Olympia Snowe and Pgh

Timothy McNulty | June 30, 2009

For the trivia files:

While going through Roll Call's list of the 50 richest members of Congress, we saw that Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) is listed at No. 20, mainly because of a Pittsburgh connection. Her husband John McKernan (a former Maine governor) is chairman of Education Management Corp., the for-profit secondary school operator that runs the Art Institute. (The P-G's Joyce Gannon noted the McKernan-Snowe stuff way back in 2003.)

Here's Roll Call:

20. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)
$15.05 million

Snowe's net worth is largely tied to her husband's position as chairman of the board of Education Management Corp., a Pittsburgh-based education company. Snowe lists her husband's stock in Education Management as an asset worth $5 million to $25 million. In last year's disclosure form, that asset was valued at $1 million to $5 million.

He also holds stock options worth $1 million to $5 million. The couple jointly holds mutual funds shares worth more than $2 million.

Western Pa & Sestak

Timothy McNulty | June 30, 2009

The National Journal looks at Joe Sestak's Senate chances, and notes that Western Pa (and a concurrent Dan Onorato gubernatorial run) could play a special role:

Sophomore Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., has made an art of the non-announcement announcement. About once a week Sestak drops a well-placed hint about his intention to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in the 2010 primary without ever saying that he's actually running. At this point, though, there's no one who thinks Sestak's staying in the House.

At first blush, this situation looks like a win-win for the White House. The more pressure Specter feels from his left flank, the more likely he is to stick with the Obama agenda. Meanwhile, with former Rep. Pat Toomey likely to be the GOP standard-bearer, Democrats' chances to hold this seat, even if Specter loses the primary, remain good. Why? Well, conservative GOP candidates haven't been faring all that well here. The only Republicans to win a statewide race in the last eight years are Attorney General Tom Corbett -- and Specter.

Even so, can we really assume that Sestak, who's never had a real race, will be a strong general election candidate? Sestak's win in 2006 had as much to do with incumbent Curt Weldon's implosion as Sestak's strengths.

Right now, Sestak and Toomey both start out as blank slates to most voters in the state. Yet both have voting records and lengthy writings and TV transcripts to mine for controversial material. This puts even more pressure on both candidates to define themselves to voters before another candidate does it for them. We have to assume that the Democratic primary campaign is going to be expensive and very contentious. Specter is not going to hold back, and no one knows how Sestak's going to respond to those attacks. This means that the first impression voters get of Sestak could be fairly negative.

. . . The assumption is that Sestak will try to run to the left of Specter. But how far to the left he goes could have strategic implications. In the exit poll taken during last year's Barack Obama-Hillary Rodham Clinton primary, 40 percent of the state's Democratic primary voters identified themselves as moderate, with another 10 percent identifying as somewhat or very conservative. Sestak's military background could help him appeal to conservatives even while he attacks Specter's record from the left.

Another important issue is geography. In the presidential primary, 38 percent of the vote came from Philadelphia and the Philly burbs, while 26 percent came from Western Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh. With Specter and Sestak both hailing from Philly, the west is going to be more important than ever. But will the Philly-to-Pittsburgh ratio be as lopsided in '10? There are now more registered Democrats in the Philadelphia suburbs than there were 10 or 15 years ago. Yet there's also a very competitive primary for governor in 2010 that features a western candidate, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, versus an eastern one, Philly businessman Tom Knox. This isn't to say that the Pittsburgh vote will suddenly become equal with Philadelphia, but it does mean the turnout in the west could be a bit higher. It's not yet clear who that would help.

The Greenberg Quinlan Rosner poll in May showed Specter with his strongest favorables in the Philadelphia area, but he was still over 50 percent in both central and western Pennsylvania. Yet in his 2004 contest against Rep. Joe Hoeffel (D), Specter easily carried the suburban Philadelphia vote (Bucks, Montgomery counties), but struggled in Allegheny (Pittsburgh).

The bottom line: On paper, Sestak makes for an intriguing challenger to Specter. But until we see him in action -- something he's been putting off -- it's still too soon to say that he'll be able to turn that potential into reality.

Biden in Pgh

From P-G politics editor Jim O'Toole:

Vice President Joe Biden will be in Pittsburgh tomorrow night for a fund-raising event for the Democratic National Committee. The reception, at the Rivers Club, is closed to the general public.

Mr. Biden will travel to Pittsburgh after a stop earlier in the day in Erie where he was to join Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, a Pittsburgh native, and Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski in an appearance designed to spotlight spending to promote wider broadband access contained in the administration's stimulus package.

Byrd out of hospital

Timothy McNulty | June 30, 2009

From AP/Politico:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Robert Byrd's office says he's been released from the hospital and is at his Washington-area home recuperating from a more-than monthlong illness.

The 91-year-old West Virginia Democrat, who is the longest-serving senator, is continuing physical therapy as he recovers from a staph infection he contracted while hospitalized for another infection.

Aides released scant details during his hospitalization, declining even to say where he received treatment.

Byrd says he's looking forward to celebrating the nation's birthday with his family.

