Wow, could Governor Tom Corbett's (R. PA) administration suck any more?
http://www.philly.com/...
Gov. Corbett fired a member of his cabinet Thursday over an e-mail containing racially charged language referring to a state employee, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.
Corbett announced Thursday morning that he had asked Richard J. Allan, 60, secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, to resign effective immediately.
In the statement, the governor did not give a reason. Spokesman Kevin Harley also declined to discuss the firing, saying only that it was a "personnel decision."
Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said Corbett became aware of an e-mail that Allan wrote to his wife, also a state employee, in which he made the remark.
The e-mail was sent over a state computer and was seen by an assistant to his wife, Patricia, who had worked at the Department of Environmental Protection but now works at the Department of State.
The full context of the e-mail, in which Allan made a wordplay on colored, was not available.
Allan is the sixth Corbett cabinet secretary to resign in the last nine months, following the departures of the secretaries of the Departments of Environmental Protection, Public Welfare, Health, and Education, and the inspector general. - Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/14/13
While Corbett may have fired one racist, he's nominating another to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court:
http://www.keystonepolitics.com/...
Republican Gov. Tom Corbett will nominate Superior Court Justice Correale F. Stevens, who in 2007 appeared at a rally against the illegal “alien invasion,” to fill a temporary vacancy on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
“Something is a little bit bizarre here, backwards and upside down, and we need to turn that around,” Stevens told the crowd. “The city of Hazleton tries to enforce the law, and they get taken to court.”
Stevens, who joined State Rep. Daryl D. Metcalfe and then-Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta at the state Capitol rally in support of anti-immigrant legislation, was referring to a Hazelton law that bars hiring or renting to an undocumented immigrant, and makes English the city’s official language. The law had been struck down by a federal court. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the ruling and remanded it to a federal appeals court after they partially upheld Arizona’s controversial law. - Keystone Politics, 6/14/13
Oh and this is hilarious:
http://www.pennlive.com/...
Taking an old argument to a new forum, ex-state Rep. Brett O. Feese, now a prison inmate serving time on public corruption convictions, has filed a federal lawsuit against his prosecutors, including Gov. Tom Corbett.
Feese contends in his U.S. Middle District Court suit that when Corbett was state attorney general, Corbett and others in that office illegally conspired to deny him access to evidence and so denied him a fair trial in the so-called Computergate scandal.
Specifically, Feese's lawyer Joshua Lock is arguing that state prosecutors violated Feese's constitutional rights by improperly destroying notes of interviews investigators conducted with prosecution witnesses in the Computergate investigation.
It is an argument that Lock raised repeatedly, and so far without success, both before and after a Dauphin County jury convicted Feese of 40 corruption charges during his Computergate trial in October 2011.
Lock is pursuing the same arguments in an appeal that is now before the state Superior Court seeking to overturn Feese's convictions and sentence of 4 to 12 years in state prison, plus $1 million in restitution.
But Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, spokesman for Corbett's Office of General Counsel, said Friday that Feese's federal suit is just "another desperate attack by a man who attempted to corrupt state government for his own gain."
“The facts of this case are crystal clear: Brett Feese and his co-conspirators are the ones who broke the law, misused their official positions and violated the public trust," Hagen-Frederiksen said.
Feese, who once represented Lycoming County and headed the House Republican Campaign Committee, was among a bevy of GOP legislators and aides who were convicted of or pleaded guilty to conspiring to use taxpayer-financed computer services to abet political campaigns between 2000 and 2007. - The Patriot-News, 6/14/13
Oh and Corbett is trying to make his agenda for liquor privatization more appealing and bipartisan by nominating a few Democrats to his cabinet:
http://www.pennlive.com/...
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett nominated two former Democratic office-holders and a Democratic Senate staffer to high-ranking state regulatory posts today.
In one fell swoop the announcements revived a longtime midstate politician's governmental career, promoted a career legislative attorney into a key regulatory role and, apparently, ruffled some GOP feathers.
The nominations also capped a dizzying day of personnel transactions at the Capitol, as earlier Corbett asked for the resignation of his Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources, Richard Allan, and nominated Superior Court President Judge Correale Stevens to a vacancy on the state Supreme Court.
Corbett's nominees are:
* Former U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, a Democrat from Schuylkill County, to an open seat on the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
* Gladys Brown, deputy chief counsel to the Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, to a seat on the Public Utility Commission.
* Former state Sen. Sean Logan, a Democrat from Monroeville, to a spot on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. - The Patriot-News, 6/13/13
With all this nonsense going on, it's really no surprise that Pennsylvania is number 3 on The Fix's 15 Governor Races that could switch party:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
3. Pennsylvania (R): Gov. Tom Corbett (R) is in some early trouble. He trails Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D) by 10 points in a recent Quinnipiac poll. Being unpopular in a blue state against a top Democratic recruit is a recipe for potential disaster for the Keystone State Republican. He still has time to right the ship, but the early read isn’t good for him. Pennsylvania moves two spots up the line. (Previous ranking: 5)
By the way, Congresswomen Allyson Schwartz (D. PA-13) is raking in the campaign cash for her gubernatorial bid:
http://www.philly.com/...
The Women in Politics fundraiser has been a fixture on the political calendar in southeastern Pennsylvania for years, since back when Schwartz was a state senator, but attendees said there was a new energy this year since she has launched her campaign to become the first woman elected governor of the state.
“With Allyson headlining as a candidate for Pennsylvania governor, the 2013 Women in Politics reception raised more than any other event in its 23 year history,” said Reesa Kossoff, spokeswoman for the campaign.
Schwartz campaign officials would not divulge how much was raised via the event. It will be difficult to gauge how the seven Democratic candidates are doing in the cash race because Pennsylvania’s lax campaign-finance regulations require them only to disclose the income and expenditures of their personal PACs once, at the end of the year. Disclosure will be more frequent in the election year, 2014.
But Women in Politics raised a minimum of $150,000 – and possibly much more – based on back-of-the-envelope calculations. The event had 100 “hosts” at $1,000 per ticket. The cost was $150 a ticket for regular admission, and the event drew a total of about 400. (There also were sponsorships at $2,500 and $5,000.) - Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/12/13
And Treasurer Rob McCord (D. PA) is getting closer to jumping into the primary:
http://tv.msnbc.com/...
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Rob McCord took his first public step in signaling that he intends to run for governor.
According to a state authorization form obtained by Hardball, McCord on Tuesday filed paperwork to create the “McCord for Governor” political action committee, one of the clearest signs yet that the state treasurer has his eyes on challenging incumbent Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. Establishing the committee allows him to accept campaign contributions for next year’s race.
“This new committee is a reflection of the fact that, over the last few months, Rob has heard from voters and community leaders from around the state that they want a change in Harrisburg, and he’s putting the pieces in place to deliver that change,” said Mark Nevins, who advised Hillary Clinton in her successful primary campaign in Pennsylvania in 2008. “The fact is, we can’t keep electing professional, career politicians and expect things to be different. As a business leader, not a career politician, Rob is uniquely qualified to deliver real results,” said Nevins, who is advising McCord. - MSNBC, 6/11/13
Stay tuned.