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No one has answers about the more Tom Corbett says he’s felt a “little bit Lou Barletta is often portrayed as Don-
than $3,000 in mystery expenses at out of my normal comfort zone” as ald Trump’s ‘political godfather.’ Will
the Lieutenant Governor’s mansion. governor and would have done one that help or hurt in his bid to unseat
PAGE 4 thing a little differently. PAGE 10 U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in 2018? PAGE 12
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
4 PASSING THE BUCK
Still no answers about the mys-
tery expenses at the Lieutenant
Governor’s mansion
6 UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS
The state’s online transparency
portal is less than comprehen-
sive. So why does it exist?
8 THE WEEK AHEAD
Events around the
Capitol this week
Robert M. Krasne CHAIRMAN + PUBLISHER
Tom Murse EDITOR
Brad Bumsted HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF
Paula Knudsen INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
Mike Wereschagin INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
Patrick Kirchner ART DIRECTION + DESIGN
Alyssa Williams DESIGN
CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
10
The Caucus sits down with
former Gov. Tom Corbett
for an interview.
DAN MARSCHKA FOR THE CAUCUS
9 HEARINGS +
FUNDRAISERS
Committees and benefits roundups
SEND US A NEWS TIP
10 THE PROSECUTOR
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12 THE TROUBLE WITH LOU
Lou Barletta is often portrayed as
Donald Trump’s ‘political godfather,’
Please remember to include contact information
unless you wish to remain anonymous.
but will that help or hurt his bid to
unseat U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in 2018 ON THE COVER
Graphic design by
14 THIS WEEK IN PA HISTORY Patrick Kirchner
Excerpts of noteworthy,
newsworthy and just plain odd
political news
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Tuesday, September 26, 2017 THE CAUCUS 3
 OVERHEARD ON 3RD

This is the Lieutenant Governor’s

mansion which is located at the
Fort Indiantown Gap.

FILE PHOTO

PASSING THE BUCK

No one has answers about those mystery expenses
at the Lieutenant Governor’s mansion

I
» » BRAD BUMSTED + PAULA KNUDSEN

t’s now four.
That’s four state agencies that say they can’t locate receipts
for more than $3,000 in state credit card purchases by em-
ployees at the State House, the Fort Indiantown Gap man-
sion where Lt. Gov. Mike Stack resides.
We were previously told Stack’s of-
fice didn’t have them. Neither does the
Department of General Services, which
provided employees to staff the man-
sion. Then we tried the Department of
Treasury, which could not drill down on
them.
Last stop: the Office of Budget, which
had flagged some state “P-card” pur-
chases by the Lieutenant Governor’s Of-
fice in and around this same time period
in late 2015 and 2016.
Why is $3,073.68 important in a $32
billion state budget? Because no one can
tell us how the money was spent.
The purchases were made by Lieu-
tenant Governor’s Office employees or
DGS employees on so-called state “P
cards,” or “purchase cards.” In any case,
Stack, as the elected official, was respon-
sible for them. The purchases were of
“convenience items” at a Giant grocery
store in Hummelstown. They were part
of $70,000 in food, coffee and snack
expenses racked up by Stack and those
who worked for him, records show.
The purchases for which itemized
receipts can’t be found ranged from
$210.87 to $895.40. The dates ranged
from Sept. 3, 2015, to Feb. 23, 2016.
But wait. The Office of Budget did call
into question two other sets of expenses
by the Lieutenant Governor’s Office:
four invoices totaling $1,110.44 at the
same Hummelstown Giant grocery store
in October and November 2015, as well
as more than $28,000 in payments to
Growology spread over 10 payments in
October and November 2016, according
to records provided through a Right to
Know Law request.
Florida-based Growology offers
direct marketing, website services and
“reputation management,” according to
its website.
Stack’s spokesman said recently the
expenses for Growology and the SMP
Group were for production of videos,
brochures and other presentation ele-
ments for the Board of Pardons, specifi-
cally for Stack’s pet program Pathways
to Pardons, a statewide educational ef-
fort. It’s also a Stack promotional effort
given he faces re-election next year.
The Office of Budget, in a February
2016 email to the Lieutenant Governor’s
Office, stated that the Hummelstown
Giant purchases (not those we’re count-
ing as unitemized purchases) violated a
management directive that the P cards
can be used only by the “person autho-
rized to use the card.” The cardholder’s
name was redacted in documents pro-
vided under the Right to Know law.
On the other matter, Growology was
paid more than $28,000 in late 2016,
according to an email to Stack’s office
from the Office of Budget for violating
a management directive. That directive
and a referenced purchasing manual
suggest the violation was for splitting
purchasing orders to remain below the
no-bid threshold by utilizing the P-card,
according to the procurement manual.
In both cases, Stack’s office was given
a slap on the wrist. More training was
recommended for employees of Stack’s
office by the Office of Budget.
Stack’s office declined to comment
on the split Growology purchases. They
were made in PayPal payments, typically
about $3,000 apiece. Was that to circum-
vent transaction limits of $10,000 or the
limits on no-bid contracts? If so, why?
Stack wouldn’t be allowed to purchase
the marketing program otherwise?
If so, why was there only a slap on the
wrist?
Meanwhile, much has changed at
the lieutenant governor’s mansion and
at the Department of General Services.
Marching through the Giant for P Card
purchases has been replaced by deliv-
ered groceries. The DGS employees are
no longer at Indiantown Gap.
Wolf in April removed the DGS
employees who cooked and cleaned
at the mansion and took away Stack’s
state police detail following allegations
that Stack and his wife Tonya had been
verbally abusive to staff and troopers.
Wolf had earlier called for the Office of
Inspector General to investigate the
Stack’s treatment of employees.
The Stacks — and much of the insider
crowd in Harrisburg — await the release
of that report. Sources believe it’s been
delayed because of the lingering budget
dispute between House Republicans,
Wolf and the Senate. Look for release
if and when a fully funded revenue bill
wins approval for the $32 billion bud-
get approved in July. What’s pending is
legislation to come with approximately
$2 billion more to pay for it.

