Representative Stephens Joins House Republicans in Walk-out
Montgomery Twp., PA: Yesterday, Representative Todd Stephens and House Republican leadership fled the House chamber in the middle of session and cancelled today’s votes in order to block passage of HR 520, a resolution urging an independent investigation into Governor Corbett’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky investigation while he was Attorney General.
As a person who touts being a former prosecutor and head of the sex crimes unit here in Montgomery County, I expected better from Representative Stephens. In fact, he should be leading the charge into finding out whether prosecutorial misconduct actually occurred in the Attorney General's office during the early stages of the Sandusky investigation. Instead, Representative Stephens joined his Republican colleagues in this shameful act of disrespect and walked out in a partisan effort to protect their party leader, Governor Tom Corbett.
Representative Stephens campaigns as an "independent" but when it comes down to tough decisions, like the one he faced yesterday, he fails to live up to that self-appointed title.
We can't afford another rubber stamp for the Corbett Administration. We must hold this administration and this legislature accountable for cutting millions of dollars from our schools and ending Medicaid for over 100,000 children and families all in the name of insulating Corbett's pet project, "fracking", from taxes.
Representative Stephens was with them on those cuts, and he was with them yesterday in the walk-out.
The 151st State House District deserves better.
BACKGROUND
House Resolution 520 is a Concurrent Resolution calling on the Attorney General of the United States to appoint a special counsel to investigate the handling by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General of an investigation into alleged sexual abuse of minors and to investigate whether that alleged sexual abuse may have violated Federal law<http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2011&sind=0&body=H&type=R&BN=0520>
Put off the vote maybe, decision has to be made whether to investigate Corbett or not. My question is why should he be excluded from the massive individuals that were involved in this to begin with? He should have been asked to step down until the investigation cleared him of any misdoings. Yeah right! This investigation should be done by another agency that is not related to anyone in state of PA. US Attorney Generals office would be a good spot. Will Sylianteng is speaking on things that he isn't knowledgeable about we all know that and up to this point we haven't heard much about him. Just that he spoke here about the Mattison Avenue situation and didn't know anything at all. yes he is pulling at straws.