Election Results

Just a few random thoughts on the recent election results...

Dunmore - Well I'll be, elected officials (including mayor-for-life "Nibs") will actually have to do their jobs now and make some tough decisions. I'm referring, of course, to the fact that Dunmore voters, to the tune of about 80%, voted against giving the borough the ability to levy a special tax to help fund the fire department. Dunmore, like many people, lives beyond it's means, so it's only a matter of time before fiscal gravity kicks. This will get much worse before it gets better, but I have no doubt that in the long run this really will make Dunmore a better place.

John Blake - It seems to me that John Blake, nominee for the State Senate, really is just a proxy Bob Mellow. It also reaffirms in my mind that many folks in this area are still not willing to let go of the whole system of "governing/politics by favor" regime. Maybe I'm wrong...maybe Mr Blake isn't just Bob Mellow's hand-picked replacement...maybe he will be an independent voice for change in Harrisburg; regardless, it's pretty clear that this was the candidate that outgoing Senator Mellow wanted in his seat. That can't be good.

Ken Smith - Another example of how sometimes voters are stupid. Mr Smith has done many things that should have prevented his re-election, including not paying his taxes, not repaying loans, not pushing for reform in Harrisburg, etc., but yet he is most likely going to be re-elected in November. I'm thinking that Mr Smith should be sending out a thank-you card to Kevin Haggerty for making sure that the anti-incumbent vote was well split.

Jim Wansacz - It's time for Mr Wansacz to start using his State Representative seat to push for all those reforms he said were needed during the Senate primary. Man-up Mr Wansacz, man-up.

Chris Doherty - Here's to hoping that the Mayor's wander-lust has been satisfied and he will now concentrate on checking the over-reach of council president Janet Evans. Better yet, how about the two of them actually working together to make Scranton fiscally sound for the long term? That's a tough one for Mrs Evans and her city union backers, who want us all to believe that city personnel expenses can be increased while taxes are decreased. Regardless, welcome back to your job Chris.

Arlen Specter - I hope Arlen truly enjoys his retirement. As I've previously noted, I like Senator Specter, but it's time for a change. I would like to see something of a public apology from Senator Specter for the swift-boating of Joe Sestak...that would be classy thing to do.

Matt Drudge - Funny, but the Drudgereport didn't even mention the GOP's failure to immediately capture the former Rep. Murtha seat in western Pennsylvania. Gee, I wonder why? After all, Matt went to great pains to point out that President Obama was 0 for 4 in this primary. Could it be that the Drudgereport is biased? Nahhhh, and I have a very small nose too.

Pat Toomey - I will be interested to see what kind of campaign Mr Toomey runs. Pennsylvania is not a hard-right state. Even past GOP governors (Tom Ridge, Dick Thornburgh) were center-right, and the last hard-right state-wide politician, Rick Santorum, was thrown out on his high-horsed ass.

Joe Sestak - Can easily win in the fall. Two words of advice though: Harris Wofford. I could also say "Rick Santorum", but I've already used that reference once. Pennsylvania...outside of inner-city Philadelphia & (to a lessor extent Pittsburgh) is not a Liberal state, so it makes sense to let Toomey seem like the extremist in this campaign. Staying in the center, emphasizing a strong military career, painting a picture of Pat Toomey as someone who is out of touch with most voters all makes sense to me.