New ad strikes DeWeese at home

House Majority Leader Bill DeWeeseYoung Conservatives of Pennsylvania has aired a new radio ad in House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese's (D-Greene County) district that takes aim at the incumbent for halting seven reform bills approved unanimously by the state Senate.

The ads, according to YCOP President Chris Lilik, are meant to pressure DeWeese to allowing votes on the measures, which range from preventing bonuses to state employees and requiring government salaries to be posted online.

But they also provide a boost to DeWeese's Republican challenger this fall, Greg Hopkins. The spots take direct aim at the longtime incumbent's reform credentials, reminding voters of his role during the unpopular 2005 pay-raise and the role his former chief of staff allegedly played in the Capitol's most recent scandal, "Bonusgate." Those scandals are tied to the seven bills sitting in the House.

"Bill DeWeese says he supports reform, but he won't even allow the House to vote on seven reform bills passed unanimously in the Senate," the ad says.

Lilik told PolitickerPA.com the ad will play in Greene County's four most popular radio stations, a buy "well over $10,000," he said.

It strikes at an important chord in DeWeese's re-election efforts, as he tries to convince voters he is not supportive of a state government culture widely seen as brimming with corruption.

Hopkins, who lost by little more than a 1,000 votes to DeWeese in 2006, argues the Capitol's latest scandal proves the majority leader is either corrupt or out-of-touch with a caucus he should be leading. The election is widely seen as perhaps DeWeese's greatest re-election test.