Mr. Joseph F. Brennan

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  www.lehighvalleyarea.com/inContext/PrintPage.aspx?site_ - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/11/2007    Last Visited: 1/29/2008  

  Joseph Brennan (D)

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  www.lehighvalleyarea.com/content/may_2006.htm - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/1/2006    Last Visited: 8/19/2007  

  In the hotly contested Democratic primary race for the open-seat 133rd Legislative District, Joseph Brennan, chief-aide to Representative TJ Rooney, narrowly defeated REALTOR® -supported candidate Jose Rosado by fewer that 300 votes.
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  Brennan will go on to face Dawn Berrigan (R) in the General Election in November.

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  Area Communities Not Sold On Slot Machines - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/30/2004    Last Visited: 10/31/2004  

  Rooney appeared with former Northampton County councilman Joe Brennan, who is now on Rooney's staff.

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  Candidate draws line between self, boss : The Morning... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/30/2006    Last Visited: 3/30/2006  

  Democratic candidate Joseph F. Brennan has sought to distance himself from the boss he hopes to succeed, state Rep.
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  Brennan, the top aide in Rooney's south Bethlehem office, pledged recently never to do what Rooney did last summer , accept a raise in pay.
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  Brennan, 42, of Fountain Hill, held a news conference Monday at the City View Diner in Whitehall Township in which he unveiled his "five-point plan for real reform."In addition to prohibiting legislative pay raises, Brennan, a former Northampton County councilman, proposed term limits, campaign finance reform, lobbyist reform and a new state constitutional convention.
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  Rosado also questioned whether Brennan has benefited from the recent pay raise or other legislative pay raises in years past.
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  "Like most working people, I don't have the opportunity to tell my boss what to do," Brennan said.In the same breath, he praised Rooney for what he has done for the district.
  
  "He's done some wonderful things to bring the Lehigh Valley to the forefront statewide," Brennan said.

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  Candidates at odds on gambling : The Morning Call... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/31/2006    Last Visited: 10/31/2006  

  Joseph F. Brennan, the Democratic nominee in the 133rd House District, said he supports a plan that combines state gambling revenues with a half-percent increase in sales tax and would allow school districts to increase earned income tax to reduce the burden on property owners.
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  "The ,Commonwealth Caucus, plan does not add up and it is never going to add up," said Brennan, a Rooney legislative aide and former Northampton County councilman.
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  Berrigan and Brennan also differed on the use of public funds to preserve open space, such as the Growing Greener programs, in which Pennsylvania voters were asked if they wanted the state to borrow money to protect parks, forests, farms and green spaces.
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  Brennan said the preservation of open space goes beyond farms and open expanses of land.It also means developing pocket parks for children to play in urban areas, he said.
  
  "I always hear the Right say, 'Let the voters decide,"' Brennan said.

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  East Hills Middle School principal enters race for... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 2/9/2006    Last Visited: 2/11/2006  

  Other Democrats seeking the nomination are Joseph F. Brennan, a former Northampton County councilman and Rooney's chief aide in his south Bethlehem district office, and Anthony Rybak, a Bethlehem attorney and former candidate for city mayor.

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  Elect Brennan, a reformer, in 133rd District : The... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/26/2006    Last Visited: 10/26/2006  

  However, though we did not support Mr. Brennan in the Democratic primary, in this field we find him the better candidate, and recommend that he be elected in the 133rd District.
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  Mr. Brennan's political and professional experience match up well with the task of serving in the state Legislature.In addition to serving four years on Northampton County Council, he was Rep.Rooney's chief district aide for almost 12 years.
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  And, Mr. Brennan is open to public financing of some races, an idea this page has long supported.
  
  Mr. Brennan favors making the Legislature subject to the state open-records laws, thereby closing an embarrassing loophole regarding the public's right to know.And, if it takes a constitutional convention to address reforms of this scope, he would favor a structure that includes citizens, rather than just legislators.
  
  The real hope for reforming the state Legislature is to suit up a respectable, bipartisan bloc of perhaps 50 reformers, people who want the right goals and know how to use the existing rules to get them.We believe Joe Brennan would fit right in.

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  Keystone Politics :: Pennsylvania Politics, PA... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/5/2005    Last Visited: 11/21/2006  

  Democratic candidate Joseph F. Brennan has sought to distance himself from the boss he hopes to succeed, state Rep.
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  Brennan, the top aide in Rooney's south Bethlehem office, pledged recently never to do what Rooney did last summer â€" accept a raise in pay.
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  There are actually a couple other candidates who are in the same position as Brennan.
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  revelations in the documentary, but "Shame" is organized into an easy-to-grasp and entertaining 90 minutes that Joe and Joan Citizen can easily digest.

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  LVAR - May 2006 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/1/2006    Last Visited: 12/19/2006  

  In the hotly contested Democratic primary race for the open-seat 133rd Legislative District, Joseph Brennan, chief-aide to Representative TJ Rooney, narrowly defeated REALTOR® -supported candidate Jose Rosado by fewer that 300 votes.
  ...
  Brennan will go on to face Dawn Berrigan (R) in the General Election in November.

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  Race for 133rd House seat has been a quiet one : The... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/4/2006    Last Visited: 11/4/2006  

  Joseph F. Brennan, a legislative aide in Rooney's south Bethlehem office and a former Northampton County councilman, won that four-way competition and now stands as the clear favorite to defeat Republican Dawn Berrigan and Green Party nominee Guy Gray in Tuesday's election.
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  If Brennan does win, it will not be for a lack of trying on the part of Berrigan, who offers a defined ideological alternative.The central theme of her campaign has been tax reform.The Catasauqua school director has pledged to work to abolish school property taxes and repeal Act 1, legislation that relies on gambling revenue to augment school funding, if she gets to Harrisburg.
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  While Berrigan has been a vehement critic of Act 1, Brennan has said it is "a step in the right direction" that does not go far enough.
  
  Under Brennan's plan, school districts would be given an option to replace all or part of their real estate tax with an income tax.State school funding would be augmented with a combination of slots revenues and a 0.5 percent sales tax hike.Unlike the Rohrer plan, which Brennan said is "too regressive" and "ultra right-wing," the sales tax would not be expanded to include new items.An expanded sales tax, Brennan said, would hurt those who could afford it least, an assertion Berrigan disputes.
  
  During the primary race, Brennan held news conferences touting his tax reform idea, pledging to support a law prohibiting drivers from using hand-held cell phones and working to lower the cost of renewing drivers' licenses and vehicle registrations for senior citizens.
  
  Brennan also sought to distance himself from his boss, pledging he would never vote for or accept a pay raise as a state representative.He said he disagreed with that decision by Rooney, but he knows of few employees who would have told their boss what to do.Despite that difference of opinion, Brennan during debates said Rooney did many positive things for the district.
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  In a reform-themed news conference in March, Brennan also pledged to work for term limits, lobbyist reform, campaign finance reform and a new state Constitutional Convention.
  
  Berrigan has held few news conferences.At candidates forums, she has held to standard Republican principles, keeping taxes low and government regulations and mandates few.
  
  Green Party candidate Gray has run a low-profile campaign.At a League of Women Voters debate, he said his candidacy offers the best opportunity for real change in Harrisburg.He argued for more investment in alternative fuel technologies and for slowing suburban and rural growth with a five-year moratorium on new road building.

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