George Secures Dem Nod For Wilkes-Barre Mayor

WILKES-BARRE, PA — Tony George won the Democratic nomination for mayor in Tuesday’s primary election.

The four-candidate Democratic primary included George, 63, former Wilkes-Barre police chief and current city councilman; George Brown, 64, who retired from a career in business management for international companies and is a current councilman; Darlene Duggins-Magdalinski, 46, a community activist who founded the advocacy group “United We Stand Divided We Fall;” and Brian Kelly, 67, who retired from IBM Corporation as a senior systems engineer and currently works as an information technology consultant.

George will face off against Frank Sorick, 42, Republican, realtor and president of the Wilkes-Barre City Taxpayers Association, in the Nov. 3 general election. Independent nominees/candidates could also still join the general election race.

Democratic Mayor Tom Leighton is not seeking a fourth term for the city’s top position, which currently pays $84,779 per year.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/george-secures-dem-nod-for-w-b-mayor-1.1884847

Kerns Pleads No Contest To Indecent Assault Charge

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Robert J. Kerns, the former Montgomery County Republican Chairman, pleaded no contest on Monday to a misdemeanor charge of indecent assault in Montgomery County Court.

It was a negotiated plea deal with the Attorney General’s office, and Kerns will serve two years probation and be a registered sex offender for 15 years.

Kerns was accused of having non-consensual sex with an employee of his Lansdale law firm while she was passed out after a night of drinking in October 2013.

More serious charges against him – rape and sexual assault – were dismissed in June by a lower court.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20141125_Kerns_pleads_no_contest_to_indecent_assault_charge.html#62VtlB3JLAmVqmQC.99

Officials: Transportation Will Suffer With Bill’s Defeat

Map of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Commuter rail service is likely to be cut next year, and Pennsylvania’s highways and bridges will continue to deteriorate, transportation officials said Tuesday, following the narrow legislative defeat of a major transportation funding increase.

Most lawmakers from southeastern Pennsylvania supported the funding measure, but eight area Democrats and five Republicans voted against it. And a key supporter, Rep. Louise Bishop (D., Phila.), was out sick, the only legislator not voting on the measure, which was defeated 103-98 Monday night.

Supporters of the bill, which would have increased gas taxes and motorists’ fees to provide about $2.4 billion in additional funding, said negotiations were continuing Tuesday to try to revive the bill, which was one of Gov. Corbett’s key legislative priorities.

Republican opponents cited the increased taxes and fees as a prime reason for their “no” votes, while Democratic opponents said they objected to a provision that would have increased the prevailing-wage exemption on government construction projects, which some labor unions opposed.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/20131120_Officials__Transportation_will_suffer_with_bill_s_defeat.html#QyFtCBDquPww1RMr.99

Former Pa. Gov. Scranton Dies At Age 96

English: Not applicable for copyright because this image is a work of the US Government. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

William Warren Scranton Jr., a former Pennsylvania governor, congressman, presidential candidate and ambassador to the United Nations, died Sunday night at the age 96.

Scranton died of a cerebral hemorrhage at a retirement community in Montecito, Calif., where he lived with his wife Mary, a family spokesman told The Associated Press on Monday.

Scranton, a progressive Republican from the Lackawanna County city named after his family, was elected to Congress in 1960.  He served one term before he was elected as Pennsylvania’s 38th governor in 1962.

His foray into presidential politics occurred in 1964, during his one term as governor, when he emerged as a moderately liberal alternative to conservative Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater after New York Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller dropped out of the race.

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/711528/Former-Pa.-Gov.-Scranton-dies-at-age-96

Write-In Votes Change The Face Of Fall Elections

Editor’s note:  The only way to make Pottstown better is to clean house!  New mayor, new councilors. We ask you to please support the new candidates running for office and write in Ross Belovich for mayor.  If you wonder why, check out the Crime in Pottstown Facebook page and read what’s happening to your town.  It’s time to take it back!   POWER TO THE POTTSTOWN PEOPLE!

