Surprised with council endorsement

Dear Editor:

I would like to offer some comments on the recent primary election.

Recently, I saw an article in the TIMES NEWS that the Tamaqua Borough Council endorsed former House of Representatives' leader Dave Argall for reelection to the Pennsylvania Senate. This was somewhat of a surprise to me since I did not know that endorsing candidates to the legislature was a function of a borough council.

Perhaps I missed it but did the Tamaqua Borough Council endorse any of the seven former legislative leaders who have been convicted of felonies and are now behind bars or preparing to go behind bars? Did the council endorse former House Speaker John Perzel (Argall ally), former Representative Brett Feese (Argall ally), former Representative Mike Veon, former Senator Vince Fumo, former House Speaker Bill DeWeese, former Senator Bob Mellow or Senator Jane Orie? Former Senator Ray Musto is still awaiting trial on public corruption charges. These criminal legislators will be able to form an alumni association in prison.

Also, I found the recent debates between Dave Argall and Brian Rich to be most informative. Unfortunately, there were not any debates between Congressman Tim Holden and his opponent, Matt Cartwright, or between Representative Jerry Knowles and his opponent, Larry Padora. I understand that Holden claimed he was too busy to participate in any debate. I have not heard Knowles' excuse, if any, for not debating.

Dr. Dante J. Picciano

West Penn Township