News & Brews September 27, 2022
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Wolf goes to court (again) to try to block vote on constitutional amendments
Gov. Wolf is again trying to block voters from having a say on several proposed constitutional amendments. You’ll recall the state Supreme Court rejected Wolf’s petition to immediately review his request to block the vote, instead telling him that he was free to follow the usual process and go through the lower courts first. Now, Wolf has filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court seeking to stop the proposed amendments from moving forward.
Pittsburgh Public Schools look to partner with left-wing organization
The Center Square reports that “Pittsburgh Public Schools is looking to partner with a nonprofit headed by high-level former Obama administration officials to implement a program created by former First Lady Michelle Obama to get students involved in political activities, including voter registration drives.” The nonprofit—Civic Nation—has several initiatives which, among other things, promote COVID vaccines, focus on so-called “gender equity,” and advocate for abortion.
Pa. Senior Judges can collect pensions AND $611 per diems
The LNP dives into the little-known world of Pennsylvania’s Senior Judges, “a role filled by more than 100 retired judges from across the commonwealth who are available to step in during vacancies, absences or recusals on the state’s highest judicial panel.” It turns out the pay is $611 per day, with nearly every Senior Judge also receiving a state pension. Since 2017, some Senior Judges have drawn hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars (in a couple instances, more than a million).
‘No TV ads … little money’ in Mastriano campaign
The NY Times has a piece on Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano’s campaign, noting Mastriano “is being heavily outspent by his Democratic rival, has had no television ads on the air since May, has chosen not to interact with the state’s news media in ways that would push his agenda, and trails by double digits in reputable public polling and most private surveys.” Supporters of Mastriano contend there’s a grassroots movement that will show up on Election Day. Our president and CEO Matt Brouillette observes in the story, “Now, maybe he [Mastriano] knows something we don’t on how you can win in the fifth-largest state without doing TV or mail. But I guess we’re going to have to wait until Nov. 8 to see whether you can pull something like that off.”
Oz & Shapiro to appear at ‘candidate conversations’ after Chamber debate falls through
Well, for the first time in a long time, the Pa. Chamber of Business & Industry will not host a debate between gubernatorial candidates after Republican Doug Mastriano refused to participate. Democrat U.S. Senate nominee John Fetterman also did not respond to an invitation to a Chamber debate. As a result, Democrat gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro and Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mehmet Oz will instead appear in separate 30-minute “candidate conversations” at the annual Chamber dinner on Oct. 3.