4 T H E C A U C U S Tuesday, September 26, 2017


WHAT’S STILL
IN THE CUPBOARD?
As the House Republicans decide
whether to continue negotiating on
their own or agree to legislative lan-
guage of the Senate’s, triggering a more
formal House-Senate conference com-
mittee, the state’s bond rating might be
at further risk and the state’s reputation
sinks further into the tank.
One longer-range benefit might
emerge, though.
The so-called Taxpayer’s Caucus,
about 19 GOP lawmakers largely from
Central Pennsylvania, discovered $12.1
billion of special funds and unused
money, a portion of which they said
could be used to lower the tax burden
in a $2.2 billion Senate revenue bill.
No one including key members of the
Taxpayer’s Caucus believed anything
near that amount could actually be used.
The House-passed revenue bill included
$400 million in unspent funds and $630
million in special fund money. Even if
the useable amount is half or one-fourth
of that, there’s some benefit.
The Senate plan includes utility
taxes and a tax on natural gas extrac-
tion. Those taxes or borrowing under
that plan could be reduced, House GOP
lawmakers say. The hard-core House
conservatives contend higher taxes
could be avoided entirely. Still, Wolf re-
OVERHEARD ON 3RD
mained optimistic a compromise could
be reached.
“What we did in a data search for five
weeks, the Senate disposed of in two
days (by declining to approve the House
version)” said Rep. Dan Moul, 57, an
Adams County Republican leading the
ad hoc group.
Moul, a contractor who built and still
owns rental units, describes himself as
“a simple guy from Adams County, but I
am a businessman.” He calls it “bizarre”
that the Senate would send the House a
tax bill without an agreement from the
House to pass it.
This discovery of unspent funds and
special funds, which critics claim aren’t
what they’re cracked up to be, will likely
be the focus of “several special hearings”
by the House Appropriations Commit-
tee, said House GOP spokesman Ste-
phen Miskin.
Finding out how much remains in
surplus funds ought to be the number
one priority in appropriations commit-
tee budget hearings every February -
figure out how much is buried under the
mattress before proceeding any further.
Sound reasonable?
HEADING TO THE FAIR
The House Tourism and Recre-
ational Development Committee heads
to the Bloomsburg Fair Thursday for
FILE PHOTO
an informational hearing on the impact
of the fair on tourism in Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, Wolf was slated to attend
the Harmony Grange Fair in Clearfield
County on Saturday.
The Bloomsburg Fair runs through
Saturday. The Pennsylvania Lottery
is among the sponsors. Gary Miller,
a spokesman for the Lottery, said the
agency has provided sponsorship money
since 2009. “It fosters good will,” Miller
said of the sponsorship, which he said
was $21,240 this year, covering the Fair’s
“Senior Day,” which allows seniors to
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
attend free.
Allen Taylor, the committee’s ex-
ecutive director, said the committee
held a hearing about the Bloomsburg
Fair several years ago. Rep. David R.
Millard, R-Columbia, the committee’s
chair, is from the Bloomsburg area and
likes to show fellow representatives
the economic impact of the event,
Taylor said.
The witness list for the informational
hearing includes the fair’s president, a
representative of the Columbia-Mon-
tour Visitors Bureau, a representative of
the Department of Agriculture and the
president of the Pennsylvania Associa-
tion of County Fairs.
The Bloomsburg Fair is one of 109
county and community agricultural fairs
that receive state money, according to
Department of Agriculture communica-
tions assistant Will Nichols. “Blooms-
burg is one of our largest, top-five,”
Nichols said. Allentown, Crawford and
York are also large fairs, he said.
The state appropriation for the 109
agricultural fairs is $4 million, Nichols
said. The money is distributed to pro-
grams such as County 4-H programs and
FFA programs.
Wolf’s visit to the Harmony Grange
Fair is not his only agricultural fair stop
this fall. He also attended Ag Progress
Days and the Pittston Tomato Festival,
spokesman J.J. Abbott said.
THE CAUCUS 5
Met volor mor
Unknown and
the esrcit, qui
th Unknowns a
ulpart entlisto. The state’s online transparency portal is less than
comprehensive. So what’s the point of keeping it alive?
P
ennsylvania’s student-
aid agency hires Penn
Waste to pick up gar-
bage and recyclable
items. But it wouldn’t say how
much it pays the York-based
trash hauler, at least not on the
state-run, taxpayer-funded
website designed to bring full
transparency to government
spending.
That same agency, the Pennsylvania
Higher Education Assistance Agency,
also didn’t disclose how much it pays
for elevator inspections through the
Department of Treasury’s e-contracts
portal. The cost was redacted online.
The same went for the bills for other
routine services paid for by PHEAA, in-
cluding window-washing, tree-trimming
and the provision of paper towels.
Redacted.
Redacted.
And redacted again.
Pennsylvania law requires state
agencies to make government contracts
$5,000 or more available for public in-
spection on the Internet. But the state’s
multibillion dollar student loan-servic-
ing agency redacted the cost of dozens of
6 T H E C A U C U S Tuesday, September 26, 2017
COVER STORY
» » PAULA KNUDSEN + BRAD BUMSTED
contracts and billings totaling millions
of dollars — until The Caucus started
asking why.
The Caucus’ findings raise questions
about how comprehensive the state’s
transparency portal, created and main-
tained at taxpayer expense, really is.
With PHEAA alone, The Caucus
identified scores of 2017 contracts
whose amounts had been redacted, as
well as other redacted contracts through
the past decade.
The majority of contracts reviewed
by The Caucus blacked out contract
costs or prices. The agency started
unmasking some of the records late last
week after the newspaper raised ques-
tions about the practice.
An agency review of 2016 contracts
is in the process of being changed, and a
spokesman said workers were “not wast-
ing any time reviewing and resubmitting
those documents as appropriate.”
While the number of redacted con-
tracts represents a small portion of the
agency’s contracts, it remains unclear
how many of PHEAA’s contracts contain
such redactions and how many other
state agencies are also blocking taxpay-
ers from reviewing such information
online.
Agencies that would typically moni-
tor compliance with the law said they
haven’t done audits.
In other words, they don’t know what
they don’t know.
What is clear, however, is that the
financial information blacked out by
PHEAA on contract after contract
should be available for public inspection
online.
“That’s all public,” said Melissa Me-
lewsky, media law counsel for the Penn-
sylvania NewsMedia Association. “I’m
not sure why they are redacting that. ...
The Right to Know Law is designed to
provide maximum access to financial
amounts in records.”
PHEAA officials said the agency is
conducting a review of all contracts
as a result of The Caucus’ inquiry, but
stopped short of saying all basic contract
amounts would be restored.
The redacted documents had been
signed – approved – by a deputy attor-
ney general in 2017. But Joe Grace, a
spokesman for Attorney General Josh
Shapiro, said the “redactions were not
present in the contracts when we ap-
proved them.”
‘NO EXPLANATION IS SUFFICIENT’
U
nder a 2008 revision of the
Right to Know Law, which cre-
ated a presumption of open-
ness for government records, executive
branch, legislative, and judicial agencies
must file copies of contracts with the
state Treasurer’s office.
The requirement applies to contracts
for $5,000 or more, and the contracts
are to be filed with the Treasury within
10 days of the contract’s execution. But
there’s no penalty for failing to file or
filing incomplete information.
Taxpayers spent hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars on developing the state
website and spend $10,000 a year to
maintain it.
Yet PHEAA in many cases has not
been complying with the most basic ele-
ment of the Right to Know Law, experts
say: how much state and local govern-
ment agencies are paying for services.
“I’m kind of astounded by this clumsy
move given their track record of misus-
ing public funds,” said Eric Epstein, a
government reformer, referring to a 2007
PHEAA scandal related to paying big bo-
nuses and junkets at lavish resorts.
“It is not acceptable to scrub public
documents the public is entitled to view.
The bottom line is that no explanation is
sufficient. This is an agency that should
have been more sensitive to the appear-
ances and playing by the rules. This is a
major setback,” said Epstein, who has
tried to work with the PHEAA board on
transparency issues.
The chairman of the PHEAA board,
Republican Rep. Michael Peifer of Pike
Etfda
danp
starg
y L fe
pxytt
County, said the agency is com-
mitted to “openness and trans-
parency.”
Keith New, the agency’s
spokesman, said The Caucus’
inquiry about the redacted
contracts was the first time the
agency had ever heard about the
issue. PHEAA has now launched
a review of contracts posted on
the Treasury website, with a
team of employees examining
past redactions and determining
if information was inappropri-
ately withheld.
Despite its commitment to
review past contracts, PHEAA
maintains it did have the right
to withhold some information
from the public.
“During the span of the past
10 years we would have executed
potentially thousands of con-
tracts,” New said. “The (public
records law) permits redactions
for a myriad of reasons — includ-
ing building security, infrastruc-
ture, computer hardware and
software, and confidential and
proprietary information.”
Nonetheless, he said,
“PHEAA is reviewing our inter-
nal processes to ensure that we
remain compliant with both the
letter and spirit of the RTKL.”
While the Right to Know Law
does provide for exemptions,
they do not cover the deletion
of basic financial information,
Melewsky said.
“The ‘How much I’m paying
for this’” has to be made public,
Melewsky said.
Epstein said New’s state-
ment to The Caucus “is indica-
tive of systemic problems with
PHEAA’s internal controls.”
Those problems, he said,
include “lack of clear cut proto-
cols, absence of oversight ... and
allowing vendors to determine
what is confidential and propri-
etary information.”
LACK OF SCRUTINY
P
ennsylvania’s Office of
Open Records oversees
the open records law. Its
executive director, Erik Arne-
son, said he is not aware of any
audit or review to determine
whether agencies are following
the section of the law requiring
state agencies to post contracts
in excess of $5,000.
Barry Ciccocioppo, the com-
munications director in the Audi-
tor General’s Office, also said he
was not aware of any audits on the
law’s requirement that agencies
file contracts with Treasury.
Heidi Havens, the press
secretary at the Treasurer’s
Office, said: “Treasury is simply
following Act 3 of 2008 of the
Commonwealth RTK Law that
mandated Treasury create a
web-based library that would be
available to the general public.”
In other words, Treasury acts
as a depository for the docu-
ments.
Havens said the total cost to
est
COVER STORY
Response
Reporters for The Caucus sought comments from all 19 vot-
ing members of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance
Agency board. Only four board members returned their phone
for
calls. Here’s a look at who picked up the phone to answer our
questions and who didn’t.
CALLED OR EMAILED BACK
tyl
Rep. Michael Peifer, Rep. James Roebuck,
chairman, R-Pike D-Philadelphia
County
go
Rep. David Hicker- Sen. John Eichel-
nell, R-Lancaster berger, R-Altoona
COULDN’T BE REACHED
Former Rep. Roy
Reinard, R-Bucks
Timothy Thyreen,
chancellor Waynes-
burg University
DIDN’T RESPOND
ot
develop and launch the contracts
e-library website was about
$300,000 and Treasury was
Sen. Wayne Fon- Sen. Ryan Aument, Sen. John Blake, D- provided an additional $100,000
tana, D-Pittsburgh R-Lancaster County Lackawanna County for the launch. The e-library site
is maintained by Treasury staff,
Havens said, and costs less than
$10,000 annually to maintain.
In March, the House directed
the Legislative Budget and
Finance Committee to conduct
a comprehensive review of the
fiscal impact on commonwealth
Rep. Paul Costa, Sen. Sheryl Delozi- Sen. Arthur Hay-
D-Pittsburgh er, R-Camp Hill wood, D-Philadelphia agencies and local governmental
agencies for implementation
of the Right to Know Law. The
committee was asked to make
recommendations.
Patricia Berger, the senior
counsel and project manager
of the committee, is directing
the Right to Know report and is
Rep. Bernie O’Neill, Rep. Matthew Bradford, Rep. Mike Carroll, aiming to complete it by the end
R-Bucks County D-Montgomery County D-Pittston of the year. She said the contract-
ing website is not the focus of the
report, but may be included as the
agency continues its research.
ABOUT THOSE
REDACTIONS
T
Sen. Mario Scavello, Sen. Robert Tomlin- he Caucus review of
D-Monroe County son, R-Bucks PHEAA contracts online
found dozens whose
basic price information had
been redacted. Those contracts
were for software programs,
consultants, auditing firms, and
services such as garage cleaning,
window washing, and the provi-
Banking Secretary sion of paper towels.
Robin Wiessman Continued, page 8
Tuesday, September 26, 2017 THE CAUCUS 7
 COVER STORTY + CAPITOL EVENTS

