House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi lauded the re-election of Congressman Bob Brady as Ranking Member (Democratic Chair) of the Committee on House Administration in the 113th Congress. Brady was nominated by Pelosi and elected unanimously by the House Democratic Caucus. He was first elected Chairman of the CHA in May of 2007 and served until [...]
BY JOE SHAHEELI/ This information could arouse some interest in additional challengers, especially if the economy continues to tank down. Legislators do enjoy an enviable salary, not counting the perks. Also it doesn’t matter if private-sector employees’ wages are forecast to remain stagnant; pay raises are periodically guaranteed the lawmakers. Come Dec. 1, legislators, judges and [...]
BY JOE SHAHEELI/ The excitement is gone! No presidential race, no USsSenatorial competition or members of the State General Assembly for voters to choose. Instead, it’s Municipal Election time! Voters will yawn their way over a ballot with a few statewide and 1st Judicial Dist. (City Courts) races, retention judges and possibly a couple of [...]
BY JOE SHAHEELI/ Redistricting federal and state legislative districts is a problem that, in the end, costs taxpayers in several ways. The first is in the pocketbook, when money is spent for lawsuits that occur whenever districts are due for a redrawing based supposedly on population. Secondly, the voting taxpayer will continue to find he [...]
BY JOE SHAHEELI/ A potentially record-setting wave of almost 60% of the city’s eligible voters – more than 650,000 – swept away almost every vestige of a Republican presence in Philadelphia, and literally was responsible for breaking the over three-decade hold the GOP had on the State Attorney General’s office. So strong was the tidal wave [...]
BY JOE SHAHEELI/ The great and only debate between incumbent US Sen. Bob Casey and Republican contender Tom Smith did little to move the few percentage points separating Casey from Smith, though Smith claimed victory. Casey supporters saw the quiet, self-effacing Senator getting his points across, as Smith seemed to fumble on several issues. [...]
BY JOE SHAHEELI/ Once again, Committee of 70’s Executive Dir. Zachary Stalberg, well-meaning though his efforts are, continues to spread statistics and facts that reflect adversely on the efforts of the City Commissioners’ Registration Division. His most-recent criticism of the Registration Division, as reported in the Pennsylvania Independent internet blog by Eric Boehm, is, “The City [...]
BY JOE SHAHEELI/ There exists a possibility, based on a census of polls, Mitt Romney could win the nationwide vote by a percentage or two. But the odds show President Obama still holds a majority, though narrowing in the states that could deliver him the 270 electoral votes he needs to assure reelection. Imagine having to [...]
BY JOE SHAHEELI/ The national AFL-CIO reports its affiliates have successfully registered almost half a million new voters from union households. According to Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO political director, “This is the first time we’ve made this big an effort to increase registration. We’re really proud more union members are going to be engaged. Whoever they vote [...]
BY JOE SHAHEELI/ This week an injunction was imposed by the Commonwealth Court eliminating proper Voter Photo IDs as a prerequisite for voting in this presidential election. But thanks to the voter-ID-bill controversy, more Democrats made the registration rosters with proper photo IDs than would have been thought possible. That is because an alarm at disenfranchisement [...]
