Go Lackawanna: Stilp presses Barletta for ‘Clean Campaign Pledge’
By Bill O’Boyle
Go Lackawanna
WILKES-BARRE – Gene Stilp, fresh off of his Democratic primary win, made good on his first campaign pledge – he delivered a “Clean Campaign Pledge” to the Hazleton campaign office of his opponent, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, for his signature.
Stilp then got on his pink pig bus and headed to Sunbury.
“We’re thanking voters and meeting with people,” Stilp said. “We have a long road ahead and a lot of campaigning to do.”
Lance Stange, Barletta’s campaign manager, accepted the pledge and said Barletta, 56, will review it when he returns from Washington.
“I signed it,” Stilp said. “I asked that it be given to the congressman for him to sign. I think this is a good first step for the campaign.” Read more ›
Standard Speaker: Stilp outpolls Vinsko, will face Barletta
BY MICHAEL R. SISAK AND JOSH MOYER (STAFF WRITERS)
The Standard Speaker
The pink pig did it!
Gene Stilp, the Dauphin County activist whose inflatable porker has been a symbol of his long crusade against government waste, defeated Wilkes-Barre attorney Bill Vinsko on Tuesday for the Democratic nomination in the dramatically redrawn 11th Congressional District.
According to unofficial results from 87 percent of the precincts, Stilp had 18,604 votes, or 54.6 percent, to 15,462 for Vinsko, or 45.4 percent.
Stilp will face first-term incumbent Lou Barletta, the former Hazleton mayor who ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Read more ›
Dallas Post: Maverick Stilp tops favorite Vinsko
By Bill O’Boyle
The Dallas Post
Gene Stilp was doing what he has done for decades – standing by a pink pig, waving to passers-by and soliciting support.
Stilp, 61, of Middle Paxton Township, Dauphin County, was in Mountain Top when he realized he still hadn’t voted in Tuesday’s primary. He drove back to his hometown and cast his ballot and then waited for the votes to be counted.
In a close race, Stilp managed to turn back the pre-primary favorite – Bill Vinsko, 37, of Wilkes-Barre – winning the Democratic nomination in the 11th Congressional District. Read more ›
Stilp brings warrior mentality to 11th Congressional District run
BY MICHAEL R. SISAK (STAFF WRITER)
The Citizens’ Voice
Gene Stilp has long been the outsider keeping the elected in check. The attorney turned advocate went from a legislative aide position in Harrisburg to self-appointed watchdog of state government, suing to reverse the 2005 legislative pay raise and exposing the state Bonusgate scandal.
Now, Stilp, 61, wants in. The Wilkes-Barre native is running against the city’s assistant solicitor, Bill Vinsko, for the Democratic nomination in the reshaped 11th Congressional District. The winner in the April 24 primary will face Republican incumbent Lou Barletta in the fall.
“You need a warrior here. You need a warrior who wants to go to Washington,” Stilp said Thursday in an interview with the editorial boards of The Citizens’ Voice and the Standard-Speaker. “I am that warrior.” Read more ›
Citizens’ Voice: Vinsko, Stilp engage in congenial debate
BY MICHAEL R. SISAK (STAFF WRITER)
The Citizens’ Voice
Gene Stilp stood up a few minutes before the end of the debate Thursday night, turned to the file box behind his seat and rummaged around for his latest prop – a supplement to his answer about restoring civility to government.
“It’s not a pink pig,” Stilp quipped, a reference to the inflatable swine that became a symbol of his activism against government waste.
Instead, the 61-year-old Dauphin County attorney pulled a sheet of paper the size of a city proclamation: his “clean campaign pledge.” As he runs for the Democratic nomination in the 11th Congressional District, Stilp said, there will be no smears and no personal attacks – just issues. Read more ›
Tribune: Candidates have broad ideas but few specifics to address deficit
BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK (STAFF WRITER)
The Times-Tribune
Third in a series of stories about how local congressional candidates in contested races in the April 24 primary election feel about issues they would face if elected. The only contested races are for the Democratic nominations for the 11th and 17th districts. The Republican candidates in the three local congressional races and the Democratic candidate in the 10th District were not interviewed because their primary races are uncontested. Candidates of both parties will be interviewed before the general election. This story focuses on dealing with deficits. Read more ›
PennLive: Stilp looks to move from activism to public office
By IVEY DEJESUS
The Patriot-News
Gene Stilp has already made his mark in Pennsylvania.
He has done so in obscure ways, building Lady Liberty, the Statue of Liberty replica that overlooks the Susquehanna River, and designing the Flight 93 flag that has become a 9/11 symbol of the Shanksville memorial.
And in more grandiose ways, such as his crusade against legislative pay raises and unethical public officials — and building the 25-foot pink inflatable pig that became their trademark.
Now, he’s about to take another stab at the one thing that has eluded him: public office. Read more ›
The Daily Item: Stilp takes swipe at Romney
By Rick Dandes
The Daily Item
Gene Stilp, a Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District, a seat held by U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, of Hazleton, last week confronted Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Republican priorities in the budget.
Stilp, who lives in Dauphin County and is a Wilkes-Barre native, said he went to the Republican rally to “question Romney’s support of the Paul Ryan budget.”
Stilp asked Romney about his support for the Wisconsin representative’s plan, saying the document harms senior citizens and balances the budget on the backs of the middle class. Read more ›
Citizens’ Voice: NEPA Blog Fest draws candidates’ attention
BY BILL WELLOCK (STAFF WRITER)
The Citizens’ Voice
When Gene Stilp wants to get his message out, he uses his own website, his Twitter account, his Facebook page, and various forms of media.
He also employs “Pignelope.”
Pignelope, pronounced like “Penelope,” is a large inflatable pig that took up most of the sidewalk outside Rooney’s Irish Pub in Pittston on Friday night. Inside, Stilp, who is running in the Democratic primary in the 11th Congressional District, and other political candidates worked the crowd at the NEPA Blog Fest, a twice-annual gathering of area political and non-political bloggers and politicians – another medium for local political candidates nearing primary elections. Read more ›
Congressional Candidates Divided On Health Care
bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com
Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice
As the U.S. Supreme Court conducted hearings this week about the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, Democrats running locally for Congress stood somewhat divided.
U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, the congressman for the 17th Congressional District, which next year will include Wilkes-Barre, Pittston and Scranton, as well as other parts of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, voted against the law.
His primary election opponent, attorney Matt Cartwright, said he would have voted for the measure.
In the 11th Congressional District race, attorney Bill Vinsko said he would have voted yes, too, but his opponent, consultant and activist Gene Stilp, refused to say if he would have supported it.
“I don’t think it’s up to me, it’s up to the Supreme Court right now,” Stilp said. “I can’t make speculative guesses. I only look at what’s going on right now.” Read more ›