Winners & Losers

This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

By City & State

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After multiple attempts to end Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 emergency declaration, Republicans in the General Assembly got their long-sought victory on Thursday when they voted to permanently end the emergency declaration. Although the resolution’s sponsor, Kerry Benninghoff, said lawmakers were speaking on behalf of Pennsylvanians who gave the legislature newfound emergency powers, it’s a personal victory for Benninghoff as well, who authored the language that ended Wolf’s emergency declaration – once and for all. But while Republicans came away with a symbolic victory – some of Wolf’s actions under the declaration, like suspended and waived regulations, will remain in place, because… well… Republicans actually liked them. 

Scroll down for more of this week’s winners and losers!

 

WINNERS:

Dr. Jason Wingard -

Dr. Jason Wingard made history this week after being named the next president of Temple University. Succeeding Richard Englert, who had served as president since 2016, Wingard is set to take his position on July 1. The first Black president in the school’s 137-year history, Wingard said he is committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion at Temple and in the surrounding North Philadelphia community. Wingard got his first taste of Temple as a child, when his father attended graduate school there. Now, he’s the big man on campus.

Katie Muth -

State Sen. Katie Muth is emerging as one of the most vocal critics of the Public School Employees' Retirement System, which is currently under federal investigation. Muth, a trustee on the PSERS board, announced this week that she is suing the retirement fund over financial records she has been unable to access as a trustee. Her complaint asks the Commonwealth Court to compel PSERS to surrender the financial records. Who doesn’t appreciate an effort to secure public documents?

Karen Boback -

Veterans and their families got some good news this week thanks to state Rep. Karen Boback and her colleagues. Boback, chair of the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, shepherded bills through the committee that were then passed by the House. These bills would allow veterans and their families to receive lower tuition, expanded pensions and be eligible for out-of-state hunting and fishing licenses in the Commonwealth. And for that, we salute you.

LOSERS:

Robert Semenza -

This public official chose to line his pockets instead of serve the public. Robert Semenza, Old Forge Borough Council President, was charged with bribery Wednesday after a federal investigation found he was taking bribes from a local business in exchange for advocacy and votes in favor of the business. Semenza signed a plea agreement admitting to taking between $6,500 and $15,000, and has agreed to pay it all back. He now must resign and could face up to 10 years in prison. Soon enough, he’ll have plenty of time to count how much he has to pay back.

Graham Spanier -

Former Penn State President Graham Spanier reported to prison early this week to begin serving a two-year sentence for his misdemeanor conviction of endangering the welfare of children, according to the Associated Press. Spanier’s jail sentence relates to his involvement in the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal; Spanier did not notify police after he was notified in 2001 that Sandusky was seen showering with a young boy. After he serves his two-year sentence, Spanier will face two additional months on house arrest.

Carolyn Welsh -

This former Chester County sheriff used to spend time cracking down on crime, but as it turns out, she wasn’t up to any good, either. Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh was ordered to reimburse the county after she was found to have allowed employees to receive improper compensation while volunteering at fundraisers. A Chester County judge ordered Welsh to pay back nearly $17,000 in improper payments, in addition to a $2,500 fine. On top of it, the fundraisers where employees collected the improper compensation were for the office’s K-9 unit. It’s safe to say she’s in the doghouse now.

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