Frank LaGrotta – 6/5/05

This page was last updated on June 7, 2005.

You’ll thank Mike Veon; State Rep. Frank LaGrotta (D-10); Beaver County Times; June 5, 2005.

How sweet. Mr. LaGrotta comes to the defense of his boss in the Commonwealth House of Representatives. Isn’t this called “sucking up?” I realize the preceding was tacky on my part, but Mr. LaGrotta’s letter begged for it.

This appears to be a habit for Mr. LaGrotta. He came to the defense of Teresa Kerry in a letter to the editor of the Post-Gazette on March 21, 2004.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“The recent rash of ‘I-hate-Mike Veon’ hate mail in The Times is troubling.”

[RWC] Once again we see Mr. LaGrotta has trouble with the facts. While the letters were not flattering, none of the recent letters I read – including mine – said anything about hating Mr. Veon.

I don’t know Mr. Veon so I don’t hate him. For all I know, he may be a nice guy. That said, I oppose his socialist economic and political views strongly.

Apparently you can’t disagree with Mr. Veon’s positions without it being labeled “hate” by Mr. LaGrotta. This appears to be a holdover from the Kerry campaign of 2004. Whenever anyone criticized Kerry’s record, they were accused of “personal attacks.”

“Because Mike doesn’t boast about his accomplishments, few know how hard he works in Harrisburg on behalf of working families. As someone who has served with Mike in the state House for 19 years, let me assure you: Almost every good thing that’s happened in Beaver County during that time has Mike’s fingerprints on it. The county is fortunate to have Mike Veon in Harrisburg.”

[RWC] Is Mr. LaGrotta serious? The vast majority of Mr. Veon’s so-called “news releases” and “newsletters” boast about alleged accomplishments. In fairness, that’s also true for Mr. LaGrotta and the rest of the General Assembly.

Of course, Mr. LaGrotta provides evermore proof of his socialist tendencies. How? He claims “almost every good thing that’s happened in Beaver County” for the past 19 years is the result of government intervention. Apparently the private sector – you and I – did nothing. The unwritten conclusion Mr. LaGrotta wants us to draw is that government – and Mr. Veon – had nothing to do with the bad things.

There’s that use of “working families” again. Aren’t all families working families?

“While Mike and I haven’t always agreed on everything, we’ve always worked together on behalf of the county.”

[RWC] On what major issue did LaGrotta and Veon disagree?

“Led by Mike, our county legislators work together more effectively than any other county delegation in the House. The results we get confirm that fact.”

[RWC] What results? Why didn’t Mr. LaGrotta provide us with a laundry list?

By the way, I don’t consider levying taxes and returning the tax dollars to us to be “results.”

“When we were working on the school tax cut legislation, now known as Act 72, last summer, Mike stayed in his Harrisburg office round the clock for almost two weeks. He did everything he could to cut school taxes for homeowners while, at the same time protecting public schools.”

[RWC] You’ll notice that nowhere in his letter does Mr. LaGrotta mention the alleged property tax cut would come from a “sin tax” on gambling.

“Negotiating with the Republican-controlled House and Senate - some of whose members want to destroy public education - was not easy. However, as a key participant in those negotiations and someone who actually has read and understands Act 72, I can honestly report that, despite the misrepresentations spread by the media and some school officials, we did a pretty good job.”

[RWC] Mr. LaGrotta wants it to sound like he and Mr. Veon are not part of “the Republican-controlled House and Senate.” They aren’t Republicans, but they are members of the House. On the other hand, as we all do from time to time, Mr. LaGrotta has trouble writing clearly on occasion. Perhaps I misunderstood him.

Which members of the GA “want to destroy public education” and what is their party affiliation? If Mr. LaGrotta is going to make these allegations, he should tell us who these folks are and provide the evidence to support his claim.

A liberal complaining about the media? Here’s a note to Mr. LaGrotta. When you’re a liberal and the mainstream press isn’t falling all over itself to support you, you have some real problems.

“Let me assure the thousands of homeowners in Beaver County - and Pennsylvania - who want lower property taxes that this battle isn’t over. We will succeed and school taxes will be reduced. When that happens, you will have Mike Veon to thank for it.”

[RWC] Mr. LaGrotta is once again in error. Act 72 wasn’t about lowering school taxes; it was about shifting school taxes to depend on gambling instead of property value. Nothing Messrs. LaGrotta and Veon are doing is intended to reduce school taxes. All they are doing is shifting part of the tax burden from property owners to gamblers.