What employees at Pennsylvania’s state-run universities really earn

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Tom Murse

Back in March, state government reporter Karen Shuey wrote about unionized faculty at the 14 state-owned universities and their new contract with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. We thought it would be helpful to provide, with that story, the list of the top salaries, and who’s earning them, this year at Millersville University and across the 13 other state-owned universities. We also provided a complete database of all 12,632 employees, their positions and salaries for 2013.

But there’s more to this story, as The Patriot-News of Harrisburg has pointed out. Many of the system’s employees are making far more than their base salaries show. The newspaper mentioned West Chester swimming coach James Rudisill, who was paid $260,768 last year, ranking him as the third highest earner in the system behind only the $367,449 paid to fired California University President Angelo Armenti (whose earnings, The Patriot-News reports, included severance and unused leave payout in addition to his salary) and the $324,397 paid to former system Chancellor John Cavanaugh.

So how did Rudisill make so much? Reports The P-N: “His salary was $67,921, but that was supplemented with $192,847 earned from swimming camps and lessons as well as from an arbitration award from a 2008 grievance relative to summer swimming camp pay.”

All of which raises the question: Now that we know the base salaries of all system employees, how much did they actually make last year? Here’s the complete database showing total earnings for all system employees in 2012. Enjoy.

2012 Earnings for Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Employees

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How much money does it take to win a seat in Congress?

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Tom Murse

U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan

So, how much money does it take to win a seat in Congress?

If you were running for the House and made it into the 113 Congress, it took an average of $1,689,580, or $2,315 per day during the 2012 campaign cycle, according to a new analysis from MapLight.org. If you were running for the Senate, it took an average of $10,476,451, or $14,351 per day during the 2012 cycle.

Locally, Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts’ campaign brought in $1,312,424 or about $1,798 per day. Pitts represents most of Lancaster County in the 16th Congressional District.

Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan’s campaign raised $2,614,914 for the 2012 election, or about $3,582 a day. Meehan, pictured above, represents a small section of eastern Lancaster County in the 7th Congressional District.

Here’s a searchable, sortable database created by the digital team at Lancaster Newspapers showing how much each successful candidate for Congress raised for their 2012 elections.

Campaign Fundraising for Members of the 113th Congress

MapLight’s analysis of campaign contributions to members of the 113th Congress who won election in 2012 use data from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012, based on latest available data from the FEC as of February 13, 2013.

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How much did your congressman’s campaign get from the gun lobby?

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Tom Murse

The National Rifle Association, Safari Club International and National Association for Gun Rights led firearms organizations and their political-action committees in giving a record $3 million in campaign contributions in the last election cycle, according to OpenSecrets.org data cited by Slate. “Half of that sum went to House races, and almost all of it went to Republican candidates,” Slate reports. The three organizations listed above together contributed $1.2 million of that $3 million.

So how much did our congressmen get from the gun lobby? The re-election campaign for Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, who represents most of the county in the 16th Congressional District, got $4,000, according to the data. Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, who represents a small portion of Lancaster County in the 7th Congressional District, didn’t get any money.

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Flu Season: Past Peak in Pennsylvania?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Tom Murse

Take a deep breath. It looks, at least preliminarily, as if the worst of flu season could be behind us. As Paula Wolf reported this week, new data show the number of new cases reported to the state declined last week over the previous week. There were 4,903 confirmed flu infections for the week of Jan. 13, down from 5,069 the week before. In Lancaster County, the total number of cases this season is now 830. That is by no means suggesting you show forego getting a flu shot. Better late than never.

Here are some national data from the Centers for Disease Control:

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Lieutenant governor headlining fundraiser for Sturla opponent

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Tom Murse

Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley is headlining a Oct. 22 fundraiser for Tom Garman, the Republican who is trying to unseat veteran Democratic state Rep. Mike Sturla. The $200-a-person fundraiser is being held at the Wheatland Avenue home of Mike and Jayne Pickard and will also feature House Majority Whip Stan Saylor. Here’s the flyer that’s being distributed by the Garman campaign:


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Democrats pull ads in 7th, three other congressional races

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Tom Murse

Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spiked more than $1 million of television advertising in suburban Philadelphia congressional races, including in the 7th Congressional District, which reaches into eastern Lancaster County.