PHEAA’s redacted contracts

Continued from page 7
Havens, the Treasury press secre-
tary, said contracts contained within
the Treasury’s online system are
posted by the agency that executed
the contract. So in this case PHEAA
handled the publication of its own
contracts.
“Any redactions made were done
by that agency,” she said.
New said his theory is that a
now-retired PHEAA employee may
have taken an overly conservative
approach in blacking out financial
prices. Asked who was supervising
that employee, New said the super-
visor was no longer with the agency.
He said he had determined that
there were no directives from man-
agers to delete prices of contracts.
SURPRISE AMONG
LEGISLATORS
The Caucus accessed PHEAA’s
contract with Penn Waste on the
Treasury’s website on Aug. 31. The
A “master agreement for consulting services” with Canadian company Juniper Innova- June 2017 contract, for waste and
tions Inc. The company was hired to “fulfill the role of a Developer on web development recycling removal at PHEAA’s Me-
projects” as well as other tasks. The hourly billing rate of a contractor to start in July 2017 chanicsburg location, was redacted
was blacked out. for monthly price and total price.
A June 2017 amendment to a financial audit agreement with Ernst & Young LLP. The New provided The Caucus with
audit fees were redacted. an unredacted copy of the Penn
PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services’ contract for a project to start in June 2017. Waste contract, but the redacted
The projected cost breakdown for each stage of the project was redacted. contract remained on the Treasury
July 2017 purchase agreement with ATAB LLC d/b/a Dominion Elevator Inspection Ser- website through Sept. 15. By Sept.
vices, a York County company. The total price for semiannual routine inspections, three-year 20, the full amount of the contract
safety tests and five-year load tests was obscured by a large black box. was available on the Treasury
An April 2017 contract with Transworld Systems Inc., a California company, for debt collection website.
services. The rate of commission was redacted. “PHEAA will pay a commission rate of [redacted] The redacted contract was
on direct cash payments collected by Contractor from defaulted student loan borrowers, co- news to Wagner. He says his com-
signers, or employers via Administrative Wage Garnishment,” the contract stated. pany bids on contracts, which are
A May 2017 agreement with CleanTeam Building Services Inc., a Delaware corporation awarded to the lowest bidder. He
with a Cumberland County location, for “GP EnMotion brown roll towels.” The price of the said it sounded as if “an incompe-
paper towels was blacked out. tent employee” was responsible for
An agreement for window cleaning by Performances Services Inc., a Harrisburg company. taking out the contract’s cost.
The price was obscured in a March 2017 purchase agreement. Unlike PHEAA, the amount of

S
Penn Waste’s contracts with the Har-

The 2007 PHEAA scandal

tate lawmakers contacted
about the redactions
expressed surprise, and
a government watchdog suggested
PHEAA be audited.
Republican Sen. John Eichel-
berger of Altoona, a PHEAA board
member, said he wasn’t aware the
agency was redacting financial
information.
“I don’t understand why any-
one would have anything redacted
that should be public information,”
Eichelberger said. He said he would
talk to other board members and staff
to find out how it happened and “to
make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York, a
candidate for governor, owns Penn
Waste Inc., a trash and recycling
company that has contracts with
state agencies and municipalities.
risburg Area Community College,
Department of General Services and
the Liquor Control Board were all
Records released in 2007 showed members of the Pennsylvania Higher Education As- available on the Treasury website.
sistance Agency board spent $768,000 on trips to posh resorts from 2000 to 2005 where Despite PHEAA’s pledge to re-
they got facials, culinary classes, falconry lessons and $25 cigars, as first reported by the view contracts for compliance with
Patriot-News. the Right to Know Law, activist
An audit by then-Auditor General Jack Wagner released in 2008 showed board mem- Epstein is skeptical.
bers dined at an “ultra-high end” steak house in Arizona, at a cost of $265 per person, “The only way to restore
spent $26,116 for Penn State “rally towels” and $10,000 worth of iPod Nanos for an Internet confidence in PHEAA’s internal
contest, $66,640 on Hershey’s candy packages for 2,380 clients, and $11,500 on screwdriver controls is for the auditor general
sets for giveaway items at conferences. to conduct an independent foren-
Disclosures about state bonuses further irked the public. They totaled $6.4 million over a sic audit,” he said. “When it takes
three-year period, and $3.9 million went to executives. ten years and an outside entity to
At least a dozen PHEAA executives earned base salaries and bonuses that exceeded Gov. identify internal irregularities, rest
Ed Rendell’s $164,500 salary, Wagner stated. assured more parts of the system
Wagner’s audit found that “PHEAA was governed and managed within a culture that are corroded or deficient.”
sometimes allowed self-reward to supersede fiscal prudence. In those instances, PHEAA The Caucus contacted all 19 vot-
failed its mission by not using all available resources to benefit Pennsylvania students.” ing members of the PHEAA board
That culture has changed dramatically, said PHEAA Chairman Mike Peifer, a Republican for comment. Only four board mem-
lawmaker from Pike County. “There’s a different culture here now,” Peifer told The Caucus. bers returned phone calls to discuss
“Quite frankly we want openness and we want transparency.” the issue.

