Sen. Mellow era ending

After 39 years in the state Senate, the chamber’s longest serving member has announced he will not seek re-election.

Robert J. Mellow, 66, of Peckville, said that “the long hours in Harrisburg over the years have cost me precious time with my daughters and now my grandchildren. My choice to put them first is the right thing to do and, as jarring as this decision has been to make, I am confident that now is the right time to do it.”

Mellow serves in Pennsylvania’s 22nd Senate District which encompasses all of Lackawanna County and portions of Monroe and Luzerne counties. In Luzerne, the municipalities of Avoca, Dupont and Duryea boroughs are in the district.

The Senate Minority Leader’s announcement drew comments from Republicans and Democrats alike.

State Sen. Ray Musto, who also announced he was retiring at the end of the year, called Mellow’s retirement “a great loss.”

Gov. Ed Rendell, in a statement, said “Sen. Mellow had a wonderful career and contributed greatly not only to his district but to the entire state in many ways. He will be missed.”

On a long list of accomplishments and impacts, perhaps more than anything, it will be the opening of The Commonwealth Medical College that will be most closely associated with Mellow’s legacy.

“Without his leadership, that probably could not have happened,” Musto said.

Mellow spearheaded the efforts to establish the college, which accepted its first class of students in the fall of 2009. He helped to obtain $35 million in state grant funds to establish the regional medical school that has a Scranton campus and regional offices in Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport.

“Sen. Mellow has been a good friend of the Commonwealth Medical College. His commitment to public service and improving health care for all Pennsylvanians has been tireless,” said Dr. Robert D’Alessandri. “TCMC would not exist without his vision and determination. His work in the establishment of the medical college will be a legacy that will improve hundreds of thousands of lives. We’re grateful for all he’s done for the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and for his career of service.”

While thousands of other people’s children could benefit for years from the medical school, Mellow said his own children and grandchildren now need his attention.

“All of those days devoted to my constituents have resulted in many good things for the 22nd District – some I never imagined possible. With those successes in mind, I am shifting my focus. My daughters and grandchildren mean the world to me, and in this next chapter of my life, I need to devote more of my time and energy to them.”

First elected in 1970, he was preceded by Arthur Piasecki. Before that, the seat was held by Robert P. Casey, who would go on to become governor and whose son, Robert P. Casey Jr., is now a U.S. senator.

Sen. Casey thanked Mellow for his public service and the many accomplishments he’s been a part of, including economic development and education initiatives.

“He also played a key role in the health and well-being of tens of thousands of children through his work helping to establish the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP),” Casey said.

Mellow took office as a 27-year-old and moved up the leadership ranks. He has been the Democratic caucus’ leader since 1989 and served as president pro tempore of the Senate in 1993 and 1994.

He serves on the Senate’s game and fisheries committee and is also the minority chairman of the rules and executive nominations committee.

“It has been my profound personal honor to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania. It has literally been my life’s work. I am deeply grateful for the trust that my friends and neighbors from Northeastern Pennsylvania have shown me by electing and re-electing me to work for them. We have accomplished many great things together,” Mellow said.

Gene Stilp, a Wilkes-Barre native who’s an activist now living in suburban Harrisburg, called Tuesday “a good day for the taxpayers.”

Stilp, and others, have taken Mellow to task on various matters they called unethical. Chief among them are Mellow’s position on the Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Northeastern Pennsylvania board of directors, which Stilp said is a conflict of interest because Mellow votes on health care bills; and his renting a building for his district office in Peckville that he also owned.

Stilp also brought up Mellow’s role as a key player in the middle-of-the-night pay raise legislators voted themselves in 2005.

That flap, which led to an uprising among voters, led to incumbent legislators and even judges being voted out of office in subsequent elections.

Of the six lawmakers who were most involved in the pay raise scheme, three lost re-election bids, one was indicted on unrelated charges, Mellow is retiring and the other is seeking a U.S. House seat.

Stilp said that Mellow should step down immediately instead of serving out the rest of his term, which ends in November.

Mellow’s decision, coupled with recent announcements from Musto, D-Pittston Township, and House Speaker Keith McCall, D-Carbon County, will leave a huge loss of seniority and pull from Northeastern Pennsylvania representation in Harrisburg.

“The political landscape in Northeast Pennsylvania will be changing,” said state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township.

Though she hasn’t worked with Mellow long, the first-term senator could see how much impact he has had in Harrisburg.

He is “one of the most knowledgeable members of the Senate about the workings of state government,” Baker said of Mellow.

She said he has “shaped many significant laws and policies and has been a champion of institutions and organizations in Northeast Pennsylvania.”

“The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton would not have been a reality without Sen. Mellow’s stalwart support, and we may not yet realize how great an impact this institution will have on future generations of Northeastern Pennsylvanians.

His support for the medical college and many other institutions of higher learning has made an indelible impact on countless students whose contribution to our area is immeasurable.”

The Senate seat is on the ballot this year but for the first time in four decades Mellow’s name will not be.

There were no announcements Tuesday from potential candidates who would seek the seat, though some names have already surfaced.

Among them are two Old Forge residents, state Rep. Jim Wansacz, a Democrat, and Republican Frank Scavo, a former Old Forge School Board member who owns a car parts business.