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But most are greeted with indifference

Sunday, April 14, 2002

By John M.R. Bull, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Correspondent

HARRISBURG -- State Sen. Jane Earll wandered into the Capitol rotunda and peered quizzically at the dozen people in wheelchairs who had gathered there.

	Post-Gazette Seven Part Series 2002 State Budget Part 1: Pa. faces biggest deficit since '91 Part 2: Blows to school budgets make tax increases likely Part 3: In higher education, costs climbing faster than state aid Part 4: Higher bus fares, lower service Part 5: Environmental projects targeted for state cutbacks Part 6: State budget has less for the arts Part 7: Pa. human services cutback debated

Then she yawned, turned on her heels and wandered down the hall toward her office.

It was just another rally.

The Erie Republican can be forgiven for the yawn. It was the first workday of daylight-saving time, and she had lost an hour of sleep. She also has been stumping hard on the campaign trail as the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor.

And rallies are practically a daily occurrence at the Capitol when the Legislature is considering the state's budget.

Sometimes, rallies run back to back, as one special interest group makes way for a second, then a third, all clamoring for more state money for their causes.

They are routinely ignored by almost everyone who works in the Capitol -- the lawmakers, their staffs, lobbyists and the news media.

Last year, 31 rallies were held in the Capitol rotunda or on the front steps in the 12 weeks before the budget was passed by lawmakers, state records show.

Last week, seven rallies were held, three in one day. Some attracted not one of the 251 state lawmakers or anyone from Gov. Mark S. Schweiker's administration. A couple of rallies summoned a handful of lawmakers.

At least four rallies are scheduled for this week.

"There are just so many issues in the state budget, so many," sighed state Sen. Jack Wagner, D-Beechview, a candidate for lieutenant governor who attended Tuesday's Pennsylvania Rally for Public Education, which comprised 20 people from the Pittsburgh area holding a banner and demanding property tax reform and more state money for public schools.

Lawmakers get saturated with the sheer number of rallies and are just too busy to attend most of them, he said.

State Sen. Allen Kukovich, a Westmoreland County Democrat who also is running for lieutenant governor, was the only lawmaker to join Wagner at the rally. He ascribed a more cynical motive to lawmakers' readily apparent lack of interest in attending rallies.

"A lot of these groups don't have political action committees. They don't give campaign contributions. They can't hire lobbyists. That plays a part of it," he said. "Part of it is that we don't hear from these people when we're cutting taxes, only when there are funding issues. And a lot of their issues aren't priorities."

The school funding rally was lucky to attract those two state lawmakers on a day when both the state House and Senate were voting on bills and 11 committee meetings were scheduled.

It took months to put that rally together, and it had to be rescheduled from last month, after organizers somewhat belatedly realized the Legislature would not be in session when the group originally planned to rally, said Theresa Smith of Westwood, rally co-chair.

It cost $950 to rent the bus used to transport the participants to the rally, Smith said, although state Reps. Michael Diven, D-Brookline, and Tom Petrone, D-Crafton Heights, paid for it.

They didn't attend.

The causes promoted in these rallies range from the silly to the serious, from the emotional to the inconsequential.

Last week, roughly 300 farmers dressed up in suits to hold a two-hour Agriculture Unity Rally in which they said farming was good and suburbanites should stop complaining about the smell of fertilizer.

"This has to stop," thundered keynote speaker state Sen. Roger Madigan, R-Williamsport. "Farmers are trying to survive. It is up to other citizens to do their parts. I'm proud to take a stand for agriculture."

That rally drew the support of six lawmakers who attended.

The 100 or so people who were part of Wednesday's rally for equitable school funding didn't draw the attention of state Rep. Bruce Smith, R-York County, who stood 20 yards in front of the participants in the rotunda, oblivious while he received a 10-minute briefing from a staffer before heading out of the building.

Then again, it was the ninth rally in 10 months by the group, Good Schools Pennsylvania, a consortium of church leaders and lay people who want the state to come up with more money so that all school districts spend the same amount per pupil. Richer districts now spend substantially more per student than poorer districts.

A reporter heading for lunch was overheard to say, "Aren't they here every week?"

As prayers were said and clergy spoke in favor of equitable school funding, the governor was spotted just outside the front doors of the Capitol giving a welcoming speech to a group of fourth-graders from Northern Elementary School in York County. He didn't drop by the rally.

Monday's rally by the Disability Budget Coalition also drew no state lawmakers after Earll had her yawn and wandered off.

That group wants more money for Share a Ride, a program that provides transportation for disabled people, and increased medical assistance from the state for them.

During the time that several of the dozen people in wheelchairs spoke, state Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Havertown, walked by without a glance, and state director of the Commission for Women, Katie True, went past without pause, carrying her lunch.

State Rep. Tom Michlovic, D-North Braddock, walked up to the fringes of the small gathering, listened for no more than a minute, looked confused, applauded enthusiastically as everyone else did at a point made by one of the speakers, then strode off rapidly.

"Here's the problem: During tough budget times, they are inundated with people with causes," said John L. Tague Jr. of Greenfield, one of the speakers at that rally.

Undaunted, he and others from that group will join other advocates for the disabled for a Freedom March through Harrisburg Tuesday, passing through the Capitol rotunda.

One rally drew the attention last week of a significant number of lawmakers.

Roughly 300 parents of children with autism rallied Tuesday against state plans to cut funding for medical assistance and therapy for autistic children by capping state assistance for families making more than $100,000 a year.

As those fiercely protective parents of the most vulnerable of children held signs and rallied raucously on the steps of the rotunda, dozens of lawmakers joined the demonstration. Before it was over, roughly 45 lawmakers were chanting, clapping and speaking in support of autistic children and funding for their parents.

Why so many?

State Rep. Dennis O'Brien, D-Philadelphia, was master of ceremonies for the two-hour demonstration. He is a likable, passionate man who is the father of an autistic child and an activist on the issue, and his colleagues showed up by the dozens to show their support for him and his cause. They got the word.

"I called them. The parents called them. The parents visited them," O'Brien said later. "I hope the [Schweiker] administration sees that and takes note."