THE WEEK AHEAD

9 A . M . , S E P T. 2 6 1 2 P. M . , S E P T. 3 0 1 2 P. M . , O C T. 2

Breathe Free PA Fundraiser for Stomp Out Bullying

CAPITOL ROTUNDA
Members of the Breathe Free Pennsylvania Coali-
tion hold a news conference to show support for
strengthening the clean indoor air law.
DACA students CAPITOL ROTUNDA
A news conference is held to discuss Blue Shirt Day
FRONT CAPITOL STEPS
and the World Day of Bullying Prevention.
Supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
program will sell donated food to raise money for DACA
students who need financial aid in order to renew.

9 A . M . , S E P T. 2 6 6 P. M . , S E P T. 3 0 1 0 A . M . , O C T. 3

Recovery Same Night Safe Harbor

Advocacy Day
CAPITOL ROTUNDA AND EAST WING
A display aims to raise awareness of substance-
use disorders, celebrate individuals in long-term
recovery, and acknowledge the work of preven-
tion, treatment and recovery support services.
Addiction Vigil
FRONT CAPITOL STEPS
Accessible Recovery Services Inc. hosts speakers
and guests to light candles for loved ones who have
died because of their addictions. Similar events are
being held in Erie, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
CAPITOL ROTUNDA
A news conference is held in support of legisla-
tion that aims to provide special relief to sexually
exploited children by establishing the Safe Harbor
for Sexually Exploited Children Fund and imposing
penalties on human traffickers.

1 2 : 3 0 P. M . , S E P T. 2 6 11 A.M., OCT 1 1 0 A . M . , O C T. 3

STEM in PA Ken Krawchuk for Pink fountain

CAPITOL ROTUNDA
The departments of Education and Labor & In-
dustry join Pennsylvania’s STEM ecosystem for a
rally in celebration of STEM education and creat-
ing pathways from education to the workforce.
governor FOUNTAIN PLAZA
A news conference is held to kick off Breast Cancer
FRONT CAPITOL STEPS
Awareness Month by turning the Capitol fountain
Libertarian Ken Krawchuk holds a news conference pink for the month of October.
to talk about his intention to run for governor in
2018. Krawchuk ran in 1998, 2002 and 2014.

8 T H E C A U C U S Tuesday, September 26, 2017

 CAPITOL DISPATCHES

9 : 3 0 A . M . , S E P T. 2 6
HOUSE GAME & FISHERIES COMMITTEE
Room 60, East Wing
Voting meeting on SB 30, which would
authorize the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission to establish the fees charged
by the agency. The commission fees are
now set by legislation.
1 0 A . M . , S E P T. 2 6
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Room 140, Main Capitol
Voting meeting on HB 401, HB 1037, HB
1124, HB 1196, HB 1702 and HB 1806. HB 401
would allow the Superior Court to create a
Commerce Court program modeled after the
successful Commerce Case Management Pro-
gram in Philadelphia. HB 1037 would amend
the MCARE Act to provide further lawsuit-
abuse reform for long-term care facilities. HB
1124 would provide for the offense of neglect
of a care-dependent person and create the
offense of abuse of a care-dependent person.
The bill is intended to close a gap in state
law. HB 1196 would amend Title 20 (Dece-
dents, Estates and Fiduciaries) to include the
codification of Pennsylvania Orders for Life
Sustaining Treatment to be used by medical
professionals across all health care settings. HB
1702 would allow Pennsylvanian sheriffs to run
for re-election provided they have 10 years of
service in the U.S. Armed Forces including ac-
tive, reserve, or national guard service and are
members in good standing of the Pennsylva-
nia Bar even if they have not completed basic
Deputy Sheriff Education. HB 1806 would
amend the definition of “victim” for purposes
of the restitution law so that it includes entities
such as counties rather than only individuals.
HEARINGS
1 0 A . M . , S E P T. 2 6
HOUSE STATE GOVERNMENT
COMMITTEE
Room B31, Main Capitol
Voting meeting on HB 1692, HB 1787. HB
1692 would prohibit the commonwealth
from entering into contracts with individu-
als, businesses and other organizations
engaged in investment activities in Iran. HB
1787 would grant and convey, at a price to
be determined through a competitive bid
process, certain lands, buildings and im-
provements situate in the Borough of Kane,
McKean County.
1 0 A . M . , S E P T. 2 6
HOUSE URBAN AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE
Room G50, Irvis Office
Voting meeting on HB 1499, HB 1676. HB
1499 would amend provisions of Title 68
relating to planned communities, condo-
miniums and cooperatives to ensure a unit
owner board is elected within a reasonable
amount of time, and that developers com-
ply in handing over ownership of the com-
munity to the unit owners. HB 1676 would
amend the Neighborhood Improvement
District Act into its own chapter in Title
53 (Municipalities Generally) and expand
the act to allow for the creation of cultural
improvement districts.
C A L L O F C H A I R , S E P T. 2 6
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
Room 140, Main Capitol
Agenda to be announced.
8 : 4 5 A . M . , S E P T. 2 7
LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION
Room 14, East Wing
Monthly business meeting.
9 A . M . , S E P T. 2 7
HOUSE AGRICULTURE & RURAL AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE
Room 205, Ryan Office Building
Public hearing on HB 1463, which would
increase dog license fees and authorize a
statewide online license registry.
9 A . M . , S E P T. 2 7
HOUSE PROFESSIONAL
LICENSURE COMMITTEE
Room G50, Irvis Office Building
Voting meeting on HB 1737, which would
provide for an exemption to allow chiro-
practic interns and students to perform
chiropractic activities under the supervision
of a licensee, instructor or supervisor.
9 : 3 0 A . M . , S E P T. 2 7
HOUSE AGING & OLDER
ADULT SERVICES COMMITTEE
Room G50, Irvis Office Building
Informational meeting on the long-term
care ombudsman program.
9 : 3 0 A . M . , S E P T. 2 7
HOUSE LABOR & INDUSTRY COMMITTEE
Room 60, East Wing
Informational meeting on Protz v. WCAB
and the expected impacts of this decision.
C A L L O F C H A I R , S E P T. 2 7
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
Room 140, Main Capitol
Agenda to be announced.
1 0 A . M . , S E P T. 2 8
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
Chestnuthill Township Building,
Brodheadsville
Public hearing on property tax
assessment.
1 0 : 3 0 A . M . , S E P T. 2 8
HOUSE TOURISM & RECREATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg
Informational meeting on impact of the
Bloomsburg Fair on tourism in
Pennsylvania.
9 A . M . , O C T. 3
HOUSE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
Room 60, East Wing
Public hearing on workforce issues re-
lated to care for people who have disabili-
ties and paying direct service professionals
a living wage.
1 0 A . M . , O C T. 4
HOUSE JUDICIARY SUBCOMMITTEE
ON FAMILY LAW
Room 140, Main Capitol
Informational meeting on HB 1644,
which would create a new chapter in the
Judicial Code titled “Collaborative Law
Process.”

