Money & Politics With Jon Delano

PA Legislature Pays Its Own

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:33:21 GMT

Nothing increases the cynicism of government than different rules for the same cast of characters.

Yesterday, I stood in the midst of more than a hundred state employees protesting during their noon lunch hour outside the State Office Building in Downtown Pittsburgh. Chief among their objections was the fact that they are required to work, even though they will NOT be paid for that work until the budget crisis is resolved.

It's hard to imagine what that is like for a worker, but each of us can put ourselves in those shoes. What if our boss said, 'You must come to work every day. If you don't you will be fired. Oh, by the way, you won't be paid for that work until sometime in the future when I cut a deal with XYZ." It would certainly be difficult for me -- and my family.

The only comfort, I suppose, is that every state worker is in the same boat. Well, not exactly. Today I learned that 910 Senate staffers and 2,110 House staffers have received FULL paychecks this week. Not surprisingly, local state workers with whom I spoke are outraged.

The state legislature, a separate branch of government, has at least a $200 million surplus, and the use of that money is up to the four caucuses -- House and Senate Republicans and Democrats. They are all in agreement that legislative staffers should be paid in full, just as they agreed not to pay themselves. House Speaker Keith McCall issued this statement to me:

"Leaders from all four caucuses decided that legislative staff will be paid because the funding is coming from the independent legislative accounts. By design those accounts were created to allow operations to continue and the House and Senate to remain an independent branch of government during an impasse like this one. The lawmakers themselves will not be paid, even though the account would allow it. While the House and Senate workers are here with the lawmakers working to solve the impasse – ideally as soon as early next week -- the leaders saw no reason to arbitrarily hold the staff’s pay when the money is available."

That explanation does not sit well with state workers because it seems to suggest that the work of legislative staffers is more important than that of the thousands of state workers. On this point, state workers are right. If the legislature and the governor cannot reach a budget agreement on time, the rules should be the same for everyone -- either all get paid, or none! What do you think?

Can Acklin or Harris Really Beat Luke?

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:22:29 GMT

When you run for political office, hope springs eternal. There's no point putting in all the time, money, and angst if you honestly don't think you can win. Independent candidate Kevin Acklin seems convinced that he can defeat Mayor Luke Ravenstahl this November, and he's putting together a team to make it happen.

Acklin is a South Oakland boy who has Democratic family roots -- his grandpa was a Democratic committeeman -- who ultimately became a Republican before switching to Independent to make this run for office. The Central Catholic grad got a scholarship to attend Harvard University and then got his law degree from Georgetown University. In short, the dude is pretty smart.

But it's his deep roots in blue collar Pittsburgh that his strategists say make him a compelling candidate for mayor. The guy is nothing if not a hard worker, already out knocking on doors in neighborhoods that don't normally see the candidates. And he's trying to raise money to make this a competitive race -- i.e., television, radio, and direct mail -- in the Fall. After only a few weeks as a candidate, he has already raised almost as much as Patrick Dowd, Luke's Democratic challenger, raised during the whole primary season.

The good news for Ravenstahl -- and bad news for Acklin -- is that there's another Independent candidate in the race: Franco "Dok" Harris. Harris has a great Pittsburgh name and the looks to go with it -- he's the spitting image of his Dad, the great Franco Harris of Steelers fame. Dok has quite the resume, too -- a graduate of Sewickley Academy, Princeton University, with a Masters degree from CMU's Tepper School and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

While Acklin seems to have put together a campaign team -- a mix of both Democratic field organizers and Republican strategists -- Harris' campaign is much more laid-back. But it won't matter if Harris can raise enough money to make a case for himself. A split among the anti-Ravenstahl votes guarantees Luke reelection to a 4-year turn.

So with 16 weeks to go, all the advantage goes to Luke Ravenstahl. But I learned a long time ago to never underestimate a challenger who is hungry for the job. This race has the potential to get exciting. By Labor Day, we should know.

Debate On: Ravenstahl v Dowd v Robinson

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:12:18 GMT

The KDKA-TV mayoralty debate is back on, and that's good for everyone. We need not rehash the short history of this on-again, off-again, on-again event to celebrate the fact that all three candidates -- Luke Ravenstahl, Patrick Dowd, and Carmen Robinson -- have now agreed to debate next week at KDKA Studios. The debate will be aired on KDKA-TV on Saturday, May 2, at 7 pm.

The format is going to be a bit more "relaxed" than traditional debates and, hopefully, more informative and entertaining (as much as a debate can be). Ken Rice and I will be posing questions to the candidates who will also ask questions of each other. Unlike the first debate in this race, Ken and I will allow rebuttal when it seems necessary to let a candidate "correct" a statement said about him or her.

