Robert P. Casey Jr.
Senator-elect Casey touts record as state treasurer; State Treasurer Bob Casey, speaking to reporters two weeks before leaving office to become a U.S. senator, said Tuesday that last year's pay-raise law has severely eroded public confidence in state government and was a mistake that should never be repeated.
December 19, 2007
Source: The Times-Tribune
By Mark Scolforo of The Associated Press
"That whole saga, the pay raise, it's a dark, sad, disturbing chapter of Pennsylvania history," Casey said.
The General Assembly approved pay raises for themselves, judges and high-ranking executive-branch officials in July 2005, then repealed them four months later after a public outcry. The state Supreme Court has since restored the higher pay for judges only.
Casey spent eight years as auditor general and two years as treasurer before winning election to the Senate last month. His swearing-in is Jan. 4.
Casey is a defendant in a lawsuit filed Monday that claims judges' cost-of-living increases _ as currently structured _ are illegal. Casey said his lawyers are reviewing the complaint, but his sense is that the increases are legal.
He highlighted his tenure as treasurer in an interview with reporters in his Harrisburg office, citing changes in banking and investment operations, reforms to the state-sponsored college savings plan and creation of an investigative unit.
He said his staff aggressively targeted various entities that had not been turning over unclaimed property to the state, as legally required.
"We were looking at offices that probably hadn't heard from this department in a long time," he said.
Sen. Rick Santorum, the Republican who Casey beat Nov. 7, had criticized Casey's work ethic during the campaign, saying he spent so much time running for office that he neglected his duties as treasurer.
Questions about Santorum's residency were an issue during the campaign, as Santorum owns a home in the Virginia suburbs. Casey said he does not intend to move his wife and daughters from Scranton.
But housing prices in Washington have frustrated his hunt for an apartment, and Casey said he is willing to settle for something minimal _ perhaps little more than a bathroom and bed.
"I don't even need a window," he said.
Gov. Ed Rendell, a fellow Democrat, will nominate someone to finish Casey's term, and confirmation requires a two-thirds vote of the Republican-controlled state Senate.
"I think there are a lot of people who could serve honorably," Casey said.
Rendell spokeswoman Kate Philips said Tuesday that the governor is considering a broad field of potential nominees and expects to reveal his choice by the third week in January. The nominee must agree not to run when the four-year term expires in 2008.
