PRESS RELEASE: Roberta Biros to challenge Bob Robbins for PA State Senate (50th)

PRESS RELEASE

Roberta Biros of Delaware Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania announced today that she will challenge current incumbent Senator Bob Robbins in the 2010 race for Senator in the General Assembly in the 50th District. In order to appear on the ballot in November of 2010, Ms. Biros, an unaffiliated independent, will need to gather a total of 827 signatures from registered voters in the 50th District (Mercer County, Crawford County, and parts of Butler and Lawrence Counties). These signatures must be presented in the form of nomination papers which will need to be filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth in Harrisburg no later than August 2, 2010.

Ms. Biros, a small business owner, describes herself as a concerned citizen. She has been actively involved in issues of political and legislative activism through her blog, Mercer County Conservatives. Ms. Biros has published her Platform for Good Government on her campaign website at ElectBiros.com. In it she stresses her platform priorities and concerns as public service; transparency and accountability; fiscal responsibility; and limited government.

Ms. Biros stated, “Voters need a choice in every election, and 2010 is more important than ever. Taxpayers have had enough of career politicians who are more concerned with their careers than with the constituents in their district. As a firm supporter of term limits, it is my opinion that it is time for Senator Robbins to move on. Instead, Senator Robbins has concentrated his efforts on voting for pay raises for politicians, protecting cost of living adjustments for lawmakers, and hiding from his constituents and the press. The time has come for taxpayers to stand up to self-serving politicians and let them know that they work for us.”

Ms. Biros stresses that “as a high-ranking leader in the State Senate, Mr. Robbins should be working to correct the problems in Pennsylvania. Instead, Mr. Robbins has only been concerned with bringing ‘pork’ back to the District as a tool for re-election. Unfortunately, ‘pork’ is part of the problem. We need a fiscal conservative in the State Senate that will work to cut spending, decrease the tax burden on individuals and small businesses, and turn the State government around. I am that person. I feel it is my responsibility to offer the voters of the 50th district an independent voice in Harrisburg.”

When asked about the challenges of gaining access to the November ballot, Ms. Biros stated “I’m confident that we will gather far more signatures than are required. We already began the process of gathering signatures and our sampling of constituents has been very positive. Concerned citizens realize that the only way to fix the problem in Harrisburg is to purge the General Assembly of dead weight . . . and Senator Robbins is a perfect example of that dead weight.” She added “we realize that our campaign will meet with immediate challenges from political insiders in the District and we anticipate that our nomination papers will be challenged in August, but we are confident that we will be successful in pushing past the corrupt circle of political incumbents and their legal teams. We are motivated and the people of the 50th district are motivated. We will not be prevented from our right to a fair election. 2010 will be the year that the people of Pennsylvania and the United States of America make a statement and take their country back. A move to fresh ideas and a fresh face in the 50th district will be an important part of that movement.”

Ms. Biros will begin the task of collecting signatures this week and she anticipates that her message, which reaches across all party lines, will resonate with the people of the area during the petition process and well into November.

Link to official Press Release.

.

2010 PA Leadership Conference: The Ultimate Conservative Political Playground

Written by Roberta Biros

I just spent a few very long but glorious days totally consumed in conservative politics and I feel refreshed. I attended the PA Leadership Conference in Harrisburg PA, and I returned home yesterday afternoon buzzing with ideas, energy, and excitement. If you are a conservative political geek (like myself), there is no where that you would rather be on a beautiful spring weekend than the Sheraton Four Points in Harrisburg. You would think that “conservative political geeks” would be hard to find, but that is apparently not the case. There were hundreds of us that showed up for the annual extravaganza.

The conference schedule was impressive, and the list of speakers and panelists was even more so. The list of names was a virtual who’s who of conservative politics. Names like Phyllis Schlafly, Dick Morris, Pat Toomey, and Kellyanne Conway topped the list of over 40 contributors who provided details, guidance, and inspiration during the two-day event.

Highlights?

The highlights of the conference were many, but I’d like to mention a few of the most interesting (from my personal perspective, of course).

Campaign Workshop, Version 2.0

Campaign School returned to the PA Leadership Conference again this year. It was slightly different than last year which provided some fresh material and additional conversation. The workshop is a great experience if you have any intention of running for office, and the standing room only crowd proves that it is a much needed service. I found the experience invaluable last year, and I’m hopeful that the refresher course will help me in the upcoming months as well (more on this soon).

Panel Discussion: State Spending: Going for Broke

As a fiscal conservative I’m always drawn to issues of dollars and cents, and this panel discussion did not disappoint. A very valuable contributor was Kathryn Klaber of Marcellus Shale Coalition. She provided information on an extremely pertinent topic. I offer a “Thumbs Up” for the inclusion of this topic in this year’s agenda.

Panel Discussion: Beyond Corruption: Transparency, Accountability & Reform

As a proponent of Good Government, transparency and accountability are at the top of my list of hot topics. This particular discussion had me taking notes and it will require a blog post of its own in the coming days as it brought up some very important points that are worth sharing.

Lowlights?

There were no lowlights. It was a class act from start to finish.

In Closing . . .

I am officially a “fan” of the PA Leadership Conference (Facebook link). This was only my second year to attend, and I have every intention of marking my calendar for next year. The format of the conference is such that you absorb valuable details and interesting topics, but you also get to share information with others.

The conference offers a networking opportunity unlike any other, and as a serious reformer I feel a responsibility to attend. It is for that reason that I would like to applaud the conservative elected officials that took the time to take part in the conference too. Rep. Curt Schroder, Rep. Doug Reichley, Rep. Mike Turzai, Rep. Todd Rock, Sen. John Eichelberger, and Sen. Jeff Piccola were all speakers or panelists. I also spotted Rep. Rosemary Swanger as an attendee again this year. I applaud these lawmakers for taking the time to mix and mingle with concerned citizens (and political geeks).

At this point in our political history, you are either a part of the problem or you are a part of the solution. The people that took the time to attend the PA Leadership Conference are definitely part of the solution, and I was proud to be a part of it.

As always, just my opinion.
~Mercer Conservatives

BTW . . . I’d like to offer a shout out to my friends (old and new alike) that I was able to catch up with at the conference. I was able to finally meet with some colleagues that I’ve been corresponding with on-line for months, and I was able to gather with fellow bloggers and their friends to form our own “super political geek conference”. It was “all good”.

.