Biros Files Nomination Papers

Mercer County: Thursday, July 29, 2010

Roberta Biros, Independent Candidate for State Senate, officially filed her nomination papers in the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth today, July 29, 2010.

Roberta personally delivered the nomination papers that qualify her as a candidate for State Senate in Pennsylvania’s 50th District this afternoon. According to the election standards of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Roberta was required to gather 827 signatures from registered voters in the 50th District (including Mercer, Crawford, and portions of Butler and Lawrence Counties) in order for her name to appear as an Unaffiliated Independent candidate in the November election.

Roberta Biros’ opponent in November is long-time Republican Senator Bob Robbins, who will be running as the nominee on both the Democrat and Republican tickets this year.

Roberta Biros is challenging Mr. Robbins on a platform of Good Government. She believes that Pennsylvania needs to decrease the size and cost of government and decrease spending. Roberta supports (and has agreed to in writing) the initiatives of EmpowerPA.org including term limits, support of a part-time legislature, and pension and tax reforms. Roberta has signed a “Declination of State Pension” pledge where she states that, if elected, she will decline enrollment in the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS). She has also accepted the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” where she officially opposes increases in State spending and taxes. In her effort towards full transparency and accountability, Roberta’s Platform for Good Government is available through here website at http://www.electbiros.com/.

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Will You Join Our Campaign?

Dear Friends,

As many of you probably know, I have a very diverse group of people working on my campaign. We all come from different walks of life with different backgrounds, but we all share one common interest. We all share a desire for Good Government and ethical leadership in Mercer and Crawford Counties and in Harrisburg. I’d like to share with you today an email from one of my volunteers. He tells his story of why he is involved with my campaign. His story is not much unlike many others that I have heard, but he has come to realize that it is only by joining together that we have a chance of “beating Goliath” in my race against 20-year career politician Senator Bob Robbins.

As the race heats up, ugly lies will be told about me and those that I am working with in my campaign. As some of you may have already experienced, the attacks will be harsh and they will be very pointed. Please remember that you can’t believe everything that you hear, and I ask that you investigate accusations on your own before you take anything for granted. If you have questions, please ask. After you are convinced of the real truth, I urge you to join my team as we drive forward to Election Day on November 2nd. You can be a part of a small army that is going up against insurmountable odds and dishonorable tactics. While I cannot guarantee victory (who can?), I can promise you that we will remain honorable for a worthy cause. NOW is the time for us to take our government back . . . one small step at a time. It needs to once again be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people!

Thank you for your time.

Roberta Biros
_______________________________________
Independent Candidate for State Senate
Email: Roberta.in.Mercer@gmail.com
Web: http://www.electbiros.com/
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CLICK HERE to make a Contribution to Roberta’s Campaign!


-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Zentis

Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 1:17 PM

I really need your help. To explain why, I will tell you a little story.

Once upon a time (April 15, 2009, to be exact), a quiet, passive, friendly 70-year-old conservative (that would be me) inadvertently became a radical right-wing. How can you do that inadvertently? By attending a TEA Party. Through the next year, barely anyone noticed the change, because I remained a quiet, passive, friendly 70-year-old conservative who did little more than attend a few more TEA Parties, watch Fox News, write a few letters to the editor, and complain to friends about the sad state of our nation. Actually, I did one other thing. I stopped into the Mercer County Republican headquarters at least three times and told whoever was there that I wanted to help out the Republican Party in whatever way I could. I gave them my name and phone number. Never heard a thing.

Before the primary elections in May of this year, a TEA Party activist alerted many of us to the fact that many precincts in Mercer County had no committeemen on the Mercer County Republican Committee – nor candidates to fill those offices, which are elected during the primaries every two years. He suggested that we write in our names on the ballot. I did, and got elected with a grand total of two votes. One would have been enough.

I started my grand political career a month later at the biennial organizational meeting of the committee. I quickly learned why no one from the Republican leadership had responded to my earlier attempts to get involved. The committee is tightly held by several longtime party leaders who view newcomers (especially TEA Partiers) as threats to their bastion of power. They nominated a slate of candidates for the five committee offices, and immediately moved that the nominations be closed.

