DeWeese Knew of Bonuses

The former chief of staff to House Democratic leader Bill DeWeese testified in court Wednesday that DeWeese knew bonuses were paid to reward legislative employees for their help on political campaigns. See full story...

Observer Reporter Story 10/08/08

Greg Hopkins for 50th District State Representative

Southwest PA has a real opportunity to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of all Pennsylvanians this year. We are strongly endorsing Greg Hopkins for our State Representative in the 50th District.

Greg represents an opportunity for true reform in the PA legislature in open records, tax law, and government spending.

Greg will provide greater transparency, accountability and results.

He is a man of character and integrity and has strong moral stances in his pro-life beliefs and anti-gambling position.

I strongly encourage you to vote for Greg is this upcoming election.

In fact, if you are registered Democrat. I strongly encourage you to write-in Greg Hopkins on the Democratic ticket on April 22.

Join "VOTE GREG HOPKINS" on FACEBOOK

For more information on Greg, visit his website.

For my posts on Greg's opponent, Bill DeWeese, click here.

The Smoking Bill

Bill DeWeese promised a smoking ban by the end of the year (2007, that is). He is now using his leadership position to delay the committee. Yet another reason to ensure he isn't re-elected. Here is a press release from the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund.

House Leaders DeWeese and Smith also have refused to support comprehensive smoke-free legislation and -- through their leadership positions -- have delayed the convening of the conference committee.

Although comprehensive smoke-free legislation was approved by the House on July 16, 2007, after the Senate approved loophole-filled legislation on June 26, 2007, the conference committee has yet to take action. After months of delay, the committee has scheduled public hearings on the legislation for March 10 and 13.

"Pennsylvanians deserve to know that these legislators are standing in the way of their right to breathe clean air," said William V. Corr, Executive Director of the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund. "Pennsylvania lawmakers face a clear choice. By enacting a comprehensive smoke-free law for all workplaces, they can ensure that no one has to choose between their health and their paycheck. If they fail to pass such a law, they will continue to put Pennsylvanians at risk of lung cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses caused by secondhand smoke."

The ad in this post was in the Herald Standard on Tuesday of this week. It reads:

WARNING: THIS REPRESENTATIVE'S DECISIONS MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH.

Representative Bill DeWeese is standing in the way of your right to breathe clean air - even though 84% of voters want ALL workers protected from secondhand smoke. It's time to stop the delay and pass a smoke-free law for all workplaces, including restaurants, bars and casinos. Because secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including arsenic and cyanide. And it causes lung cancer and heart disease - killing more than 2,100 Pennsylvanians each year.

For more information on the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund

Here is the article from last year about the ban.

Exploiting the Poor to Reduce Taxes

I recently received my taxpayer funded propaganda from our state representative, Bill DeWeese. The opening piece states:

“Homeowners across Pennsylvania will see property tax cuts this year, which are made possible by proceeds from the state’s successful gaming industry, a proposal that was shepherded though the legislature by Rep. Bill DeWeese”.

This sentence, alone, gives the 50th District three reasons why DeWeese should no longer have his stronghold over all of Pennsylvania.

One. We will not see property tax cuts this year. I also recently received my real estate tax notice from the borough of Brownsville. It’s not there.

Two. I wish I could feel good about getting tax relief funded from the poor and elderly who are gambling away their dollars that will fund the (alleged) $1 billion in tax relief. That $1 billion is just a fraction of what Pennsylvanian’s have to lose in front of the slot machine. Anyone with an ounce of compassion should find this repulsive.

Three. Someone, somewhere must understand that gambling expansion doesn’t come with an associated cost for infrastructure, increased crime, bankruptcy, social programs, more administration and a host of other costs. The cost of legalized gambling in PA will likely exceed $500 million. Anyone with an ounce of common sense should find gambling funded tax relief ludicrous.

So, I’m committing to donate all tax relief to any candidate or organization who will actively seek to oppose and repeal legalized gambling in PA. I hope you will do the same.

Bill DeWeese is a Proponent of Gambling Expansion

In the spring of 2006, I took the opportunity to testify before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. I was the only person who testified against a casino in Fayette County. There is much to say about gambling expansion in PA, its ill effects and the corruption it cultivates. I will leave that for another post.

I learned much through this experience. One of the profound lessons occurred just after I completed my testimony. A notable community leader leaned over and thanked me for my testimony and courage. He then went on to say that gambling will destroy our community. This very individual, earlier that morning, stood up to promote a casino, the need for jobs, and to sing the praises of the family and politicians who were going to make this happen. The reality (or his reality) was that he couldn’t speak against a family (the Hardy family) or the politicians that give grants and funds to his organization. Some folks call that politics; some call it compromise or a lack of conviction. I say it is a lack of character… or worse.

