NBC Philadelphia)

Could Dave McCormick Run For Senate Again In 2024? “When politicians, business and civic leaders descend on New York City’s Waldorf Astoria on Friday for the annual Pennsylvania Society gathering, Democrats in the crowd will be celebrating the first time in 75 years that the state’s voters have not elected at least one Republican senator.” (Bloomberg)

 

Around The Commonwealth

PA Society Weekend, The Annual Political Gabfest In NYC, Stages A Comeback. “Pennsylvania’s politically powerful and – those who aspire to be – are packing their bags and heading to New York City this weekend for the annual event where talking politics is encouraged and hard to avoid.” (PennLive)

Former PA State Senator Milton Street Dies At 83. “A former Pennsylvania state senator has died at age 83. Milton Street’s name is one that will always be remembered in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania politics.” (WHYY)

Michael Lamb Announces Candidacy For Allegheny County Executive. “Michael Lamb, the City of Pittsburgh controller since 2008, has announced his candidacy for Allegheny County Executive.” (PoliticsPA)

After A Series Of Resignations, Philly City Council Back To Normal Size – For Now.Four Democrats who won special elections were sworn into their seats on Philadelphia City Council Monday, filling positions that were left vacant by members who resigned to run for mayor and bringing the legislative body back to its full complement of 17 members.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Rejecting Undated Mail Ballots Disproportionately Impacts Communities of Color, Data Shows. “Pennsylvania’s policy of rejecting undated and incorrectly dated absentee and mail ballots is more likely to impact voters from communities with larger nonwhite populations, a Votebeat and Spotlight PA analysis of data from three urban counties has found.” (Spotlight PA)

 

Opinion

 

1 Thing

One Hail Of A Record

5668644_web1_ptr-MonValleyHail-112922

photo courtesy of Don Johnson

Sunday’s windy and unstable atmosphere led to hail blowing through parts of the Mon Valley and Westmoreland County, including record-setting, 2-inch hail stones.

Reports show that Perryopolis, in Fayette County, experienced hail stones that were more than two inches in diameter, which is only the third time in recorded history that Pennsylvania saw hail of that size in November, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Colton Milcarek

“It is record-setting in terms of hail storms,” said Milcarek. (Tribune-Review)

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  • Do you agree that ByteDance should be forced to divest TikTok?


    • Yes. It's a national security risk. (60%)
    • No. It's an app used by millions and poses no threat. (40%)
    • What's ByteDance? (0%)

    Total Voters: 30

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