“No perks”
Randy Vulakovich amasses more than $20,000 in state perks
Per diems, state car, excess
mileage, and other expenses found in state records show more of the same from
Republican wanting to replace jailed GOP senator
(Pittsburgh –
July 23, 2012) – As Republican Randy Vulakovich
runs
commercials in his race for the 40th State Senatorial seat claiming to be a
“real reformer” who is “refusing the Harrisburg perks such as per diems and a
state car,” the Allegheny County Democratic Committee has discovered that
Vulakovich received $20,978.67 in perks from January 2007 to May of this year.
The details of the Vulakovich secret perks were found in records of the Office
of the Comptroller of the House of Representatives.
“’No perks’
Randy is a fraud,” said Nancy Patton Mills, Chair of the County Democrats. “As a
state legislator, he gets more than his share of perks – and plenty of them. He
has accepted per diems. He has had a state car. And when he hasn’t had a state
car, he has received mileage and other car payments of more than $13,000 -- all
of which went directly into his pocket.
“Meanwhile,
the people of his district are paying through the nose for both his perks and
his policies,” continued Mills. “While Randy has been feeding at the public
trough, he has also been voting to cut funding to schools and local
municipalities. The schools in his district have had to raise property taxes to
make up the difference to keep their quality schools going. This is certainly
not a record he should be proud of.
“This special
election on August 7 is happening for one reason only – the previous Republican
senator engaged in unethical, untruthful, and ultimately criminal behavior, and
she was convicted and jailed for violating the public trust,” said Mills. “Now
we have another Republican who claims to be a reformer, but apparently sees
nothing wrong with lying to the public.
“The voters
of this district deserve far better – and electing
Dr. Sharon Brown will give
them the ethical and honest representation they want and need,” continued Mills.
“Dr. Brown has real world experience – as a nurse practitioner, an educator, and
a small business owner. She has met a payroll. She knows how to care for people
in a time of shrinking budgets. She knows that the schools of the district are a
major reason why families move to and stay in the district, and that we must
protect them – for now and in the future. And she knows that to continue the
same kind of leadership that failed us before will only fail us again.”