Below is a copy of a guest commentary the local paper was gracious to print just after the hearing. I am putting it here, now, as Bill DeWeese is a proponent of gambling expansion. In fact, not soon after the slots legislation went into effect, Bill DeWeese began to lobby for table games. Bill DeWeese must be stopped.

I endured an act of government on May 2. Nemacolin Woodlands, LLC, presented their plan for a casino in Fayette County to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). Local officials, community groups and individuals had the opportunity to respond and provide testimony for the board’s consideration.
I heard about the epidemic of poverty, joblessness and hopelessness from our local government and business leaders. What I learned is that we are blinded by desperation, that we collectively lack vision and have lost the ability to critically think about our futures.

The management team of Nemacolin Woodlands deserves tremendous credit for building a world-class facility. The vision, creativity, amenities and customer service are superb; the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing strategy and new concepts or initiatives is absent.
A casino cannot produce sufficient revenue or profit in the hills of Fayette County.
Ms. Magerko, I implore you to apply the carpenter’s maxim of “measure twice, cut once.”
Find an independent and unbiased entity to review or reconstruct the business case for a casino at your resort. Look at gambling participation rates, expected share of wallet and disposable income in the target area – as well as with your current customer base. You will find that this analysis demonstrates a failed plan.
Hope is not a strategy. Even more unbelievable than the belief that “this will work” is the rationale “we need a casino because Fayette County is among the poorest in the state.”

A casino will bring prosperity? Who does the state lottery target? Who is the target customer of a slot parlor? The poor. It was numbing and saddening to hear testimony from our local government and business leaders who believe the best way to help the poor is provide opportunities to gamble away what little we have, Gambling is referred to as a regressive tax as it targets those with less means and not more.
I listened to county Commissioner Vince Vicites parrot the exact testimony of the applicant; describing job creation, revenue sharing tax revenue and the like. As an elected official, Mr. Vicites, take a step away from the talking points and the podium and think for yourself and your constituency. Please, please, please don’t simply regurgitate information that was handed to you.

Similar to Mr. Vicites, I consistently heard others state that they “feel” this is a good idea. What happened to the facts? John Adams once took a very unpopular position prior to the Revolutionary War of defending a British soldier who was incited to fire upon a crowd of colonialists. In his trial, he said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

A casino will produce benefits; but can those benefits be produced without costs? There is always a cost side to any business equation. Only in government can we forget this. The costs of a casino are great: crime, bankruptcy, social services, abused dollars, suicide, government regulation, increased taxes and corruption are common costs in casinos with casinos.
In dollar terms, these costs will likely grow to $30 million a year for our county. The casino doesn’t pay for these things… you do.
If you desire to stand up for the addicted, the poor, and the oppressed and demonstrate your love to your neighbor and kindness to the needy, please let the Gaming Commission know your opinion and please let the Hardys know your position.

And here is the post script. In November of the same year, Nemacolin spokesman Jeff Nobers said that despite the resort's enthusiasm to enter the gambling field from the onset, continued study of projected costs and revenues dimmed the appeal. Nemacolin withdrew their application. For the entire article see this Post Gazette link.

My hope is that Bill DeWeese withdraws his bid for re-election. For the good of Brownsville, District 50 and Pennsylvania.

Bill DeWeese Needs to be Removed from Office

Bill DeWeese is southwestern PA’s elected member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

If you live within the 50th District of the Commonwealth of PA, you can give all Pennsylvanians one of the biggest gifts of the year, if not decade, by voting Bill DeWeese out of office in November. Here are my first eight reasons…

Bill DeWeese is a proponent of gambling expansion. (article)

Bill DeWeese has been unable to bring real property tax relief to PA. (article)

Bill DeWeese has used property tax relief as a Trojan Horse to expand gambling in PA.

Bill DeWeese is being investigated because of the $2.2 million in bonuses that House Democrats doled out in 2005 and 2006.

Bill DeWeese is the captain of the ship for the “Legislators That Don’t Do Anything” . Simply put, Harrisburg has modest goals with a modest agenda and little chance of getting anything substantive accomplished. (with apologies to Veggie Tales) (article)

Bill DeWeese was a champion of the notorious 2005 pay hike. (article)

Bill DeWeese is pro-abortion. (article)(article)

Bill DeWeese has done little for Brownsville in over three decades. Folks, look around… how can we support this guy? Can he buy our votes by throwing a few coins in our hat? Not mine, it’s time for real change and real reform in Harrisburg. That will never happen with Bill DeWeese in office. It's time to vote him out. It's time to remove the stain.