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Monday heds

Published by Tim McNulty on .

Happy Monday/MLK Day.

The state's Democratic Committee met over the weekend and endorsed unopposed Dem candidates Rob McCord (the incumbent treasurer) and Eugene DePasquale (the party's sole candidate for auditor general), but couldn't reach the 2/3 vote necessary to choose among attorney general candidates Kathleen Kane, Dan McCaffrey and Patrick Murphy.

Rick Santorum picked up a big endorsement from evangelical leaders over weekend (though there are complaints now about voting irregularities, says the Washington Times.)

From PoliticsPa: Tea Party candidate Laureen Cummings has dropped out of the GOP race to face US Sen. Bob Casey this year and thrown her support behind Tim Burns. Speaking of committees, the race to get the GOP state committee's endorsement seems to be mainly between burns and Chester County businessman Steve Welch, Keegan Gibson also reports.

County Controller Chelsa Wagner has named her top lieutenants: serving as deputy controller is Amy Griser, the county's former budget director, and chief of staff Seth Hufford, a former CMU and Coro official.

Wagner is finally stepping down as state rep. Her office's full statement on that, released this morning, is after the jump:

Chelsa Wagner today submitted her resignation to the Chief Clerk of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives after serving the residents of the 22nd Legislative District for more than five years, indicating that she and her colleagues had been able to work out a plan to ensure a smooth transition and fair representation for the District for the remainder of the 2011-2012 legislative term in the midst of reapportionment.

"It has been a distinct honor to serve the residents of the 22nd Legislative District." Wagner said. "I am confident that our work together to achieve sustainable results will make a lasting impact on these communities well into the future. I am also confident that my House colleagues, specifically Representatives Deasy, Readshaw, Smith, Kortz and Wheatley, will be zealous advocates for the needs of these residents."

Wagner took office as Allegheny County Controller on January 2, but has servedconcurrently in the House for the first two weeks of 2012 in order to address unresolved concerns relating the potential lack of representation of her constituents in the midst of the legislative reapportionment.  

"Although the House Democratic Caucus Leadership has let my constituents down in both the reapportionment process and in this transition, I am pleased that my rank-and-file colleagues in the House who will soon represent these communities have worked with me to ensure that our high standards of constituent service and commitment to the needs of the residents of this District will continue to be met," Wagner said.

Wagner has been working since winning November's general election for Controller to pave the way for a smooth transition for her state constituents, who will be split among five different legislative districts under the new legislative map. The 22nd district which she has represented is slated to move to Lehigh County pending a state Supreme Court review to be completed in the coming weeks. Her concerns have included ensuring a voice for district residents in Harrisburg throughout the remainder of the 2011-2012 term, the continuity of constituent services, and clear communication regarding the drastic changes in representation as a result of reapportionment. Through close coordination with her House colleagues, Wagner has been able to ensure that the Constituent Service offices on Brookline Blvd. and in Whitehall remain open with regular hours.

"While the past two weeks have been incredibly busy as I worked to both take on the role of County Controller and implement a contingency plan to make sure the Legislative district was well represented, it was necessary and worth the extra work," Wagner said.   

In her first two weeks as County Controller, Wagner focused on integrating her new executive management team into the Controller's office, initiating a review of the contracts governing the county-wide reassessment, overseeing final preparations for Tuesday's rollout of the joint City-County financial management system, and beginning plans for modernizing the county's contracting process, including specific measures to improve internal contract review within the Controller's office.

"I feel satisfied in leaving the House that my office has been able to provide an exceptional level of service to our communities, and that this standard will continue for the residents of Brookline, Beechview, Mt. Washington, Duquesne Heights, Overbrook, Manchester, Sheraden, Esplen, Baldwin Township, Castle Shannon and Whitehall. It's my commitment to work tirelessly in the Controller's office on behalf of all Allegheny County residents, but I will of course always be an advocate for the communities I have been honored to serve for the past five years," Wagner said.

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