News & Brews April 29, 2022

Republican lieutenant governor candidate Teddy Daniels was ordered to stay away from his home after his wife requested a protective order against him, claiming physical and mental abuse. Daniels, who has been endorsed by gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, countered that the allegations are politically motivated.

RealClear Pennsylvania Deputy Editor Michael Torres writes of the slew of constitutional amendments the Legislature has passed in recent years, noting the volume isn’t all that unusual when you look at the past few decades. While Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa argues the current utilization of the amendment process is “alarming,” House Speaker Bryan Cutler counters, “I don’t see anything wrong with going to the people.” Read Michael’s piece here.

CHNI reports that in their last week of session before the May 17 primary, House lawmakers “cast about 45 floor votes from Monday through Wednesday. They sent 25 different legislative proposals for consideration in the Senate.” Among the measures passed were a bill to establish Lifeline Scholarships, a resolution disapproving Gov. Wolf’s new charter regulations, and a bill intended to ensure deceased voters are removed from voter rolls. One measure that didn’t pass? The Taxpayer Protection Act, a proposed constitutional amendment which would limit the growth of state spending based on inflation and population. Read more here.

A while back, the Inquirer had reported on a political action committee called the 1776 Project Committee, which, according to the PAC’s filings, was created to support Lou Barletta for governor. The PAC carried out its support by attacking Republican candidate Bill McSwain. Now, it appears the PAC has turned on Barletta and is attacking him. The reason for the switcharoo remains a mystery.

Yesterday, the New Jersey Globe reported, “Princeton University has launched an internal investigation of Sam Wang, the controversial head of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, after members of his staff alleged that he was manipulating data to match his personal agenda, and for mistreating people who worked for him.” What’s the PA tie? Well, the story notes, “In Pennsylvania, the Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave the new congressional map an overall grade of ‘C,‘ but under pressure from a major donor, Wang later changed the grade to ‘B,’ an individual associated with the group told the New Jersey Globe.” But there’s nothing to see here … Sure….