Murtha blasted for energy vote

Timothy McNulty | June 30, 2009

We weren't all that surprised that Western Pa Dems Jason Altmire and Kathy Dahlkemper were among the four Pa Dems who voted against the cap-and-trade energy bill pushed last week by Nancy Pelosi -- Republicans are already going after similar swing-state Dems who voted for it.

But it says something about Jack Murtha that he would vote for the legislation, given his district's ties to the coal industry, not to mention the reelection challenges facing him next year. Republican challenger Tim Burns says it's all about his allegiance to Pelosi:

"People have been wondering what price Murtha would have to pay for Nancy Pelosi's efforts to block a House Ethics investigation into his old-style politics, and today we learned that the price is higher taxes and job losses for the people of the 12th Congressional District," concluded Burns.

47 approved

Timothy McNulty | June 30, 2009

It would be interesting to know what was happening behind the scenes before City Council approved the Act 47 recovery plan today, over the objections of union leaders. I'm going to guess some promises were made, maybe in jockeying for the council presidency (which I think is up for a vote again in January) or other coveted jobs.

At any rate the 6-3 vote breakdown is interesting. Ravenstahl partisans Ricky Burgess, Jim Motznik and Tonya Payne voted in favor of the recovery plan (along with compromisers Bill Peduto, Bruce Kraus and Theresa Smith),  while Ravenstahl critics Patrick Dowd and Doug Shields voted against, along with usual Ravenstahl ally Darlene Harris.

Maria at 2PJs is here and Bram live-blogs it on Twitter here.

Establishment backs Toomey

Timothy McNulty | June 30, 2009

With Jim Gerlach and Tom Ridge out of the GOP Senate running -- but with questions still out there about the conservative's electability -- the Republican establishment is solidifying behind Pat Toomey, Politico writes today:

Toomey's establishment support marks a significant turnaround. Even after Specter jilted the party, national Republicans were wary of Toomey, whom they viewed as too conservative to win in a Democratic-leaning state that Barack Obama won 55 percent to 44 percent last fall.

I don't think there is anybody in the world who believes [Toomey] can get elected senator there," Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the vice chairman of the NRSC, told POLITICO in April.

Cornyn engaged in an all-out effort to recruit Tom Ridge, the moderate former Pennsylvania governor, only to see Ridge back out. NRSC officials said another moderate Republican, Pennsylvania Rep. Jim Gerlach, reached out to them to discuss a Senate bid, though Gerlach has since said he is more interested in a gubernatorial campaign.

Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Robert Gleason said in an interview that the state party would not be issuing an endorsement until February - but he called Toomey an "excellent candidate."

"He's a strong candidate," Gleason added. "He's got a great record."

Pennsylvania insiders say that without any viable alternatives to Toomey, party higher-ups have little choice but to lend him their support. The only other Republicans mentioned as possible opponents are Robert Townsend, a retired federal air marshal, little-known businessman Larry Murphy and Peg Luksik, an anti-abortion activist who ran for governor three times in the '90s.

Luksik said in an interview last week that she had no plans to end her bid for the nomination, though at the end of March she had less than $3,000 in her campaign bank account.

"I don't know how many other candidates there are left," said Scranton, the former lieutenant governor who has endorsed Toomey. "I get the sense people are saying, ‘Pat is going to be the candidate.'"

John Brabender, a veteran Pennsylvania-based Republican strategist who worked on the campaigns of former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), explained that party leaders have recognized that Toomey was the GOP's best - and only - serious candidate.

"I think early on there was an excitement among the establishment for landing Tom Ridge in the race," said Brabender. "I think people have come to the conclusion that Pat Toomey is going to be the nominee because no one else is on the horizon."

Toomey gets some of the credit for winning over some of his onetime detractors. Since announcing his senatorial bid in mid-April, Toomey has made a concerted effort to convince party leaders that he is capable of reaching beyond his conservative base in the general election to compete for the support of moderate voters.

In June, Toomey took to the pages of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to voice his support for a big-tent Republican Party. Toomey, who during his three terms in the U.S. House compiled a solidly anti-abortion record and supported the war in Iraq, argued in the op-ed that values-oriented issues and the use of military force were areas in which the Republican Party should respect a diversity of views.

"I think Pat believes he has proved his bona fides with the so-called Republican base and now he's got to prove his case with moderate Republicans, and I think he's making his case," said Scranton.

Toomey "has been reaching out to rank-and-file party members who have been hesitant upfront to show that he can reach out to the moderate and swing voters needed to win," said Brad Moore, an Erie County Republican Party chairman who has endorsed Toomey's bid.

Torsella warns Sestak

Timothy McNulty | June 29, 2009

The Specter campaign released an endorsement from former Dem candidate for U.S. Senate Joe Torsella today, saying he dropped out because he didn't want intra-party fights to hurt Democratic chances of retaining the seat.

The message? "I'm looking at you, Joe Sestak."

Here's a portion:

In my own case, I decided to withdraw from the race following Senator Specter's decision because, among other reasons, a primary challenge to Senator Specter as an incumbent Democrat would inevitably weaken our party's chance in the general election in November 2010. And with the pressing issues of health care reform, economic recovery, education, the environment, and our national security at stake, I decided that now isn't the time for the politics of personal ambition, but for the principle of putting Pennsylvania's and the nation's interests first.

