Shapiro Admin Pays Out $295K To Settle Sex Scandal — The Shapiro Administration has forked out $295,000 to pay settle the sex harassment matter involving Josh’s good bud Mike Vereb, who had been his secretary for legislative affairs.
Legislative affairs! Good one! LOL.
Anyway Josh, a Democrat, has long been pals with Vereb who was once chairman of the Montgomery County GOP.
He had no prob digging up $295K for a bro.
So long as it was taxpayer money, of course.
Hey, have you considered Ken Lawrence to fill Mike’s shoes?
Let that Montgomery County connection party on.
Josh is always there for a bro in need!
Shapiro Admin Pays Out $295K To Settle Sex Scandal
Vereb Sex Harassment Settlement Reportedly Reached — Gov. Josh “Male Democrat Feminist” Shapiro saved “Minion” Mike Vereb’s butt from a big beating when he had the state settled the sex harassment allegations against him, as per Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA.
Vereb still had to resign as the Secretary of Legislative Affairs, though.
Shapiro Sex Scandal; Uni-Party On With Mike Vereb — Mike Vereb, who once chaired the Montgomery County GOP, quietly quit, Sept. 27, as Gov. Josh Shapiro’s secretary for legislative affairs.
Yeah, that was a cabinet level post.
Yeah, Shapiro is a Democrat, well, a registered one anyway.
Val also helped get Shapiro elected Pennsylvania attorney general then governor.
When the former GOP state leader and the Montco GOP leader and other GOP leaders are backing the D, it’s kind of fair for a Republican voter to ask what good is the party.
Of course, it’s also fair for a Democrat voter to ask why all these corporate crony Republicans love their boy.
Anyway, Dave Galluch writing in DV Journal says Vereb quit because they couldn’t quiet a rather disgusting sex harassment charge levied against him in March by one of his staffers.
Shapiro Institutes Driver License Voter Registration —Gov. Josh Shapiro just announced that eligible voters getting a new driver’s license or ID card in Pennsylvania are now automatically registered to vote.
Fayette County Election Machine Update — A request for an emergency injunction was denied this afternoon, Aug. 31, by Fayette County (Pa) Common Pleas Court Judge John F. Wagner to prevent voting machines and other materials from being flown away to who knows where.
Wagner cited lack of standing by plaintiffs, said plaintiff Gregory Stenstrom.
Stenstrom, an election integrity activist from Delaware County, filed jointly with Jon R. Marrietta, Jr.
Marrietta was a candidate in the May 16 Republican primary battle for Fayette County commissioner.
Marrietta’s 5,206 tally was 121 behind Scott Dunn and 554 behind Dave Lohr.
The top two advance to November.
Wagner denied the injunction request.
He told the county representatives, however, “I don’t need to issue you an order to tell you that no election machines or materials are to leave Fayette County.”
Stenstrom said that multiple whistleblowers reported that a medium-sized cargo jet and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Beech King Air made unscheduled landings about 9:30 a.m. at Connellsville Airport, and that aircrews said they were there to load county election materials onto the cargo jet.
Shapiro was supposedly attending an unpublicized meeting regarding a project, said Stenstrom.
He was reportedly at the meeting for a short time then disappeared for about four hours.
The planes were flown to Arnold Palmer Airport in Latrobe about 25 miles away, Stenstrom says.
The county says the error rate in the May 16 primary for six selected precincts was 1 of 1,489 Republican ballots or .07 percent.
Stenstrom and Marrietta say the error rate was 9.09 percent for mail-in ballots and 1 percent for in-person ballots for an aggregate of 1.72 percent. They say the law requires a county-wide recount for an error rate over .5 percent.
They had asked that certification of the primary be delayed but the county board of elections certified the results last night in an unadvertised meeting.
Stenstrom says this violated the Sunshine Act.
He said they will be appealing to Commonwealth Court.
Stenstrom said he is helping Marrietta because of his integrity and courage.
