Jerry Knowles was sworn-in today as the newest member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Knowles won a special election last month to fill the remainder of Rep. David Argall's term in the 124th House District after Argall was elected to the state Senate.

The 124th District covers parts of Schuylkill and Berks counties.

Knowles is a former police officer. He served on the Tamaqua Borough Council and eventually as mayor of Tamaqua. He also served six years as a Schuylkill County commissioner and worked for 10 years on the House staff and as director of special projects for Rep. Argall.

With that kind of background, expect Knowles to hit the ground running.

The addition of Knowles gives Republicans 99 seats in the 203-member House.

Learn more about Knowles at his legislative Web site, http://www.repknowles.com/

Republican Jerry Knowles is leading Democrat Bill Mackey in both Schuylkill and Berks counties in a special election to fill the 124th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

The seat became vacant when longtime Rep. David Argall was elected to the state Senate earlier this year.

Only a few precincts have reported, but Knowles is ahead by a comfortable margin in both counties.

Knowles, 60, is a former Schuylkill County commissioner. Mackey, 65, has failed in two previous tries against Argall to win the 124th seat.

Even if Knowles wins, Democrats will still control the House by a 104-99 margin.

The newest member of the Pennsylvania Senate wants to give Pennsylvania voters an opportunity to have a say on property taxes.

Property tax reform has been debated the Legislature for more than 30 years without any results. Efforts to eliminate property taxes have stalled in both the House and Senate, with legislative leaders reluctant to change the current system of funding public education.

Sen. David Argall, R-29th Dist., wants to give taxpayers a chance to tell lawmakers exactly what they want done with property taxes.

Senate Bill 818 and House Bill 637 would allow voters to decide between the current property tax system and the three most popular property tax replacement proposals in the General Assembly, based on the number of co-sponsors for legislation in the House and Senate, Argall said at a press conference Monday.

The property tax proposals would be placed on the November ballot. Voters would then be given the opportunity to choose between the three proposals or leave the current property tax structure intact, Argall said.

"I have introduced legislation that would allow voters to bring real property tax reform, through the touch of a button in the voting booth in November," Argall said.

While the referendum is non-binding, it should show legislators who have consistently opposed property tax reform that most Pennsylvanians support some form of property tax relief, said Rep. Tom Quigley, R-146th Dist., who is a co-sponsor of Argall’s bill in the state House.

Co-sponsors of Argall's legislation in the Senate include: Sens. John Rafferty, Michael Waugh, Michael Brubaker, Kim Ward, Richard Alloway and Rob Wonderling.

Co-sponsors in the House include: Reps. Matthew Baker, Robert Belfanti, Kerry Benninghoff, Karen Beyer, Paul Clymer, Thomas Creighton, Garth Everett, Richard Geist, Jaret Gibbons, Keith Gillespie, Mauree Gingrich, Robert Godshall, Neal Goodman, Seth Grove, Sue Helm, Tim Hennessey, David Hickernell, Scott Hutchinson, Rob Kauffman, Mark Keller, Sandra Major, Bob Mensch, David Millard, Thomas Murt, Donna Oberlander, Scott Perry, Jeffrey Pyle, Tom Quigley, Mario Scavello, John Siptroth, Timothy Solobay, Curt Sonney, Rosemarie Swanger, W. Curtis Thomas and Randy Vulakovich.

Argall is the newest member of the state Senate, which has a 30-20 Republican majority. Argall, who spent 24 years in the House, was elected in March to fill the Senate seat formerly held by the late James J. Rhoades.

The untimely death of Pennsylvania state Sen. James J. Rhoades has taken an even more tragic turn.

The driver of the pickup truck that struck Rhoades' vehicle head-on on Oct. 17, 2008, was driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Thomas Senavitis, 45, Lehighton, had a blood-alcohol level four times the legal limit, police announced today.

Rhoades, 66, a seven-term Republican from Schuylkill County, died of multiple injuries on Oct. 18, 2008. His wife Mary was seriously injured.

Police have charged Senavitis with DUI, vehicular aggravated assault while under the influence, vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment and several traffic violations.

The Associated Press reports that Senavitis denied any responsibility for the crash at his arraignment Wednesday. Senavitis maintains he was not drunk at the time of the crash, according to the AP. He is being held on $25,000 bail.

Rhoades was re-elected posthumously to an eighth term in November.

A special election will be held March 3 to fill his seat. The Republican candidate is state Rep. David Argall. The Democratic candidate is Schuylkill County Clerk of Courts Steven Lukach.

The 29h Senatorial District includes parts of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties.

Attorney Gretchen Sterns, a Republican from Schuylkill County, has made it official. She is a candidate for the vacant 29th state Senate District seat won by Sen. Jim Rhoades, who was killed in a car crash last month. A special election will be held in 2009 to fill Rhoades' seat.

From a press release issued by Sterns:

Democrats now control the White House, oversized majorities in both houses of Congress, the Governor's mansion, and the State House, and they seek to complete their dominance by taking control of the State Senate.

If recent elections have taught us anything, it's that the voters are hungry for candidates who hail from outside the political class, with whom they can identify, who they believe understand the challenges they face, and who are disconnected from the failed economic policies of Governor Rendell.

As a middle-class mother who grew up on a farm and works full-time to make ends meet for my family, I will speak credibly and articulately to the issues affecting the hardworking people of our region: the economy, taxes, and health care.

If Republicans are to retain Sen. Rhoades' seat and regain the taxpayers' trust, then we must turn the page from overspending, tax increases, and scandal – and put forth a new, energetic leader committed to the principles upon which America – and our Party – we're founded: 1) limited and ethical government; 2) low taxes; and 3) personal responsibility.

To this end, I officially declare my candidacy for the vacant 29th Senate District seat.

For more on the 29th District Senate race, check out The Clarke Report.

For more on Sterns, visit the profile page at her Pottsville law firm.

Hank Clarke has an interesting post today at The Clarke Report about the future of the 29th state Senate District in Pennsylvania.

Longtime state Sen. James Rhoades was expected to win re-election on Nov. 4, but Rhoades died over the weekend in a car crash.

His name is on the ballot and if Rhoades wins, a special election will be held early next year to fill the seat. The candidates for the special election will be determined by a nominating process involving all the counties that make up the 29th District -- Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill.

There is a chance that Schuylkill County may not get to pick the candidate unless John McCain wins the county by a large margin, Clarke says.

From Clarke's post:

So, this means that even though Schuylkill County has the largest area geographically in the district and holds 60% of the district’s voters, we are NOT guaranteed a majority of the delegates. Without a big showing for John MCCain on Nov. 4th, another county like Carbon or Monroe that have well organized get out the vote efforts could sneak in and steal enough delegates to nominate an non-Schuylkill County politician.

The bottom line is: If you want to keep the 29th District Senate seat in Schuylkill County hands and maintain the influence that comes with having a senator live here, Skooks need to get to the polls on Election Day and punch their ballot for John McCain.

The best way to ensure a good showing for McCain here is to volunteer your time NOW and on Nov. 4th. McCain headquarters needs people to make phone calls on behalf of Sen. McCain to family members and friends. The national campaign needs people to canvass neighborhoods handing out fliers. The local party needs people to monitor the polls and hand out schwag to voters on Election Day. We would appreciate ANY time you can give to help us get out the vote for Sen. McCain.

Click here to read the full post.