Bird’s-Eye View

R.B. Swift of the Scranton Times pens an article that continues the conversation about how Gov. Ed Rendell’s first round of spending cuts - $300 million in total - means costs are passed onto county governments. And those county governments need to raise revenue in the form of higher property taxes to pay for state mandates:

Compounding the problems with inadequate funding, in the commissioners’ view, was the initial round of state budget cuts as the economic climate worsened.

State cuts with a big impact on counties include $1 million from the Human Services Development Fund, an umbrella pot that channels money to counties for human services programs, $1.45 million from Behavioral Health Services under mental health programs, another county responsibility, and $1 million from an intermediate punishment program for drug and alcohol offenders, said CCAP officials.

“We are absorbing the cuts that have been passed along,” said Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes of Somerset County who chairs the association’s human services committee. “We are obligated to provide the service. It is not an option.”

Happy Thanksgiving, from your local and state governments.

The county commissioner association is pitching an idea to raise either (or both) state income taxes or tax oil and natural gas drilling in the state. Neither is palatable to the state Legislature is my guess.

Just not from the state. State Lt. Gov./Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, a Republican, has said he doesn’t think the state’s projected billion dollar shortfall will require a tax increase (hint: spending cuts!) and Gov. Ed Rendell said he wants to try and not raise taxes but hasn’t ruled them out.

But as Politickerpa.com rightly points out, property taxes may have to rise because state funding for human services, overseen by county governments, may be on the state’s chopping block. And since counties are often mandated to provide such services, they have to find revenue to pay for it. And the only tax county’s can raise are the levies against properties:

The (county) commissioners said they are tired of lawmakers who tout records that are free of tax increases while making decisions that forced counties and municipalities to do so.

Making cuts to the state budget that force increase in local governments budget isn’t responsible, said Tom Ceraso, a Democratic commissioner from Westmoreland County.

“You’re not really cutting,” he said.

And speaking of property taxes, can anyone imagine what school district budgets are going to look like in 2009? Ouch!

 Saw last week WGAL interviewed U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., and Ron Martin asked if Casey is likely to serve in an Obama administration as a cabinet appointment or in some other capacity. Casey said no.

Smart move.

Casey would be a loyal, hardworking soldier in the Obama cabinet, and having a much higher profile than the one he has as Pennsylvania’s junior senator would be something of a “thank you” for Casey’s endorsement back in March. But with Joe Biden already leaving the Senate to become vice president and Hillary Clinton likely to become Secretary of State, President-elect Obama can’t keep plucking Democratic senators out of the chamber and placing them in his Cabinet. He needs Democratic allies in the Senate, many of whom may have ideas in conflict with Obama’s plans for the economy, health care and so on.

Casey is not a firebrand. He’s even handed, calm, straightforward, a guy who works best as a quiet warrior behind-the-scenes rather than pounding the lectern in front of CSPAN cameras. Obama would have no better ally in Casey, especially on education and health care, inside the Senate where Obama needs consensus. Obama’s likely to call on Casey for help passing legislation, and that’s where he best serves the future President.

The 13th state Senatorial District is kind of like a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich with the rural townships the PB and Lancaster city the jelly (on a personal note, all you grape jelly fans can go home; Bird’s-Eye View only endorses the use of strawberry jam). The condiments when slathered between two slices of bread are delicious, but they are two very separate entities made in very different ways.

Here’s where I’m going with this: Senator-elect Lloyd Smucker (no relation to the Smucker jelly company, by the way) is going to have to figure out during the next four years how to make the peanut butter and the jelly to keep this combo satisfied, and that’s no easy task. Spend a Saturday night in the Rawlinsville Tavern and then a Saturday night in the Dispensing Co., and you’re going to have vastly different experiences.

Vast swaths of the 13th District are as rural and Republican as they get in this state, populated with people who have been Lancasterians for generations, tilling the land, wanting as little interference from government as possible. Keep your Wal-Marts and your fancy ideas about growth development in your big cities. They’re patriotic, pastoral, conservative, feeling satisfactorially isolated. Many eye millions of dollars flowing into economic development projects which benefit the city (and not, say, Martic Township) with great suspicion bordering on anger.

