TMCnet News

OPINION: Perzel stuck it to us [The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]
[October 23, 2011]

OPINION: Perzel stuck it to us [The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]


(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (PA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 23--HARRISBURG Here's the really maddening thing about former House Speaker John Perzel's crimes: State tax dollars were used to buy almost every imaginable computer program to help House Republicans win elections. Prosecutors say millions in state funds were used by Perzel and his cohorts for House campaigns.



Yet Perzel, of Philadelphia, raised $17 million in campaign money for himself, the state party and the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) from 2000-07, according to evidence submitted at the trial of former Rep. Brett Feese last week.

Perzel had plenty of campaign money to pay for technology.


Instead, he stole it from the public.

With all that campaign money available, why would he take the risk and use tax money for campaign software and databases for House GOP campaigns? Perzel's vision as far back as 2001 was that computer programs, extensive voter databases and predictive models would be the key to keeping power.

And majority control of the House meant everything, Perzel told a jury last week. The majority party sets the agenda and controls the flow of legislation. The minority essentially has no standing to get anything done, Perzel said.

That's what the struggle was about in addition to keeping his own seat. A scare in the 2000 election made him almost paranoid about losing his seat.

Perzel testified as a commonwealth witness after pleading guilty to eight felony charges in August. His testimony was delivered against Feese, an ex-lawmaker of Lycoming County who also served as House GOP chief counsel, and Feese's secretary, Jill Seaman. They also face charges of using public resources for campaigns.

The computer programs had a legitimate legislative function and a campaign purpose, Perzel said. His "mistake" was that he didn't ask the consultant for a separate bill for the campaign-related services, he said.

The taxpayers paid -- and kept paying.

A minimal contract that Feese arranged with the HRCC was "cover" for the illegal activity, Perzel claimed.

So why? Despite what you might think, raising campaign money takes an enormous amount of effort. Countless calls and staff-intensive efforts are required to set up fundraising events.

It was just so much easier to let Pennsylvania citizens pay.

Second, Perzel's ego was wrapped up in fundraising. You could tell last week he was still proud of his prowess, saying at one point he had raised or arranged donations of $7 million to the HRCC. There's no question he was one of the most prodigious GOP fundraisers in recent history.

So big numbers meant a lot to him.

If the HRCC had spent most of the money he raised on computer programs, there wouldn't have been much to show to rank-and-file members. They could far more easily relate to more tangible things like phone banks, advertising, mailers and polls.

In the end, Perzel's scheme didn't work.

Despite all the computer models, Republicans lost control of the House in 2006. Voters had tossed out some key Senate and House leaders in the anger that swelled after the 2005 legislative pay raise. Perzel was a conspirator on the pay hike and appeared ridiculous on several occasions defending it. He would survive and serve four more years.

But like the other leaders, he cooked his own goose in pushing through the middle-of-the-night pay boost that lawmakers were forced to rescind three months later.

Voter anger, and the unpredictable turmoil it caused in 2006 House elections, trumped computer wizardry.

___ (c)2011 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) Visit The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) at www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib Distributed by MCT Information Services

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]