Fitzgerald campaign responds

Here's the breaking news story on the Rich Fitzgerald fundraising email to the head of the Marcellus Shale Coalition. It contains a confirmation from Kathryn Klaber that she indeed received the (unsolicited) mail back in January. A response from the Fitzgerald camp is below.

The January email speaks for itself but there were a couple things in there we wondered about. Such as, what the hell is PIOGA? Turns out it's the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Assoc., and a few weeks after the email Fitzgerald indeed got $2K from them. Among the other companies he mentioned, his reports showed him eventually getting $$$ from Range, Consol and Chesapeake too.

Fitzgerald would end up getting twice as much cash as Flaherty did from energy companies/personnel (roughly $56K to $20K) in the end, with almost every firm giving to both candidates. As a percentage of total numbers the contribution levels are similar however -- after backing out loans to the campaigns, each figure represents about 10% of the total giving to both candidates.

Another thought -- The Fitzgerald camp has been hammering Flaherty for not showing up at every community forum. Suddenly, the interest level in the next forum has just shot up.

The Fitzgerald camp has issued a response to the Flaherty release, which doesn't get into the email at all, but rather keeps up the attack on Flaherty's development plans. It begins:

Mark Patrick Flaherty is desperately trying to distract the voters because he knows that his risky scheme to borrow $2.5 billion to subsidize the natural gas companies is costing him dearly in the polls. Flaherty's shrill press release will not change the fact the both candidates are supportive of natural gas drilling that is safe and protects the environment. The difference on this issue is that Mark Patrick Flaherty wants the taxpayers to borrow $2.5 billion and pay higher property taxes so he can he can give the money to the drilling companies.

The response is in full after the jump:

PITTSBURGH: Mark Patrick Flaherty is desperately trying to distract the voters because he knows that his risky scheme to borrow $2.5 billion to subsidize the natural gas companies is costing him dearly in the polls.  Flaherty’s shrill press release will not change the fact the both candidates are supportive of natural gas drilling that is safe and protects the environment.  The difference on this issue is that Mark Patrick Flaherty wants the taxpayers to borrow $2.5 billion and pay higher property taxes so he can he can give the money to the drilling companies.

“Rich Fitzgerald’s plan protects the environment and protects the taxpayer, while the Post-Gazette correctly pointed out that Mark Flaherty’s plan puts taxpayer dollars at risk,” Fitzgerald spokesperson Olivia Benson said. “He can issue all the shrill press releases he likes, but it doesn’t change the fact that he has his risky plan to borrow $2.5 billion to give to the drilling companies on his campaign website.”

Flaherty‘s press release included an attack on Fitzgerald’s campaign manager is another attempt to distract from his risky scheme.  Fitzgerald’s campaign manager Mike Mikus is a long-time Democratic operative having managed the campaigns of Democratic Congressmen Mark Critz and Jason Altmire in since 2008.  On the other hand, Flaherty is using top Republican operatives – Carey Dunn and Amy Petraglia - who have raised funds for Tom Corbett, Rick Santorum, Pat Toomey and scores of other Republican candidates in Pennsylvania.

“It’s not surprising that Mark Patrick Flaherty shares staff and a PO Box with Governor Tom Corbett because he fights for gas companies and the taxpayers lose in the end just like Corbett,” Benson said.  “Mark Patrick Flaherty’s risky scheme to subsidize natural gas companies and his attacks on Rich Fitzgerald are just more examples that he’s taking a page out of Tom Corbett’s playbook.”