Thread: Hazelton mayor tough on illegals gains upper hand in rematch

Hazelton mayor tough on illegals gains upper hand in rematch
By Debra Erdley
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 17, 2008


A Republican mayor who has clamored for immigration reform is leading a longtime Democratic incumbent in the race for Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District, according to a Franklin & Marshall College poll released today.

In 2002, U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, easily defeated Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta by a margin of 56 percent to 42 percent.

Now Kanjorski, a 12-term incumbent first elected to the House in 1984, is fighting for his political survival. Barletta has opened a 9-point lead in the race, making it one of the nation's most closely watched congressional battles.



Kanjorski has been dogged by questions about his use of congressional earmarks, while Barletta sprang to national prominence by promoting a city ordinance barring landlords and employers from housing or hiring illegal immigrants.

Barletta is leading Kanjorski 44 percent to 35 percent, with 21 percent undecided, according to the poll of 547 registered voters in their northeastern Pennsylvania congressional district near Wilkes-Barre.

Kanjorski campaign spokesman Ed Mitchell dismissed the poll. He said the sample was weighted too heavily to voters 65 and older and did not reflect voting patterns in the district where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2-1 margin.

"We are confident the voters will choose Paul Kanjorski, who has a record of standing up for working people in northeastern Pennsylvania, instead of Lou Barletta, who sides with George Bush's policies that have driven our economy into the ground," Mitchell said.

Kanjorski chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, which oversees securities exchanges and insurance. He was in Washington on Tuesday, addressing the growing crisis on Wall Street.

"When you've got a 35 percent hard re-elect and more than half of the voters say it's time for a change, you've got a problem on your hands," said poll director G. Terry Madonna.

Barletta was heartened by the poll numbers.

"Those results seem to coincide with what I've been hearing all across the 11th Congressional District: The hard-working people of northeastern Pennsylvania want a new congressman. They are tired of the same old, embarrassing antics and the dismal lack of leadership in Congress and they want change," he said in an e-mail.

Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the Rothenberg Political Report, said Barletta is one of few Republican candidates who have been able to tap into the "argument for change."

"Kanjorski is in serious risk of losing his seat," Gonzales said.

Al Neri, editor of The Insider, a biweekly political newsletter, called Barletta "a fresh new face."

"He's stolen the message of change and reform from the Democrats," Neri said.


Debra Erdley can be reached at derdley@tribweb.com or 412-320-7996.




http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 88579.html

Barletta is leading Kanjorski 44 percent to 35 percent, with 21 percent undecided, according to the poll of 547 registered voters in their northeastern Pennsylvania congressional district near Wilkes-Barre.

WE NEED BARLETTA TO WIN PA! AMERICA NEEDS BARLETTA!

Every state needs to be required by ICE to E-Verify all immigrants.

end SEGREGATION - That is what American Schools have taught via our government purposes. Americans have been dumbed down to accept the invasion of immigrants. But have Third World Countries ended SEGREGATION?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
REQUIRE THE GOVERNMENT TO E -VERIFY ALL I-9S GETTING HIRED BY NC EMPLOYERS VIA THE NC STATE UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICES.

NC STATE UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICES ONLY E-VERIFIES I-9S OF AGRICULTURAL IMMIGRANTS.

Please go and read my information about I-9s at post:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-769349.html#769349

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-131673-.html

Poll: Barletta leads


BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK
STAFF WRITER
Published: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 4:15 AM EDT
Republican congressional candidate Lou Barletta has opened up a substantial lead over U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski in their battle to represent Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton and other local municipalities in Congress, according to a Franklin & Marshall College/Times-Shamrock Newspapers poll.

In a survey of 547 registered voters, Barletta had the support of 44 percent to 35 percent for Kanjorski, a Democrat, in their 11th Congressional District race. Another 21 percent were undecided.

The poll is the clearest independent confirmation that Kanjorski’s re-election is seriously at risk in a year most political experts expect Democrats to do most of the winning.

The poll confirmed Kanjorski faces by far the stiffest re-election test of his 12-term congressional career from Hazleton’s anti-illegal-immigration crusading mayor.

“I was surprised,â€