Corbett's Transition Team Jingles With Lobbyists/Big Donors

[Divernan]

Strongly suggest you read the whole article - lots of meaty details about the special interests who bought their way onto the "advisory" transition team. We'll be seeing massive numbers of legislative and administrative actions taken to pay them back over the next four years. Charter schools will lead the way. And I predict a big push to privatize PennDOT and the Turnpike.

"Together, transition team members contributed $1.9 million to the Shaler Republican's gubernatorial campaign, while companies they work for, their co-workers and political action committees controlled by their employers kicked in another $2.7 million. That's nearly 19 percent of the $24.5 million the Corbett campaign spent on the primary and general elections.

"Two-thirds, though, have a financial relationship to Mr. Corbett's campaign -- they, their companies or their colleagues contributed to Mr. Corbett, to Lt. Gov.-elect Jim Cawley or to political action committees that pumped money into their campaign.

"The transition team member who provided the most to Mr. Corbett -- $334,286 over the past three years -- was Vahan Gureghian, a Gladwyne lawyer who operates the state's largest charter school and owns a billboard company. Mr. Gureghian was tapped to serve on the education committee and to lead the 27-member transportation committee, along with two former PennDOT administrators.

"Observers have noted that the committees are packed with Republicans and lobbyists who have an interest in guiding policy and are willing to pay for access to decision makers. "Every donor would claim they contributed out of an interest in supporting a candidate who reflects their values and ideology, not because they expect any policy favors or anything. But, at the very least, they expect access," said Jan Jarrett, executive director of PennFuture, a statewide environmental group with no representatives on the transition team.

[old mark]

1. Do you have a link to the article? I'd love to read it...PA screwed itself

in November out of racism and idiotic campaigning by the Democratic Party who did not support their candidates well enough to get out the voters.


mark

[Divernan]

2. Here's the link

Sorry - I thought I'd included it in the OP.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10353/1111963-454.stm#ixzz18YKdi9FN
(And more from the article, here)
Lobbyists from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney of Pittsburgh funneled more than $134,000 to the Corbett campaign, according to contribution records kept by the Department of State. The firm wound up with 11 of its lobbyists appointed to the transition team, including three to top spots on Mr. Corbett's core team of advisers.

The firm has numerous clients whose businesses are affected by state regulators. They include companies in the energy, health, telecommunications, transportation, biotechnology, banking and insurance industries, according to lobbying disclosure reports.

Meanwhile, the lobbying firm Greenlee Partners provided $32,000 to Mr. Corbett and wound up with seats on the insurance and commonwealth committees. The firm's clients include insurance providers, auto manufacturers, banks and casinos.

The law firm McNees Wallace and Nurick, whose associates provided $140,000, mostly through a political-action committee, is represented on two committees, energy and transportation.

[old mark]

3. I live inBerks County, PA - we voted Democratic as we usually do -

which means we won't get anything good from the republican administration. We voted against Rendell in the primaries for his last term, and we got nothing good from him, either - he CUT state jobs from our area, and we got few state goodies.
Politicians all suck, but I fear the gopers will suck even worse than Rendell did.

mark

[sweetapogee]

4. Gov

Rendell also tried to sell the turnpike as mentioned in the OP with regard to the republicans.