Gene Stilp

HARRISBURG -- Gene Stilp wanted everyone to know what he thought of Tuesday morning's meeting of the House State Government Committee meeting. So the longtime reform activist made an announcement to the handful of legislators and staffers moments before they began debating a bill that would reduce the General Assembly's size.

The whole hearing was a sham, he said, designed for political posturing rather than reform.

"Absolutely nothing will happen" for reform today, he said while standing next to fellow reformer Don Baylor.

Each held a picture of the committee's chairwoman, Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia), with her head superimposed on a beauty pageant contestant's body, a picture meant to deride her efforts at reforming state government. Josephs has become the favorite target of many state reformers because they accuse her of stalling reform legislation in her committee.

Lawmakers dismissed Stilp's antics as showmanship from someone dedicated more to himself than his cause. But they also just as easily dismissed, if much more politely, the bill from state Rep. Mark Mustio (R-Allegheny County) that would reduce the number of state lawmakers to 201, 20 percent fewer than the 253 who serve today.

"Bonusgate" has become Capitol muckraker Gene Stilp's muse.

The "citizen activist" has written a song about embattled House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese (D-Greene County) titled "Pop Goes DeWeese-l." Set to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel," the song lists a litany of reasons why Stilp thinks the longtime incumbent will lose his election this fall.

One stanza assails Deweese for his well-known use of obscure words: "A buffoon with words from Webster's/Arrogance with ego/Always taking personal revenge/That's what popped DeWeese-l."

Stilp is asking for singers to submit their own recordings of the song, and he said the winner will be featured in a music video featuring a giant "Bill in the Box" in September.

Reformer and party-time beauty contest judge Gene Stilp works the crowd in front of 11 "Miss Reformers.": Politicker Photo

HARRISBURG -- Nothing like dressing in drag to attract attention, even for one of the state's biggest scandals in a generation.

Eleven contestants donned dresses, sashes and tiaras to compete in a beauty pageant Monday afternoon in the Capitol Rotunda, only feet from, according to a tile marked on the floor, where Theodore Roosevelt once stood to admire Pennsylvania's beacon of democracy. The competition included two men doing their best "Tootsie" impression.

Each contestant represented one sought after legislative reform, such as instituting fair redistricting and banning lame-duck sessions.

Reform advocate Gene Stilp has sent out a comical press release calling for a “Miss Legislative Reform 2008” contest to be held in the capitol rotunda on Monday July 28th at 11 AM.

Of course the early favorite to win is former Miss Rain Day winner and Bonusgate star Angela Bertugli.

The scope of Attorney General Tom Corbett's revelations Thursday stunned even reformers who have long labeled Pennsylvania's government among the most corrupt in the nation.

"I'm stunned by the breadth and width of what they're alleging," said Tim Potts, founder of Democracy Rising PA. "And that's really saying something considering I worked there for seven years ... it took me aback."

Reform activist Gene Stilp agreed, saying the attorney general "followed every taxpayer dollar.

"As a person who filed the original complaint, I'm just so impressed that he's done a thorough, thorough job," Stilp said.

Reform activist Gene Stilp just distributed to reporters across the newsroom a statement taking much of the credit for pushing Attorney General Tom Corbett into the "bonusgate" investigation.

Stilp said he originally requested the investigation in late January 2007 and was the person who filed a Commonwealth Court case alleging taxpayer money had been abused.

It's good the attorney general has made the indictments after a 17-month investigation, he said.

HARRISBURG -- Three years after the Pennsylvania legislature's pay-raise fiasco left scores of lawmakers jobless, reformers marked the infamous anniversary by talking about Pennsylvania's potential next great scandal -- "bonusgate."

Bonusgate is an investigation of elected officials giving taxpayer-funded bonuses to state workers in exchange for political work. Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican, says all four caucuses are being investigated, although House Democrats have emerged as the principal subject.

Reformers are hoping when the charges are announced, which most expect imminently, it will complete the reform started in the wake of the pay-raise.