FUNDRAISERS
8 A . M . , S E P T. 2 6 5 : 3 0 P. M . , S E P T. 2 7 5 : 3 0 P. M . , O C T. 2 8 A . M . , O C T. 3
RECEPTION FOR RECEPTION FOR RECEPTION FOR RECEPTION FOR
REP. MIKE SCHLOSSBERG SEN. JOHN RAFFERTY REP. KERRY BENNINGHOFF REP. JUDY WARD
McGrath’s Desmond Hotel Rubicon 500 N. 3rd St.
Harrisburg Malvern Harrisburg Harrisburg
$250 to $1,000 $250 to $1,000 $1,000 to $5,000 $250

8 A . M . , S E P T. 2 6 9 : 3 0 A . M . , S E P T. 2 8 5 : 3 0 P. M . , O C T. 2 5 P. M . , O C T. 3
RECEPTION FOR GOLF OUTING WITH RECEPTION FOR RECEPTION FOR REP. PAM SNYDER
REP. JEFF WHEELAND SEN. TOMMY TOMLINSON REP. NEAL GOODMAN McGrath’s
500 N. 3rd St. Bensalem Country Club McGrath’s Harrisburg
Harrisburg Bensalem Harrisburg $500 to $1,000
$250 $300 to $2,000 $500 to $1,000
5 : 3 0 P. M . , O C T. 3
9 A . M . , S E P T. 2 9
5 : 3 0 P. M . , S E P T. 2 6 6 : 3 0 P. M . , O C T. 2 RECEPTION FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
GOLF OUTING WITH
RECEPTION FOR RECEPTION FOR OF PENNSYLVANIA
REP. ROB MATZIE
REP. FRANK DERMODY SEN. MARIO SCAVELLO Home of David and Debbie Hollinger
The Club at Shadow Lakes
Level 2 Stoudsmoor Country Inn Denver
Aliquippa
Harrisburg Stroudsburg $250 to $1,000
$150 to $3,000
$1,000 to $5,000 $100 to $5,000
1 1 A . M . , O C T. 5
5 : 3 0 P. M . , S E P T. 2 6 9 A . M . , S E P T. 2 9 8 A . M . , O C T. 3 GOLF OUTING
RECEPTION FOR CLAY SHOOT FOR RECEPTION FOR FOR SEN. JAKE CORMAN
REP. TODD STEPHENS SEN. RICH ALLOWAY REP. CHRIS SAINATO Toftrees Golf Resort
McGrath’s Central Penn Sporting Clays Carley’s Ristorante State College
Harrisburg Wellsville Harrisburg $150 to $2,500
$300 to $1,000 $250 to $1,000 $250 to $500

5 : 3 0 P. M . , S E P T. 2 6 1 1 : 3 0 A . M . , O C T. 2 8 A . M . , O C T. 3 1 0 A . M . , O C T. 7
RECEPTION FOR LUNCHEON FOR RECEPTION FOR FAMILY PICNIC AND TRAP SHOOT
REP. SUE HELM REP. JOE MARKOSEK REP. MIKE CARROLL FOR REP. MARK KELLER
The Country Club of Harrisburg Harrisburg Hilton Harrisburg Hilton Ickesburg Sportsman’s Club
Harrisburg Harrisburg Harrisburg Ickesburg
$350 $500 to $5,000 $300 to $1,000 $75 to $1,000

Tuesday, September 26, 2017 THE CAUCUS 9

 THE INTERVIEW

THE PROSECUTOR
Why Tom Corbett was
more at ease in the
Attorney General’s
Office than in the
Governor’s Mansion

Former Gov. Tom Corbett dis-

cusses his former roles as gover-
nor and as attorney general.

A
DAN MARSCHKA FOR THE CAUCUS
» » BRAD BUMSTED + PAULA KNUDSEN

t heart, former Gov. Tom Corbett is still a prosecutor. this course. We taught this course four and think, “What if I would have done
The former U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh, state attor- consecutive semesters in a row. this? What if I would have done that?”
But it’s the past. Give it up.
ney general and former assistant district attorney in THE CAUCUS: One thing I’ve wondered I would say, “I’m gonna do it the way I
Allegheny County still thinks and talks like a prosecu- since you left the Governor’s Office: think it needs to be done. If I don’t get
tor. Oh yeah, he was also governor for four years. Which role did you enjoy most, being a re-elected, I’ll go become the starter on
U.S. attorney, attorney general or being a golf course or something.” I haven’t
Corbett, 68, of Shaler, is now retired or three clients that I work with and I’m governor? become the starter on a golf course, but
and teaching a course at Duquesne Uni- always available for more. And I’m teach- CORBETT: They are three completely I did everything I said I was going to do.
versity School of Law. But he’s spending ing at Duquesne Law School. different things. I really enjoyed the chal- Now, if I could do one thing differently
a lot of time with his grandchildren and lenges of all three. Frankly, if attorney — and I just recently told Kevin (Harley)
catching movies with his wife of 45 years, THE CAUCUS: What do you teach? general was not term-limited, I would this — I think we would have approached
Susan, at a $5-per-senior-ticket theater CORBETT: It’s a course we created called have run for re-election for attorney gen- the first budget a little differently. Same
in Allegheny County. One recent flick “Law, Public Policy and the Governor’s eral and not run for governor. If people budget, but probably educated everybody
they viewed was “Wonder Woman,” an- Office.” It’s myself and Professor Mistick would have wanted me, I would still be a little more.
other “Manchester by the Sea.” Not much and Professor Rago. I bring guest speak- attorney general, because I really enjoyed
golf this past year, due to a knee opera- ers in from my administration, and this that. That was my background. THE CAUCUS: How?
tion, he says. Thursday, I’m having Kevin Harley (former Being governor was a little bit out of CORBETT: Lay the groundwork. Talk
During an interview with The Caucus press secretary) in as a fill-in for some- my normal comfort zone, but I found it about how difficult it’s going to be. Talk
in the office of Quantum Communica- body that had to cancel. So he picked it up to be extremely challenging, extremely about cuts. We didn’t do it because we
tions in Harrisburg, an extremely relaxed with short notice. It’s a behind-the-scenes exciting and I think we did a very good didn’t want the opposite side to be built
and candid Corbett acknowledged that if look at what we did in the four years; a very job in the four years I was there. up for it, but that didn’t work. So maybe
there were no term limits “he would still frank, behind-the-scenes look. The stu- Regretfully, I didn’t get another four we should have done it the other way, be-
be attorney general.” Clearly he pre- dents write papers and its popularity has years, because I think we could have really cause it hit everybody between the eyes.
ferred that role to the huge demands and grown each semester. moved the state forward. We built the
spotlight of being governor. He admitted THE CAUCUS: How many credits? foundation for the state and that’s what you THE CAUCUS: Do you think if you had
that having prosecuted more than two CORBETT: Two credits. So they have have to do. Sometimes you wonder wheth- pushed liquor reform right off the bat, as
dozen members of the General Assembly to write. A lot of law schools now have er the term shouldn’t be a six-year term. your signature bill in the first six months,
and staff on corruption charges didn’t ex- writing requirements, in two different One six-year term instead of two four-year that you would have had a better shot at
actly help his legislative agenda, nor did levels, and they can do whichever level terms, but that’s not going to happen. that?
eliminating so-called WAMs or walking they want — a big one or a small one. But CORBETT: I don’t think we could,
around money and discretionary grants it’s a very popular course. We have 40 THE CAUCUS: Why? What would be because we needed to get the budget
for legislators’ districts. students in the class, from 4 to 6 in the the benefit of a six-year term? done. It took everything to get the budget
Corbett also did not dispute that he evening on Thursdays, which they never CORBETT: You wouldn’t be running for done, and you saw all the protests we
kept his first budget plan so close to the had that many students in a class at that re-election, and that does have an impact had here because nobody wanted to have
vest it resembled a secret grand jury pre- time of day. on some of the decisions you make, with their budget cut. So we had to find $2
sentment. The huge reductions in overall advice you get from your advisers. You billion somewhere. I wasn’t the one that
education spending he proposed hit like THE CAUCUS: Would you teach crimi- have to look to re-election. Some would overspent. That’s a combination of the
a bombshell. Corbett blamed federal cuts nal law, as well, if there were an opportu- probably say I didn’t do that, and they General Assembly and the governor. I
that he didn’t restore but it was a message nity? would be right. I did what I said I was approached the budget like a prosecutor.
he never got across. Corbett was defeated CORBETT: I mean, if they needed me to going to do. You have a job to do, do it.
in 2014 by Democrat Tom Wolf. fill in or something like that, sure. We’re
looking to create another course for next THE CAUCUS: Hillary Clinton has a book THE CAUCUS: But do you think the
THE CAUCUS: Most people may not semester, basically “how to become a out right now, kind of a post-mortem of prosecutorial skill set sometimes ham-
know what you are doing right now. prosecutor.” It’s kind of an introduction to her campaign. After the 2014 gubernato- pered what you needed to do as a governor?
CORBETT: Sure. In no order, I do some prosecution work. So hopefully we’ll have rial election, did you, kind of in your own CORBETT: Maybe some of the investi-
consulting. I have my own consulting that ready by the time the semester begins head, go through the postmortem? gations I had before didn’t help in rela-
company, Corbett Advisors. I have two next semester. Then I’ll take a break in CORBETT: Sure, and you continue to, tionships with the Legislature. You would

