Whoever replaces the veteran politico — Democrat John Liss or Republican Mike Folmer — isn’t likely to be a name the public knows as well yet.

Folmer built his primary platform on fellow Republican Brightbill’s mistakes — namely the unpopular pay raise vote that brought down plenty of longtime politicians in May’s primary.

Folmer’s not changing his tune now, especially after it worked against the Harrisburg mainstay.

“It’s the same message I’ve been preaching from the primary forward,” Folmer said in a phone interview after one of many door-to-door tours. “It’s legislative reform, spending and tax reform, my Promise to Pennsylvania.”

Door-to-door visits polished Folmer’s delivery and May’s win has built his confidence. He promises not to take a government vehicle if elected — only the annual $72,187 base salary that comes with the two-year position — and he promises not to be part of any midnight pay raises.

“There’s distrust between the people and their government now. I’ve reached out to heal wounds from the primary and build bridges,” Folmer said. “I’ve been received very well by people. They appreciate knowing that I’m not from the inside. The rest is in God’s hands.”

John Liss sings a similar tune in one respect.

He’s tired of the “culture of arrogance” that has taken over Harrisburg. He wants campaign reform and government reform that forces accountability.

Liss ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. In a low-key interview, he asks as many questions as he answers. He’s quick to admit America’s health care nightmare is as baffling to him as it is to most of us.

“That’s why my door will always be open,” he said. “And I’ll listen with my ears, not my mouth.”

Liss admits his own party tried to boot him from the general ticket after Brightbill was easily unseated in May. They wanted polish, name-recognition and someone with a political track record to take the seat. Even as late as October, write-in campaigns were launched on the Capitol steps to shut him out.

“That’s the truth — they really wanted me off the ballot,” Liss said before a radio interview with the League of Women Voters.

“I thought it would go away in August, but the undercurrent is still there. There’s no way I would have backed off the ballot to let someone else run. To me, that would have been voter fraud. People are mad now about the culture of arrogance in Harrisburg.”

Liss isn’t one for making speeches. After 30 years operating a water treatment plant, putting himself out there for the ultimate popularity contest isn’t easy.

When talking about his issues, he’s quick to fill in the blanks and leaps from one to another with an opinion or at least acknowledging where a problem is.

Liss, a Coast Guard veteran who finished two Vietnam tours in 1969 and 1971, supports unions, though he admits there have been some bad union eggs, and believes in minimum wages set at a healthy, reasonable place.

“One of my issues is jobs,” Liss said. “We need 40-hour work weeks with benefits.”

Liss advises caution on tax shifts. He said if one tax is eliminated, another will be levied or raised to cover costs.

“I own property in three counties. I want to see property tax disappear, too,” he said. “But if you do away with school property tax, then you’ve given control of your schools to the state, and people won’t like that. You can shift it to sales tax, but if you’re having a bad year, you’re not buying that much. These issues will surface. There’s a tradeoff with these schemes.”

Liss wants to bring his own frugal lifestyle to Harrisburg to keep spending down, but he makes no promises because there are 50 others in Harrisburg who must buy into his solutions.

“I won’t sign on to any of these (tax shifting) schemes and you won’t hear John Liss say, ‘I won’t raise taxes,’!\p ” he said.

“But I live on a shoestring, and I’m used to doing that. That’s what I want to bring to the table up there — my form of accounting.”


Susan Lindt’s e-mail address is slindt@lnpnews.com. blog comments powered by Disqus