Hey, have a seat. A little slow in the political spectrum this Tuesday, but hopefully two things will charge the arena up. First, the medium cup of sugar-free chocolate latte from Prince Street Cafe I’m having, and tonight’s Hempfield Area Republican Committee endorsement meeting.
Two countywide races within the local GOP are shaping up with some intrigue and for different reasons.
First is the two-way campaign for the party chairmanship between Frank Fryburg, former Manheim Township commissioner, and Craig Ebersole, our current county treasurer. Whether one has an edge over the other is unknown. For reasons beyond comprehension, the local Republican Party is keeping the results of several straw polls secret so we don’t know who’s the favored candidate among the GOP committee. Does this make any sense? Not really, especially since straw poll results are released for every other race. More on that race to come later this week.
The other intriguing race is the one for Lancaster County controller between Keith Greiner and R.B. Campbell. Greiner, area chair of the Conestoga Valley Republican Committee, is slamming the door shut on Campbell, sprinting away with enough support for the Republican Party’s crucial endorsement. Thirteen area committees have taken straw polls. The score: Greiner 133, Campbell 15.
Why is Campbell so unpopular? He was once part of a Republican dynasty that controlled all aspects of Lancaster city government for 8 years. And he has experience as a controller, serving Lancaster city in that capacity for two four-year terms.
I have some theories, and we’ll explore those in another post.
And if you’re like me and spend oogles of time wondering just what a controller does, it says here that a controller:
supervises “the fiscal affairs of the county including the accounts and official acts relating thereto of all officers or other persons who shall collect, receive, hold, or disburse the public monies of the county”.
* Elsewhere around the state, the Allentown Morning Call has a look at U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter’s irkingof the righties.
* Don’t forget Bird’s-Eye View’s live coverage of Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Harrisburg tomorrow. He’s appearing with Gov. Ed Rendell at the state Capitol to talk about the behemoth that is President Obama’s proposed economic stimulus plan. If you have nothing better to do at 1:30 p.m., stop on by here.
* The Vince Fumo corruption trial rolls on. By the way, do you buy this:
Vince Fumo says he was no power-hungry dictator, bossing around his staff, abusing taxpayer resources for self-aggrandizement. No, by his account he’s a painfully shy introvert who made mistakes of the heart.
He told a jury in his federal corruption trial yesterday that this was why a state-paid private eye ended up tailing an ex-girlfriend.
To lift his spirits, Fumo said, the detective had agreed to investigate Fumo’s old love - free.
“At the time, I was heartbroken. I was jealous. I was in love, and she had broken off with me,” Fumo said. “I was moping around. He tried to cheer me up.”
I wonder how brutal honesty will sit with the jury.
* This state’s facing a $2.3 billion budget deficit, Gov. Ed Rendell wants to legalize video poker, spring training for the Phillies and Pirates (and my beloved Reds) begins this week. But a group of Democratic state House members are looking into voting reform:
The bills would allow for voting before Election Day in Pennsylvania, and permit “no-excuse” absentee balloting, which would allow registered voters to apply for and cast an absentee ballot without having to present a reason. In addition, the bills would specifically guarantee the absentee voting rights of military voters.
I just don’t know how in the short term this issue sees the light of day.
I’m at the bottom of my cup. Time to get back to work.
