Reverberations from Attorney General Tom Corbett’s prosecution of 12 current and former state House Democratic members and staffers hit the Capitol on Wednesday, and it sounded a lot like 2006.

Legislative hopefuls and longtime incumbents outlined different tacks to the same goal: clean up a culture of corruption that, at times, seems as much a part of the Capitol as its Italian marble.

A group of 17 Democratic House candidates unveiled the Pennsylvania Candidate Platform for Reform, or “PennCPR” — the CPR, of course, for “reviving ethics.” It calls for limiting perks, restraining lobbyist influence, and campaign finance reform.

Within the group, led by Chester County attorney Paul Drucker, were midstate Democrats Patricia Garcia, a Susquehanna Twp. school board member running against state Rep. Susan Helm, R-Susquehanna Twp.; and Phyllis Bennett, a Swatara Twp. resident challenging Rep. John Payne, R-Derry Twp.

Sounding much like the 2006 slate of angry challengers who ran against lawmakers who had supported a hefty pay raise the year before, the Democrats vowed to work toward banning gifts to lawmakers and prohibiting bonuses to state workers.

“We are candidates that are committed to reform,” said Bennett, a retired state employee. “And it’s not reform later. It’s reform now.”
Full Article and Source