As that motion was being voiced, another committee member moved to nominate someone else for committee chairman. The leadership begrudgingly allowed that nomination to be made. Big surprise: he lost. Bigger surprise: within a day, the committee leadership leaned on the upstart nominee to resign from the committee – not because of the nomination, but because he has been known to support a friend of his, Roberta Biros, an Independent running against our beloved State Senator (and current Republican senatorial candidate) Bob Robbins.

During the meeting, Senator Robbins had spoken vociferously against the very idea of any committeeman supporting anyone but Republican candidates. It was against the committee bylaws, he said. He didn’t explain why we couldn’t campaign against the Democratic state senatorial candidate, maybe because that’s also Bob Robbins. Through an active write-in campaign this spring, he got himself nominated as candidate for both parties to ensure that his 27 years in the state legislature will be extended by another four years.

All of this made me curioser and curioser. I had met Roberta Biros once or twice, but didn’t really know her. All I knew is that she was a troublemaker who had been a Republican, then a Democrat, and finally an Independent. Talk about wishy-washy switchy swatchy! I couldn’t figure out why the committee leadership in general and Bob Robbins in particular felt so threatened by her.

So I decided to learn more about her. Best way to do that is talk directly with her. She told me a story that paralleled my own. She had been very serious about getting involved in politics to change the direction of our governments. Being Republican, she tried to do that by getting helping out in the county Republican headquarters. She was pushed away. So she tried to work with the Democrats. Again, she was pushed away. She didn’t switch parties because she was wishy-washy. She switched because she was determined to find whatever way she could to fight the corruption and ineptitude of our state government.

Given no other choice, she decided to run as an Independent against Republican/Democrat Bob Robbins. Her chances at the moment are in the category of David/Goliath, snowball in hell, or you’ve-got-to-be-kidding me. Virtually unknown, with practically no campaign funds or staff, she is up against the treasury and army of Bob Robbins and the Mercer County Republican Party.

So why, again, are the Republicans so concerned with her candidacy? Because they know her well – her tenacity, her determination, and her abilities.

I’ve decided to go whole hog to support her. After all, David beat Goliath, and snowballs can survive thrive in hell if they are positioned right (at least according to Dante’s Inferno).

I invite you to join us – to work to make a difference. What will it take? A few people doing a lot of work, plus a lot of people having a few moments of fun. Roberta needs people to walk with her in festival and fair parades, a d stand beside her in campaign booths at local fairs. Spend an evening or two or three with friends who want to do more than gripe and moan about big government, excessive spending, ever-increasing taxation, and continual loss of freedoms.

If you are willing to do even a little bit to help us – or if you have questions or comments - please e-mail me or give me a call. Monetary contributions would also be nice, but mostly we need your involvement.

- Joe

Please check out these websites: http://www.electbiros.com/ and mercerconservatives.blogspot.com

Why You Can’t Trust Bob Robbins and Good Reasons Not to Vote For Him!! (Part I of a series)

(The following statements are my opinion, perspective, and views after several years of volunteer work within the Mercer GOP. I served 12 years as a precinct committeewoman on the Mercer County Republican Committee and two years on the PA GOP state committee.)

Bob Robbins is Loose with Our Money: He is Fiscally Irresponsible!!

Many people have these opinions of politicians: 1) They are all crooks and 2) How can you tell when a politician is lying? His lips are moving. After my stint as a loyal member of the Mercer GOP, I tend to agree and these opinions certainly fit the less than adequate state senator Bob Robbins. “Regardless of political affiliation“, we have been stuck with him for too long.

Bob Robbins spent $43,000 on a write-in campaign to be the Dem choice in November, and his reason was because he loves everyone? OK I’ll be fair, what he really said, “he always worked hard for the people of Mercer County regardless of political affiliation.” His lips were moving when he said this. He must be counting on poor memories on the part of Dems. Robbins and his GOP allies went to great lengths to dig up dirt on Democrats over the past years, including Art Allen. I can recall Mrs. Robbins complaining, “We can‘t find out anything about this Art Allen.” In particular, Bob’s wife voted for, and contributed to the wording, on the “infamous negative Republican flyer” against the Dem commissioner candidates…you know the flyer that drove Lark over the edge and in part caused his resignation.

