William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 7-30-15
Tigers killed 1,000 persons a year in India in the early 20th century.
Day: July 30, 2015
GOP Donors Betrayed By Mullen Spending
By Leo Knepper
Campaign finance reports were filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State last Friday, July 24. Although they are not yet available online, we spent some time reviewing the filings and wanted to pass on some interesting information to our readers.
GOP-endorsed candidate and union boss, Paul Mullen raised $52,700 directly from union-affiliated political action committees (PACs). He also received a $10,000 contribution from County Council Member David White’s PAC. White owns a union mechanical contracting company. The direct union PAC contributions represent over 50 percent of Mullen’s fundraising total for the report.
Mullen also benefited indirectly from the generosity of the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC). The HRCC contributed $150,000 to the Pennsylvania GOP’s PAC. The GOP’s PAC then spent $88,825 on campaign materials provided by Hallowell and Branstetter, who are Mullen’s campaign consultants. Based on conversations we have had with folks in the 161st district the state GOP has sent at least 10 direct mail pieces to voters.
If you are a donor to the state GOP or the HRCC, you should be asking yourself if electing a union boss is how you want your money being spent. The argument that a Republican union boss is better than a Democrat certainly does not hold water. Having someone in the Republican caucus, who is likely going to continue collecting a paycheck from the union, will make closed-door strategy sessions meaningless. Mullen is opposed to moving state employees into a 401k style system; opposed to paycheck protection and opposed to enacting right-to-work laws. If the caucus is ever in a position to move those types of legislation, how likely is it that Mullen will not spill the beans to his buddies in the labor movement and keep his campaign promise to fight against these reforms?
If there are any further developments related to the Aug. 4 special elections, we will pass them along. Otherwise, we will let you know the election results as soon as they become available.
GOP Donors Betrayed By Mullen Spending
School Tax Hikes Are Mostly State Mandated
A letter from an Aston GOP committeewoman in yesterday’s (July 30) Delaware County Daily Times blasted Lisa Esler, the Republican running a write-in campaign for the vacant 161st District Pennsylvania House seat, for being part of a school board that raised taxes in each of the last three years.
It ought to be noted that the votes by Penn Delco School Board for the tax hikes were overwhelming.
There is a reason for this. School boards in Pennsylvania are mandated by law to fund numerous things, pay expensive contracted raises to people who can negotiate without the concern of being replaced or removed, and pass a balanced budget.
It is not far off to say it is impossible for a school board not to raise taxes. In fact, you can even say the state legislature has passed the buck to make the boards — that are staffed by unpaid concerned citizens — do the dirty work in imposing unnecessary spending on property owners for the benefit of the lobbyists and special interest that are the true constituents of our political class.
Lisa Esler knows this and is running to change this. If ever-increasing property taxes are your concern she’s the one who should get your vote.
Her opponent, Paul Mullen, the county’s AFL-CIO President, is endorsed by the teacher union which has been the primary obstacle to educational progress in Pennsylvania. Quick quiz how often are bad teachers fired? The PSEA overwhelmingly gives to Democrats. That it is ignoring the D in this race should give one pause.
Further, one of the few issues upon which Mullen has taken a stand concerns his declaration that he will oppose all significant reforms to the underfunded state pension programs that even if instituted will still cause property taxes to explode.