There it was on the front page - a misplaced ",". At first glance it looked like Craig Lehman only got two thousand or so votes instead of the almost 25 thousand votes he did receive! Mistakes like a comma are not surprising given the shear amount of data on an election night.

But how do you explain both the Intelligencer Journal and the Lancaster New Era BOTH getting a county-wide race totally incorrect? It's really inexcusable that - if not the reporter - the editors wouldn't have picked up the fact the "Recorder of Deeds" was NOT on the ballot this time! The race between Mary Ann Gerber and Fritz Schrom was for the Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphan's Court! (notice there are actually TWO offices - was that printed anywhere?)

While the Intell's mistake in the middle of long story is a little more understandable - how can the New Era's Ernie Schreiber explain his editorial getting the name of the office wrong? If the New Era is writing an editorial extolling the great job the Republican Party has done and can't get the an important detail like the name of the officer that Mary Ann Gerber won - how can you believe anything else that is written?

The Republican Party of Lancaster is in a moral crisis. Instead of holding candidates to the declared Republican Principals, the GOP (and the newspaper) is more interested in propping up establishment hacks. Without making judgement (pun intended) on the six people elected to judgeship, how many of the committee people will spend enough time in their court room to see if "their guy" is actually doing right by our constitutions? My guess that only a handful of committee people will ever do so. Fewer yet will hold the judge accountable that has gone wayward.

Want proof of their credibility demise? Two years ago, in GOP chairman Dave Dumeyer's own West Hempfield, a democrat took the top spot in the supervisor's race! That local race is more a harbinger of what's coming than in a county-wide seat where there's a solid majority and lots of attention paid to the race. While changing demographics certainly play a role, the Republican party's failure to discipline and monitor it's elected officials is more likely the cause.

Earlier this year, Lancaster County courts President Judge Lou Farina testified before the Government Study Commission that "There's a reason that judges where robes and are elevated above everyone"! Really? Farina didn't tell us what those reasons are AND he refused to answer ANY questions posed to him. Of course you didn't read about Farina storming out of the meeting because the newspaper doesn't want you to know about it! It's apparent to me that Farina is more concerned about the "appearance" of fairness in Lancaster Courts than he is actually in seeing that it happens. When Mark Dalton - the top administrator of the local court - failed to speak ONE WORD to justify the $70,000,000 expansion of the court, the newspaper didn't blink. Instead of dogging the story and discovering that our court rooms aren't even utilized 40% of the time and we don't need ANY new court rooms, the newspaper forgets all about it.

Want proof that Judge Farina is more concerned about appearance than doing it right? For years since "family business court" has been around, there is ZERO record taken of what is said. That's right, the lawyers can come before a judge and present a petition and can argue the most outrageous points without fear that their words will be recorded. The judges make decisions based on these arguments without a record of what was said to them. I have personally witness a grandma (the mother of a woman who was before Judge Hummer) present a petition! The Grandma was not a lawyer and besides, there's not suppose to be testimony in a "business court" - but that didn't stop Hummer from allowing it!

Remember the recent article in the Lancaster New Era about several fathers suing the county, the judges and domestic relations? Amazingly the newspaper failed to send even ONE reporter for even five minutes to observe the court themselves! Family court judges have long realized that Lancaster Newspapers and the Republican party will not do ANYTHING to monitor or check their performance! NOTHING at all!

When I began my series on family court over two years ago, Judge Hummer pretended that he had no idea about who 5thEstate.com was or who I was. A little over a year later, Hummer banned me from the courtroom! That's right - Hummer forbid me to enter his courtroom because he didn't like what I was writing! It was only after a threat of a federal lawsuit from my attorney that Hummer relented.

5thEstate.com is a labor of love. The hours and hours I spend in the courts and tracking elected officials is done out of my sense of "public service". Please consider donating this Christmas to 5thEstate.com:

The so-called leaders in the GOP and the newspaper have got to stop pleasing each other with their establishment-hack ways. It's time that LNP actually trained/hired reporters to get AGGRESSIVE and stop sitting on their collective rear-ends at 8 West King Street. I laugh whenever I see a reporter write that someone didn't call them back. Sure that's ok one time, but did the reporters ever hear of a car?!? Why don't they track the people down at work/home? It's no wonder that my don't-take-no-for-answer reporting style - which is very common in the rest of the country - is considered shocking in Lancaster County. Imagine not letting an unanswered phone call being the last word?

The Pennsylvania Constitution in Article One, Section Two states, "All power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness. For the advancement of these ends they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think proper."

Don't ever let the hacks forget that WE are in charge - not them!

Thanks for reading 5thEstate.com. Please tell your friends and even your enemies. The more people that read alternative news media, the more the hacks will be forced to make improvements.

Ron Harper Jr

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