We all should feel sorry for Lord and Lady Robbins. Reportedly, they lamented about their sore knees from praying for an answer to the worry that Bob would have some difficulty this November. Their prayers were answered when allegedly a few sneaky Dem “officials“ appeared to the Robbins, telling them “we want you as our Dem candidate because you do so much for us”. Well, that’s Pay-Raise Bob’s story. More likely, if Dems really did approach him, they said: “We’ll help you with your Dem write-in project if you help our future Dem campaigns by throwing a GOP candidate under the bus.” This was an easy choice for Coconut Bob since he is practiced at betraying GOP candidates. The Mercer County Incumbent Party has turned backstabbing into an art form. They cannot stand the possibility that an Independent, politically and common-sensibly, could displace them, and win. It would be a win for taxpayers since we desperately, desperately need public servants. Remember, public servants SERVE taxpayers, not vice versa.

Here’s the irony: Senator Robbins portrays himself to GOP loyalists as the most ardent partisan…the top GOP dog in the area, and his wife is the top GOP state committee dog. They play and talk a good game. Yet, behind the scenes, and via their allies embedded within the Mercer GOP, they will do and say whatever it takes to win and stay in power. They casually betray GOP loyalists.

One thing for certain: Robbins will never spend his own personal money to retain his position. When many Mercer County residents are financially struggling, Bob has the luxury of tapping his campaign fund, with no questions ever asked. He smugly views the fund as his exclusive play money and it appears that no one monitors the use of it. Ethics doesn’t seem to a part of Lord Robbins vocabulary.

Let’s talk about that $43,000 that Bob spent on the write-in campaign. First, I find it despicable that he can throw around that kind of money to retain his senator role, pension, and countless perks, and what is the unemployment rate in Mercer County? Is $43,000 higher than the average salary of Mercer County?

Do you trust someone who uses his campaign fund as if it was a household checking account? I do not, and allow me to share information that I had an occasion to seek out back in 2008. When I ran for a seat on the PA GOP state committee in 2008, the Robbins threw tantrums, made threats, and generally acted undignified and downright evil. This made me more curious about their positions. Their behavior seemed illogical, such bitterness directed toward me over the #3 state committee spot?

The state elections board provides public access to candidate campaign reports, so I reviewed those of Robbins during an 18-month period, and was surprised to discover the following:

Bob Robbins reimbursed himself from his campaign fund, over an 18 month period, more than $25,000 in MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES. In essence, this is Bob’s slush fund for unvouchered expenses. (You may recall his dark-of-night vote for a pay raise AND unvouchered freebie money from taxpayers…money to be used to remodel his wife’s kitchen?) This “Miscellaneous Expenses” category from Bob’s campaign fund is Bob’s pocket money, in my view. No one but Pay-Raise Bob would have the audacity to be reimbursed for over $1,000 at a crack for “Miscellaneous”.

In addition, during this 18 month period, Bob spent over $20,000 at SAM’S CLUB!! What type of campaign expenses would require this excessive expenditure? The Robbins are known to be cheap, and ask for food donations from others for his events. Is it possible that the Robbins also use this campaign fund as a personal grocery fund? It does make one wonder. Let’s not forget that the only goal of the Duke of Arrogance, Bob Robbins, is to spend other people’s money. He could care less about helping the voters of Mercer County, “regardless of their political affiliation.”

It is my opinion, which is shared by many, and growing, that Bob Robbins displays a trend of self-serving and untrustworthy behavior term after term, and his fiscal irresponsibility is only outweighed by his egotistical, arrogant behavior. We all must remember his trip to the Virgin Islands, initially funded by taxpayers, and quickly corrected by Robbins when he was caught chiseling the taxpayers.

Mercer County voters, regardless of their political affiliation, deserve better than Bob Robbins. We deserve a senator that we can trust and we can believe when his or her lips are moving.

