With an overwhelmingly successful ballot petition initiative behind us, and an impassioned ground game under way, my campaign to become the next State Representative in the 181st has moved to establish our web presence. At www.lewisforstaterep.com, you can learn about my personal history, read about my vision for North Philadelphia, sign up to volunteer and contribute electronically. I sincerely hope you take a few minutes to visit the website, and join us in our fight for progress in North Philadelphia.

Onward and Upward!

Lewis Thomas III
Democratic Candidate for State Representative in the 181st District
www.lewisforstaterep.com
info@lewisforstaterep.com

You say you want to change Harrisburg?

You want the Democrats in DC to show some backbone?

Come out to Philly For Change Meetup tonight and meet some of the candidates we may be asking to represent us and do just that.

For the price of admission (free), you'll also get a rousing speech from progressive activist turned two term State Representative Tony Payton Jr, who can tell you how important are the support and canvassers from the progressive community, PFC included.

You'll also get an update from the campaign of Philly For Change's choice for governor (we endorsed him two months ago) JOLTIN' JOE HOEFFEL!

You'll also get a pitch for your next Democratic Committeeperson, YOU, as we tell you how to change the party by being the party in your neighborhood!

Take a deep breath, here's who's confirmed for tonight:

***From the hotly contested 6th district Congressional race***

Famed local writer
DOUG PIKE

Physician & Iraq War vet
MANAN TRIVEDI

Federal economic stimulus funds designated for investments in education targeted at improving education and preventing job losses would disappear into the budget under a new political proposal unveiled by the Senate Republican Caucus today. They presented a 2009-2010 state budget proposal that undermines the Commonwealth’s funding formula. This move would force school districts to increase property taxes, thus counteracting the positive effects of the stimulus funds which – if used appropriately, would help prevent tax increases and maintain needed investments in targeted education reforms.

I'm pasting in our press release, below, but also wanted to just say thanks to all those of you who have joined us in the fight to end mandatory overtime for health care workers in PA--the grassroots pressure that was provided by our progressive allies, along with the voices of thousands of health care workers--finally lifted our bill over the time, in the final days of this legislative session.

(HARRISBURG, PA) – Seven years after launching their campaign to end mandatory overtime for nurses and other direct patient caregivers, members of SEIU Healthcare are anxious to celebrate their victory.

The Pennsylvania Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass a House Bill 834, a bill restricting mandatory overtime for nurses and other caregivers. Forced overtime has been shown to increase medical errors and put patients at risk. It’s also a leading factor in many nurses’ decision to leave the bedside.

Yesterday, State Representative Josh Shapiro called for Bill DeWeese to resign his post as House majority leader. DeWeese presided over the Democratic Caucus during the period where 12 staffers, including his own chief of staff, were alleged to have used state taxpayer funds for political purposes. Shapiro called for this resignation in unusually blunt terms saying "We need leaders who are committed to transformational reform. We need a monumental shift, and we need it now. We can't do better, at least in our caucus, until we dedicate ourselves to a new direction."

On the west coast: Today, CA Supreme Court says that domestic partnerships laws for same-sex couple are not good enough. Ruling demands marriage laws be put in place which means Cali will become the second state in nation to offer same-sex marriage by year's end. More from LA Times here.

On the east coast: PA State Senate almost passes a same-sex marriage ban to state constitution. Only withdraws because of committee assignment in the house. Danger still lurks.

Even if the original Gay Liberation movement of the early 70's (which like its friends in Black Power and Feminist movements was trying to blow the lid off the white male patriarchy) would have thought this a hollow victory because of its assimilation-oriented tilt, I can't help but be happy for Cali LGBT folks.

Same-sex marriage won't solve all of my community's problems at all (universal or expanded access to healthcare for all--see below--would help just as many of us, if not more), but it's still a step in the right direction. And California's victory is definitely the cause of one of those "tell me why I live in Philadelphia again" moments.

