Coming out against pay hike

Coming out against pay hike

Action is outside at state Capitol. Area legislators get no visitors upset over raise.

By BRETT MARCY

bmarcy@leader.net

HARRISBURG – More than 1,000 angry Pennsylvanians hit the state Capitol on Monday to demand state lawmakers repeal the pay raises they voted themselves in July.

But Luzerne County lawmakers barely heard a peep from the raucous crowd.

“Not a single person,” said state Sen. Raphael Musto, when asked if anyone came knocking on his Capitol office door to complain about his “yes” vote on the pay raise.

“Here, in this office, it’s not really an issue,” the Pittston Township Democrat said.

It was the same story at state Rep. Phyllis Mundy’s office, where the clearly agitated Kingston Democrat said no one paid her a visit for her pro-pay-raise vote.

No visitors for state Rep. Todd Eachus, either. “He didn’t get anyone,” said a secretary for the Butler Township Democrat. “We thought they would come in, but they didn’t.”

A stroll down the Capitol hallways yielded similar results, with only a handful of pay-raise opponents dropping in on individual state representatives and senators.

Protesters confined most of the action to the Capitol steps outside, where dreary weather did little to discourage a crowd that spilled from the top of the steps down across Third Street, which faces the Capitol. People huddled under umbrellas, or simply braved the storm, protesting the pay raise that boosted lawmakers’ base salaries to $81,050 from $69,670.

Then there are the $128 per-diems for food and lodging expenses lawmakers receive for every day they’re in Harrisburg. Not to mention up to $650 a month for car leases and generous health and pension benefits.

“I know you all didn’t get per diems for coming out,” said Common Cause of Pennsylvania Executive Director Barry Kauffman, when he addressed the “Rock the Capital” rally faithful.

The rally was sponsored by 10 organizations against the pay increase, and included speeches by citizen activists, officials from nonprofit organizations and talk show hosts.

“We demand open government, not that cabal that’s always planning and scheming in the dead of night here,” said Harrisburg-area radio personality Bob Durgin of WHP Radio. “We are revolting against the opulent lifestyle of those who make us pay for it.”

Wilkes-Barre native Gene Stilp, a political activist and co-sponsor of the rally, was among the first to speak. Standing before his giant inflatable pig with a sign proclaiming “Repeal the Illegal Pay Raise,” Stilp chastised lawmakers for the vote, then taking the pay immediately through the use of “unvouchered expense” money.

“This pig doesn’t have a greedy bone in his body,” Stilp joked to the crowd. “The people who are greedy are in this building. … Every representative and every senator who is not on a (pay-raise) repeal bill is going to get a visit from the no-pay-raise pig.”

He promised to march across the state with his inflatable pig, visiting the district offices of legislators who supported, and are accepting, the pay hike.

Most of the venom, though, seemed to target legislative leaders, rather than rank-and-file members.

Throngs of angry protesters crowded into the Capitol and followed Durgin to the offices of House Speaker John Perzel, R-Philadelphia, and Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer, R-Hollidaysburg.

Durgin delivered three boxes filled with petition sheets to both party leaders. He said 129,000 Pennsylvanians signed his online “petition of rejection.”

Gov. Ed Rendell, who signed the pay raise into law, also received a copy of the petitions.

While legislative leaders fielded impromptu visits from constituents angry about the pay raise, rank-and-file lawmakers, such as Musto, enjoyed a peaceful Monday at the office. That’s not to say that he doesn’t get some heat for boosting his own salary.

“We got 13 letters that we responded to,” said Musto, adding he believes the lack of anti-pay-raise fervor in his district is telling. “I think, probably, our constituents are satisfied with our performance.”

He went on to defend the pay increase.

“Public service is my career. I’ve been in it over 30 years, almost 35 years. … All my energy is for public service. I don’t have another job. … I represent 250,000 people, a number of municipalities, and three different counties. I’m accessible seven days a week. That’s the type of service that I provide.”

Tell us what you think about state lawmakers’ pay raises at http://www.timesleader.com .

---------------------------------------- Brett Marcy, the Times Leader’s Harrisburg correspondent, may be reached at (717) 238-4728.

© 2005 Times Leader

Source: http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/12751076.htm

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