The LuLac Edition #369, Dec. 14th, 2007

PHOTO INDEX: SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON AND HAZLETON MAYOR LOU BARLETTA.

LOKUTA FIGHTS BACK

DAY 5

Judge Ann Lokuta sat up in her chair.
She cried.
She wiped tears from her eyes.
And she pleaded Thursday with the judges hearing her misconduct case.
She wanted them to know she wasn’t full of venom – that she didn’t commit the ugly, nasty antics her detractors claim she did.
“This is the hardest thing in my life other than losing my parents,” said Lokuta, her voice cracking. “I intend to use every fiber of my being fighting these charges. … This is my life.”
But there was a problem.
Judge Richard Sprague, one of the three judges with the state Court of Judicial Discipline hearing Lokuta’s case, wanted to know how 30 people can stream into a courtroom and all say the same things about her.
He wondered: Was it a conspiracy?
Yes, Lokuta told him.
“As a maverick judge, I’ve never been welcomed,” she said. “I think there is a desire to have me removed. … I believe there is concerted effort.”
Think about IT, she said. She didn’t adhere to becoming a pawn of other judges, including former President Judge Michael Conahan.
And all of these witnesses who testified against her all have a common link, she said.
“All of these people are under the control of the president judge,” she said.
The emotional speech from the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas judge came deep into her seven hours of testimony Thursday.

Here's the problem with the Judge's testimony. Even though it may be true, it might be unbelievable to members of the Judicial Conduct Board who may not have encountered the cronyism, sexism and plain pettiness in the Luzerne County Judiciary. And she has to stop crying and start fighting.
And her words might have sparked the state Judicial Conduct Board to want to call more witnesses to rebut her words.

That will also be interesting and I can see that going down two ways. One, if they call witnesses to rebut, they make the accused Judge look bad. But if they actually delve into other Judge's behavior, that might be a good thing. Right now, Lokuta is the "hunted" but wouldn't it be something if the light was shown on the "hunters" instead!

COUNTY WEBSITE

One of the good guys in County government, actually they are all pretty good just not used to governing is Len Piazza, head of the County Election Board. Len wants his voters to be educated and recently updated the elections website again. The Luzerne County Bureau of Elections is expanding its Web site for the upcoming presidential election year by adding a simplified voting guide for new citizens/voters, important dates that relate to the 2008 elections, general information about running for office in 2008, a college student’s guide to voting and alternative language contact information from the Pennsylvania Department of State.
The information will be available at www.luzernecounty.org, under the "quick links" drop-down on the left. Select "election information" to navigate directly to the Bureau of Elections. Pennsylvania’s general primary will be on April 22.

PARTYING DOWN

The Luzerne County GOP had a Holiday get together on Wednesday night and optimism and holiday cheer were in the air despite getting slaughtered in the last general election. Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta was the keynote speaker and emphasized the core Republican values of limited government and fiscal responsibility. The Mayor did not say how those core values could translate into votes and a winning slate in the county. Coming soon, I'll write about how the GOP can reinvent itself as a viable party in the county.

A HILLARY BUMP

Senator Hillary Clinton today denounced the comments of an official in her campaign who resigned after raising questions about drug use by Barack Obama.
Clinton was asked about the official's comments about Obama as she campaigned in Iowa, where the controversy has become an issue less than three weeks before the state's leadoff caucuses.
"As soon as I found out that one of my supporters and co-chairs in New Hampshire made a statement, asked a series of questions, I made it clear it was not authorized, it was in no way condoned, I didn't know about it and he stepped down," Clinton said.
Clinton, speaking during a taping of Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" program and during a meeting with reporters afterward, sought distance from that comment. When asked if the issue of Obama's drug use should be an issue, Clinton said, "Not in my campaign."
Perception again is reality and all the cable networks today were treating this as a major Clinton stumble, validating the assumption that the Clintons are mean and ruthless and will roll over anyone to achieve their goals. Whether this translates into more of a decline in her poll numbers in Iowa is anyone's guess. Here's an interesting take from YOU TUBE on the Clinton-Obama rivalry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqOHquOkpaU