Lehigh Valley Rail Summit: Grassroots or Astroturf?

"This is an unusual meeting. ... This is not business as usual."

That's how State Senator Rob Wonderling described last night's high profile passenger rail summit at Hotel Bethlehem. And it sure was a diverse combination of business interests, pols and transportation advocates.

This odd assortment of at least 170 foo-foos nibbled in anticipation at expensive cheeses and sipped different wines, "networking" away and passing out business cards while a piano played ever so quietly. All the hotshots were there. No wonder. This event was loudly trumpeted by both The Morning Call and Express Times. Reporters and cameras were in abundance. Senator Wonderling and facilitator Joyce Marin concluded the high turnout was indicative of some kind of "grass roots movement," but that's horseshit. This was manufactured news, bippy. There's obviously big money behind last night's astroturf event.

The event sponsor, RenewLV, describes itself as "a diverse coalition of business, agriculture, environmentalists, urban, suburban and rural government officials, education and other civic leaders." Its members include PPL's Bert Daday, Brown Daub's L. Anderson Daub and LVEDC's Raymond F. Suhocki. Many members are also part of the advisory committee behind the plan to widen Route 22.

The evening's featured speaker, The Brookings Institution's Robert Puentes, presented an excellent overview of potential benefits and pitfalls of some form of rail. It's worthy of a separate post. But he strangely had no recommendations for the Lehigh Valley. He cautioned "rail is not a silver bullet." And he warned that no rail program will stop congestion.

In a rambling presentation, Senator Wonderling told us a Quakertown rail line could be a reality by 2010 ... or 2011 ... or 2012.

I support light rail. I support alternative transportation. But I don't support contrived "grass roots" movements. I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I knew who picked up the tab for last night's slick extravaganza. Instead, I left feeling very suspicious about a hidden agenda.

Some of Those Attending Last Night's Ball:

Chris "Blue Collar" Casey, who left when the piano music stopped for some reason;
Greta "Queen of the Greens" Browne, looking very regal with a laptop;
Blogger Damien "I love Allentown" Brown;
Blogger Vanessa Williams, not to be confused with Vanessa Williams;
Route 22 cheerleader Bruce Davis, complete with pom poms;
Ron "Does anyone want to interview me?" Angle;
Julian "Mr. Republican" Stolz;
Rev. Mike "God loves business" Dowd;
Joe "I'm chaining myself to the piano and am not leaving until I read this list of the 20,000 war wounded" DeRaymond;
Roger "I love south side Bethlehem, casinos and butterflies" Hudak;
John "thank God this isn't county council" Stoffa;
Jason "anybody see my bike?" Slipp;
Mary "I'm there for you" Ensslin;
Peter "I send 1,000,000 emails per day containing articles from the local papers" Crownfield;
Pratima "couldn't anyone leave me one slice of cheese?" Agrawal;
Alan "prince of poverty" Jennings; and, last but least,
Bernie "can't we all just get along?" O'Hare.

Update: RenewLV Denies It Is Astroturf Group - Joyce Marin kindly posted a comment on this blog. She's "setting the record straight" concerning my RenewLV allegations. Her explanation is complete and I accept it. I was very concerned about who funds her group, and she has identified her sources.

Rob Wonderling: It's "hard work" being a state senator

When GW debated Kerry, he made eleven references to the "hard work" he's doing in the oval office. He's not alone. State Senator Rob Wonderling today released his own report on the state Republican website detailing all the "hard work" accomplished last year. Gee, they must be tired! He's happy about a law making it more difficult for injured persons to collect damages, but is disappointed the measure was vetoed. He claims we now have property tax reform while promising that we're going to have even more property tax reform. He also takes credit for legislation that never passed. Not a word about reforming his own house. Republican leader Sam Smith has already said he doesn't "want reform simply for reform's sake." Meanwhile, House Speaker John Perzel refuses to answer questions about legislators' expense accounts.

Election Day Rundown for Lehigh Valley Voters - Boscola, Browne & Wonderling Will Retain State Senate Seats

This is the second election day rundown promised for Lehigh Valley voters, covering our gerrymandered state senate seats. There will be a third post for contested state rep. races and the Lehigh County referendum question.

State Senate Races - Boscola, Browne & Wonderling will win.

18th Pa. Senatorial District: This district is a crescent that includes portions of Lehigh, Northampton and Monroe counties. Incumbent Lisa M. Boscola faces reformer Bonnie L. Dodge.

Bonnie, a devout Christian, will quietly tell me she cannot apologize for her strong religious convictions when I start lamenting her constant references to the Heavenly Father. I am suspicious of religious politicians, but perhaps that's my problem. If you can get past her religious tenor, she's a sincere and hard-working woman with a reform agenda. She belongs in government. She's hit Lisa hard on the issues, but never was personal. I'd like to see more strong women in government. And that's the problem. Incumbent Lisa Boscola and Bonnie Dodge are mirror images. Boscola has been a staunch advocate for property tax reform. She's refused payraises, and thumbed her noses at party bosses more than once. Although I wish Lisa was a bit more liberal, her views are in line with those of most Pennsylvanians. She will crush Bonnie Dodge, and I'll be voting for her, too. I just hope Bonnie tries again. Despite her conservative views, she's an advocate of good government, and we need as many of those as we can get.

The Morning Call and Express-Times both endorse Boscola.

16th Pa. Senatorial District: This is another gerrymandered district made up of bits and pieces from Lehigh, Northampton and Monroe counties. Rick Orloski is trying to unseat incumbent Pat Browne.

In a world of negative and misleading campaigns, these are two class acts. Orloski, uncharacteristically quiet for a seasoned trial lawyer, has a terrific sense of humor. And Browne, despite his legal and accounting background and prior experience as a state rep., is surprisingly modest. They are both gentlemen and what you see is what you get. Orloski is an unabashed liberal while Browne is moderately conservative. Orloski proposes conversion of Pennsylvania clean coal into alternative fuels, and is promoting a Lehigh Valley medical school. His problem? He's run for office so many times he's become our local Man of La Mancha, tilting at Lehigh Valley Windmills. For that reason, he'll lose. I'd still vote for him.

The Morning Call has endorsed Pat Browne.

24th Pa. Senatorial District: Third Lehigh Valley Senate seat. Third gerrymandered district. This is a jigsaw of Lehigh, Northampton and Bucks counties. Democrat Dave Wilsey, a Quakertown Borough councilman, is pitted against incumbent Robert C. Wonderling. Wilsey has yawned his way through the race, hasn't spent a dime and certainly is an unknown in the Lehigh Valley. He has devoted so little attention to this race he couldn't be bothered to sign on to a proposal to strengthen our Sunshine Act and Right to Know Law. Wonderling will trounce Wilsey, who has done nothing to earn anyone's vote. "Vote for me. I'm not a Republican." That's not enough.

What really apples me is that Wonderling is a poster boy for the Lehigh Valley partnership, but the blue collar party has come up with only token resistance. Something is wrong there.

Wonderling is endorsed by The Express Times and Morning Call.