The First Read — June 18, 2009

Every Monday-Thursday morning, pa2010.com compiles the most important political news of the day, from newspapers to the blogosphere and back. Enjoy this edition.

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Specter leads Sestak by 19 in new poll
Senator Arlen Specter continues to hold a significant lead over Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) in a likely primary matchup, but that edge could be closing slowly as Sestak gains more name recognition from his public crusade against Specter, according to a new poll. Read More

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Sestak vs. Specter: How much cash?
Estimates are that Arlen Specter could spend as much as $15 million for his 2010 re-election bid—and those are on the conservative side. He already has more than $6 million in the bank, and with fundraisers now sanctioned by the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, including the one in California last month and the one scheduled for New York June 30, Specter is working to build the war chest. Read More

Torsella looks out for his former staffers
Ain’t Joe Torsella a nice guy? Still busy heading up the state’s board of education and barely a month removed from his Senate race exit, the former Constitution Center CEO is still finding time to help out the staffers who had expected a nice, election-cycle length stint on his campaign payroll. Read More

Governor tells Cabinet about $500 million
HARRISBURG — Governor Ed Rendell told members of his Cabinet today he’s cutting $500 million from state agencies. The Department of Public Welfare, the Department of Education and the Department of Community and Economic Development will bear the brunt of the cuts, Rendell said. Read More

Murphy, Schwartz give hopeful Pike boost
Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-13) and Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-8) attended a fundraiser for Democratic southeast congressional candidate Doug Pike in Washington, D.C. on Monday night, sources who attended the event told PoliticsPA. Read More

Pulling teeth in the 13th…
I was intrigued to see that Republican Damian Dachowski, a Huntingdon Valley dentist, apparently will run against Democratic Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz in the 13th District. Having once run in an even more heavily Democratic district, I have grudging admiration for long-shot candidates, especially those without much political experience. Read More

Specter steps up his support of Sotomayor
As he looks to shore up Democratic support ahead of next year’s primary, Senator Arlen Specter on Wednesday offered his strongest words of support yet for Preident Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. Read More

Senator Casey weighing candidates for U.S. attorney posts
U.S. Senator Bob Casey said he hopes to recommend candidates to fill the state’s three U.S. attorney posts by the end of July. Mr. Casey wants a candidate for at least one of the posts ready to recommend to President Barack Obama by the end of this month or early next month. Read More

Eagles owe Philadelphia $3M to resolve long revenue fight
PHILADELPHIA — A judge says the Philadelphia Eagles owe city $3 million to finally resolve a long-standing stadium revenue dispute that sparked dueling lawsuits by both sides. Read More

Pittsburgh Mayor says he wont tax city residents to speed financial recovery
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl vowed today not to raise taxes on Pittsburgh residents to hasten the city’s financial recovery. “I will not raise any tax that will be solely levied on city of Pittsburgh residents,” Ravenstahl told City Council members during a tense, yet cordial, meeting. “It will cripple this city. It will drive the population of this city down.” Read More

Good Cop, Bad Cop
Senator Bob Casey is advocating a good cop, bad cop strategy for the U.S. response to the continuing unrest over the Iranian election. In a floor speech in the Senate Tuesday, the freshman senator lauded the so-far cautious approach of the Obama administration to the crisis, but said that the Congress can take a more confrontational approach on areas such a fuel sanctions and government pension fund divestiture. Read More

Have a great day!