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By James Roxbury
Monday March 24, 2014 at 2:56 pm

Pa State Rep. Dwight Evans, Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer, and Pittsburgh-Tribune Review reporter/columnist Brad Bumsted sat down for a hour long discussion of politics and corruption in the Majority Caucus room Tuesday March 11, 2014.

The event was moderated by David Thornburgh, Fels Executive Director.

Videos __________________________

John Baer. The reluctance of the institution to be accountable for itself.

Rep. Dwight Evans. To the WAM King.

David Thornburgh. It was the Shapp administration, after all.

As released by Fels Institute Of Government:

FELS INSTITUTE EXPLORES POWER AND POLITICS IN PENNSYLVANIA WITH AUTHORS BAER, BUMSTED AND EVANS

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania’s top political journalists will join State Representative Dwight Evans for a first-of-its-kind presentation about power and politics in the Keystone State, an event inspired from books authored by each of these Capitol insiders. The books explore the machinations in state government and politics from three different viewpoints.

The hour-long event is presented by the Fels Institute of Government which seeks to inspire and educate future public leaders. The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, in the Majority Caucus Room at the state Capitol. House Speaker Samuel H. Smith will provide opening remarks. Fels Executive Director David Thornburgh will serve as moderator.

“At Fels, we teach our students that ideas matter, but only when they are accompanied by the skills needed to make them happen,” said Thornburgh. “We’re excited to explore that concept during the program.”

The participating authors are Philadelphia Daily News Columnist John Baer, author of “On the Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics” and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Columnist Brad Bumsted, author of Keystone Corruption: An Insider’s View of a State Gone Wrong.” Each has spent decades in Harrisburg reporting and writing about the inner workings of government and the people elected to political office. Evans has served the residents of Philadelphia’s 203rd legislative district for more than 30 years. His book, “Making Ideas Matter: My Life as a Policy Entrepreneur,” was published in November.

“This event gives all of us a chance to gain a better understanding of our democracy in a non-partisan environment,” Evans said. “I have a great respect for John and Brad because they provide a historical perspective and institutional knowledge with their work; we don’t often see that in modern journalism.”

Bumsted said he hopes the forum will provide some understanding of how state government works and where it has gone off track at various points regardless of which party is in power.

“There's well over 100 years of experience on this panel and hopefully that means something in terms of analyzing where Pennsylvania state government is today, particularly in the legislature,” Bumsted said.

Added Baer, “Whenever people with experience in politics and policy, whether they are practitioners or close observers (and questioners of authority and direction) can get together in one place, there’s at least a chance a few insights of value will be offered.”

Power & Politics in Pennsylvania is free and open to the public. Media coverage is welcome. A reception and book signing with the authors will be held immediately following.

About the authors, books and participants John M. Baer has covered Pennsylvania politics for the Philadelphia Daily News since 1987. He is a graduate of Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland; holds a master's degree from Temple University; was a Congressional Fellow under the auspices of the American Political Science Association in Washington, D.C.; and a fellow of Loyola University School of Law's inaugural Journalist Law School program in Los Angeles. For over twenty-five years, Baer has had a front-row seat to the foibles and follies of the Keystone State's political system. In On the Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics Baer takes readers through his memories of covering state politics for the last quarter century, from Democratic governor Milton Shapp's short-lived run for president to highlights of some of the game-changing campaign missteps and maneuvers that moved administrations in and out of the capital.

Brad Bumsted is an award-winning Harrisburg reporter and columnist for the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review. Keystone Corruption: A Pennsylvania Insider’s View of a State Gone Wrong, his second book, traces the cyclical nature of misconduct in Pennsylvania government over the course of the last hundred years. Most of the book focuses on corruption since the 1970s. Brad has served as president and as a board member of the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association, the oldest capitol correspondents group in the nation. He is a 1973 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he studied history and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.

State Representative Dwight Evans has represented Pennsylvania’s 203rd Legislative District since 1980. After serving in the house for a decade, Evans became the first African-American elected Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, a post once held by Benjamin Franklin. Evans has been the driving force behind major initiatives involving education, economic development, gaming, public safety and transportation. “Making Ideas Matter: My Life as a Policy Entrepreneur,” is Evans’ primer for students of policy, political junkies, lovers of history, and those who still believe public service is a noble calling.

The Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania is committed to advancing the quality of public leadership. For more than 75 years, Fels has accomplished its mission by offering focused, practical educational programs that prepare students for public and nonprofit sector work; providing research and consulting services that improve the performance of organizations serving the public interest; and bridging the worlds of practice and possibility through conferences, lectures and discussions about public issues and solutions. https://www.fels.upenn.edu/

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