Topics for Future Posts (stay tuned please):

Examples of Pay-Raise Bob’s Pathological Super-Arrogance

Part II - Bob’s Outrage about the GOP State Committee, including quote from Bob toward me, “I’ll bring out the artillery against you.” I continue to view this as a disturbing threat and gives me pause as to what this less-than-mediocre state senator, and his henchmen, are capable of.

Part III - Bob’s Interference about an Inquiry Concerning the Young Republicans and its Sex Offender Co-Founder, including the smug quote from Bob, “You can’t do anything without my finding out about it a half hour later.” Lord Bob has a Napoleon complex, for sure!

Part IV - Bob’s Obsessive Control of Local Politics and Closed Shop Attitude - “No minorities or women need apply.”

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The state legislature is huge and expensive...but where is Bob Robbins?

Of all the reasons to vote Bob Robbins out of office this year--and there are plenty--one of the biggest is his utter failure to commit to downsizing the state legislature. There is a great deal of support for the idea; in fact, a recent grand jury investigation concluded, among other things, that Pennsylvania's state lawmakers simply aren't doing full-time jobs--even though they get paid as if they do. For instance, the grand jury report showed that lawmakers in 2010 only had 30 active session days--from January until May of this year. The grand jury also recommended term limits, elimination of "per diem" accounts for state representatives, and new ethics standards regarding legislative staff taking paid leave to work on campaigns.

If Bob Robbins were a conservative--heck, if he had any fiscal common sense at all--he would support all of these reforms, and then some.

But, of course, we know that Sen. Robbins cares nothing about reforming Harrisburg. His record shows a complete lack of dedication or support for reform measures.

When I asked him, via an email query this past June, whether his staffers had taken paid leave to work on his campaign, I received a terse reply, directing me to some obscure office in Harrisburg. Why couldn't Robbins have just answered the question himself? Or is his huge staff--his website lists 11 people working in three different offices--that hard to keep track of?

It shouldn't be. In fact, we shouldn't have career politicians like Bob Robbins at all. While Pennsylvanians remain unemployed, and at particularly high rates in Mercer County, Sen. Robbins is grabbing all he can get for himself (not to mention voting for a "budget" that pulls future revenues out of thin air).

You would think that, by now, Bob Robbins would have figured out that his constituency wants to see government reformed. We need efficiency in Harrisburg. Other states have part-time legislatures, and they not only do just fine, they actually work harder and get more done. Texas, as big as it is, has a part-time legislature, for instance.

Why hasn't Bob Robbins spoken out in support of the recent grand jury findings? Why won't he answer simple questions about how his staff gets paid? The only thing that taxpayers can conclude is that Robbins just wants to keep things as they are. The grand jury report stated that moving to a part-time legislature would save 10 million dollars in lawmakers' salaries alone.

How can any state lawmaker, in good conscience, not back these recommendations? We can only imagine that Sen. Robbins, with a disgraceful lust for money, just doesn't care if he makes more than twice the area's median salary for only doing a part-time job. But he's the one that has to look voters in the eye and tell them why he is silent on reforming Harrisburg.

That's a message that, this year of all years, proves without a doubt that Bob Robbins isn't listening to us.

Anger rising over Mercer County school boards' spending

If a recent flurry of letters to The Herald is any indicator, Mercer County residents are increasingly angry at school boards. Out of touch with economic reality, school board members across the county have raised taxes for property owners and bumped already exorbitant salaries for wealthy school administrators. Even the left-leaning Herald editorial board is in on the criticism; an Op-Ed essay urged taxpayers to "rise up and say they aren't going to take it anymore."

I expect that fiscal conservatives will indeed assert themselves, starting with municipal elections next year. School board seats will be lost by incumbents who have placed administrative salary increases before the interests of Mercer County residents, many of whom are struggling to pay the bills they already have. Here in Grove City, where I live, people are already urging me to mount a school board campaign based first and foremost on cutting the school budget and freezing administrative salaries in particular.

