Five weeks after the general election, its biggest mystery is still unsolved: Who spent more than $1 million trying to influence a race for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court?

In the final two weeks before the election, a Virginia-based organization called the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) bought about $1.2 million worth of television advertising, showering praise on Superior Court Judge Maureen Lally-Green, one of two Republicans seeking a spot on the state’s highest court.

But the CFIF never registered with state officials as a political committee or filed any campaign-finance reports saying where its money originated.  read more »

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl finished a successful election season with $502,637 in his campaign coffers, while his Republican foe, Mark DeSantis, completed his failed bid with $1,279.

Both campaigns filed reports of donations and spending through Nov. 26 with the Allegheny County Elections Division on yesterday’s deadline.

The $83,610 Mr. Ravenstahl raised during the month prior to the deadline was bolstered by $23,000 in donations on Nov. 8 from Boston-area residents, almost all of whom are listed on the report as associates of the developer Beacon/Corcoran Jennison. That developer, which plans to add to its Oak Hill public-private housing community under a deal the mayor brokered, hosted him in Boston Sept. 26.  read more »

Jake Miller: We need to get this out of the way… What do you say to the citizens of the state who show concern about your age?

Dan Knorr: When I was running for council, age was an issue. Now that I have the experience (Knorr served as a town councilman for two years – ed.), a grasp on the issues, and responsible votes, I can let that speak for itself. But I heard no complaints whatsoever in the Town of Bloomsburg.

JM: How do you anticipate what it will be like to juggle being a full-time mayor and a full-time student?

DK: I work very hard at time management; I have to, I have other jobs and activities besides this. I have to understand I can’t meet personally with every citizen, and I need to direct them to the proper meetings and departments to resolve their issues.  read more »

While Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Robert A. Gleason, Jr. said that he was proud of the “huge Republican victories all across the Commonwealth,” Gov. Edward G. Rendell told reporters that the Republicans got a “schlumping” last Tuesday.

Rendell, the state’s top Democrat, noted that his party gained control of 13 county courthouses while losing only four to the GOP, and only one of them in a major population center, Berks County. Rendell also emphasized Democratic victories for two Supreme Court seats and a Superior Court seat in the election, while losing two Superior Court seats.

Meanwhile, Gleason pronounced in a press release that the “Republican Party is back!”  read more »

PACleanSweep and its brethren failed in their effort to denude the judiciary of its experienced judges. They shot themselves in their collective foot by focusing on the pay raise issue rather than the actual merits of the judges.
In doing battle on KP with Russ Diamond and Co., it became clear to me that these so-called reformers are actually a bunch of populist, anti-intellectuals. Real reformers talk about issues — not just spew soundbites — and recognize that very few things can be broken down into matters of black and white.
It appears that Diamond, Stilp and Potts learned a very hard lesson on Tuesday — when trying to reform government, use a chisel and a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.  read more »

Only the rich can see election results in Philadelphia. Or at least, that’s what City Commissioner Margaret Tartaglione’s office told Young Philly Politics.

The Philadelphia County Voter Registration Office clearly lists a link to 2007 Election Results, but then prompts users for a password to continue. YPP called Commissioner Tartaglione’s office, but they were told that the Commissioners sell the passwords to the media.

This is ridiculous and one of the worst examples of closed government I’ve seen in a while. This is the public’s data and it deserves to be published freely and openly. We’ll call all three Commissioners offices tomorrow for public comment.

First-time candidate Stephen J. Barron Jr. upset Northampton County Controller John Schimmel late Tuesday by a razor-thin margin as Schimmel tried for his fourth term.

With all precincts reporting, unofficial returns showed Barron with 16,223 votes to 16,026 for Schimmel, a margin of less than 1 percent.

Schimmel, 60, is a Republican from Upper Mount Bethel Township. Barron, a Democrat, is from Bethlehem. The controller’s job is considered part time and pays $39,000 a year.

Barron, 30, made the part-time label an issue in his campaign, pledging to be at the office full time if elected.