My own view of debates is that the best ones allow for interaction among the candidates -- a good back-and-forth that helps amplify the issues and demonstrates the candidate's knowledge and passion. Candidates like to score points, but the public is more interested in style and substance.

Having been involved in candidate debates for years, I know that it's impossible to cover every point supporters and detractors would like to see. If you want to share some question or thought about this upcoming debate with me, feel free to email me at jdelano@kdka.com or post below in comments.

In the end, most political analysts say that debates don't count for much -- unless a candidate screws up. Who knows what will happen at the KDKA-TV debate, but that's why it's worth watching!

Pat Toomey to Take on Arlen Specter

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:15:24 GMT

Arlen Specter, the 79-year old Pennsylvania senator who has served in the U.S. Senate longer than anyone in state history, has to be just a little bit worried. That's because Pat Toomey, the former Lehigh County congressman who nearly knocked him off in 2004, is going to go at Specter again in 2010.

I sat down with Toomey the other day, and make no mistake, he's running again and will make it official sometime in April. Toomey is a solid economic conservative, who can hardly control his anger over Specter's support of President Obama's economic stimulus and recovery plan. He essentially charges Specter with "enabling" one of the most liberal Democratic administrations in history to succeed. And he says the Spector is a classic RINO -- Republican in name only -- who really acts more like a "big government liberal Democrat."

For all his tough talk, Toomey still faces one of the state's most enduring politicians. Specter has no problem going for the jugular, and already laid the groundwork for that by accusing Toomey of supporting "deregulation" of the financial markets which led to the crash on Wall Street that hurt so many families.

The 2004 Republican primary was one of the ugliest, and 2010 is likely to be no different. Except for one big difference -- George W. Bush is not in office to be featured in Specter's campaign ads, which undoubtedly helped Specter in the Republican primary back then. And, then there's Rick Santorum. Santorum embraced his senior colleague, to the dismay of many of his conservative supporters, back in 2004. In 2010, Santorum does not have the clout he once enjoyed, as a "former" senator, but he does have his friends.

My gut tells me -- free of the White House and his own incumbency -- Rick Santorum will endorse Pat Toomey over Arlen Specter in 2010. I could be way off on this, but left to follow his own ideology it makes more sense for Santorum to line up with his hard core right-wing base, a base that will be gungho for Toomey.

Do you think this will happen? And do you think Toomey will walk all over Specter, especially now that so many more moderate Republicans have switched parties. Or do you think that the inimitable Specter will continue to pull it out of the hat for yet another victory? Let me hear from you.

Franco Harris for Mayor of Pittsburgh?

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:31:56 GMT

The surprise announcement that Franco Harris is running for mayor of Pittsburgh is likely to confuse some voters -- until they realize that this is Franco Harris, Jr., the 29-year old son of the great Steelers Hall of Famer.

The junior Harris goes by "Dok" -- a shortened form of his mother's maiden name -- and he looks a lot like his dad both in stature and in beard style.

I sat down with Dok Harris this afternoon, and I couldn't helped but be impressed by his intelligence and verbal agility. Maybe that's no surprise. Harris, who grew up on the Northside (at least until age 14) and now lives in Shadyside, graduated from Shadyside Academy, Princeton University, Carnegie Mellon University (from the Tepper School of Business) and the University of Pittsburgh Law School.

Can Harris unseat his fellow 20-something Luke Ravenstahl? Well, it's a long shot. Harris is running as an Independent, although he was once a registered Republican -- he says Reagan's style appealed to him in his youth -- and then a Democrat -- after being discouraged by President Bush. As an Independent, Harris bypasses the Democratic Primary in May where Councilman Patrick Dowd is trying to unseat Ravenstahl. The big battle for Harris will be in November.

That gives the Independent candidate time to raise money and build a coalition of anti-Luke folks. It's all somewhat reminiscent of Mark DeSantis' attempt to do the same in 2007. DeSantis, however, was plagued with the Republican label next to his name. Harris won't have that issue, but, still, getting Pittsburghers to vote against the Democratic nominee is never easy.

The key, it seems to me, is whether Harris can raise enough money to get to the voters of Pittsburgh. His name will bring instant recognition, along with his looks, but it will take more. He must convince voters that he has the plan, the vision, and the smarts to lead Pittsburgh. Can he do it? What do you think?

Should Buy America Be Part of Stimulus?

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:52:42 GMT

It's a classic debate. Should American lawmakers protect American jobs by requiring American tax dollars to be used to purchase only American goods and services?