Yesterday, Mayor Nutter signed into law some pretty serious measures to try to end gun violence. According to the Inky:

The five laws - called everything from unconstitutional to criminal by critics - do the following:

Limit handgun purchases to one a month.

Require lost or stolen firearms to be reported to police within 24 hours.

Prohibit individuals under protection-from-abuse orders from possessing guns if ordered by the court.

Allow removal of firearms from "persons posing a risk of imminent personal injury" to themselves or others.

Outlaw the possession and sale of certain assault weapons.

Cool! It's time the city stood up for itself, and Nutter's actions not only send a signal that his administration is going to devote resources to the fight, but also serve as a real incentive for our local state legislative delegation (including those suburban members who have a vested interest in seeing less guns on the streets) to fight for us too.

After we win, I hope this kind of resolve and logic...

Nutter embraced the idea of taking "direct action" to challenge a legal status quo to protect city residents.

"If we all sat around bemoaning what the law was on a regular basis," Nutter said. "I'd probably still be picking cotton somewhere as opposed to being mayor of the city of Philadelphia."

...will be extended to other areas of divergence between city residents and the state legislature, like allowing same-sex unions, or implementing progressive taxation, or requiring a fair distribution of education funds, or passing an even better campaign finance law, etc.

How awesome would it be if Mayor Nutter made the city solicitors' office into a totally activist office, responsible for challenging the state constitution every time it prohibits Philadelphia from passing progressive laws to the benefit of its people?

This is an awesome story from Metropolis regarding the PA Black Caucus:

Twelve of the 17 walked out on a House hearing over the an open records bills because of mounting frustration at the lack of regard paid to gun-control bills.

The interesting issue is that, with the House controlled by the slimmest of margins - one - by Democrats, the loss of the black caucus for an undetermined amount of time would mean Republican control for now.

Will that force Democrats from the rural parts of the state to finally meet urban Democrats in the middle somewhere on gun control?

Twenty-four Democratic and Republican legislators in Harrisburg apparently think that early December is a great time to vote to kill a bill to help make sure everyone has access to utilities, including heat. The vote was 24 to 5.

Access to utilities is a basic, fundamental need. That's why in the 1970s, legal services lawyers across the country argued that people have constitutional due process rights related to their utility service. Courts agreed. You have rights in gas and electric and water service, including the right to adequate notice of termination.

However, Pennsylvania legislators were concerned that utility customers were 'gaming the system' and getting utilities that they weren't paying for. They passed Act 201 in 2004 to fix that, and make ultility termination easier when poor people fall behind on their bills. Since the act passed, "Pennsylvania has seen a 38% rise in annual residential service terminations and a 39% rise in homes using potentially unsafe heating sources in winter."

A new bill has been proposed, HB 824, which would "remedy oppressive security deposits for utilities, ease fees for reconnection, create requirements that low-income families be informed of supportive programs and grants, increase payment agreement time frames, among other safe and humane changes." Check out details of the bill here.

It was voted down in committee two days ago, with many Democrats joining the Republicans in the majority. Here's their rationale, as reported by David DeKok of the Patriot News:

Chairman Joseph Preston, D-Allegheny, prime sponsor of the bill, blamed "industry lobbying" for the defection of Democrats on the bill. He vowed to start over in January and come up with a new bill to reform Chapter 14.

Among Democrats opposing bill was Rep. Ron Buxton, whose district is composed of Harrisburg and Steelton. Buxton said he voted "no" because "I was convinced that there were enough safeguards in place." He also said legislators hadn't had enough time to digest the many changes H.B. 824 would have made in Chapter 14 because many of them didn't attend the one hearing on the bill held in Pittsburgh in October.

He said a chart showing the income levels of people who qualify for assistance was passed out by Republicans this morning. "We need to get the word out to people that programs are available to assist them with their energy bills," he said.

Minority chairman Robert W. Godshall, R-Montgomery, who urged the bill's defeat, said the committee needs to look out for the interests of all of Pennsylvania "rather than a special case here and there."

