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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Courts - Take note: Voter backlash continues in Pennsylvania

The backlash over the midnight pay raise in Pennsylvania, which in November led the voters to throw out a Supreme Court justice, apparently continues. The Pennsylvania primary was yesterday. NPR reports:

A huge pay raise pushed through by legislative leaders last year resulted in a big backlash by angry voters: 14 incumbents went down to defeat as of this writing, including the top two Republicans in the state Senate, President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer and Majority Leader David Brightbill. Russ Diamond, a leader of the pay-raise opposition, is running for governor in the fall as an Independent.
For background, start with this ILB entry from April 5, 2006. Here is a list of related ILB entries.

Here are some quotes from an opinion piece in a Pittsburgh paper, The Valley Independent:

Pennsylvania lawmakers didn't get exactly what they deserved Tuesday -- that would have required too much tar and too many feathers -- but voters did the next best thing.

They threw the rascals out, at least most of the ones responsible for last summer's 11 to 54 percent pay raise for themselves, judges and other state officials.

The most prominent heads that rolled in Tuesday's primary election belonged to two of the Senate's top Republican leaders. President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer, of Altoona, and Majority Leader David Brightbill, of Lebanon County, became the first state legislators in 42 years to lose a primary election while holding major leadership positions.

Although some races are too close to call this morning, it appears 13 other House incumbents went down to defeat as voters displayed their anger over the pay hike and other misdeeds out of Harrisburg. * * *

"We had a dramatic earthquake in Pennsylvania," was Jubelirer's description of Tuesday's results after falling to political rival John Eichelberger, a Blair County commissioner. Jubelirer, 69, had spent the past 32 years as a legislator, but was only able to garner 36 percent of the vote in a three-man race.

Brightbill's defeat was even more stunning as he fell to Mike Folmer, a 50-year-old tire salesman whose political resume included only a brief stint on Lebanon's City Council. The 63-year-old Brightbill had been a lawmaker for 24 years.

This editorial concludes:
Some prominent pay raise backers may have survived Tuesday's purge *** but overall we're very happy with the performance of Pennsylvania's voters.

They finally fought back against a corrupt system that has long been playing them for fools. They've watched for years as lawmakers lined their pockets and padded their pensions without contributing much to the public good. This year, the electorate finally had enough.

While there is much to celebrate this morning, there is still work to do. The price of liberty, as we know, is eternal vigilance, and there will be a new set of leaders in Harrisburg next year for the public to keep its eyes on.

We hope May 16 represents not just a new day in Pennsylvania politics, but the start of a whole new era.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 17, 2006 04:39 PM
Posted to Courts in general | Indiana Government | Legislative Benefits