Those of us who grew up in Pittsburgh when steel was king are familiar with "Buy America" provisions. These require that money from certain state and federal spending bills be spent on "American" products in order to keep good-paying jobs in America. Foreign countries don't like these provisions, although many have similar ones in their own countries. "Buy America" requirements are also opposed by some American companies that use cheap foreign labor to manufacture their products or that fear that a trade war might limit their chance to ship their U.S. made products overseas.

President Obama insists that his economic stimulus bill is needed to protect American jobs, but the bill has a very weak "Buy America" provision. That has earned the ire of some members of Congress, like U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, who argues American economic recovery dollars should be spent on Americans, not Asians or Europeans.

As it stands now, the House bill only requires "Buy America" for iron, steel, and other infrastructure material -- less than 10 percent of the bill's total dollar amount. Critics like Murphy say the "Buy America" provisions should apply to automobiles, electronics, and most other manufactured goods. The first Senate version of the bill did expand the "Buy America" provisions, but the latest version weakened the provisions.

So what do you think? Does it make sense to require federal tax dollars in an economic recovery bill be spent only on American goods and services?

Can Dowd Defeat Ravenstahl?

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:39:58 GMT

While a final decision to run is a couple of weeks off, Pittsburgh councilman Patrick Dowd says he's very serious about taking on Mayor Luke Ravenstahl in next May's Democratic primary. Now it's easy to dismiss Dowd as just another good-looking intellectual whose "good government" credentials far outweigh his political skills, but Dowd seems to pull off political surprises when most people count him out.

Dowd is not an indigenous 'Burgher, coming to Pittsburgh from St. Louis to do graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh in 1991. Eighteen years later, he and his wife have five kids -- in the city public school system -- and Dowd has a Ph.D. in History, making him the most degree'd member of Pittsburgh City Council.

In 2003, Dowd surprised the political establishment by defeating the incumbent President of the Pittsburgh School Board, Darlene Harris, in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. Four years later, in 2007, Dowd defeated another incumbent, city Councilman Len Bodack Jr. In both cases, Dowd focused on neighborhood field organizing and door-to-door campaigning.

The problem for him in 2009 is that Ravenstahl is a much better known incumbent -- with far more financial resources -- than Dowd's two previous opponents. Cash is usually king in a high-profile mayor's race, and Ravenstahl has it and Dowd does not. Still, given his track record, I am not prepared to say Dowd has no chance at all -- maybe a one in ten chance. A lot depends on who else surfaces to run against Ravenstahl -- already City Council President Doug Shields is tapdancing around the question and attorney Carmen Robinson says she's in the race, too.

So what do you think? Is Luke Ravenstahl vulnerable to Patrick Dowd, or anyone else? Chime in.

PA Lessons in Blagojevic's Pay to Play

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:14:17 GMT

While Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's language certainly spiced up the issue, the real question is whether "pay to play" is a common practice in all parts of our government today. I am, of course, referring to the federal indictment of Blagojevich for allegedly attempting to sell President-elect Obama's vacant seat in the U.S. Senate to somebody, anybody, who could give the Illinois governor the best deal. But a lot of folks who talk to me about politics seem to think this is a common occurrence -- that is somebody who wants something from government has to give something to the elected officials in return.

"Pay to play" is the shorthand for this practice. And it comes in all forms. You want a government contract from the city, make a big contribution to the mayor's campaign. You want a state agency to sign off on a permit for your company, give the governor something extra special. You want legislative support for your bill, get key legislators some tickets to the Steelers' playoff games.

The problem with "pay to play" is that the line between legitimate political contribution and bribery is not always as crystal clear as some of us would like. Most governments -- local, state, federal -- have "ethics" rules and "campaign finance" rules that attempt to mitigate the worst abuses. And, of course, anything that involves a significant personal pecuniary benefit to the elected official (as opposed to a campaign contribution) in exchange for public action is illegal.

But a campaign contribution can be just as much a benefit to a mayor, a governor, or a legislator as anything else, particularly if the size is large. That's where Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh put themselves at great risk of "pay to play." While the city of Philadelphia has limited the amount of money, a contractor doing business with the city can contribute to the campaign of the mayor or city council members, in Pittsburgh we have no such rules. [Mayor Ravenstahl vetoed one such reform bill]. And in Pennsylvania, the sky's the limit when it comes to campaign contributions.

If someone gives $100,000 to a gubernatorial candidate's campaign, does anyone think the recipient doesn't feel just a little bit obligated?

As disgusting as it is, the Blagojevich scandal will serve an important public policy purpose if it gets the public to encourage stronger laws to guard against "pay to play." Will that happen? I'm not holding my breath.

