Eleciton officials are getting ready for a special election to replace the latte State Senator James Rhoades. People go to the polls Tuesday and Monday both candidates who want to job talked about the election.
Voters in the 29th Senatorial District will find two very familiar names on the ballot in the special election, two long-time office holders in Schuylkill County. Each over the last couple of weeks have tried to convince voters he is the best man for the state senate, especially on the issue of handling the public's money.
The Democrat in the race is Steve Lukach. He has spent 22 years as Schuylkill County's clerk of courts. The Republic is Representative David Argall, who has 24 years as a member in the State House.
The two campaigns have tangled for weeks in television ads, mostly over money issues. Lukach wants to remind voters of Argall's support for the imfamous 2005 pay raise, a move so unpopular it was later repealed and a number of lawmakers were voted out of office.
Argall doesn't mind defending his record. He knows his record is an open book. "Every opponent that I have had in the last five years have brought it up but in the last campaign I won every single precinct from McAdoo all the way to Reading so I think voters have already given us the verdict on that one," Argall said.
"My opponent actually was the architect of that pay raise. He voted for his own pay raise and voted to raise his pension 50 percent and then he took per diems over a two-year period that seem to be extraordinary high," Lukach said.
Per diems are tax-free bonuses that lawmakers are eligible to collect on the days they go to Harrisburg for work. Did Argall take too many per diems? Newswatch 16 has his expense reports for 2005 to 2007 They show he collected tens of thousands of dollars in per diems, on top of his legislative salary.
"I'm not sure that most people understand what that is. I live an hour and a half from the capital. I have an apartment that costs me about $8,000 or $9,000 a year. That's what those per diems go to pay for," Argall said.
Lukach tells voters he will be more careful with our money than Argall has been. "I am telling the voters I would never to raise my pay. I will never vote to raise my pension," Lukach said.
The special election will be held Tuesday. Newsatch 16 will have the outcome of the race as soon as the results are known.
Voters in the 29th Senatorial District will find two very familiar names on the ballot in the special election, two long-time office holders in Schuylkill County. Each over the last couple of weeks have tried to convince voters he is the best man for the state senate, especially on the issue of handling the public's money.
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The two campaigns have tangled for weeks in television ads, mostly over money issues. Lukach wants to remind voters of Argall's support for the imfamous 2005 pay raise, a move so unpopular it was later repealed and a number of lawmakers were voted out of office.
Argall doesn't mind defending his record. He knows his record is an open book. "Every opponent that I have had in the last five years have brought it up but in the last campaign I won every single precinct from McAdoo all the way to Reading so I think voters have already given us the verdict on that one," Argall said.
"My opponent actually was the architect of that pay raise. He voted for his own pay raise and voted to raise his pension 50 percent and then he took per diems over a two-year period that seem to be extraordinary high," Lukach said.
Per diems are tax-free bonuses that lawmakers are eligible to collect on the days they go to Harrisburg for work. Did Argall take too many per diems? Newswatch 16 has his expense reports for 2005 to 2007 They show he collected tens of thousands of dollars in per diems, on top of his legislative salary.
"I'm not sure that most people understand what that is. I live an hour and a half from the capital. I have an apartment that costs me about $8,000 or $9,000 a year. That's what those per diems go to pay for," Argall said.
Lukach tells voters he will be more careful with our money than Argall has been. "I am telling the voters I would never to raise my pay. I will never vote to raise my pension," Lukach said.
The special election will be held Tuesday. Newsatch 16 will have the outcome of the race as soon as the results are known.