There's a letter you can sign in support of HB 824, as well as information about who to contact to show your support, in another blog entry of mine. Tell your Democratic legislators that access to utilities is something that benefits all Pennsylvanians. Restrictive legislation supported by industrial lobbying groups is not.

Last week, Washington Redskins Free Safety Sean Taylor was shot and killed at his home outside of DC. He was shot in the leg, but bled to death because the bullet went through an artery. Taylor's teammates played through the grief on Sunday.

Cornerback Shawn Springs said he choked up as he dressed for the game next to Taylor's unmanned locker. Cornerback Fred Smoot said he cried the first few times Buffalo had the ball. The Redskins' pep band began the day with a sad, swing-low song called "Going Home."

Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss - who played for the University of Miami, same as his close friend Taylor - held up his hands in a new three-fingered salute to his late teammate's jersey number, using his index and middle fingers to form a "2" and his little finger to form the "1" after each of his five catches, often looking toward the sky.

Philadelphia, PA, Nov. 27 -- Today, the Anne Dicker for State Senate Campaign is running the first in a series of three full-page ads aimed at educating voters about the particulars of the Vince Fumo indictment. The three full-page ads will run on successive Tuesdays with the next two running in the Daily News on December 4 and 11.

To download a copy of the full page ad: www.DontFeedtheAlpacas.com

On November 24th, Rep. Payton and I recorded our second edition of The Legislator and The Agitator. You can download the episode in four individual tracks here.

01-The House Democrats Bonus Scandal

(14:57)

Introduction to the November 24th, 2007 show.

Discussion of the House Democrats recent firing of major staffers around large bonuses given to legislative staff.

We'll move into the issue of Reform and Rep. Payton's freshman class of Harrisburg Legislators.

02-Costing out - will the state ever pay for schools?

(16:07)

Good Schools Pennsylvania convinced the state to do a costing out study on what it would actually cost to pay for students around the state so we can do a better job of realistically discussing how much money we need to pay for schools. It started a big conversation on YoungPhillyPolitics.com.

Tony and Brady discuss the great amount of political maneuvering around this information as well as the lack of the real initiative to find the cash. Will it happen? Can it?

Also, Brady tells about the time that he fought back against a really big bully.

It makes sense in context.

Click "Read More" for the next two tracks!

The suburbs surrounding Philadelphia have long been regarded as a Republican stronghold. Moderate Republicanism, perhaps best personified by Sen. Arlen Specter, has ruled the day. This has begun to change as the Pennsylvania GOP has moved farther and farther to the right. Democrats have a good shot at winning the majority on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners as more suburbanites turn away from the Republican Party.

Over the weekend, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an in-depth story about Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett's investigation into bonuses given to some staffers by Pa. House Democrats. As I wrote last week, Corbett (who is a Republican) seems strangely uninterested in similar activities on the GOP side of the aisle. The Post-Gazette article is problematic in many ways, but here is the bit that really concerns me:

"The evidence seems to support the claims that tax money is being used to fund campaign work for incumbents," said Matt Brouillette, president of the government watchdog group Commonwealth Foundation.

I have no idea if the allegations against the Democratic leadership are true. However, I do know that the Commonwealth Foundation is not a "government watchdog group." It is the Pennsylvania version of the Heritage Foundation-- a constant source of right-wing propaganda and misinformation. In the last few months, they have led the opposition to funding for mass transit, expanding healthcare coverage, and legislation designed to protect the rights of workers to organize. All of these positions can be found by looking at their website. Frankly, identifying an organization like the Commonwealth Foundation as simply a "government watchdog group" is bad journalism at best and completely disingenuous at worst.

There will be ongoing coverage of Corbett's investigation into Pa. House Democrats. If there were any laws broken, then those responsible should be prosecuted. However, the media must keep this investigation in context. It is primarily a political stunt undertaken by Republicans to weaken the ability of Democrats to maintain control of the Pa. House of Representatives in the 2008 election. We've got to keep an eye on journalists who cover Harrisburg to make sure they are telling the entire story.