Ignore Newman and
Nigro Desperation Ads ANNVILLE, PA - PACleanSweep today urged
Pennsylvania voters to ignore a last-ditch ad campaign by Justices Russell
Nigro and Sandra Schultz Newman arguing that they deserve to be elected to
another term presiding over the PA Constitution on the Supreme
Court.
Both justices have launched a last minute blitz
aimed at repairing their reputations with voters, but citizens across the
Commonwealth have become sophisticated enough to realize that the Supreme
Court is indeed culpable in the July 7 pay- jacking.
The Court ruled to uphold Act 71 - the slots bill
- just two weeks before the General Assembly passed the pay raise, despite
a glaring violation of PA Constitution. That decision cited another ruling
from 2002 which allowed the legislature to change the entire meaning of a
bill in the middle of the legislative process.
Without confidence regarding what the Supreme
Court would say about the pay raise, which used a similar last-minute
rewrite, the legislature may not have acted in the way they did on July 7.
Since Chief Justice Ralph Cappy authored and actively but secretly lobbied
for the raise, voters can only assume that he had the agreement of both
Nigro and Newman in doing so.
Additionally, while Cappy publicly praised the
pay-jacking and hailed the legislature's action as "courageous," both
Newman and Nigro remained utterly silent on the issue.
"Newman's and Nigro's ads are attempting to paint
a warm and fuzzy picture of these two, but they didn't have a very warm
and fuzzy attitude towards citizens when they trampled the Constitution on
Act 71 and in 2002," said PACleanSweep Chair Russ Diamond.
"And they certainly didn't exhibit a warm and
fuzzy view of taxpayers when they abused their expense accounts by
charging Pennsylvanians for $85 bottles of wine, $300 dinners, On Star
systems for their taxpayer funded luxury cars and golden junkets to the
Bahamas and other high-priced resorts."
Nigro is paying for ads with funding which
is currently under the microscope of a Department of State investigation
to determine their legality. PACleanSweep's investigative report into
Nigro's campaign finances last month, which prompted the DOS scrutiny, has
been published online at:
Although judicial terms last ten years, Newman -
currently 68 years of age - will be forced to step down in 2007 when she
reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.
"There is no good reason to retain these two
justices," added Diamond. "They are part and parcel of the broken
processes that obviously need reformed in Harrisburg. Reform needs to
begin now, and we need justices who are willing to take it on. Newman and
Nigro have yet to be a part of any solution, so they are indeed part of
the problem. It's a matter of trust, and these two have betrayed the
public trust. They are at the heart of the culture of greed and arrogance
which runs throughout government in our Commonwealth."
Voters will be asked whether Newman and Nigro
deserve to be retained on November 8. They have no opponents. It is a
simple yes or no question. PACleanSweep is recommending a resounding "NO"
vote as the first step in truly reforming state
government. PACleanSweep is a non-partisan effort
dedicated to defeating incumbent elected officials in Pennsylvania and
replacing them with true public servants. For more information, please
visit www.PACleanSweep.com. |
