Recently in Republicans Category

I just took a closer look at my e-mail. It looks like state Sen. Mike Waugh, a Republican who represents most of York County, won't be taking his cost-of-living adjustment either. Here's the news release:

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25), Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9), Majority Whip Jane Orie (R-40), Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman (R-34), Caucus Chairman Mike Waugh (R-28), and Caucus Secretary Bob Robbins (R-50) today announced that they would not accept the annual COLA, instead returning the money to the state Treasury.

"As we have said consistently, everything is on the table in terms of spending cuts as we address the state budget deficit," said Senator Scarnati. "Government must live within its means, and this announcement is part of our commitment to do exactly that."

Senator Pileggi said he will personally introduce a bill to officially suspend the COLA for legislators.

"We congratulate the House Democratic leaders for their decision," said Senator Pileggi. "Now, we call on them to embrace additional initiatives which will cut costs and make government operations more transparent."

In early 2007, Senate Republican leaders pushed to cut legislative reserves by at least $75 million. To date, that idea has not been supported by House Democratic leaders.

In October 2007, the Senate unanimously passed a bill (SB 986) sponsored by Sen. John Eichelberger (R-30) to prohibit bonuses for state employees. That bill died in the House Appropriations Committee.

In June 2008, the Senate unanimously passed a bill (SB 1499) sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer (R-48) to tighten the restrictions on the use of state vehicles. The House State Government Committee never voted on this bill.

And in July 2008, the Senate unanimously passed a bill (SB 903) sponsored by Sen. Orie to eliminate "pinstripe patronage" in the awarding of state contracts. That legislation was also never considered by the House State Government Committee.

"These are common-sense reforms that will make a real difference in terms of saving taxpayer money," Senator Pileggi said. "We plan to consider these bills - and other reform initiatives - in early 2009 and hope that the newly apparent spirit of reform in the House Democratic leaders will lead them to do the same."

In recent years, appropriations to the Senate have declined significantly, dropping from $108.3 million in fiscal year 2005-06 to $101.8 million in fiscal year 2008-09, a decrease of more than 6 percent.

The actual number of employees in the Senate Republican Caucus has been reduced from 452 in January 2006 to 413, a decrease of 8.6 percent.

"Cutting costs is an ongoing commitment for us," said Senator Scarnati. "We will continue to look for ways to save money."

Well, I got to see Sarah Palin at the Toyota Arena on Friday.

Personally, my favorite part of the whole event was the musical nods to Halloween. When she entered the arena, the sound system played the opening to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." And then as people filed out when she was done, it played "The Monster Mash."

It was a nice break from the "Rocky" theme type of stuff you normally hear at rallies like that.

Regarding the speech itself -- frankly, I was surprised at how subdued Palin was. I was expecting jokes and folksy anecdotes. Instead, she gave a pretty straightforward delineation of policy differences between her campaign and Obama/Biden's.

Whew! I've had a busy spell trying to get caught up with my local candidate races. Didn't mean to neglect the blog.

Anyway, I've got some big news today. Sarah Palin is coming to the Toyota Arena at the York Expo Center on Friday afternoon.

I'm calling local people right not to get their reactions to the news. And I should have more to write on it soon.

For the time being, here are the basics:

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is visiting York County on Friday, according to local McCain/Palin campaign coordinator Dick Evans.

Evans said that Palin is scheduled to show up at the Toyota Arena, located at the York Expo Center, at about 2:30 p.m. Doors will open at noon, Evans said.

Free tickets are available at the Victory Center, the York County campaign headquarters, located at 2210 E. Market Street in Springettsbury Township. You can call the Victory Center at 650-2008.

Evans said he expects a big response. He stopped by a recent rally in Shippensburg, where he would estimate that about 8,000 people were waiting to see Palin.

"It's pretty exciting," Evans said. "She's extremely popular."

I was out for a couple of days. When I came in to work an evening shift, I was surprised to check my e-mail and learn that Cindy McCain was coming to York County campaign headquarters today.

Not only that, but the e-mail asked members of the press to get there at 4 for a security sweep. I checked my watch and saw that I had ... 10 minutes to get there!

Here's another news release from Republican Lon Emenheiser, who is running for state representative against state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-West Manchester.

I just returned a call from Lon Emenheiser of York, the Republican candidate for the state House of Representatives' 95th district. He wanted to clarify something from an earlier blog entry.

I mentioned that he and his wife moved here from North Carolina a few yearss back, which is true. But I presented them as relative newcomers to the area.

Mr. Emenhesier wanted to explain that he's actually a native of the region. He went to Eastern High School. Aside from a stint in the Air Force and he and his wife's relatively brief residence in North Carolina, he's lived in the area most of his life.

"I'm a Yorker," he explained.

And for the record, Mr. Emenheiser wasn't the least bit snippy about it. I Iike that in a candidate.

Here's a news release from Lon Emenheiser, a York resident who is running as the Republican candidate for the state House of Representatives' 95th district.

He'll be running against Democratic incumbent state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-West Manchester. Interestingly enough, Lon's wife, Karen, ran unsuccessfully against DePasquale in 2006. Like her husband, she ran as a Republican in a predominantly Democratic district.

The couple had just moved to York County from North Carolina in 2002. Whether you support them politically or not, you have to give them credit for their willingness to get involved in the civic life of their new community.