Melvin Won't Be Getting Her Big Dollar Salary

More bad news for State Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin. She won't be receiving her $195,309 annual salary while she awaits sentencing.

The Court of Judicial Discipline ruled Thursday that due to the nature of the charges against Melvin, who was charged in May with using her staff for campaigning purposes, she is no longer fit to receive pay.

"[W]e see this respondent as so single-mindedly occupied with achieving personal aggrandizement that she pressured, intimidated and bullied her clerks and secretaries into performing work on her political campaigns," President Judge Robert E.J. Curran wrote.

As for the other Melvins, Justice Orie Melvin's sister, Janine Orie is also awaiting trial and Former State Sen. Jane Orie was sentenced to prison in June for crimes similar to her sister’s.

More On Voter ID, but Not in Pa

A federal court blocked a Texas Voter ID with similar ramifications as Pennsylvania’s Voter ID legislation. They reasoned a measure requiring voters to show id before casting a ballot would disenfranchise minority voters.

Circuit Judge David Tatel noted that that the law would do the most harm to African Americans and Hispanics.

Get the rest of the story here.

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court will decide on Pa’s Voter ID law on Sept. 13 in Philadelphia.

State Democrats Fashioning a Sad Reality Show

Taken individually, each of the stories raises eyebrows. Taken collectively, it has to make you wonder what's going with state Democrats.

Read the list, then judge for yourself:

The Bill DeWeese fiasco at least appears to be heading into the sunset as party officials selected someone to run in his spot on the November ballot. No need to rehash DeWeese's situation, other than to say he's in prison ... and still planned on running for re-election.

Then we have the curious case of Mike Gerber, the Montgomery County lawmaker seen as many as a candidate for governor down the road. He resigned a few weeks ago, rather suddenly, to head back to the private sector and, one can only suspect, a much bigger paycheck with a lot less public scrutiny. For a man who generated a lot of buzz while in office, Dems sure are keeping mum about the whole thing.

Finally, we have Joe Brennan who said yesterday that he won't seek re-election. Like DeWeese, Mr. Brennan has legal problems, though nothing related to his office. He's facing charges involving assault of his wife and drunk driving.

Maybe it's just a matter of these types of things happening in threes, but state Democrats seem to be on the brink of a real image problem.

Voter ID = Fundraiser?

Had to read this piece by The Morning Call's John Micek twice, but that's the gist.

He quotes Larry Ceisler, an area consultant for the Democrats, as saying the law is "big hype" and will eventually benefit the Democrats by rallying supporting and boosting efforts to raise funds.

Next Stop For Voter ID: State Supreme Court

The predictable next step for the state's voter ID law is upon us, a trip to the state Supreme Court.

This would all be relatively normal except that the state has an even number of judges on the bench - six, to be exact - thanks to the suspension of Joan Orie Melvin. That, of course, leaves the door open for a split decision.

Sifting Through Voter ID Ruling Fallout

Time to take a deep breath. The Commonwealth Court upheld Pennsylvania's Voter ID law, but with a decision written with the knowledge that this wouldn't be the final word and the clear expectation that the ruling would be appealed.

Still, it was a main point of discussion nationwide.

An Associated Press piece posted overnight notes that a move the state Supreme Court is next. That holds its own complications, since the court is currently split politically, as one justice has been suspended. So the stage is set for a boondoggle.

No surprise, Huffington Post blogger and liberal talking head Rev. Al Sharpton slammed the ruling, saying it "can only be described as a shocking and appalling."

On the other hand, check out this op-ed piece originally posted by the Los Angeles Times and co-written by a professor of history emeritus at Harvard and the author of "Voting Rights — and Wrongs: The Elusive Quest for Racially Fair Elections." The piece is in well-reasoned support of Voter ID laws, though they do point out that states must make it easy for citizens to obtain the ID. Not sure if Pennsylvania is capable of meeting that criteria.

The rhetoric will only get more heated as this heads to the state's supreme court.

Voter ID Law Upheld, But We're Not Done Yet

The long-awaited Commonwealth Court ruling on Pennsylvania's heavily debated Voter ID law came down today, upholding the legislation. But in the end, will that matter?

Most folks realized that this wouldn't be the end game. In fact, a story on Phlly.com includes this bit: "A petition to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is expected within days, if not hours. More legal briefs and courtroom arguments are expected. Others have been eyeing a parallel challenge in federal court."

Longtime Harrisburg journalist John Micek quotes the governor and secretary of state looking to move on despite the planned appeals.

They may forge ahead, but the issue is far from settled.

