Is your legislator the retiring kind?

The "Dirty Dozen" has become the "Fearful Fifteen."

As of Jan. 13, a total of 15 Pennsylvania legislators have announced their intention to voluntarily retire in 2006 rather than face the voters, who no doubt would force most of the politicians into retirement.

The "Fearful Fifteen" includes 10 Republicans and five Democrats. They all have one thing in common — each one voted for the middle-of-the-night pay raise last July. The good news for residents of The Mercury’s coverage area is that six of the retiring legislators are from districts in Montgomery, Chester and Berks counties.

That makes the voters’ job of kicking out as many of the legislative pay-jackers as possible a little easier. But there’s still many area legislators who don’t deserve to return to Harrisburg based on their vote to raise their own salaries, their inability to deliver property tax relief and just plain greed and/or spinelessness.

If you need a refresher on which area lawmakers voted to raid the public treasury at 2 a.m. on July 7, keep these names in mind: Reps. Tim Hennessey, Curt Schroder, Art Hershey, Kate Harper, Daylin Leach, Eugene McGill, Robert Godshall, Lawrence Curry, Susan Cornell, Dennis Leh, Sam Rohrer, Dante Santoni, Tom Caltagirone and Paul Semmel; and Sens. Robert Thompson, David Brightbill, Stewart Greenleaf, Connie Williams, James Rhodes and Mike O’Pake.

Let’s just say that Pennsylvania taxpayers would be a lot better off if those 20 lawmakers were forced into retirement in 2006.

The most recent "retirement" announcement is that of state Rep. John W. Fichter, a 71-year-old East Norriton resident who was first elected to his 70th District state House seat in 1992. Fichter joins fellow Montgomery County state Reps. Raymond Bunt Jr. in 147th District and Jacqueline R. Crahalla in the 150th District in deciding not to face the voters. In Chester County, longtime Republican Reps. Robert J. Flick and Elinor Z. Taylor have waived the white flag.

Another Republican, Sheila Miller, has decided to give up her seat representing a rural Berks County district.

The other nine Legislators calling it quits are Rep. Kevin Blaum, D-Luzerne; Rep. Thomas C. Corrigan Sr., D-Bucks; Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny; Rep. George C. Hasay, R-Luzerne; Lynn B. Herman, R-Centre; Rep. Victor J. Lescovitz, D-Washington; Rep. T.J. Rooney, D-Northampton; Rep. Bruce Smith, R-York; and Sen. Charles Lemmond, R-Luzerne.

The fact that only one member of the state Senate has announced retirement so far is distressing. Half the Senate, which has 50 members, is up for reelection in 2006, including a handful of senators who voted for the pay raise. On the bright side, most of the current Senate leadership is facing challengers in the May 16 primary, so many of the leaders of the pay-jacking could be ousted from within their own party.

The excellent political site, www.grassrootspa.com, has launched a companion site called www.paballot.com, which keeps track of all the statewide races. Visit the site if you want to know whether your state Legislator has an opponent or whether he or she is "retiring."

Another informative Web site is www.pacleansweep.com, which has launched a Hall of Shame listing the 158 Pennsylvania Legislators who took the pay raise as "unvouchered expenses" during the four-months before the pay raise was repealed.

If your Legislator hasn’t returned the money — and about half of them are keeping it — it’s time to launch another campaign of phone calls, personal visits, letters and e-mails to Legislators. Remind them they work for you.

While you’re at it, advise your incumbent Legislator that he or she should consider retirement in 2006.

A grassroots citizen campaign to force the pay-jackers to step aside would be good use of voters’ time as we approach a crucial period — between Feb. 14 and March 7 — when candidates can circulate nominating petitions to run in the May 16 primary.

One more thing. When you hear the retiring legislators say they’re leaving Harrisburg to spend more time with their families, you have to wonder why their families didn’t matter the past 20 years when most of them served in the Legislature.

Why would anyone leave a part-time job that pays $72,000 a year, plus the most generous benefits package of any state legislature in the country? That is, unless you figure the voters are going to boot you out anyway. So why not pretend you’re leaving on your own? I say, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com