The LuLac Edition #897, Aug. 4th, 2009

SNAPPLE "REAL FACT" #917, the average lead pencil can draw a line 35 miles long or write roughly 50,000 English words.

PHOTO INDEX: NANTICOKE MAYOR AND CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN JOHN BUSHKO, INDEPENDENT CONTROLLER CANDIDATE WIL TOOLE, PITTSTON CITY TREASURER AND CAMPAIGN TREASURER KATHY CUNARD AND LEONARD PIAZZA, DIRECTOR BUREAU OF ELECTIONS.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

History was made yesterday in Luzerne County. Wil Toole of Dupont announced he is running for the office of Luzerne County Controller. As an independent, Toole is the first person, at least in my research that is running as a true independent. During Presidential and statewide elections there have been candidates on the ballot in addition to the Democrats and Republicans but that has not been the case on the local level. To qualify as an Independent candidate, Toole needed a minimum of 982 signatures. He obtained and filed more than 1500 on his nominating forms. Toole said the effort of obtaining the needed signatures was much harder than he expected but with the help of some dedicated friends and family he accumulated more than he thought possible. The November ballot will now show three candidates for the office of County Controller, Democrat Bob Morgan, Republican Walter Griffith and also Independent Wil Toole.
Toole said he believes his campaign web site

www.BestControllerCandidate.com has been instrumental in helping people learn about his background and ideas causing them to take an interest in his candidacy. Toole commented, "There are many issues facing county government and I have addressed many of them and offered common sense solutions. With my background and experience, I know that this isn't rocket science and some well placed common sense will go a long way. People don't want rhetoric and they don't want candidates pontificating on what the problems are, people already know. It is time for solutions, not criticisms, and my approach has brought attention to the fact that I have solutions. All I need now is to translate that attention into votes!"

News of the Toole candidacy certainly got reactions from the two candidates in the race from the major parties. According to the Times Leader, my good friend Walter Griffith said he is “kind of disappointed” that Toole switched parties to get on the ballot after a heated primary election. Morgan ran unopposed in the primary, while Griffith had to fend off four other Republican opponents.
“If he’s a Democrat all his life and just switches to run, that says a lot about his integrity,” Griffith said. “It’s just one more person that people will have to do their homework on.” See, Toole did not switch parties, Toole decided to run as an independent because he was not happy with the candidates left standing. That's his right and with the new voting machines, it's his political perogative. It's not his fault that Griffith had primary opponents. Did Walter Griffith say anything about long time Democrat Ed Brominski switching parties to run as a Republican? I mean why is this an issue now when it wasn't brought up in the primary against a man who in his time as a County Commissioner had more firepower than Toole ever did.
Again, from the Times Leader, Morgan said he briefly reviewed Toole’s nominating petition Monday and said it was signed by many “old guard” political figures in county politics. “Clearly this is an attempt by the old guard of the county to take control of this election. Mr. Toole is being nominated by the old guard,” Morgan said. Okay, right here is something I don't quite understand. Morgan was nominated without opposition. The field was cleared for him. And he's talking about old guard politics? And who is the old guard? Signing one's petition does not necessarily mean you are supporting him. Hell, I've signed so many petitions for Home Rule this year, I mean does that make me a member of the old guard, new guard, right guard? If Toole got so many signatures of "the old guard", it's most likely because he's been around the process a long time and signing a petition is just signing a petition, it doesn't mean there's a coup coming under the dome. I think the reason why Toole got more than he needed was because he knew the status quo party of Dems and GOPers would want to do away with his candidacy through challenges. It's an old Democratic party ploy, just ask Carl Romanelli. As Anthony Michael Hall said in the movie "16 Candles", "This is getting good!"

BUDGET BLUES

Thousands of state employees might soon collect their pay again, because it looks like House Democrats won't support an increase in income taxes. The state House voted 187-11 Monday to position a spending bill for a final vote Tuesday, although a complete fiscal-year budget is no closer to making it through the Legislature. Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell has said he will use his line-item veto authority to pare billions of dollars from the Republican-sponsored budget bill. But he would leave in money to pay workers, so, if he signs the budget on Wednesday, it would take about six days for workers to get their pay, Rendell spokesman Ken Snyder said. The next step would be to renew debate about what to add back into the budget and at what funding levels. Monday's debate included attempts to reach some sort of consensus, including a move by House Democrats to remove from consideration a call to increase state income taxes by 16 percent. However, Speaker Keith McCall, later said the proposed increase had been off the table in negotiations for some time, although that position had not been acknowledged publicly. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, called ruling out an income-tax hike "a positive development," but he cautioned that other revenue issues were unresolved. Democrats will need additional revenues to support the spending they want. The Department of Revenue reported that Pennsylvania's tax collections were more than 5 percent less in July than in July 2008. That's the 11th consecutive month in which Pennsylvania's tax collections have fallen short of the same month in the previous year. Sales and personal income-tax collections -- the state's largest revenue sources -- both fell. State leaders on both sides of the aisle have said they don't expect revenues to increase solely because of any economic recovery, and Democrats have suggested raising taxes to help pay for programs and prevent layoffs. Some midstate lawmakers, whose districts are home to thousands of state workers, are relieved that state workers could get paid soon while the other budget negotiations continue. If they were so worried, the Legislators should have gotten off their overpaid, underperfoming asses sooner.