Long Nyquist Pick Jon Ritchie

Long Nyquist Pick Jon Ritchie.

By Scott Wagner

I am writing  about the 31st District Pennsylvania State Senate race.

The 31st District covers Cumberland County and Northern York County.

Senator Pat Vance is retiring. There are  four Republicans running to replace him.

I was elected in a Special Election in March of 2014 to represent the 28th  Senate District of York County.

April 2 marked my two year anniversary in the  senate.

I have reported many times that reforms in Harrisburg, such as pension reform, liquor store privatization, and school property tax relief have been blocked every step of the way by public sector unions, specifically the PSEA (Pennsylvania State Education Association), the AFL-CIO and the United Food & Commercial Workers Union which represents the liquor store employees.

This column focuses on Jon Ritchie who is seeking to replace Vance.

Ritchie was hand-picked by Sen. Vance to succeed her.

Here is the story and my concern – Senator Vance is represented by the Harrisburg lobbying and campaign firm, Long Nyquist.

Sen. Vance recruited Jon Ritchie and directed him to Long Nyquist.

Long Nyquist has a long list of clients.

They represent the PSEA and the Liquor Store Employees Union to name a few.

We have made positive progress in the Pennsylvania State Senate over the last two years and it has not been easy.

The largest positive event since I arrived in Harrisburg two years ago was electing a new Senate Majority Leader.  I led the effort to change leadership.

In an effort to raise money for Jon Ritchie’s campaign, Long Nyquist has secured endorsements from the PSEA and the PA AFL-CIO.

Here is a link to the AFL-CIO endorsement.

And here is a link to the PSEA endorsement.

A recent campaign finance report from the PSEA shows a $25,000 contribution to  Ritchie’s campaign.

Click here to view the contribution listed on PSEA’s campaign finance report.

I feel confident that campaign finance reports filed after the April 26 primary will reveal more public sector union contributions to Ritchie’s campaign.

I met  Ritchie at an event this past January. He is a decent person, but has now been tainted by his campaign advisors. He has no clue as to how Long Nyquist are using him.

Pennsylvania DOES NOT need another Republican in the State Legislature that has taken public sector union contributions and been endorsed by these same unions.

Also concerning me is that Jon Ritchie registered to vote in 1993, 23 years ago, and only voted in one primary election in 2008. He only voted six times in general elections since 1993.

Click here to see his voting history.

Ritchie has not displayed any notable political activity over the last 23 years since he registered to vote in 1993.

In addition, Ritchie has never owned a private sector business which means zero private sector business experience. How would he know any issues affecting private sector businesses?

Ritchie has a sports background.

Of the four candidates running to replace Senator Vance only one candidate has the experience and background needed and can hit the ground running to assist my efforts to reform Harrisburg.

That candidate is State Rep. Mike Regan.

Electing Jon Ritchie to the State Senate makes Jon Ritchie the puppet of Long Nyquist and gives their firm and their public sector union clients more access in Harrisburg through Jon Ritchie.

Enough is enough. It is time for Republicans to stop electing Republicans who accept public sector union money and their endorsements.

Long Nyquist Pick Jon Ritchie.