It's a position I have long advocated: schools should not raise taxes, then turn around and hand out salary increases to principals and administrators, many of whom make as much as 3-4 times the county's median salary. For years I have equated property taxes to legalized theft. If you must pay a tax each year on a house that you "own," then you don't really own your house, do you? You are renting it from the government. Home ownership should be one of the tenets of a free society, a bedrock of liberty in our communities. There should be no recurring property tax. I also agree with the Herald's praise of West Middlesex school board member Tom Hubert, who was the lone holdout against administrative raises in that school district.

Yet there is another side to the school budget mess. The state has done next to nothing to remedy the rising property tax debacle. Instead, our "leaders" in Harrisburg have chosen to ignore the issue, forcing localities to fend for themselves in funding schools. How long has Sen. Bob Robbins been in Harrisburg? And why has he done absolutely nothing to reform the state budget and possibly shore up new sources of revenue for local school districts?

Roberta Biros, our independent candidate for the state senate, said on this very blog that school districts and local municipalities need to balance their own budgets, not expect dysfunctional Harrisburg to get its spending priorities in order. I agree with this. I also think there is an answer to the wastefulness of our entrenched state-level politicians who care more about getting elected than about making tough, smart fiscal decisions: we should vote those politicians out of office.

Irresponsible school board members will fall in next year's election, of that I am sure. For instance, I'll do my part to make sure longtime tax-and-spenders like Grove City school board members Bob Montgomery and Jim Crow are voted out, once and for all.

Yet Mercer County voters can do something this year to ensure that fiscal responsibility returns to government. Replacing Robbins with Mrs. Biros is the first step to real reform. Roberta has made top-down fiscal conservatism a top priority. So let's put Roberta Biros at the top, and be done with Bob Robbins for good.

Read The Herald's anti-taxes essay here

Read about the Roberta Biros plan for more responsible government here

PA 2010 State Budget Passes Senate and House: An Example of Spending Money that We Don’t Have

For the first time in his ‘reign’ as Governor, Ed Rendell has a budget that passed through the State House and Senate before the June 30th deadline. Congratulations Governor Rendell! Congratulations, too, to the 37 Senators and 177 Representatives that signed on to that “pile of garbage” that they called a State Budget.

Why is it a pile of garbage? . . . Because it is UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Our legislature is REQUIRED BY LAW to pass a balanced budget. The budget that passed the House and Senate yesterday is balanced on federal funds that don’t yet exist and a tax on the extraction of Marcellus Shale natural gas that has yet to be passed. In essence, “the budget stands for nothing” . . . which is appropriate since that is also the case with many of our legislators.

Who is to blame?

The opportunity to STOP the budget was in the Republican controlled Senate. The budget bill passed the State Senate by a vote of 37 to 13. There were only 13 Senators that did the right thing by voting NO to this example of fiscal irresponsibility. What about the Senate leadership? Here are their votes . . . for the record.

REPUBLICANS

YES - Joseph B. Scarnati III (President of the Senate)
YES - Dominic Pileggi (Majority Floor Leader)
YES - Michael Waugh (Majority Caucus Chair)
YES - Robert Robbins (Majority Caucus Secretary)
YES - Jake Corman (Majority Appropriations Committee Chair)
YES - Patrick M. Browne (Majority Caucus Administrator)
YES - Edwin Erickson (Majority Policy Committee Chair)

DEMOCRATS

YES - Roberta Mellow (Minority Floor Leader)
YES - Michael O’Pake (Minority Whip)
YES - Vincent Hughes (Minority Caucus Chair)
YES - Sean Logan (Minority Caucus Secretary)
YES - Jay Costa (Minority Appropriations Committee Chair)
YES - Christine Tartaglione (Minority Caucus Administrator)
YES - Richard Kasunic (Minority Policy Committee Chair)

THIS PROVES that the Senate leadership MUST change . . . one way or another!

The budget bill passed the State House by a vote of 117 to 84. This is not a shock seeing that the House is controlled by Rendell Democrats. What is shocking in this number, however, is that 16 Republicans voted WITH the Rendell Democrats in order to achieve a supermajority which was required to waive a rule requiring 24 hours’ notice before a bill is voted.

