Four years ago, Allentown lawyer Rick Orloski and State Senator Pat Browne squared off in the state senate race. Pat come out on top, but I was very impressed by the good will that both of them had for each other, along with their humility. They are both class acts who seemed to have a genuine regard for each other.This year, Rick is challenging Pat again, and I was really looking forward to their dialogues. Ideologically, they are much different, but it's so refreshing to see candidates who can actually be nice to each other.
Unfortunately, a Pat Browne proxy challenged Rick's nomination petition. Had that succeeded, there would be no race at all. There would be no dialogue. Voters would be denied a choice.
On Monday, I told you about an email that Orloski had sent to Browne over the weekend, asking him to reconsider his challenge. Rick's best argument? "Elections are for voters, not judges." It was a powerful message.
I doubt I'll ever know whether Orloski's email had the same impact on Browne that it had on me. I can't really call him at his Senate office to discuss politics or the Attorney General will arrest both of us and throw away the key. But I'd like to think that Pat was moved by Rick's email. What I do know is that, late yesterday afternoon, Browne's proxies withdrew their challenge to Rick's nomination petition.
They did the right thing.
I spoke with Rick late this afternoon, and he told me it's really unfortunate to see so many nomination challenges this year. "Politicians are taking elections out of the hands of the people and putting them in the hands of judges." Judges don't like it, either. One Commonwealth Court judge, who shall remain nameless, complained "We're overwhelmed. We need to work on other cases."
Rick credited his legal team, the Allentown law firm of Crosslis & Brennan, for their work on his behalf. That firm also represented Mike Horton, the state rep candidate who was tailed by a Karen Beyer PI. Tim Brennan, one of these legal eagles, was reluctant to discuss details of either case, and instead told me he's doing a lot of Equine law these days.
Equine law? Well, his experience in these nomination challenges definitely exposed him to few horses' asses, including me.
5 comments:
I'm unmoved.
Rick would be the first ambulance chaser to sue your ass and collect 35% over an uncrossed "t" or undotted "i."
Rick is persistent.....He goes after things he feels are right and always fights for the underdog.
It's interesting that whenever a person is in trouble, he or she look for a lawyer to help bail them out.
Rick has made a living at helping people. He grew up in a low income home and knows what it's like to have to scrape to make a living.
Of course if you're on the side that Rick is fighting, you won't like him....
Actually, I like the guy and I was actually on the wrong side once. Yes, he is tough and fights hard for his clients. But once it's over, it's over.
I don't consider him an ambulance chaser at all. I could introduce you to a few of them. Many of the cases Rick accepts are viewed as lost causes.
I like what happened here. It reflects well on both Rick and Pat Browne. They are both gentlemen in the finest sense of that word.
Bernie's right about Rick Orloski's sympathy for the underdog. In hard economic times, that's the thinking that we need in our representatives, regardless of party affiliation.
Pat Browne is a decent guy but he sold out to gun enthusiasts by proposing a ridiculous law to create a "state rifle." As if PA doen't have enough serious problems requiring his attention. How about tackling PA's pension problem, for starters? Another pol who took office for all the right reasons, but then forgot why his constituents elected him.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5gun.7200179mar10,0,6847809.story
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