The move, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer, is a “signal that four races the party had targeted in the region are slipping out of reach.” In the 7th Congressional District, Democrat George Badey is trying to unseat first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan.

The 7th Congressional district includes Christiana Borough and Bart, Colerain, Leacock, Paradise, Sadsbury and Salisbury townships. The roughly 30,000 voters there had been represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts in the 16th Congressional District until redistricting changed the district boundaries.


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Pennsylvania is now a “toss up,” says RealClearPolitics

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Tom Murse

Romney Obama debate

The race for Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes is now a “toss up” between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, according to RealClearPolitics.

The poll trackers there shifted the state to toss up from “leans Obama” on Wednesday following new data showing the race tightening; Rasmussen Reports has the Obama lead down to 5 points following his lackluster performance in the first presidential debate.

Other post-debate polls showed the margin as being as little as 2 and 3 percentage points, far closer than the late-September surveys showing Obama up by double-digits. The Franklin & Marshall College poll conducted then had Romney trailing by 9 percentage points.


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Challenger hits Sturla: ‘City has 15 failing schools even though Sturla claims education is his priority.’

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Tom Murse

State Rep. Tom Garman

Republican leaders here see the entrance of Paul Culbreth, a former Democrat, as good news for GOP nominee Tom Garman in his race against Democratic state Rep. Mike Sturla. “Make no mistake; this seat is winnable this year, especially with a liberal third party candidate,” wrote a group of GOP legislators and county officials in a fundraising letter Thursday.

The letter also took a swipe at Sturla: “Voters agree Sturla has spent too long loving off taxpayers without furthering the interests of those he purports to represent. They get it that the City has 15 failing schools even though Sturla claims education is his priority.”

The letter was signed by Lancaster County Commissioners Scott Martin and Dennis Stuckey; state Reps. Ryan Aument, Scott Boyd, Tom Creighton, Gordon Denlinger and Dave Hickernell; state Sen. Lloyd Smucker; and former Pennsylvania elections chief Dick Filling.


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Rick Santorum endorses Todd Akin

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Tom Murse

Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Todd Akin.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum has announced his support for U.S. Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri, the embattled and defiant Republican who is looking to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in one of the most closely watched Senate races this year.

Akin is the anti-abortion lawmaker who has rejected calls from within his own party to drop out of the race after suggesting women’s bodies have a natural defense against pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape.” He has apologized repeatedly for the remarks.

Santorum, who unsuccessfully sought his party’s presidential nomination this year, and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint issued a joint statement endorsing Akin this morning. It reads:

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum

“If Republicans are to win back the Senate and stop President Obama’s liberal agenda, we must defeat Senator Claire McCaskill in Missouri. Her support of President Obama’s job-killing, big-spending policies are sending our country into an economic abyss. And her passionate support of ObamaCare is ensuring healthcare costs go up while quality of care goes down. Simply put, we cannot afford six more years of Senator McCaskill.

“Todd Akin is a principled conservative who is committed to winning and fighting for freedom in the U.S. Senate. Todd will work to stop reckless spending, stop the out of control debt, repeal the government takeover of healthcare, support our military and defend life at every stage.

“We support Todd Akin and hope freedom-loving Americans in Missouri and around the country will join us so we can save our country from fiscal collapse.”


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Lancaster mayor warns of impact on cities under looming ‘sequestration’ cuts

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Tom Murse

Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray

Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray joined more than 150 city officials from across the United States this week in warning about the potential impact of automatic federal spending cuts set to take effect on Jan. 2.

The across-the-board cuts, known as a “sequester,” would total $110 billion in 2013 and $1.2 trillion over the next decade and would affect how much states and local governments receive in non-defense discretionary spending.

That’s a broad term that includes education spending, block grants used to help low-income families pay for heating oil, and money for special food assistance for women, infants and children, according to the Pew Center for the States.

“Discretionary spending has already been significantly reduced in recent years,” Gray and his colleagues wrote to House and Senate leaders. “As our local metro economies — which drive the national economy — continue the struggle to recover from the worst national recession in decades, we cannot bear the financial burden that additional discretionary spending cuts would require just to meet the most emergent needs of our constituents.”

Continue reading →

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