Wolf Wants Republican Swamp Rat For Commonwealth Court Says CAP
By Leo Knepper
Due to a recent retirement, Governor Wolf has an opportunity to fill a vacancy on the Commonwealth Court, one of Pennsylvania’s two intermediate appellate courts. The Governor would have had to work hard to make a worse choice than Drew Crompton.
Crompton’s name isn’t likely one that most Pennsylvanians are familiar with, but he has worked for the Senate for over two decades. He currently serves as Chief of Staff and counsel for Pennsylvania Senate Pro-Tempore Joe Scarnati. Over the course of his career, Crompton has been on the periphery of ignoble moments in Pennsylvania’s recent history. Two stand out, and are worthy of special attention.
In 2005, Crompton authored a memo suggesting that activists exercising their First Amendment rights in advocating for the repeal of the “midnight pay raise” should have to register as lobbyists. Concerning the memo, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review stated, “It suggests an orchestrated plan of attempted intimidation that, to this day, we believe is worthy of a Justice Department investigation.”
In 2006, Crompton took three months of “unpaid” leave from the Senate to work on Lynn Swann’s gubernatorial campaign. He then, remarkably, received a $19,647 bonus. This activity resulted in an investigation by the Attorney General’s office. Although no Senate Republicans were charged with wrongdoing, a similar scheme among House Democrats resulted in multiple arrests and convictions.
Crompton’s role in the Senate would raise serious questions about his impartiality in legal cases. How will his involvement in the drafting of legislation, public statements, and issuance of internal documents impact his ability to hear cases? How many plaintiffs or defendants will seek his recusal? How disruptive will it be for the Senate to have parties to cases file suits seeking email communications on legal matters authored by Crompton?
In the entirety of Pennsylvania, there certainly must be more qualified candidates to serve out a term on the Court.
Mr. Knepper is executive director of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania.
Wolf Wants Republican Swamp Rat For Commonwealth Court Says CAP
I didn’t know Crompton was on Swann’s campaign staff. That disappoints me and makes me question Swann’s judgement. I was excited to see him run, because I took him for an outsider running against the PA swamp. Seems like I was mistaken.
I wouldn’t hold it against Swann. He was a neophyte who had to trust the “pros”. Actually, I think he was a sacrificial lamb.
I’ve been hoping that he’d run again. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he’ll draw a lesson about picking the people around him.
PA Shadow Government/The Lobbyist Lawyer Deputy DA Law Firms & The Lawyer DA 1 term PA Judge with shield of law news media law clerk (appointed by Corbett) Law Firm, both now merged, selected Swann for his SPORTS electability. Swann would have been their puppet. Governor Wolf is now their puppet. ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY.
Actually, I have this memory that Swann was ahead in the early polls against Rendell. Rendell was good for the swamp.
It’s amazing that all of these folks who supposedly want some fair “merit based” system of appointing judges because elections are “too partisan,” are only bent out of shape because a Democrat Governor is appointing a Republican. No one was worried about “merit” when our AG, who has literally NEVER litigated a single case in his entire career, was elected as top law enforcement official in the state. No one batted an eye when Johnny Doc bought his brother a judicial election.
The PA Shadow Government (an organized underground network of lawyers, law enforcement, courts, lawmakers (local, county and state) SELECTS from all parties and never based on merit. They control all named on the election ballots. They select the employee who programs the computer program of the election results. ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY.
In Harrisburg, they love the governor
Woo woo woo
We all did what we could do.
Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you tell me true?