The Current

Sailing into the sunset

As the sun starts to set on 2006 and the winds of change begin to blow in Harrisburg, the PA Chamber says ‘goodbye’ to one of the Captains of the Ship – Jim Welty.

Jim, an avid sailor, is charting a new course that takes him to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, Nicholson Graham. He leaves behind a legacy of accomplishments that would make even Captain Morgan jealous. As Vice President of Legislative and Corporate Affairs, Jim challenged the General Assembly to improve Pennsylvania's business climate. Navigating through rocky seas and over long nights was often part of the job for Jim and his Government Affairs crew. As one of our trusted co-captains, he commanded us to never give up. And with his guidance and direction, the ship always made it safely back to port – sometimes a bit beaten up – but always ready to sail again the next day.

Captain Welty inspired Pennsylvania’s business leaders to become strong, well-armed advocates for change. He rallied these captains of industry to work together to help move iceberg-sized tax obstacles in order to clear the way for a competitive business environment.

Like any good captain, Jim made sure his crew was equally challenged. He charged each member of the crew -- new and old -- to dig deep within themselves to go the extra mile, to not be afraid to maneuver through unchartered waters or chart their own course with little or no help, and to stand on their own and run the ship as they saw fit. This is Captain Welty's legacy – a legacy that doesn't rest on what we have today, but on what tomorrow has to offer.

Jim leaves the ship well oiled and ready to face 2007. The ship will be permanently marked by Captain Welty’s presence, as will his crew. We offer a salute and bid him farewell, and wonder, if we listen hard enough, will we hear the faint notes of “A Pirate Looks at Forty” being sung in the distance?

Editor's note: The PA Chamber blog will continue on with the musings of Jim's capable crew in the Government Affairs department. Be sure to check back from time to time to learn what's CURRENTly on their minds.

Who's House is it anyway?

It's been a month and a half since my last blog... o.k. there's my confession.

But needless to say, things have been quite busy with the elections... and still the outcome of those elections have yet to be determined here in Harrisburg.

We know the Governor won by one of the largest margins in history.

We know the State Senate remains in Republican control with no change in balance... bucking the national and state trends.

We know the House currently has a vote differential of 102-101.

We know who the new leaders that have been elected in three of the four caucuses (Senate D leaders remain unchanged).

What we don't know is who "controls" the House, if there is such a thing. Originally, two Chester County races were declared for the Republicans allowing them to temporarily maintain the majority. Today, we learn that one was indeed decided in favor of the Republican, but the other, however, was decided in favor of the Democrat.

The outcome of those unofficial results temporarily switches control of the House to a 102-101 majority for the Ds.

But I can gaurantee two things: 1. There WILL be legal challenges (one race was decided by less than two dozen votes); 2. Both Ds and Rs are burning the phone lines trying to get members to switch parties.

On the former, I'm not convinced it will affect the outcome. On the latter, however, anything is possible. It's happened before (Tom Stish in the 1990s) and it's likely to happen again. The question is, will it happen before the House reconvene's in January?

How this will play out is anybody's guess. But as a political "insider," it's been the most interesting election cycles in recent history.