In Montgomery County, a contested Democratic primary in Pottstown’s Seventh Ward has translated into a general election battle.

Although incumbent Borough Councilman Joseph Kirkland easily won the Democratic line in the November ballot, his opponent, Cindy Conard picked up 50 wrote-in votes on the Republican line, for which no candidates were running.

As a result, the two will face-off again on the November ballot, with Kirkland on the Democratic line and Conard on the Republican line.

Read entire article here:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130723/NEWS01/130729836/write-in-votes-change-the-face-of-fall-elections#full_story

Have We Lost All Desire To Vote?

Editor’s note:  Apparently yes!

While other row offices were eliminated, Luzerne County’s home rule charter kept the controller to independently scrutinize its $260 million in spending, 1,400-plus workers and more than 50 departments providing services from tax assessment to 911 dispatch.

The public — not county employees or officials — pick the person who fills this $64,999 elected post for the next four years to be the fiscal watchdog.

Although an estimated 256,800 residents are eligible to vote on this decision, the number who narrowed down the controller finalists from four to two in Tuesday’s primaries was 31,000 — only 12 percent of the over-18 population.

“When you break it down and see the percentage of the population making the decision, that’s pretty troublesome,” said Barry Kauffman, executive director of the nonprofit citizen advocate group Common Cause Pennsylvania.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/539857/Have-we-lost-all-desire-to-vote

Vandals Strike Gravesite Of Former Pennsylvania Governor

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Crawford County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Is there something in the water?  People are just going off the rails lately!

Something puzzling has happened in Meadville, a community 90 miles north of Pittsburgh.

The gravesite of former Gov. Raymond Shafer was desecrated last month, its monument defaced, the grave dug down to the vault and messages written in spray paint on the exterior of a nearby church, cursing the late governor in French.

State police in Meadville have no suspects and no leads.  And the family of the late governor, who led Pennsylvania from 1967 to 1971 and who died in 2006, has no idea what prompted the vandalism.

“We do know that it’s probably not somebody who did it on the spur of the moment,” said the late governor’s daughter Diane Shafer Domnick, who lives in Meadville and teaches at the University of Pittsburgh in Titusville.  “People had to be ready to do the damage that they did.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/vandals-strike-gravesite-of-former-pa-governor-666864/#ixzz2FSwTZStA

GOP Gobbling Up Berks Political Map

The lone Democrat representing Berks County in Congress would be pushed outside Berks borders, allowing three Republican congressmen to take larger chunks of Berks and a fourth to extend his district into the county.

That picture became clear Wednesday when maps and district descriptions began circulating in advance of an expected vote on them by the state Senate.

Dr. G. Terry Madonna, a political analyst and professor of politics and public affairs at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, described the plan as artful and skillfully drawn to protect incumbents. 

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=352919

Pennsylvania Governor Race Gets Crowded With Third Party Candidates

Tom Corbett (R) and Dan Onorato (D) will have some company as they each try to become the next governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Three third-party candidates have entered the race:

1.  Libertarian Party Candidate Marakay Rogers of York.

2. Tea Party Candidate John Krupa of Lock Haven.

3. Write-In Candidate state Rep. Sam Rohrer.

Corbett and Onorato both stated they are not concerned these fringe candidates will take away votes or pose a serious threat to their two-way race.

At this point, it won’t take much to be an improvement over Ed Rendell.

Big Jon Runyan Considers Run For Congress

Former Philadelphia Eagle Big Jon Runyan is being wooed by the Burlington County NJ Republican Party to run for a seat in New Jersey’s 3rd US Congressional District.  The district includes most of Ocean County and Burlington County, NJ. 

Jon would be taking on Democratic incumbent John Adler.  Runyan is not affiliated with either major party.  The 3rd District hasn’t had a Democratic Congressman in over 100 years until Adler defeated Republican Chris Meyers last November.

If Arnold can be the govenator, we can have a former Philadelphia Eagle in the US Congress.