We May Learn Voter ID's Fate Today

The fate of Pennsylvania's much-debated Voter ID law was placed in the hands of Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson earlier this month and he said, at that time, that today might be the day we get the result.

To mark the occasion, The Philadelphia Inquirer's Tom Infield offers this in-depth profile of a judge who has spent much of his professional career far from the glare of the public spotlight. The most important item might be near the end, though, where it's noted that Mr. Simpson may not have the last word anyway, since the losing side could appeal to the state's Supreme Court.

The law's bumpy ride isn't over yet.

The Gerber Saga Unfolds

When Montco's Mike Gerber announced that he was stepping down, he set off a ripple in the state political pool.

After all, he was a rising star in the state's Democratic party, possibly earmarked for a run at the governor's mansion. Resigning suddenly, especially just months before an election - one he was almost certain to win by a large margin - upset the apple cart.

Most signs point to his resignation being nothing more than seeing a great opportunity and taking it. Yet there is still the little matter of who will fill his spot on the ballot come November.

A lot of names were kicked around, but PoliticsPA is reporting that Mary Jo Daley, a member of the Narberth council for some 20 years, has been chosen. There are still some formalities, of course.

Lawmakers Finally Put Pension Crisis on Agenda

No one wants to talk about it, but the state is facing a massive pension problem, currently at $40 billion and growing.

But it looks like state lawmakers are finally going to stop playing possum and start dealing with this mess. According to the PA Independent, the first step on the long and rocky road of pension reform will be taken Tuesday morning at a joint hearing of the House State Government Committee and the House Finance Committee.

This merits close attention, because the pension problems are very real and could cripple the state in years to come. More importantly, they are NOT due to the recent economic slide, so even a strong recovery won't make them go away.

State Liquor Stores Hit Virtual Airways

After being knocked to the canvas, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has bounced back up and come out swinging.

The debate over privatizing the agency, which hit fever pitch during the heated budget wrangling, has subsided and now, according to The Morning Call's John Micek, the PLCB is deploying marketing dollars online.

Mr. Micek reports that in addition to a $21,000 ad buy with online music streaming site Pandora, the PCLB purchased ads on Facebook.

Corbett's Effort at Anti-transparency

Governor Tom Corbett is under fire. Not for his austere budget or even the seemingly never-ending Penn State saga. No, this time he's under fire for lack of simple common sense.

His administration is appealing rulings that say state employee's e-mails and direct phone lines should be available to the public. To be clear, we're not talking about reams of e-mail messages or hours of telephone conversations. The Open Records request was for the e-mail address and direct telephone numbers but the administration doesn't believe that the taxpayers should have access to this sort of thing.

Seriously.

The editorial board at The Patriot News in Harrisburg gave this interpretation:

Their argument? That the phone numbers and email addresses contain “personal identification information” and should be exempt. Personal information? The next thing you know, we won’t be able to refer to the governor as Tom Corbett — that’s a bit too personal — we’ll have to start calling him “he who cannot be named.”

Daily News political columnist John Baer openly wondered who in the administration would have taken this position:

It must have been approved by someone who never heard Tom Corbett as candidate or governor proclaim advocacy of open, transparent government, including in his inaugural address when he said, "We must restore transparency."

At this point, I'd settle for restoring a little common sense.

This whole thing is ridiculous, even in a state known for painfully inadequate open records laws. Corbett should have let this one slide and it would have not had an impact on anyone. Instead, he's got egg on face and is in a perfectly indefensible position.

Dunbar Challenges Taylor to Debates, Of Course

Hidden among The Morning Buzz on PoliticsPA today is a nugget about House District 177. Specifically, Democrat William Dunbar challenging incumbent John Taylor to three debates before Halloween arrives.

Not really a big surprise. Mr. Dunbar is a huge underdog while Mr. Taylor has been in office since Ronald Reagan humiliated Fritz Mondale on the national stage. Huge underdogs challenging established front runners to debates is one of the oldest tactics in the book, but it's not likely to have an impact come November.

Chester Rep. Says ID Law May Increase Voter Turnout

Here's a twist that fell through the cracks last week. The Phoenixville Patch reports that Chester County Rep. Warren Kampf said the state's disputed voter ID law will not cause problems for residents casting ballots and, in fact, may actually increase voter turnout across the state. Mr. Kampf cited numbers from Georgia after implementation of a similar law. The law had its day(s) in court and the judge said he will rule by August 13.

Voter ID Law in Judge's Hands

The legal back-and-forth is over for now and the fate of Pennsylvania's debate-inspiring voter ID law now rests with Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson. Closing arguments wrapped up Thursday and Mr. Simpson indicated that he will issue a ruling the week of August 13.