Then there’s Lancaster city, hot bed of progressive Democratic politics. Art galleries are plentiful, so is anti-Iraq War sentiment and a fairly vibrant gay community. They have no problem asking for state assistance to help their economy whether it’s the hotel/convention center or the Pennsylvania Academy of Music or Franklin & Marshall College. They like nightlife (is there enough of it in Lancaster city?), and the population is diverse, a blend of caucasian, Hispanic, black, Asian and so on. It has wealthy residents. It has its poverty.

Salty and sweet. That’s the 13th District. Point is, Smucker’s task for the next four years is to keep both happy, but it’s a balance not easily created. Here’s why: Let’s say City Council hops on board a multi-million dollar project like a new entertainment complex on Lancaster Square. When completed, the complex will generate massive amounts of tax revenue and jobs. A prominent Democrat on City Council becomes the vocal leader, gets her picture in the paper each day, is lauded by the media and the public for the work she does to turn around a delapidated city block. But the price tag is $45 million, and in order for this to happen, they need economic development grants or loans from the state. So this prominent Democrat comes looking to Smucker, who’s well aware in four years you can’t safely win the 13th District without measurably strong support in the city. Democrats continue to register more and more city voters as well as in the ‘burbs like Lampeter.

Should Smucker get the money? Maybe, but what if that royally upsets constituents in the south who have seen millions of dollars flow into the city during retiring state Sen. Gib Armstrong’s tenure? What if they say enough is enough? What if someone rises up and challenges Smucker in the GOP primary, someone who tries to paint Smucker as a RINO (Republican In Name Only)? Meanwhile the prominent City Council Democrat has decided she’s going cash in the political capital she’s earned with her support of the entertainment complex and run against Smucker.

See. Being state Senator in the 13th District is no easy job.

In talking with Smucker, he seems like a man who understands how important it is to keep the city vibrant. But doing so has to come with a sense of caution for any Republican in that seat.

First of all, this has to be the funniest photo on the AP Wire today:

That would be Eagles running back Brian Westbrook being tackled by his jock strap during today’s game with the Baltimore Ravens. I’d love to hear some creative captions about this one.

Now, onto more relevant topics. Lancaster city Mayor Rick Gray is going to unveil his proposed 2009 spending plan this week, and while that might sound ho hum to some, to political observers it’s a feast of possibilities. Why? Gray’s up for re-election in 2009, and the budget should provide a clue or two about whether the former defense attorney plans to run for another four-year term and just how hard of a task that will be for Gray.

However, if Gray decides to run for re-election, I don’t see how he loses barring any controversy from the proposed budget. More about all of this in Monday’s print edition plus a short follow up to last week’s Bird’s-Eye View about my mentor, the late Dr. Diane Meily.

John Baer of the Philadelphia Daily News says state Attorney General Tom Corbett’s dominating win over his Democratic challenger makes him a likely frontrunner for the 2010 GOP gubernatorial nomination. Corbett won a second four-year term by defeating Democratic John Morganelli by 390,000 and won 61 of 67 counties in a year when Democrats had just about everything going their way:

Big vote totals for state row offices often lead to higher office. Democrat Bob Casey’s 3.35 million votes for treasurer in ‘04 helped launch his successful ‘06 U.S. Senate race. Democratic state Auditor General Jack Wagner’s just-posted 3.3 million votes for re-election is prompting talk of a Senate run in 2010.

Corbett no doubt was helped by his high-profile probe of the Legislature.

Perhaps, but with Democrats holding a 1.1 million statewide edge in registered voters compared to the GOP, at some point Corbett will probably need to a.) charge former and/or current Republican lawmakers (if and only if there’s evidence of wrongdoing) and most importantly b.) all charges have to produce results like convictions. So far, only two House Democratic lawmakers (one current and one former) and 10 former staffers are facing charges related to an investigation into whether tax money was spent illegally on campaign work. Corbett maintains the probe is ongoing, but so far, only Democrats have been made to perform a very public perp walk. Again, if there’s no evidence of impropriety, Corbett won’t charge a Republican, but he has to be equally hard and equally public with the GOP if there is evidence of wrongdoing similar to what allegedly took place in the House Democratic caucus. And to do so has its own potential pitfalls.

Don’t forget, that while someone else is leading the prosecution as we speak against Sen. Vince Fumo in federal court, it was former U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan who headed up that investigation. If Fumo is convicted, Meehan has a high-profile conviction to his credit, and that’s something he can tout should Meehan decide to join the gubernatorial contest.

