The LuLac Edition #1705, August 7th, 2011

PHOTO INDEX: ATTORNEY BILL VINSKO, LUZERNE COUNTY GOP COUNTY COUNCIL CANDIDATE KATHY DOBASH AND THIS BLOG EDITOR AND JUDICIAL CANDIDATE FOR LUZERNE COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS JUDGE LESA GELB.

GOP SHINDIG

While it was raining like a son of a gun outside, there was nothing but rays of sunshine in the GOP Headquarters on South Main Street in Wilkes Barre today. I stopped by for the annual late summer shindig and there was plenty of action. The main topic of discussion was the S&P downgrading of the United States credit and that terrible tragedy in Afghanistan overnight that killed 38 of the best skilled and brightest soldiers of the United States.........There was talk about the Wilkes Barre Mayors race and Lisa Cope’s chances. Luzerne County Council candidate Harry Haas was attired in a rain slicker and flipping burgers and hot dogs on the grille. Harry made sure that the cheeseburgers on the meat was indeed melted, an important point that many restaurants (mostly the chain ones) can’t seem to get right............. District Chair Steve Urban Junior served as Masters of Ceremony and made the rounds.....County Council candidates Kathy Dobash and Rick Morelli were on hand and in short speeches urged the GOP to get out there and vote for change in the County..Stephanie Salavantis who pulled off a stunning write in victory in the primary gave the kick off speech for the candidates and was impressive in her presentation to the group. Salavantis pointed out that like the County, the District Attorney’s office needed an injection of change...Jim O’Meara Senior took the money at the door and discussed his new role as candidate for Plains Township Supervisor. O’Meara will be doing some old fashioned door to door campaigning to make certain Plains has a GOP presence on that board. Don’t forget they handle a ton of money from the Mohegan Sun Casino and if anyone can watch where a dollar is going, it’s O’Meara..... Dave and Donna Baloga were there and later this week I have some exciting news about a fundraiser to be held on August 13th at the Lakeside Skillet Deck and Ballroom. It is the first annual Jonathan Balester Memorial Family Picnic. Cost is $15.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids. For more information e mail Donna at chuggle24@hotmail.com......I had a very interesting conversation with Wilkes Barre Area School Board candidate Kathy Grinaway. She is running for the open seat on the Wilkes Barre Area School board and is doing her best to get her message out there. Grinaway polled 899 votes in the GOP primary getting that nomination. On the Democratic side, she garnered 2306 votes finishing just 186 voted behind indicted and convicted school director Jim Hite’s political buddy Lou Elmy. It will be a classic face off with Grinaway trying to overcome any advantage Elmy might have from the old machine. Grinaway attended the event with her son Patrick................Lisa Gelb a candidate who won duel nominations in the spring primary is still on the go. She attended the event and as always impressed on the campaign trail. I don’t know when the next event is going to be with these 6th District Republicans but you can be sure it will be well attended and a lot of fun.

VINSKO VIDEO

Bill Vinsko for Congress is releasing an introductory web video introducing Bill and his experiences as a small business owner to the citizens of Northeast Pennsylvania.
“I am looking forward to meeting as many people throughout the district as possible, and this video is an opportunity for the people to get a sense of who I am,” said Vinsko. “This campaign is not out me, it is about every person who resides in Northeast Pennsylvania. We are all in this together, and, together, we can send a representative to Washington who will reflect the hard-working people and families of this area. Together we can ensure that seniors do not live in fear of losing their Social Security or their Medicare. Together we can actually get the job done for future generations.”


BLOG NEWS

It’s always nice to be recognized and my friends Wil Toole and Harold Jenkins made me aware of some very nice words from Politics.Pa’s best political blogs. Here’s what they wrote about me, Tom Borthwick and that number one guy himself Joe Valenti of Pittston Politics. Com
NEPA: Lu-Lac Political Letter, David Yonki
Thomas Jefferson said were it left to him to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, “I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” Scandal-plagued Northeast PA drives the point home. This is a region with a long, muddy political history. As a result, it has some great political blogs. The Political Letter has been covering NEPA – from school board candidates up to Congressmen – for half a decade.
A strong second place goes to the left-leaning NEPArtisan – a very good blog with great local coverage.
Best Local Blogs: Pittston Politics, Joe Valenti
This is a strong example of local journalism. Luzerne County politicos from Wilkes-Barre to Harrisburg all read this blog.

MORE THANKS

To all the people who stopped by on Friday to see me and L.A. Tarone and the entire WYLN crew as we did Topic A from the car cruise sponsored by the Chamber. Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words. I got to ride in Tarone’s ’86 LeBaron. That was something else!!!