Written by Roberta Biros
For those of you that follow my blog posts with any regularity, you are fully aware that I’m analytical . . . a bit overly analytical at times (I know, you can say it without offending me). Some might call it “detail oriented” (if you are being polite), or you could refer to it as “OCD” (if you are being direct) . . . either way, we can all agree that I am entertained by gathering data and presenting it in a usable format.
I’ve been trying to find a way to locate and track “fiscal conservatives” in the Pennsylvania House and Senate. I started my quest by publishing a post back in January of 2009 titled The State Budget: Are There Responsible Fiscal Caretakers in Harrisburg Who Really Watch Our Money? In it, I listed all of the State Representatives that voted against the “unbalanced” budget in 2008-2009. The post received quite a bit of attention as it was a great tool that provided a list of “determined fiscal conservatives” in an easy to read format.
Last week, I published another list in a new post titled Taxpayers Unite: Pennsylvania Taxpayer Protest Update. In that post I identified the list of state legislators that took part in the Taxpayer Protest that was held in Harrisburg. Again, the list received a great deal of attention as people are genuinely interested in exactly “who” in Harrisburg is committed to fiscal responsibility. It isn’t generally something that the main-stream media grabs onto, so these brave folks don’t often receive much fanfare.
Seeing that we are all looking for the same thing, I decided to begin a reference list of Fiscal Conservative Legislators based on simple criteria like the examples stated above. I’ve developed the list and it is officially live HERE through my site PAGovWatch.com. The list shows the participation of legislators in the past two events, and I’ll update it as new “events” occur (you can email me if you have an event that you think should be added). I’ve listed the legislators that were involved in the past “fiscally conservative” events, I’ve provided links to their websites, and I’m keeping a running tally of participation which I’ve labeled the “Honor Roll”. The Honor Roll will track those legislators which have shown consistent participation in the events that I consider important.
PAGovWatch.com Honor Roll
The Honor Roll currently includes the names of 21 legislators who both voted against the 2008-2009 budget AND participated in the June 2009 Taxpayer Protest in Harrisburg. While ALL of the names on the full list deserve attention and support, these 21 names are included on our Honor Roll because they have consistently demonstrated a genuine interest in fiscal conservatism (according to our simple scale). Those legislators are (in order of District):
Representative Bradley Roae, 6th
Representative Daryl Metcalfe,12th
Representative Michele Brooks, 17th
Representative Mike Turzai, 28th
Representative Thomas Creighton, 37th
Representative Keith Gillespie, 47th
Representative Scott Hutchinson, 64th
Representative Kathy Rapp, 65th
Representative Jerry Stern, 80th
Representative Russell Fairchild, 85th
Representative Rob Kauffman, 89th
Representative Todd Rock, 90th
Representative Dan Moul, 91st
Representative Stanley Saylor, 94th
Representative Rosemarie Swanger, 102nd
Representative Karen Boback, 117th
Representative Samuel Rohrer, 128th
Representative Jim Cox, 129t
Representative Paul Clymer, 145th
Representative Bob Mensch, 147th
Representative Curt Schroder, 155th
For those of us that follow issues of “fiscal responsibility”, these names are very familiar. For those of you that are just beginning to get involved, keep a close eye on these lawmakers. I would even suggest that you visit their individual websites (links provided above) and sign up for their email newsletters so that you can stay informed of their activities in Harrisburg. I have.
Even better, feel free to send them an email letting them know that you support their fiscally responsible actions so far and that you encourage them to keep up the good work.
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Mercer County Conservatives 