2005 Pennsylvania General Assembly Pay Raise Controversy - Political Aftermath

Political Aftermath

The first victim of the public uproar was Supreme Court Justice Russell M. Nigro who became the first Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice to be denied retention. Nigro asserted that he had not taken part in the pay raise. However, critics noted that Chief Justice Ralph Cappy helped draft the bill and that prior Court opinions upheld such practices.

On November 16, 2005, Governor Rendell signed a repeal of the pay raise after a near unanimous vote for repeal; only House Minority Whip Mike Veon voted against the repeal.

Despite the repeal, a total of 17 legislators were defeated in the 2006 primary elections including Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer and Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill. They were the first top-ranking Pennsylvania legislative leaders to lose a primary election since 1964.

The November 2006 General Election claimed several more members who supported the pay raise including Reps. Gene McGill, Mike Veon, Matt Wright, Tom Gannon and Matthew Good. The defeats were widely attributed to anger over the pay raise.

Frank LaGrotta, who was defeated in the 2006 primary election over the pay raise issue, was one of many legislators who were paying back their unvouchered expenses in installments. After pleading guilty to two counts of conflict of interest for hiring relatives as "ghost employees," he stopped repayment and was even refunded the amount that he had previously returned.