With the petition deadline on Tuesday and a surprise drop-out on Thursday, it was quite a week for the race to Harrisburg. So once again we compiled all the news you may have missed over the last week.
Corbett
While his Democratic opponents battle it out, the Governor is focusing on issues like energy that he hopes can improve his standing among the voters.
On Friday morning, the Governor visited NuWeld, Inc. a Williamsport company that focuses on engineering, fabrication and welding in the nuclear, natural gas, and power industries. The purpose of the visit is to announce the campaign’s “Energy Families for Corbett-Cawley” coalition that will advocate for the Governor’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy.
“Communities, families and small businesses are all benefiting from growth especially in natural gas and the Marcellus Shale,” the campaign stated in their press release. “More than 200,000 Pennsylvanians are finding either new jobs in the industry, or current jobs supported by increased activity.”
The Democratic Party also used the week as another occasion to bash the incumbent, using one of his own infamous gaffes against him. Turns out Thursday marked the two year anniversary of Corbett’s remark that women who didn’t want to see their state-mandated ultrasound could just “close their eyes”.
“For a governor who claims to be a champion of small government, Tom Corbett certainly has no problem inserting the government into a woman’s private health care decisions,” said Beth Melena, the Dems Press Secretary and Digital Director. “On the second anniversary of his dismissive comment telling women to ‘just close your eyes’ during a state-mandated ultrasound, it is clear that his administration has kept their backs turned to the women of Pennsylvania.”
Schwartz
John Hanger surprised many political observers with his withdrawal from the race yesterday. One of his opponents, though, had nothing but kind words for her former rival.
“John is my friend, and I have known and worked with him for twenty years,” she said. “He moved the debate in this race, offered innovative, thoughtful policy proposals, and helped all of the candidates sharpen their focus on the inequities in our criminal justice system. He has my deepest respect, and I wish him the best in the future.”
Hanger has yet to indicate whether he’ll endorse any remaining candidate although he did take time to praise McCord, McGinty, Schwartz and Wolf all individually (but not Wagner).
Guzzardi
Attorney, businessman, and regular PoliticsPA commenter Bob Guzzardi scored quite a coup this week when he earned enough signatures to make the Republican gubernatorial primary ballot.
Guzzardi’s first salvo in his official campaign against the Governor concerns his belief that the resignation of Sen. Mike Waugh and his elevation to Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Farm Show was all part of an effort to ensure Rep. Ron Miller would secure the seat and an advantage over his GOP rival businessman Scott Wagner.
Wagner is still a write-in candidate for the special election and will continue to run in the primary election (Wagner is also a regular advertiser on PoliticsPA. In fact, his ad is at the top of this very article).
In response to what he perceives to be an unfair and illegal “quid pro quo”, Guzzardi has sent letters to Attorney General Kathleen Kane and U.S. Attorney Peter Smith requesting an investigation.
“I hope for the sake of honest and transparent government, and for fair elections that the US Attorney and Pennsylvania’s independent Attorney General investigates this corrupt deal,” Guzzardi said. “From a Governor and Republican leaders, who talked about cleaning up the corruption in Harrisburg, they seem to be continuing the same old “Bonusgate-style Computergate-style,” tactics that landed so many politicians in jail.”
Alton
Finally, we end on a note on the Lieutenant Governor’s race. Perhaps the saddest development of the petition deadline was when Brenda Alton failed to get her signatures in by the 5 p.m. deadline. According to reports, though, the story is not so simple.
The campaign is alleging that they arrived on time but the removal of campaign manager Michael Walker delayed the process. The Alton campaign, therefore, is gathering resources, including eyewitnesses to challenge the state’s ruling and get on the ballot for the commonwealth’s second-highest elective office.
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12 Responses
Guzzardi only remitted a few of them, and we decided I should receive all of them, and then post them all, and then provide a succinct commentary; one can anticipate that this issue will be explored in-depth via another media-outlet by week’s end.
Guzzardi has scanned the documents and e-mailed them to me; i’ll try to upload them onto scribd by day’s end [or “evening’s end” if necessary].
The most telling was a January 7 e-mail from Carol Noll to Melanie DePalma Re: Farm Show Positions: “The email from Michael Pechart said this was to to occur on January 13, 2014. We CREATED the jobs (i.e. U8752 Executive Director Farm Show Complex and U8753 Senior Advisor to the Executive Director) and now it is up to the agency to initiate the transactions to reclassify and submit the SLRs. Thanks.”
