The LuLac Edition #1142, Apr. 5th, 2010

PHOTO INDEX: SCRANTON MAYOR AND 22nd DISTRICT CANDIDATE CHRIS DOHERTY.

DOHERTY’S 9 POINTS

22nd District candidate for the State Senate Chris Doherty has introduced a 9 point plan for the reform of State Government. Here’s what he proposed:
REFORM MEASURE 1: Eliminate per diems. Legislators should be paid their salary, be reimbursed for verifiable, allowable expenses, and be compensated for their mileage. No more, no less.
REFORM MEASURE 2: Eliminate WAMs. The so-called “walking around money” provided to legislators to fund local projects are ripe for abuse. While some WAMs fund legitimate projects, they are sometimes used as a personal slush fund by unscrupulous legislators. The problem is that WAMs come with no requirement for disclosure or transparency. The same positive results can be accomplished through the regular budget process.
REFORM MEASURE 3: Dock legislators’ pay every day the state budget is not passed after the July 1 deadline.
REFORM MEASURE 4: Legislators already receive an automatic raise in the form of a cost of living adjustment to their salaries. They should be prohibited from further raising their own pay beyond the cost of living adjustment.
REFORM MEASURE 5: Require registered lobbyists to file reports on a quarterly basis that detail the legislators with whom they’ve met, the legislative staffers with whom they’ve met, the names of all attendees in each meeting, the dates and times of each meeting, and the topics discussed.
REFORM MEASURE 6: All reports filed by registered lobbyists must include an electronic filing and be made available to the public via the Internet within 48 hours of being filed.
REFORM MEASURE 7: Provide enhanced funding for the secretary of state’s office in order to improve efficiency, speed delivery of information to the public, and make the online database of campaign finance reports more easily search able. REFORM MEASURE 8: Prohibit former legislators, legislative staff members, and state appointees who become registered lobbyists from lobbying on behalf of clients before a current legislator, legislative staffer, or executive branch member for a period of two years (current law states that legislators and public officials cannot lobby for one year after leaving office).
REFORM MEASURE 9: Permanently prohibit former legislative staffers who become registered lobbyists from lobbying on behalf of clients before their former legislator or legislative staffers in the office in which they worked.

BERNARD BLIER

A household name when I was a kid growing up was Bernie Blier. Blier was head of the Scranton Redevelopment Authority and was constantly on TV sparring with various and sundry members of Scranton City Council. Blier served in the Hanlon, Schmidt and Walsh administrations and was not afraid to promote his vision for the city. Since Blier controlled the federal and state grants coming into the city, there were vociferous discussions as to how said dollars should be spent. . Blier, died at his city home Sunday. He was 93. Blier also served on the city planning commission for 2 decades. Check the Scranton Times for funeral arrangements.

YUDICHAK OPENS OFFICE

John Yudichak, Democratic State Senate candidate in the 14th Senatorial District, will officially open his new Wilkes-Barre Township campaign office, located at the corner of Route 309 and Coal Street, this Saturday, April 10th. The grand opening will begin at 11:00 am, followed by a festive reception for his many supporters and volunteers to follow. The event is open to the public.