Documents, videos and photos of what is going on across state can be found at Patriot.Online.
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Beech King Air 350 at Arnold Palmer Airport this morning
Phony Josh Flies While Pennsylvania Dies — David Galluch at Broad+Liberty points out that Pennsylvanians could be living in clover if the state wasn’t run by those who hate energy.
At least for most of us.
Gov. Hypocrite
Of course, they love energy for themselves. One can’t go to a free Super Bowl party on a bicycle, right Josh Shapiro? That would be gauche. A private jet is required.
At least we hope it was a private jet. Josh isn’t really saying.
Oh, if he went commercial our poor governor would have been snickered at the whole night by his 1-percenter buddies.
Anyway, Galluch points out that Shapiro appears to be planning to maintain Pennsylvania’s membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which makes it impossible for Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry to operate.
“So much for supporting an industry that supports the employment of over six percent of our commonwealth,” he says.
Shapiro Transition Team Revisted –This is old news but let’s revisit, especially concerning our claim about how Democrats now in power are going to ignore the people they wooed to get them there.
The transition team Josh Shapiro formed in December to prep him for governor was nearly 300 people including lobbyists, activists, attorneys, executives, and former elected officials as per the Centre Daily Times.
The Times highlighted: Philadelphia FOP President John McNesby; ; Abolitionist Law Center Executive Director Robert Saleem Holbrook; Cheyney University Chief Diversity Officer Pamela Keye; Susquehanna International Co-Founder Joel Greenberg; Johns Hopkins Medicine professor Ravi Gupta; Former Pennsylvania Republican Party head Val DiGiorgio; Conservation Voters of Pa. political director Katie Blume and Former Pa. Democratic Party head Marcel Groen.
It’s was almost as though they were picked by Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young.
Note our old pal Val as in DiGiorgio was on the list.
Since transitioning, Shapiro has named Republican Al Schmidt as Secretary of State and former Montco GOP Boss Mike Vereb as Secretary of Legislative Affairs.
Schmidt was a member of the the Philadelphia Election Board. Write your own joke. Or use this one: We can now be confident all of Pennsylvania’s elections will be as free and fair as those in Philadelphia.
Vereb, well, he was the former chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Committee, and, like DiGiorgio who headed the state and Chesco GOPs ,he wanted Shapiro to win.
Please understand it is not about Republicans vs Democrats anymore. It is about thieves and victims. We victims have to learn to stand together. We have to stop being clipped by six-figure public pensions, inflated construction projects, and officials indifferent to suffering.
And we can do this but only if we boldly call out the crooks and stand together.
Who would have though the head the state GOP would work for a Democrat governor? Besides us, we mean.
Due to the inability of our new governor, Josh Shapiro, to participate in any pre-election debates — he ran unopposed in the Primary and neither his campaign nor Doug Mastriano’s Campaign could agree on the details of a proposed debate– there were some unasked questions. One question he would of answered with a resounding no! would have been “will you disclose your inaugural donors.”
According to Philadelphia Metro, the Gubernator is not legally required to disclose this information.
Whereas New York City and Philadelphia, along adjoining New Jersey, and Maryland and Virginia have such laws. Aaron McKean, a lawyer who works for the DC-based Campaign Legal Center says “The whole goal here is to prevent corruption or even (my ital) the appearance of corruption.”
He went on to say “Nobody is giving this money just for fun.”
Man of many secret donors
Because Governor Shapiro’s inaugural committee was organized as a 501 (c) (4) he is not required to disclose the donor information. Many local arts organizations have been formed as a 501 c (3) and the law requires they must account for every dollar. In a previous life, I was one of the persons who made these budgets match. A big difference between a 3 and a 4.
