PA Voters urged to dump Supreme Court justices

Voters urged to dump justices

By Brad Bumsted

STATE CAPITOL REPORTER

Monday, October 17, 2005

HARRISBURG -- Two groups that were formed to protest the legislative pay raise approved in July want to send state incumbent officeholders a message: You can run, but you can't hide.

No legislators are on the November ballot, but two Supreme Court justices are asking the state's voters to keep them on the bench.

Justices Russell Nigro and Sandra Schultz Newman face a retention election after serving for 10 years on the state's high court. Voters may vote yes or no on allowing Nigro and Newman to keep their jobs.

In Pennsylvania history, no Supreme Court justice has been ousted by the voters.

Regardless, two citizens groups -- Democracy Rising, headed by Tim Potts, a Bethel Park native and former top House Democratic staffer, and PaCleanSweep, organized by anti-pay opponent Russ Diamond, a Lebanon businessman -- are targeting Nigro and Newman.

The Supreme Court has been an "enabler" that through its rulings has allowed the Legislature to approve pay raises and other bills in a process that shuts out the public and prevents rank-and-file legislators from amending a proposal on the floor, Potts said. The Supreme Court is a target also because Chief Justice Ralph Cappy lobbied behind closed doors for the pay raise. Cappy doesn't face a retention vote until 2009.

Legislation approved at 2 a.m. July 7, without debate, provided raised lawmakers' pay by 16 percent to 54 percent. It also raised salaries for top state officials such as Cabinet officers and state court judges.

The base salary for Supreme Court justices went from $150,436 to $171,800.

"While the pay raise was egregious, (the protest) isn't about the pay raise," Diamond said. "It's about how decisions are made in Harrisburg."

Taxpayers "can cast their first vote against the pay raise" by voting against the two justices, Potts said.

Nigro did not return repeated calls. Newman was not available for an interview due to the recent death of her husband, a spokesman said.

William Carlucci, a Williamsport lawyer and president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, called the groups' charges against Nigro and Newman "ridiculous," saying there is no evidence to back up the claims. The bar association's Judicial Evaluation Committee recommended both justices for retention.

The bar's rating summary said Nigro is "highly regarded in the legal community for his fairness, work ethic, judicial temperament and integrity."

Newman has "earned a reputation as a dedicated, intelligent and hard-working jurist who possesses a keen business sense and an ability to understand complex issues," the bar rating said.

Nigro recently told the Harrisburg-Patriot News that if Potts "looks at the totality, he can't say we've totally rubber-stamped what the Legislature wanted us to do."

Joseph DiSarro, chairman of the political science department at Washington & Jefferson College, said he believes judges will be immune to repercussions from the pay raise.

Al Neri, editor of The Insider, a statewide political newsletter, said he would be shocked if either justice was not retained.

G. Terry Madonna, political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College, agreed that the odds are slim, but he would not rule out the possibility that one or both justices will get knocked off. Even if both justices win, pay-raise opponents would gain a "huge victory" if 40 percent of voters cast votes against retention, Madonna said.

Brad Bumsted can be reached at bbumsted@tribweb.com or (717) 787-1405.

Source: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/regional/s_384827.html

Vice Chairman of Voter Education

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