And does Pat Toomey have a legitimate shot to divide the two prosecuting attorneys, split the strong-against-crime vote and exploit the difference by revving up far right voters who are more likely to vote in a Republican primary than any other group?

You can usually count on the state Senate to remain drama free as oppose to that unruly, Animal House-type chamber across the state Capitol. Today’s leadership elections were no exception. The only major change is that Sen. Jay Corman, a Bellefonte Republican, will replace Sen. Gib Armstrong as the Majority Appropriations Committee chairman, the third different GOP lawmaker to hold the post in the last three years.

Here’s the roster:

Senate Republicans (29 members)

President Pro Tempore: Joe Scarnati

Majority Leader: Dominic Pileggi

Appropriations Committee Chairman: Jake Corman

Majority Whip: Jane Clare Orie

Majority Caucus Chairman: Mike Waugh

Majority Caucus Secretary: Bob Robbins

Senate Democrats (20 members)

Minority Leader: Robert J. Mellow

Minority Whip: Michael O’Pake

Minority Appropriations Chairman: Jay Costa Jr.

Minority Policy Committee Chairman: Richard A. Kasunic

Minority Caucus Chairman: Vincent Hughes

Minority Caucus Secretary: Sean Logan

A little bailout is bouncing toward central Pennsylvania.

The Associated Press reported today that Gov. Ed Rendell and the state have secured $35 million in federal loans to keep Boscov’s afloat:

Rendell said Thursday the loans would be financed through a program that allows governments to guarantee loans for economic development with federal community development block grants.

{snip}

Rendell says Boscov’s won’t have access to the federal loans if it can’t obtain bridge loans that are part of more than $300 million in financing the chain will need to exit bankruptcy.

Boscov’s has not closed its Park City Mall location, which employs about 150 people.

So says writer Melissa Kashner in her profile of G. Terry Madonna in the current issue of Lancaster, a monthly locally published magazine. Chalk of up things I should have known about Madonna prior to reading this article: He loves baseball and the ratings of his Sunday morning program, Pennsylvania Newsmakers, often “trumps the likes of George Stephanopolous and Fox News Sunday in the ratings.”

Whether or not you find him genius or over-exposed in the local media (and I’ve had e-mails and conversations from people who think one way or the other), I can tell you as a political journalist that Terry is as reliable a resource as any out there. What he has in common with the likes of Rick Gray, Katie True and Charlie Smithgall is none of these very public figures ever fails to call back. And one thing you can rely on with Terry is an indepth conversation about anything from the dynamics of a state Senate race to just finding out how his day’s going. I often call with about 7 questions to ask and end up getting in two or three. That’s not because he’s long-winded; it’s because he’s thorough and covers every angle of the topic on which I’m focused. He takes calls from home even at 10 p.m. at night without a single complaint.

Anyone who has ever watched Pennsylvania Newsmakers (11 a.m. on WGAL) knows the program rarely (if ever) stumbles into acrimony among the guests. It’s a show for policy wonks. It’s civil, calm, extensive, the equivalent of plain-flavored yogurt during a time slot of sugary tastes like Meet the Press and Hardball With Chris Matthews. The article goes on to explain why Madonna wants it that way.

Lancaster does not have the article up online, but it’s out there on newsstands. Nice to see Madonna get some well-deserved recognition. I can tell you he worked as hard if not harder during the election season as anyone, pundit or politician.

Just a thought or two about the election of Rep. Bill DeWeese as the House Majority party’s Whip.

Taking the Whip position means DeWeese will intimately be involved in negotiations and rallying Democrats on legislative votes, and if you think the new Majority Leader Todd Eachus won’t be listening to DeWeese’s counsel, think again. DeWeese for 18 years has either served as caucus chairman or House Speaker, and you just don’t cast off two decades of leadership experience if you’re the new leader.

That isn’t to say Eachus will fail to be his own man, to be his own kind of leader. But if Eachus falters for any reason, guess who’s next in line to take the crown - the Whip in the caucus, who happens to be DeWeese. Despite the cloud of Bonusgate over the House Dems, DeWeese’s star will continue to shine through and his influence will mark everything. Would you expect anything less from DeWeese? His name is not synonmous with “rank-and-file.” And it’s a sign, given DeWeese’s support of Eachus to be majority leader, the caucus is not ready to break with the past. My guess is this core leadership team with DeWeese’s hands still very much on the wheel has another session to get the health care agenda done as well as other top priorities, or more drastic changes will be called upon.