In my campaign I spoke often of the need for new ideas and a new approach in Washington. In the weeks since I ended my candidacy, I have spoken at great length with Senator Specter and watched his work in Washington to advance the President's agenda for change. I have become convinced that years of service do not preclude the ability to promote change; in fact, under the right circumstances, they enhance it. My conversations have convinced me that Arlen Specter will work hard to do just that on the issues most important to me and families across Pennsylvania

I am also proud that my party practices an inclusive brand of politics. We agree on core values but we are tolerant, as we should be, of differences and respectful of independent thinkers. By welcoming Senator Specter, we show that strength.

The bottom line is that Arlen Specter is smart, independent and gets the job done. He is one of the great assets of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

I unreservedly endorse Arlen Specter. He deserves to keep his job and Pennsylvanians need to keep him working for all of us.

Act 47 scenarios

Timothy McNulty | June 29, 2009

City Council's finance chair Bill Peduto laid out the voting scenarios on the city's new Act 47 plan in an email last night:

If the Act 47 coordinators adopt the amendments that went through the six-month process of Council and Act 47 deliberations and discussions, then there is a chance the amended Act 47 Plan will pass on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 and meet the deadline imposed by the Act 47 coordinators.

If the Act 47 Coordinators reject any of the major amendments in the Kraus-Peduto-Smith plan (the amendments created through the six month process and fiscally responsible by being revenue neutral), the best that can be hoped for is a possible, but not likely, re-committal of the plan.  It would be held for several weeks until such time that new leadership could be found in order to earn the five votes needed for passage.

The other scenario, if the Act 47 Coordinators reject any of the major amendments mentioned above, is that the plan will be voted down on Tuesday.  This is the most likely scenario under these conditions.  Pittsburgh shall continue as a distressed city under Act 47 status and will continue to operate under the conditions of the original plan.  At a minimum this would include: a continuation of two years of wage freezes for all city employees and three years of minimal cost of living increases after that, inevitable tax increase for city residents and a continuation of business as usual in city hall - something Bruce Kraus, Theresa Smith and I are trying to stop.  As of this writing, the future is not known.

Not surprisingly, the conservative Allegheny Institute isn't very happy with the plan:

The Act 47 team wanted to avoid a repeat of the 2003 instance where the City laid off 446 employees.  With the 2004 plan and the new amendment the focus is on winning concessions at the bargaining table. Contracts for police, fire, crossing guards, and various white- and blue-collar unions are up at the end of the year. 

In terms of actual employee headcount, the Act 47 data shows a drop from 3,657 in 2004 to 3,294 in 2009, a 10 percent decrease.  Nonetheless, on a per 1000 resident basis, the City still has close to 11 employees, the same level it had five years ago.  That ratio is far out of line with better performing cities around the country. Not coincidentally salaries and benefits represented about two-thirds of general fund expenditures then.

And, as the amended plan notes, "City workers receive health, retirement, and paid leave benefits superior to private sector norms and competitive with public employer standards". Yet just this past week Council members proposed scrapping the Act 47's $1,000 per employee bonus and replacing it with a 2.5 percent pay increase and a fifth week of vacation.  Not the way to go. 

The combination of above average workers per capita and very generous employee benefits means Pittsburgh has to face up to the fact that it has to reduce employees and their associated costs. There is no substitute that will work over the long run if Pittsburgh wants to declare its independence from state watch.

Pa budget in the LA Times

Timothy McNulty | June 29, 2009

Pennsylvania isn't alone in its budget approval owes (see Tom Barnes' story from Harrisburg today) -- four other states, including California, are facing government shutdowns, and 32 of the 46 states with July 1 fiscal years haven't yet approved budgets.

Here's the LA Times:

Reporting from Indianapolis and Denver -- The last time Indiana missed its deadline for passing a budget and had to shut down the government was during the Civil War.

But on Monday, as lawmakers raced to hammer out an agreement over school funding, state agencies began preparing 31,000 workers to be temporarily out of a job. Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has warned residents that most of the state's services -- including its parks, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and state-regulated casinos -- would be shuttered unless a budget is passed today.

Indiana is one of five states -- along with Arizona, California, Mississippi and Pennsylvania -- bracing for possible shutdowns this week as time runs out for lawmakers to close billion-dollar gaps in their fiscal 2010 budgets.

Of the 46 states whose fiscal year ends today, 32 did not have budgets passed and approved by their governors as of Monday afternoon, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Although the majority of those are expected to pass eleventh-hour budgets, the fiscal futures of a handful remain uncertain, said Todd Haggerty, an NCSL research analyst.

"It's a lot of states that are coming down to the wire," Haggerty said. "It's far more than we've seen in the past, and it's because of the state of the economy."

Since 2002, only five states have been forced to shut down their governments. Some of the closures were brief: In 2007, Michigan's doors were closed for four hours before lawmakers passed emergency measures that bought them time to close a $1.75-billion deficit.