Yesterday, Senator Andy Dinniman joined one other member of the Pennsylvania State Senate to oppose the reconfirmation of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary, Patrick McDonnell.
Senator Dinniman has been quite vocal about his opposition to Secretary McDonnell’s reconfirmation, citing his continued opposition to Mariner East 2. What this issue raises is how outside the mainstream Senator Dinniman really is. A Democratic member of the State Senate is leading a very lonely charge of two to oppose the confirmation of a cabinet member from his own party. In a time when Republicans are mostly opposed to anything put forward with the Wolf Administration, Senator Dinniman can’t even get in line with the administration from his party and 98 other bipartisan colleagues to vote for McDonnell’s confirmation.
Even worse is the fact that Senator Dinniman knows how ineffective he has become that he prefers to legislate by press release as opposed to normal legislative channels and coalition building. As DEP Press Secretary Elizabeth Rementer recently said in response to Dinniman’s opposition to McDonnell, “The department has only heard from Sen. Dinniman via his press release. He has not requested an in-person meeting with the Secretary to share his concerns or those of his constituents in well over a year.”
That is a sign of someone less interested in doing the people’s business and moving the Commonwealth forward and more interested in political grandstanding.