10 T H E C A U C U S Tuesday, September 26, 2017


have to ask them that. But, for instance,
keeping quiet when the budgets began —
that was the prosecutorial background.
Easy Monday morning quarterback-
ing, saying, “Well, maybe we should have
gone out there and really done two things:
explained more during the campaign
trail, ‘This is how bad it is, ladies and
gentlemen. We’re gonna have to reduce
the spending,’ and maybe at the time the
protests started, or even before it, spend
campaign dollars that we had in the bank,
presenting our positions compared to the
money that was spent budgeting the fu-
ture jobs.” Because they’re the ones — they
were out of the box right away, and we
were fighting from that point forward.
THE CAUCUS: By keeping things under
wraps, were you trying to avoid having
opponents criticize your budget plan in
advance?
CORBETT: That was part of my thought
process and then our thought process.
But in hindsight, it wouldn’t have made
a difference. ... because you actually used
the word now, too. ... We spent what we
had. Is that a cut? Yeah, because we don’t
have the money, but as you know, I did
not cut education spending. ... But we
didn’t explain that beforehand when we
could have, without having to go to just a
sound bite.
Once we did it, they were killing us
with sound bites and we had a one-page
explanation. If you looked at the one-
page explanation, you could see it.
In my class the other day, I’m looking
at the budget numbers and saying, “It
was clear. We did not have the money.” So
I cut education? No, I didn’t. ... I funded
it to the level of state dollars that we had
available, not federal dollars.
THE CAUCUS: The tight lid you kept on
that first budget reminded me almost like
it was a grand jury presentment coming
down. I couldn’t get anything on it until
the night before, and then it was just a
little piece or two from a legislator.
CORBETT: Yeah, so it’s easy to say
maybe we should have been more public
beforehand, but again, that’s water over
the dam, under the bridge, whatever.
THE CAUCUS: Do you think you should
have gotten rid of WAMs to the extent
that you did?
CORBETT: Well, I certainly handcuffed
myself.
THE CAUCUS: Handcuffed yourself in
terms of certain bills?
CORBETT: Making deals. Maybe if I
would have had a couple WAMs, I would
have gotten two more votes in the Senate
on liquor.
THE CAUCUS: But in the end, how do
you weigh that? If you say you didn’t
believe they should have WAMs, that’s
why you’re going to get rid of them. If you
had them, you wouldn’t have handcuffed
yourself and maybe gotten more legisla-
tion passed.
CORBETT: I think the analysis of many
people here in Harrisburg say that I
wasn’t political. They’re right. I was a dif-
ferent kind of a governor. I told you what
I was going to do, and I did it. I wasn’t
political about it. And the people wanted,
I guess, political.
THE CAUCUS: You attended the
Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and
Industry annual dinner, where there was
some discussion about young people be-
ing disenfranchised with public service.
Do you feel disenfranchised?
CORBETT: No, and in fact, in this class I
THE INTERVIEW
encourage them to consider it. With each
subject, for instance, I had Pete Tartline
(deputy budget secretary) in two weeks
ago. We talked about the budget. Last
week I had Frank Noonan (former state
police commissioner) in and we talked
about the state police and all the things
they do. I point out to the students, “Here
are where there are legal jobs you may
want to take a look at.”
I am always pointing towards the
public services side obviously. So I think
there’s a lot of people out there, young
people, that may be disenfranchised, but
I’m not so sure that those are the ones that
were thinking about it in the first place.
There’s a lot of people thinking
about it, especially from the lawyer-side
standpoint. A lot of lawyers go into public
service.
THE CAUCUS: Other than teaching,
what do you do now? Do you golf? You
have other interests?
CORBETT: Well, I just came off of knee
surgery. I had a partial knee replacement
here. I was in pain all summer, so I played
golf twice this summer and that was it. I
asked the doctor when I can start playing
golf. He said, “OK, you can go to the put-
ting green. Spend a month on the putting
green. Then go and spend a month with
your nine-iron. Then put your clubs away
until next year.”
So I’m not playing golf. I said, “Okay,
I get the message.” But I think I may take
him up on going to the putting green. I
have the time to go do that. I have the
time to help Sue run the house. We spend
a lot of time with the grandchildren.
THE CAUCUS: How many grandchil-
dren do you have?
CORBETT: Five.
THE CAUCUS: What do they call you?
CORBETT: Pop Pop. Liam named me Pop
Pop. So the twins will come in, “Pop Pop,
Pop Pop, Pop Pop!” I say “Elliott, Elliott,
Elliott, Theodore, Theodore, Theodore!”
They just laugh. They are great. A lot of
fun. It’s also good when they go home, too.
THE CAUCUS: What’s your speaking
junket like?
CORBETT: Very little.
THE CAUCUS: No? Is that on you?
CORBETT: That’s me.
THE CAUCUS: Why?
CORBETT: I just choose not to. You
know, 10 years in the public eye. I don’t
have to worry about it.
THE CAUCUS: You said if you weren’t
term-limited for attorney general, you
would love to go back. Do you ever think
about…
CORBETT: No, I’m done running. I can’t
tell you how many people say, “You’re
gonna run again, aren’t you? You’re gonna
run again for governor.” No. A lot of
people don’t understand or recognize my
age. They think I am younger than I am.
THE CAUCUS: Well, why not run for
office?
CORBETT: The reason I’m not is be-
cause I have had a lot of people tell me
that I look a lot better now than my last
year in office. They say, “You’ve got the
glow back.” ... I’m sure you realize, there’s
other things in life to do. I have had a
couple of people die that I know. I’m part
of the committee for 50th high school
reunion this year. And I had a class of 425
and we have 53 of them dead...
And so I’m 68, what am I gonna do?
How long am I gonna be healthy? We
have gone to a couple of weddings. We
were in Tulsa, Oklahoma, two weekends
ago for a wedding and we were in Green-
briar this weekend. ... We have the ability
just pick up and go and travel.
THE CAUCUS: What’s the harder job,
governor or attorney general?
CORBETT: Governor.
THE CAUCUS: Because of all the inter-
ests you have to balance and juggle?
CORBETT: Well, it’s the variety. The
Governor’s Office is a ride. It’s the sched-
ule. If you do it the way I was doing it. I
was busy. I didn’t have a lot of free time.
We had maybe one weekend out of about
every five where we went home to Pitts-
burgh. I might have Sundays off every
other Sunday. They would usually be
spent in the basement of the Governor’s
Residence, zoning out. But now, if I just
want to do something or we want to go to
our friend’s place in Florida in January,
absent the last one, I can go down there....
THE CAUCUS: You say that you encour-
age students to consider public service,
but as you describe it, it’s really hard. It’s
grueling and it takes a toll on you.
CORBETT: Well, there’s a difference be-
tween public service and running for of-
fice. Most of my career was public service.
It was a job. As assistant DA and even U.S.
attorney. Even as U.S. attorney you’re not
on stage like you are as the attorney gen-
eral or governor. It’s when you get in that
political arena. ... That’s the hard part.
THE CAUCUS: As a trial lawyer, is it like
being in front of a jury all the time?
CORBETT: Yes. ... Actually, being in front
of a jury is easier, because you get to pres-
ent your side. The other side gets to pres-
ent their side. And there are no critiques.
Nobody in the media saying this or that.
There are no tweets about it or anything.
And it’s 12 people who get to decide.
THE CAUCUS: Two of the major cases
you handled as attorney general, the
Supreme Court’s taken a hit on in the
sentencing with (Perzel and Veon). Were
you surprised by that? You have any com-
ment on it?
CORBETT: Surprised by it? You know,
it’s hard to be surprised by anything that
the Supreme Court does. Because there
is no real guidance in these cases. These
were new cases. They were novel cases.
They were, to a certain extent, cases of
first impression. ... What didn’t change
was that the person was convicted and
they betrayed the trust of the people of
Pennsylvania.
THE CAUCUS: Do you think that those
prosecutions stopped that kind of behav-
ior or deterred it in any way?
CORBETT: I would hope so. I have no
idea. Let’s take one of paying bonuses.
If they’re paying bonuses, then they’re
probably paying it out of campaign
funds.
THE CAUCUS: Unless they’re doing the
work on state time.
CORBETT: Unless they’re doing the
work on state time. And even then, no-
body’s punching the clock. So if they put
in an 18-hour day, they’re not up there
punching the clock, saying, “I’m in this
building today.” Now if they’re doing it
from the building, it’s a different story. As
governor, we had two telephones because
that was my office. I had a political phone
and I had a state phone. I bet you I used
that political phone five times, maybe.
If I really needed to sit down and
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
make political fundraising phone calls, I
went to the campaign office. And remem-
ber, a lot of that changed after (Jeffrey)
Habay, and Jeff Manning’s decision
in Haybay, which the Superior Court
adopted. And I consider that as the bright
line to the Legislature. ... We didn’t look
at anything prior to Haybay.
THE CAUCUS: And so you publicly
stated that?
CORBETT: Yeah. “Because, well, it’s
always been done that way.” Well, guess
what? You were told it was wrong, so now
there are consequences to your actions.
THE CAUCUS: What would you say to
those that would say, “Yeah, that was all
good what Corbett did, but Senate Re-
publicans got off the hook somehow?”
CORBETT: Well, I would say they
don’t know what they are talking about.
Because if we would have had evidence,
of the Senate Republicans, or the Senate
Democrats, we would have prosecuted.
Nobody ever said I let anybody go.
THE CAUCUS: Senate Democrats — was
there an agreement with the FBI to just
let them handle those cases, because
those were federal cases.
CORBETT: There wasn’t an agreement,
per se. They were there first, so it made
no sense for us to go in there.
THE CAUCUS: Because of Fumo?
CORBETT: Yeah.
THE CAUCUS: What’s one of your
favorite memories from the leadership?
Either from the AG’s office, or Governor’s
Office? We’ve been talking about a lot of
the difficult parts. What about something
that stands out as a positive?
CORBETT: It’s hard to limit it. Getting
the Shell cracker. That’s a generational
impact. Multigeneration impact. I can
look at it and say, “Yes, it’s a success.”
Very few governors get an opportunity
to do something like that. And I’m very
pleased at where we are. We were in the
situation at the time when natural gas
started becoming an important part of
our economy in Pennsylvania and then
acting upon it in a way that we could get
value added, just the fact that we have gas
here.
I was pleased with the transporta-
tion bill. I know a lot of my conservative
friends weren’t, but it was extremely
important to public safety across this
commonwealth.
The side benefit to it, which most peo-
ple looked at, but I looked at it as a side
benefit of employment: a lot of people
are employed now. I literally have been
stopped in traffic for construction and
someone will come over, one of the work-
ers will come over and tap on my window
and say, “Are you Governor Corbett?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
Right out in Murraysville. “Thank you
for doing this. I am working because of
your transportation bill.”
And that was a risky bill for somebody
like me to get done, but it was, again, the
right thing to do. The AG’s office, what we
did there, we were providing public safety
at a level that that office hadn’t been at.
We made it into a much more of a U.S.
attorney’s office.
Looking at organizations. We looked
at a lot of organizational type cases trying
to stem drugs. We had to deal with the
Highmark UPMC issue. I didn’t get a lot
of easy things put on my plate, both as
attorney general and as governor. But we
didn’t shrink from them.
T H E C A U C U S 11
 COMMENTARY