DeWeese & Smith Are Survivors

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:52:44 GMT

You have to hand it to PA Rep. Bill DeWeese, southwestern Pennsylvania's most prolific Democratic leader. The former Marine has been assaulted on all sides, and yet he always seems to emerge on top of his rivals. That's what he did again on Tuesday afternoon, when he withstood attack from some of his own Democratic colleagues to maintain a leadership position within the House Democratic caucus in Harrisburg and help engineer his own replacement.

DeWeese will now be the Majority Whip, a step down from his Majority Leader spot of this past term, but clearly a leadership position that will allow DeWeese to wax eloquent on the House floor as he has done so many times in the past. Taking his job as Majority Leader will be his friend and supporter PA Rep. Todd Eachus of Hazelton, Luzerne County. Eachus, who chaired the House Democratic Campaign Committee, defeated PA Rep. Frank Dermody of Oakmont, Allegheny County, the caucus secretary. Eachus has been criticized by some for approving the transfer of $40,000 from Democrats' campaign account to pay the campaign debts of former PA Rep. Mike Veon of Beaver Falls.

The next Speaker of the House is likely to be PA Rep. Keith McCall of Carbon County, who served as Majority Whip under DeWeese. McCall -- who voted for the payraise before he voted against it and then kept it -- needs to be elected to this position by the full House of Representatives in January. With the Democrats now in charge, 104 to 99, McCall's election should be guaranteed, as long as the Democrats keep their votes together.

If it sounds a bit like musical chairs on the Democratic side, it is. That description does not fit the Republican side, where GOP House members voted to keep PA Rep. Sam Smith of Punxatawney as their Minority Leader. Smith was challenged by the party's former leader PA Rep. John Perzel of Philadelphia. The newest member of the Republican leadership team is PA Rep. Mike Turzai of Bradford Woods, Allegheny County. Turzai was unopposed for the Minority Whip job.

What does all this say about the Democratic and Republican parties in the state House? You tell me.

An Early Take on 2010

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:14:49 GMT

Okay, one election is over -- so are you ready for another?

Believe me, behind closed doors politicians are already figuring what the 2008 election in Pennsylvania means for the two big battles of 2010: the election of a new Governor and the race for U.S. Senate.

History suggests that 2010 will be a Republican year in PA. The last time a political party won the governorship three times in a row was back in 1942, 1946, and 1950 when Republicans Edward Martin, James Duff, and John Fine kept the mansion in the GOP column. But ever since, PA has had an 8-year rule, meaning that after eight years of one party, the governor's office switches back to the other party. After eight years of Democrat Ed Rendell, it's the Republicans' turn to lead the commonwealth.

So who is the leading Republican to take the state's helm? Well, right now it looks like Attorney General Tom Corbett is well-positioned to take his party's nomination. He won a convincing victory this month, not only beating back the Democratic sweep for Obama, but also carrying his home county of Allegheny. Corbett is not a lock on the nod, however. Other Republicans on the list include former U.S. Attorney (Philadelphia) Pat Meehan, former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey (who came oh-so-close to defeating Arlen Specter in the 2004 GOP primary), and Pittsburgh conservative (and millionaire) Glen Meakem. Some think long-shot possibilities include former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and former U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart. But, clearly, Corbett has the edge.

But Democrats think 2010 will be different, and Allegheny County executive Dan Onorato seems most intent on proving history wrong. Onorato has already amassed a campaign budget of over $2 million and has been courting many of the Rendell donors/supporters in Philadelphia. It doesn't hurt that one of his biggest Philly supporters is law school classmate and attorney John Estey, the former chief of staff to Rendell. Onorato may not have clear sailing, as state auditor general Jack Wagner won a landslide reelection this month. Wagner doesn't have Onorato's money, but he does have greater name recognition -- at least for the moment. Wagner is said to be looking at the governor's race, although he could end up running for the U.S. Senate, too.

Onorato and Wagner aren't the only Dems looking at this race. Don Cunningham, the county executive of Lehigh County, is also on the watch list, along with Scranton state senator Bob Mellow and Philadelphia millionaire (and former mayoralty candidate) Tom Knox.

And while the Republican incumbent Arlen Specter has no intention of stepping down, plenty of Democrats may line up to take him on. That includes many of the Dems noted above, who could be persuaded to run against Specter instead of Onorato. One name not on the list, however, but clearly giving the 2010 Senate race some thought is Chris Matthews, the host of MSNBC's popular "Hardball." Matthews is a native Philadelphian, who got plenty of Capitol Hill experience working for the late House Speaker Tip O'Neill. While Matthews has antagonized some Dems (because he was relentless in his attacks on the Clintons), he has the energy, passion, and money to give the omnipresent Specter a real race.

These are some very quick reflections on 2010, long before most of us have thought much about it. Share your thoughts. I want to hear them.