HARRISBURG — Asked Thursday about the suggestion by a group of House Democrats that he was exacting ”retribution” over their defections during a budget vote, Gov. Tom Wolf called the claim ”fairly ridiculous.”
“They were, I think, concerned about constituent service, which I’m also concerned about, and I’m trying to do the best I can to make this administration responsive to the needs of all constituents,” Mr. Wolf said. ”So I think that’s fairly ridiculous.”
In a letter dated Tuesday, 11 House Democrats said they were concerned that ”some members are being treated dramatically different by your administration” since the March 16 vote on the appropriations bill that ended the state budget impasse.
The representatives, all but two of the 13 House Democrats who supported the proposal, defended their vote, saying they could not let the impasse go on any longer when schools could close and services could cease.
“Following our vote, some of us have experienced shocking treatment in our relationship with your administration,” the letter says. ”We have also found that our requests for assistance, normally handled by our legislative liaisons, are being redirected to your Office of Legislative Affairs. This is unacceptable.”
They asked that ”any thoughts of retribution be put aside” in order to move on together.
In a phone interview, Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-Washington, said he thinks it’s a ”safe assumption” that the change he says he experienced from the administration is due to the budget vote.
“They were treating us differently than we’ve ever been treated before,” he said. ”I just want my constituents to have the same access to services as other constituents other legislators have.”
Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, said that when her staff called state agencies, they were asked who they work for.
“They said Representative Snyder, and they were told, all of Representative Snyder’s constituent work has to go to the legislative affairs office of the governor,” she said.
Ms. Snyder said she doesn’t disagree with Mr. Wolf’s goals, but that she could not stand by and watch schools in her district close.
“You have to live to fight another day,” she said. ”And there is not enough time left in the fiscal year to make up what the governor wanted.”
The other members who signed the letter are: Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-Erie; Rep. Chris Sainato, D-Lawrence; Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Carrick; Rep. William Kortz, D-Dravosburg; Rep. Nick Kotik, D-Kennedy; Rep. Peter Daley, D-California; Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union; Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria; and, Rep. Gerald Mullery, D-Luzerne.
Mr. Wolf’s spokesman, Jeffrey Sheridan, dismissed the allegations, saying the administration has made no changes to how it handles legislative affairs or constituent services.
“Nothing changed,” he said. ”Nothing will change. We’re still going to help people out in the exact same manner that we always have.”
First Published: April 8, 2016, 2:08 a.m.