At left, U.S. Rep.

Louis J. Barletta ad-
dressses the Lan-
caster Rotary Club in
2007.

FILE PHOTOS

At right, U.S. Sen.

Bob Casey Jr. an-
swers questions at
Franklin & Marshall
College in June.

12 T H E C A U C U S Tuesday, September 26, 2017


THE TROUBLE
WITH LOU
Lou Barletta is often portrayed as Donald Trump’s
‘political godfather,’ but will that help or hurt in his
bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in 2018?
There’s a hoary old adage about
the weather that is often attrib-
uted to Mark Twain: “If you don’t
like it now, wait five minutes and it
will change.”
Something like that has hap-
pened to the burgeoning re-elec-
tion campaign of Pennsylvania’s
Bob Casey, who is running for a
third term in the U.S. Senate.
Only a few short weeks ago,
the expected Casey race looked
like a ho-hum affair in which
the popular senator, bearing the
iconic Casey name, would sweep
to re-election against whatever
sacrificial lamb the GOP served up
to contest him.
After all, Casey has run five
times for three separate statewide
offices in the past 15 years, and
he’s won all in a landslide. It’s the
15th time the family name has
appeared on a state ballot over
some six decades if you include his
father, a former governor, auditor
general and state senator.
But then along came Lou.
As in U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, the
Republican incumbent in Pennsyl-
vania’s 11th Congressional District.
And everything changed.
TRUMP’S POLITICAL
GODFATHER
Casey’s scheduled walk-
through has become a possible
marathon, and one of the safest
Democratic seats in the U.S. Sen-
ate suddenly looks competitive.
Barletta is a competent, likable
congressman who entered politics
as a small-town mayor, parleying
that into a congressional seat by
advocating controversial, albeit
wildly popular, policies to combat
illegal immigration.
He now sits in one of the most
COMMENTARY
» » G. TERRY MADONNA + MICHAEL YOUNG
gerrymandered seats in one of the
most gerrymandered states, and
hence a seat he could probably oc-
cupy for life, if he chose.
Yet, he instead chooses to give
that up, enter what looks like a
testy GOP primary armed with
a war chest of only about a half
million dollars and low statewide
name recognition.
He does so for one compelling
reason.
His mere presence in the race
will transform it into a direct
referendum on Trump. That’s be-
cause Barletta was Trump before
Trump was Trump.
In fact, one source has referred
to Barletta as Trump’s “political
Godfather” because of his early,
high-profile efforts to stem illegal
immigration. Barletta was also one
of the very first publicly to sup-
port Trump’s long-shot presiden-
tial run, and he has been one of
Trump’s strongest supporters in
office.
He was briefly a candidate for
two different cabinet posts and
introduced a bill to help fulfill
Trump’s campaign promise to
build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico
border.
Trump and Barletta are joined
at the hip.
Meanwhile, Casey has become
the “un-Trump,” transforming
himself into one of the president’s
harshest critics.
With the notable exception of
trade policy, Casey has empha-
sized his opposition to Trump
across the board. Moreover, this is
a referendum Trump apparently
wants, as he has publicly and pri-
vately encouraged Barletta to get
into the race.
Trump is in it to win it, as they
say.
DEEP POCKETS
But is it winnable?
Can a relatively obscure con-
gressman from rural Pennsylvania
bring down the reigning colossus
of state politics?
Probably not.
Some commentators have
taken to characterizing Barletta’s
task as a “high hill” to climb. But
the more apt metaphor is probably
“a bridge too far.”
Money will be his first problem.
Casey has about 10 times more
cash on hand — $5.5 million in
total. But even that will be ante-up
money in 2018.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s race in
2016 topped $176 million, setting a
national record.
It’s possible that 2018 will
exceed that. Barletta has little ex-
perience in raising these sums.
While Trump will aggressively
support him, Senate Republicans
will be less generous, committing
national funds to races supported
by Majority Leader Mitch McCon-
nell and considered more win-
nable.
Nor will Trump’s low approval
ratings in the state help Barletta.
Certainly much of Trump’s
core 2016 constituency still
supports him. But with Trump’s
approval rating hovering around
35 percent, will they go to the polls
Nov. 6th to support Barletta?
ADVANTAGE, CASEY
Conversely, Casey enters the
race with an enormous, 800,000-
plus active-voter registration edge
statewide, including huge majori-
ties in vote-rich Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh.
And Barletta will struggle
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
against Casey on the vital trade
issues so resonant in the state.
Casey has carefully built his image
as an advocate for fair-trade poli-
cies and a critic of many free trade
policies.
Similarly, Casey has minded
the home fires, devoting much
time to town halls interacting
with ordinary folks. Also, he
has maintained a reputation for
responsiveness to constituency
service.
While long considered a low-
profile campaigner, Casey has
become a skilled debater and a
competent speaker.
In addition, he is mostly in-
oculated on the ever-bitter issues
in Pennsylvania of abortion and
guns. Both pro-life and pro-Sec-
ond Amendment, he incurs few
of the handicaps in rural regions
of the state experienced by most
Democrats.
Finally, a statistic supplied by
Larry Sabato at the University of
Virginia spells out Barletta’s chal-
lenge: For more than a century,
the re-election rate for incumbent
senators of the party not in the
White House is 91percent.
Statistically speaking, that
makes Barletta’s chances of beat-
ing Casey about nine percent.
That’s better than no chance.
But not by much.
G. Terry Madonna is a profes-
sor of public affairs at Franklin &
Marshall College in Lancaster. Mi-
chael Young is a speaker, pollster,
author and a former professor of
politics and public affairs at Penn
State University. They encourage
responses to the column and can
be reached, respectively, at terry.
madonna@fandm.edu and drmike-
lyoung@comcast.net.
T H E C A U C U S 13

THIS WEEK IN PA HISTORY
Excerpts of noteworthy, newsworthy and just plain odd political news
2
Y E A R S AG O
House debate turns ugly
on English language bill
DEMOCRATIC STATE REP. LESLIE ACOSTA ACCUSED RE-
publican state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe of inviting a white
supremacist to testify in favor of a bill that would have
required official state records to be in English. She also
accused him of cutting off her microphone on the House
floor. The tense debate on the House floor in September
2015 forced Metcalfe to proclaim: “The comments that she
made about some alleged white supremacist being in our
meeting was outrageous. To say somebody is a nationalist
and for the independence of their country and a patriot to
defending their country is a lot different from saying some-
body is a racist.” Metcalfe suggested the man he invited
to testify — Bob Vandervoort, executive director of U.S.
English — was a white nationalist, not a white supremacist.
Allentown Morning Call reporter Steve Esack wrote that
Vandervoort had been the organizer of the white national-
ist group Chicagoland Friends of American Renaissance.
5
Y E A R S AG O
Legal reimbursement
law little used in
Assembly
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER REVEALED IN OCTOBER
2012 that taxpayers had not been reimbursed for legal help
provided to convicted public officials despite a 1996 law re-
quirement them to reimburse the Treasury. The newspaper
found that taxpayers had spent $15 million in the prior five
years, including $10 million spent on the hiring of defense
lawyers to address sweeping investigations begun by Tom
Corbett. The Senate spent $4 million to respond to federal
indictments of four state senators, the paper reported. Un-
der state law, elected officials must pay for their own legal
defense when criminal charges are filed against them. The
state picks up the tab during the investigation phase.
FROM LEFT Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, former Chief Justice
Ronald Castille, Senate staffer Drew Crompton, former Gov.
Tom Corbett, former Attorney General Ernie Preate Jr.
14 T H E C A U C U S Tuesday, September 26, 2017
POLITICAL HISTORY
3
Y E A R S AG O
Chief justice warns
of porn email fallout
CHIEF JUSTICE RONALD CASTILLE SAID SOME COURT
cases could be affected if judges were among those state
employees who exchanged pornographic material by email
with members of the attorney general s office. “If you’re
emailing back and forth ... you may have a conflict that will
require you to recuse yourself from these cases,” Castille
told reporters in a September 2014 conference call. Then-
Attorney General Kathleen Kane`s office found that at
least three dozen current and former employees sent or re-
ceived pornographic material in hundreds of office emails
from 2008 to 2012; The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in
September 2014 that the emails had circulated among
some top jurists. Justice Seamus McCaffery later retired
and Justice Michael Eakin resigned in the scandal.
12
Y E A R S AG O
Frustrated protesters
can’t find lawmakers
HUNDREDS OF PROTESTERS MET IN THE CAPITOL TO
decry the Legislature’s midnight pay raise after being
encouraged to “take back the people’s house.” But when
the people entered their house, clutching maps and lists of
legislators’ office numbers, many found their temporary ten-
ants — the lawmakers — were nowhere to be seen. “Fired up
by incendiary speeches and demanding that their represen-
tatives sign a ‘pay raise integrity pledge,’ clumps of protest-
ers crawled through the Capitol, filling its marble halls with
calls of ‘Repent. Repeal. Resign,’ ” the Lancaster New Era
reported in September 2005. But few were able to get face
time because most lawmakers were in caucus or legislative
sessions for the majority of that afternoon. One Republican
lawmaker said he was met by some constituents who he
described as being just “friends who like to give me grief.”
4
Y E A R S AG O
Legislature pays $4.2M
to buy out 258 aides
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS’ MARK SCOLFORO REPORTED
that the Legislature had paid 258 of its employees more than
$4.2 million to retire or quit from November 2011 through
August of 2013 in buyouts “that in many cases gave people
with decades of service an extra incentive to leave and begin
collecting substantial pensions.” The buyouts, designed to
cut personnel costs, paid the average recipient more than
$16,000, though nine employees got $40,000 apiece, the
AP reported. Drew Crompton, the Senate aide who helped
develop and administer the program, said the buyouts were
not “some sort of wild giveaway.” “This was a calculated effort
in order to shrink the size of the Senate which, quite frankly,
has worked out tremendously well. We are incredibly leaner
than we were seven years ago. If it takes investment for that
to happen, so be it,” he said. In the Senate, 47 employees who
were at or near retirement age took the buyouts. In the House
and bipartisan management arm, 211 did. Both chambers gave
them $1,000 or a week’s pay for each year of service. The
Senate capped payouts at $40,000; the House, $25,000.
18
Y E A R S AG O
Preate joins chorus
of opposition
to the death penalty
THE STATE HOUSE REJECTED A BID TO DO AWAY WITH
capital punishment in late September 1999, despite a plea
from a surprising witness. Former Pennsylvania Attorney
General Ernie Preate criticized the state penal system as
harsh and “mean-spirited with ever-increasing mandatory
sentences for smaller and smaller amounts of drugs.” “I
have to admit I was once a proponent of these laws,” he
said in an address to the Pennsylvania Press Club, “but I’ve
changed.” Preate was more than a proponent. He was once
the state’s leading crusader for the death penalty, arguing
that the death penalty should be enforced on murderers as
young as 16. Preate said he had changed since serving time
for campaign-finance related mail fraud and following a
motorcycle accident in which he nearly lost his life.
Politics,
corrected.
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