ELEPHANT CORNER: White Girds For Battle; Lincoln Dinner Drew Rick Perry; GOP Statewide Judges’ Slate Emerges

Tuesday night, MARTINA WHITE held a fundraiser at Toscana 52 in Trevose. White is the Republican candidate in the Mar. 24 special election for the 170th Dist. State House seat vacated by now-CONGRESSMAN BRENDAN BOYLE. This district seat was held recently by Republican GEORGE KENNEY and is winnable for a Republican.

White is from the Somerton area of the Northeast. She understands the importance of public service. She fundraises for and coaches children playing for the Bustleton Bengals. As a financial advisor, she works with many families and small business and sees firsthand how our economy’s lackluster recovery negatively impacts them. She believes the financial stress experienced by the middle class is the product of not only of bad regulation, but also over-regulation. She is an honors graduate of Elizabethtown College and was captain of the field-hockey team.

Last weekend the Pennsylvania Republican Party held its winter State Committee meeting. Philadelphia has 12 members of State Committee, including WARD LEADERS MIKE CIBIK, TERRY DINTINO, DENISE FUREY, ANNIE HAVEY, AGNES (CHUCKIE) TILLEY, CALVIN TUCKER, CHRIS VOGLER and WALT VOGLER, as well as Republican activists PEG RECUPIDO and DAVID KRALLE. Republican City Committee Chairman and STATE REP. JOHN TAYLOR is a member of State Committee, like all county chairpersons. RCC GENERAL COUNSEL MICHAEL MEEHAN is also a member and the chairman of the Southeast Caucus.

Friday’s highlight was the annual Lincoln Dinner, with keynote speaker former Texas GOV. RICK PERRY. Perry is expected to run in the Republican Presidential primary in 2016. He spoke of how Texas needed to step up to secure its border with Mexico in the light of the federal government’s “troubling” failure to do so. Perry does not have faith things will get better until we have a new President. He believes that under PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA we have a “rudderless economy” and “feckless foreign policy.”

US SEN. PAT TOOMEY was to precede Perry to the podium, but Toomey graciously followed Perry to allow Perry to make a flight home. Toomey noted Pennsylvania is on track to surpass Texas in the production of natural gas. He believes the shale-gas revolution is the greatest thing to happen to Pennsylvania in 100 years.

Toomey then turned his comments to Washington. He stated the US Senate, under the leadership of SEN. MITCH McCONNELL, is open for business. When Democrat HARRY REID was the Majority Leader, he made sure few bills came to the Senate floor that conflicted with President Obama’s agenda. For those few bills that came to the floor, Reid used arcane Senate rules to limit discussions and amendments. In all of 2014, 14 amendment votes were held. Toomey noted that 16 amendment votes were held last week.

On Saturday the main order of business was to vote to endorse for the five open appellate judicial positions on the ballot this year. Originally there were people seeking endorsement for the three Supreme Court vacancies, four for one Superior Court seat and two for one Commonwealth Court position. By Saturday morning, only five Supreme Court contenders were left, Superior Court JUDGES CHERYL ALLEN and JUDY OLSEN, Commonwealth Court JUDGE ANNE COVEY, Montour County DA REBECCA WARREN and Adams County Common Pleas Court JUDGE MICHAEL GEORGE. Olsen, Covey and George won endorsements. Warren and Allen have indicated they will still run in the May primary.

While Allen is highly qualified for the position, many were reluctant to support anyone who could only serve two years of a 10-year term. Allen, who is now 67, would be subject to mandatory retirement at 70.

There were two names nominated for Superior Court: Northampton County Common Pleas JUDGE EMIL GIORDANO and Philadelphia Common Pleas JUDGE PAUL PANEPINTO. Giordano won the endorsement. Panepinto stated he would not run without the endorsement.

Only Pittsburgh attorney and Montgomery County native PAUL LALLEY was left standing for the Commonwealth Court seat and was thus endorsed.