Posted on 12/12/2008 6:10:06 AM PST by curth
After serving four years in the state House of Representatives, state Sen. Jane Orie, R-40th, of Allegheny County, was elected to the Senate in 2001. She rapidly made a name for herself as a reformer and now has the distinction of serving in a leadership position as majority whip for the Republican Caucus.
Ms. Orie has taken on issues in the commonwealth, including health care, prescription drug coverage, taxes, schools safety and crime victims’ rights.
More than anything else, Ms. Orie’s stated passion for reform and fair play stems from her days as state deputy attorney general and assistant district attorney for Allegheny County.
Now she finds herself as the leader in the effort to reform how state contracts are awarded, with a special emphasis on multi-million dollar no-bid contracts such as the ones routinely doled out by the Rendell administration to politically connected friends and law firms.
Ms. Orie’s legislation, SB 903, passed the Senate unanimously, 50-0, earlier this year, but was split up into four bills in the House and died in committee. The fiery senator, with a commitment from the leadership, plans to reintroduce the bill as soon as the new Senate convenes in January.
The Bulletin asked Ms. Orie for her thoughts concerning the number and dollar amount of no-bid contracts awarded by Gov. Rendell’s office, particularly the millions to the Ballard Spahr law firm from the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA). (Ballard is the governor’s former firm.)
She said what was “more astonishing than the $2.7 million in business given to his law former firm, which is huge in itself, is the glaring increase in business from $25,000 to the $2.7 million figure, which appears can only be attributed to Rendell’s relationship to the firm.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thebulletin.us ...
https://secure.townnews.com/thebulletin.us/subscriber_services/
Everyone in Western PA who has ever had any sort of business dealings with the state knows that Rendell is on a mission to shift 100% of state contracts and purchasing to his cronies in Philadelphia by the time he finishes his second term.
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