CITY HALL SAM: Mayor, Council Tidy Up The Budget

It will not be a long hot summer … at least in City Hall. At least not in council chambers. City Council, led by PRESIDENT DARRELL CLARKE, deftly passed a city budget last week. MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER quickly signed it into law. It featured a significantly reduced property tax, an increase in the use-and-occupancy and parking taxes. The budget increased funding for education and a host of other initiatives. So the team worked together to get things done.

KEEPING abreast of Latino community concerns is Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, center, seen here with his special assistant Juvencio González; Pedro Cortes, Secretary of State; José A. Molina, executive director for the Governor’s Latino Commission; and, Pedro Rivera, Secretary of Education.

All of the pundits and big shots say that the position of STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL KATHLEEN KANE is untenable. Yet week after week and month after month she continues to serve. In fact, many of those who observe her around the capital see no outward signs of distress. Is it conceivable she could be the Democratic nominee for reelection? Further, could she actually win running as an underdog woman against a vast rightwing conspiracy?

STATE SEN. JOHN RAFFERTY has already launched his campaign for the Republican nomination and other Republicans are sure to follow. As for the other Democrats, many in the party hierarchy want an alternative candidate, but are not sure whom to choose. So far the name most frequently mentioned is JOSH SHAPIRO. Shapiro does not have a crime-fighting background but the office of Attorney General was envisioned to be a consumer protector with actual teeth. Plus, GOV. TOM WOLF appointed Shapiro to chair the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency, so he’ll be able to earn some valuable criminal-justice experience.

But the ideal candidate as a Democrat might run against corrupt big business and polluters and those who would rip off taxpayers. Everyone saw how successful former GOV. TOM CORBETT was in using the Attorney General’s office to prosecute politicians. Everyone was ready to see him go.

Now the last two elected officials who went to jail from Bonusgate will be free this week. Former MINORITY LEADER MIKE VEON served five years in state prison and former HOUSE WHIP BRETT FEESE served three. These men will probably get jobs before Tom Corbett. The voters are very fickle and if Kathleen Kane is able to avoid actually getting indicted, she may actually have a shot at getting reelected.

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