We don’t what agency or what an SLR is, but it is clear that BOTH positions were “CREATED.” It appears from other e-mails that Patrick Kerwin did not want to retire until the end of 2014 [at the same time former Senator Waugh had announced he would have ended his term]. He did not seem happy.
A perceptive reader noted I’d referred to [Wisconsin Governor] Scott WALKER instead of [the PA State-Senate Candidate] Scott WAGNER.
I guess I have the former individual on-mind, for Guzzardi has praised his book.
I might add that there is specific reference [when justifying the Special Election, despite precedent having been cited that supported holding it on primary day to save $, when a resignation had occurred @ a comparable time-frame] to the fact that Senate Leadership felt it to be urgent that the position be filled by an individual who would support upcoming initiatives by leadership.
Also, there was absolutely no medical justification cited for this sudden switch, as “talking points” were being circulated.
Guzzardi, candidly, feels his job has been done by having ID’ed this problem, for his focus remains trained on the approaching Fiscal-Iceberg; nevertheless, “attention must be paid” to the time-line he has sketched-out [which these e-mails corroborate].
Guzzardi’s “discovery” has revealed mucho-data.
It seems the positions @ the Farm Show were “created”…much to the [initial] dismay of the prior-boss…who then was mollified by a salary-hike…after contradictions were smoothed-over regarding whether he would stay for a brief transition over a few months vs. the plan for him to remain in this position for another year.
Furthermore, these plans were initially hatched during the summer of ’12, and then suddenly modified in December [after the Scott Walker competition arose]; many other rhetorical contradictions are contained in the documents from the DoAg & the LtG that suggest the type of electoral-coordination that Guzzardi has alleged.
Perhaps the media will wish to read the primary data and pursue matters with the powers-that-be?
Paindy is right! What kind of people are we anyhow? The wrestling match is fixed behind the scenes to amuse the crowd. Only a true outsider can blow the whistle on this farce and instill real competition into the political process and bring relief to the people. The hour has come. Who will be the man?
Tom Corbett Team: What’s next? Are you going to attack the butchers, bakers and candlestick makers too? Let’s be honest: The only brief experience Tom Corbett has had with non-state supported Capitalism is when he briefly served as counsel for a Waste Management Company. Corbett’s primary opponent Bob Guzzardi has more experience in the tough everyday world of running a business. That is not to say that Acting Governor John Brabender and Corbett’s new political marriage partner, WORLD CLASS Jeff Romoff of UPMC cannot mint money for themselves. Mr. Barley: If you keep issuing statements, like your Friday attack of Mr. Wolf, Tom Corbett may well not prevail against his primary challenger. http://www.keystonepolitics.com/2014/03/pagov-first-wolf-vs-corbett-exchan
ge-highlights-key-wolf-strength/
It would be so nice if all the other candidates running would stand up and fight for Ms. Alton and her right to stand before the voters. It seems that she was compelled into a bad position by the powers that be.
Mr. Diano reflects the proof of a key point of my work on the Eichmann trial. What had become banal – and astonishingly so – was the ability to think.
If one thinks of the crony, back-scratching, self-dealing culture that is the swamp inhabited by both corporate owned parties in Harrisburg, one could understand a candidate who wants to demolish the status quo of waste and self-enrichment. It requires rational thought.
Free Ice Cream?
The Dems want the gas companies to PAY for extracting our natural energy resources, not give them away. They want to use that money to fund services that the citizens of PA need and want. Education. Environmental cleanup. Road and Bridge inspection and repair. Public transportation.
There is no “realism” in cutting services that help the people and the economy of PA, especially when people are willing to pay for those services.
Tea Party Republicans like to pretend they carry the mantle of Reagan, but if he were around today, he’d be considered too liberal for these John Birch right-wing radicals.
Thank you PAINDY whoever you are.
My campaign will be focused on reducing government spending and reducing taxes and debt so Pennsylvania can be a competitive to grow businesses and to grow old.
The Fiscal Iceberg is ahead for all who want to see what there is to be seen. The Democrats offer “Free Ice Cream” which has a proven track record of electoral success. I offer realism which is a less attractive message but who knows maybe they can’t fool enough people again. 🙂
Bob Guzzardi is the only gubernatorial candidate of either party that can rightly carry the torch of Ronald Reagan. RONALD REAGAN HAD A RENDEZVOUS WITH DESTINY! DOES BOB GUZZARDI HAVE HIS OWN RENDEZVOUS WITH DESTINY? http://youtu.be/qXBswFfh6AY