The Shot!

[Tim Cameron] 

A friend of mine tipped me off to old article about House District 124 candidate Randy Bates.

Apparently, Bates got involved in a lawsuit with the Pennsylvania Legislature. According to House records, Bates’ evaluations claimed he had an “unsatisfactory” level of attendance and had “accumulated an unnecessary large backlog” of work.

When the article was published, Bates’ lawsuit had already cost the taxpayers $164,000 in legal fees, and he had a pending federal appeal, which was presumed to make that figure even higher.

Does this sound like the type of hard-working taxpayer protector we need in Columbia?

I didn’t think so either.

Here are some excerpts from the article. I would include a link, but it’s located in the archive section, which cost money.   

TAXPAYERS PICK UP TAB IN HOUSE SUIT
Russell E. Eshleman Jr.
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER HARRISBURG BUREAU
December 8, 1995

A court fight between a former employee and House Republicans has cost taxpayers more than $164,000 in legal fees during the last two years, according to House records, and the cost is likely to climb.

The former employee is Randolph H. Bates, 35, who joined the House Republican staff as a legal intern in 1989 while attending the Dickinson College School of Law, in Carlisle.

In a federal lawsuit filed in 1993, Bates says he was “discharged without reason” after more than three years of employment. House Republicans say Bates resigned.

During his employment, Bates, a reservist in the Marine Corps, was called to active duty Aug. 13, 1990, during the Persian Gulf War…

…Bates’ evaluations, according to House records, include an ”unsatisfactory” rating on attendance and say Bates had “accumulated an unnecessary large backlog” of work.

Whether Bates was fired or resigned is the subject of the suit. House officials indicated on Bates’ evaluation that he would have been fired had he not resigned…

…In October, U.S. District Chief Judge Sylvia H. Rambo of the Middle District sided with the House GOP, ruling that there were “no grounds for obligating defendants” to rehire Bates.
 
Bates has appealed the decision to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, meaning that the case will most likely cost taxpayers even more. The firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, which has worked for legislative Republicans on numerous matters in the past, is representing the House GOP.

Bates’ lawsuits history does not stop with Pennsylvania House Representatives. He has also sued the Beaufort County Republican Party. While this suit did not require taxpayer funds to be used for extensive legal bills, it did require the Beaufort GOP to use party funds for legal expenses that otherwise could have been used for getting Republicans elected. Fortunately Bates’ understanding of federal campaign was so limited that the Federal Election Commission dismissed the law suit unanimously. 

I’m guessing tort reform is not going to be part of Bates’ candidate platform.       

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 8:51 pm and is filed under State Politics, The Chaser, Top Shelf News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.