Hirsh, Piccola tussle over reform, ties to district
By Alex Roarty, PolitickerPA.com

Longtime state Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County) coasted to re-election in 2004 by 22 percentage points and by 35 percentage points in 2000.

Piccola's opponent this year thinks 2008 will be different -- she said she just needs to get the 15th Senatorial District to examine his record.

"Jeff Piccola has never had a serious challenger," said Democrat Judy Hirsh, who talked to PolitickerPA.com as she sat in the office of her real estate consulting business about a 10-minute drive from Harrisburg. "His record has never been put before his district."

Challengers target accountability
excerpts from a feature by David Spett from Sunday, August 10th's Patriot-News

A month after 12 people with ties to the state House Democrats were charged with misusing government time and money, reform is on many minds.

It's certainly on the minds of people running for the Legislature. In a follow-up to conversations with state officials on legislative reforms, The Patriot-News asked their challengers their thoughts on the matter...

JUDY HIRSH, a Democrat seeking the 15th state senatorial seat held by Republican Jeffrey Piccola

Reforms: "Make budget negotiation transcripts public; impose limits on campaign contributions of $2,500 for individuals and $10,000 per candidate for political action committees; require lobbyists to disclose all expenditures; put a nonpartisan body in charge of redistricting; and increase funding for the State Ethics Commission to ensure they have the resources to investigate complaints."

In last Sunday's York Sunday News, Sen. Jeff Piccola wrote about the political failures of Harrisburg. I, too, am disheartened, but not surprised that our state Legislature has let the citizens of Pennsylvania down yet again. The recent charges made against current and former members and staff of the state Legislature reinforces the ever-growing need to fix the way the General Assembly is run.

Unfortunately, Sen. Piccola's most recent attempt at reform with a call for a "special and extraordinary legislative session" appears to be nothing more than political rhetoric. His headline-grabbing talk of reform is a prime example of the empty talk that has failed the citizens of Pennsylvania for far too long. Quite simply, it is too little, too late.

Hirsh Announces Job-Growth Initiatives to Combat Rising Unemployment Rates

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Friends for Judy Hirsh Pennsylvania Senate Campaign today released the following statement: "I am saddened to learn that unemployment rates last month have risen again in Central Pennsylvania. According to state labor officials, the unemployment rate rose almost 1 percent to 4.4 percent in the Harrisburg area. It is time to reverse this trend of job loss and to revitalize our local economy.

"As a businesswoman and working mother, I know that our Pennsylvania economy is headed in the wrong direction. As I work hard to make sure that the employees in my small business have family-sustaining wages, I know that many Pennsylvanians are struggling to support their families, especially when jobs are leaving our area and our Commonwealth.

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 24, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President William George today announced the reaffirmation of the AFL-CIO's endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President which was made by the AFL-CIO's General Board on June 26, 2008 and endorsements made today by the PA AFL-CIO Executive Council for Attorney General, Auditor General, State Treasurer, for U.S. House of Representatives, and for the State Legislature.

The Sun Q&A: Senate Candidate Judy Hirsh


Is Sun country ready to elect a woman, a Democratic woman, to represent it?

Judy Hirsh is about to find out.

She scored an impressive, 9,500-vote victory over Alvin Taylor to gain the Democratic nomination for the 15th Senatorial District (most of Dauphin and part of York counties), but now, she faces a much bigger challenge. She faces Jeff Piccola, who has held the seat for more than 12 years.

Where do you start? We met with Hirsh at The Sun office to talk about the campaign to come, Jeff Piccola and the changing face of Dauphin County. The following is a transcript of our discussion, edited only for length: