First the good news. Sixteen Pennsylvania lawmakers have announced (as of Jan. 3, 2008) they will not seek re-election to their current seats in 2008.
Now the bad news. There's 253 lawmakers in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Most of them will be returning to office unless Russ Diamond mounts another Clean Sweep campaign in 2008. (Hint, Hint, Russ.)
Also, two of the state House members not running re-election have announced they will run for vacant state Senate seats in 2008, so the best we can hope for is getting rid of 14 legislative incumbents. There's still time to encourage your lawmaker to retire or better yet, vote them out of office in the April 22 primary. Pennsylvania voters, angered over the pay raise vote of 2005, replaced 55 lawmakers in 2006.
Here's our list of the "retirements" to date.
In the House:
Rep. Bob Bastian, R-Somerset
Rep. Steve Cappelli, R-Lycoming
Rep. Art Hershey, R-Chester
Rep. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery
Rep. Jerry Nailor, R-Cumberland
Rep. Steve Nickol, R-Adams
Rep. Ron Raymond, R-Delaware
Rep. Carole Rubley, R-Chester
Rep. David Steil, R-Bucks
Rep. Tom Tangretti, D-Westmoreland
Rep. Ed Wojnaorski, D-Cambria
Rep. Tom Yewcic, D-Cambria
In the Senate:
Sen. Gibson Armstrong, R-Lancaster
Sen. Gerald LaValle, D-Beaver
Sen. Roger Madigan, R-Bradford
Sen. Connie Williams, D-Montgomery
John Micek offers some analysis on which way the vacant seats may go at his blog.
So far, 10 Republicans are stepping down, compared to 6 Democrats. (But since some incumbent Democrats may be facing criminal charges in 2008 stemming from the "Bonusgate" investigation, don't count on the Dems retaining their 1-vote majority in the Pennsylvania House.)
And the best place to keep track of future retirements is GrassrootsPA.com
2 comments:
Leach and Cappelli could lose their Senate bids, meaning all 16 legislators could be gone. Just one simple example of your incompetence, Tony.
Tom Petrone, D, is going to retire too. He is in the Pgh area.
Post a Comment