Spotlight Pa has a great deal to say about Shapiro’s Secrecy. I urge you to read the whole seven pages. Spotlight Pa. is a non-partisan newsroom connected with The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Patriot -News and other newspapers.y
For about two weeks, Pennsylvania will have a Democratic governor and a Republican lieutenant governor. Since John Fetterman resigned as lieutenant governor on Jan.4 Kim Ward, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, was sworn in to the position. Her term will last until Jan. 17 when Austin Davis will be sworn in.
Ms. Ward is the first female to serve as President Pro Tempore. She was chosen by her fellow GOP members who hold a 28-22 majority in the State Senate.
Undser the Pennsylvania Constitution,” the president pro tempore handles all the duties of the office of lieutenant governor, which include presiding over the state Senate sessions, chairing the state pardons board and chairing the state emergency management committee.”
Kim Ward, first female majority lead in Pennsylvania
Kim Ward has been the State Senator for District 39 since 2009. District 39 includes Latrobe, Pa. (home of Rolling Rock Brewery and Fred Rogers) along with 37 other towns in Westmoreland County.
Kim Ward is the first woman to be elected majority leader in either the Pennsylvania House or Senate.
Prior to her election to the state House, she was a Westmoreland County Commissioner and on the Hempfield County Board of Commissioners.
She lists her accomplishments as helping to pass laws on “reducing spending on state-subsidized methadone treatment transportation,” and “implementing the federal E-Verify program to ensure workers on publicly funded construction projects are legally permitted to work.”
She also helped to “extend benefits to the families of campus police officers who die in the line of duty”.
Prior to elective office, she worked as a board-certified Respiratory Therapist at Allegheny General Hospital, Vanderbilt University Hospital, and Hershey Medical Center.
She and her husband Dr. Thomas Ward have three sons.
Mastriano Demands Baby Formula Crisis Be Addressed By Wolf
This letter from May 13 was forwarded to us by Carol Klein. Thank you Carol.
Dear Governor Wolf and Acting Secretary Johnson:
We write to you today regarding mounting concerns over baby formula shortages throughout our Commonwealth and nation. Knowing that this critical predicament is affecting our most vulnerable population –newborns and infants– we are seeking immediate redress. Within the past few weeks, this issue seems to have only escalated, and the reports throughout Pennsylvania of scarce formula stock and empty shelves at grocery stores and pharmacies are numerous and unacceptable.
We are concerned for the families who are unable to find formula for their infants, including for babies with rare metabolic diseases, such as Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD), Phenylketonuria (PKU), and Homocystinuria, who require special formula to survive.
While this issue is nationwide, Pennsylvania’s leaders cannot sit idly by and wait for the federal government to act. We have an obligation to be proactive for Pennsylvanians in addressing this matter and to have alternate plans in place before we face a statewide crisis.
Accordingly, your response to the following questions would be appreciated:
What is your plan to address the baby formula shortage within our Commonwealth and the concerns of parents and families?
What is the status of baby formula availability in our hospital nurseries?
Is the Commonwealth actively working with the federal government to address this crisis? If so, in what ways?
Is there any credence to reports that baby formula is being shipped to the border for illegal immigrants while many Pennsylvania store shelves are empty?
Do we have a government emergency stockpile in our state? If so, what is your plan for use and distribution?
Additionally, we propose the Commonwealth consider the following options to help bring some immediate relief to parents:
Urge the Attorney General to monitor formula pricing and hold retailers and anyone having access and/or attempting to resell baby formula accountable for price gouging. Such individuals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Communicate with parents and families about efforts being taken to resolve this crisis, and instructions on how to obtain formula, with regular updates on the state’s progress.
Explore public-private partnership (s) with food banks, charitable organizations, and other nonprofits who may have access to baby formula.
We trust that you will both be diligent in your responsibility to address this crucial matter to ensure the well-being and health of our children. It is imperative that we act now.
Sincerely,
Senator Doug Mastriano, 33rd Senatorial District
Senator Michele Brooks, 50th Senatorial District
Mastriano Demands Baby Formula Crisis Be Addressed By Wolf