If you would like to see how your Senators and Representatives voted, please refer to the voting records below:

June 30 Budget Vote in Senate is HERE
June 30 Budget Vote in House is HERE

What about Northwest PA?

MOST of the legislators from our region in Northwest Pennsylvania agree with my views on the budget, and MOST of them voted against the budget bill yesterday. Specifically . . .

Mercer County Legislators

Representative Michele Brooks (R) - NO
Representative Dick Stevenson (R) - NO
Representative Mark Longietti (D) - YES
Senator Bob Robbins (R) – YES

Crawford County Legislators

Representative John Evans (R) – NO
Representative Brad Roae (R) – NO
Representative Michele Brooks (R) – NO
Senator Bob Robbins (R) – YES

Republican Representatives (and Conservatives) Michele Brooks, Dick Stevenson, John Evans, and Brad Roae all did the RIGHT thing and voted NO to the budget.

Rendell Democrats Bob Robbins and Representative Mark Longietti voted YES to the budget. Representative Mark Longietti did what his caucus told him to do . . . in the end he supported his Governor and his Caucus (right or wrong). Republican Senator Bob Robbins PROVED his allegiance to the Democrats that WROTE HIM IN in the Primary (all 800 of them) and he also supported his fellow Democrat Governor and his new Caucus.

As a Republican LEADER in the Senate, Bob Robbins should be ashamed of himself. Even more important, his CONSTITUENTS should be angry with him. It shows that he was more concerned with getting rid of the “budget problem” in an election year that he was with standing on principles of good government and fiscal responsibility.

In press releases that were sent out last night, Bob Robbins fellow legislators from this area made their thoughts about the budget clear . . .

Representative Michele Brooks stated:

“Although this budget was passed on time – as it should be – it falls short to earn my support. I have many serious concerns about funding allocations and the source of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.”

“Many of us have concerns regarding whether this budget is constitutionally balanced as it relies heavily on $850 million in funding from the federal government, which has not yet been approved by Congress and there are some doubts whether it will be approved. It also has a structural deficit of approximately $3 billion.”

Representative Brad Roae stated:

“State budgets are about priorities,” Roae said. “This budget sets the wrong priorities for Pennsyvlania.”

“This budget literally spends money the state doesn’t have,” Roae said. “This budget is based on the hope of a federal bailout for the state. If the federal government runs up the deficit to pay for this bailout, taxpayers will be paying for it for years to come.”

“This budget doesn’t reflect my priorities and it certainly doesn’t reflect the wishes
of the people I represent,” Roae said. “We needed to reduce spending due to the recession, but the cuts in this budget weren’t applied fairly. This budget sets up huge tax increases or painful spending cuts for next year. I simply could not support a budget that is this irresponsible.”

According to these statements, it seems to me that the conservative legislators that represent our area need help to fight for fiscal responsibility in Harrisburg . . . and they are not getting that from their own Senator. Hmmmmmm.

Where do I stand on the subject?

Anyone that voted FOR this budget made a conscious effort to pull the wool over the eyes of taxpayers. This is not a VALID budget . . . no matter how you look at it.

It is the responsibility of our legislators to make certain that the state government does not spend beyond its means. If we don’t have the money, we ought not to be spending it. Federal dollars that simply aren’t there should not be considered in the calculations, and tax revenues from Marcellus Shale should NOT be considered in the equations either. IF the tax on Marcellus Shale extraction is pushed through (in October), it will be the worst fiscal decision in Pennsylvania . . . ever!

If I were the Senator in Pennsylvania’s 50th District, I would have voted NO to yesterday’s budget. I would have continued to vote NO until the budget was actually balanced on REAL numbers. More importantly, I would have been pushing for these changes back in February and March . . . when budget negotiations SHOULD have been taking place. Waiting until the 11th hour so that they can push through the equivalent of a legislative joke is shameful.

I usually sign off by stating "as alway, just my opinion". Today it is important that I sign off by stating the following:

This is not just my opinion. It is my official statement.

Roberta Biros
Editor, Mercer County Conservatives