Zebulon Robbins Sr.

Anthony Scott 
Jan. 16, 1994 
Anthony C. Scott, Of Floral Park, N.y., Died Jan. 16 In New York.

Sunday, January 30, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: REGION QUICK WORDS: BLAUM WON'T BE
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR 





Blaum won't be lieutenant governor candidate this year &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Democratic state Rep. Kevin Blaum of Wilkes-Barre has decided he won't be a
candidate for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania this year"I couldn't get rid
of the feeling that this is just not the right time for me to run statewide,"
Blaum said the other day. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "In politics," he said, "timing is crucial. It can mean the difference
between winning and losing and I'm convinced that running for lieutenant
governor now isn't right for me." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But, he said, the entire experience of being considered as a lieutenant
governor candidate by people like Lt. Gov. Mark Singel, a leading candidate
for the Democratic nomination for governor this year, and state Treasurer
Catherine Baker Knoll, who had been considered a top candidate until she said
the other day she wasn't running, was both satisfying and rewarding for him. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It was great," he said of serious talks he had with both Singel and Knoll
about the possibility of him teaming up with either of them. "It was an honor
to have been considered by them." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Blaum said that as early as last summer he had begun thinking about a
possible lieutenant governor candidacy. During the fall, he said, he talked
with many of his General Assembly colleagues, with Democratic power people all
around the state, with Gov. Bob Casey, and with the Democratic leadership here
in Luzerne County such as county Chairman Jimmy Bach and many of the other
Democratic leaders. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Everybody was supportive of me and treated me terrifically," he said.
"Hometown support is essential when you venture out of your own back yard and
that support locally was there for me all the time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "But," he said, "by Christmas I had pretty much started to back off the
whole idea." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 side from "not feeling right about it," Blaum said his chairmanship of the
state House Committee on Aging and Youth, his seniority in the House, family
considerations, and his desire to continue to help Gov. Casey with his vote in
his last year in office figured into his decision to stay where he's at for
now. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He said he's deeply involved in important legislation which aims to
strengthen the state's adoption laws, abuse of the elderly in long-term care
facilities, and child-abuse statutes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When you are a statewide candidate and involved in legislation, people
take potshots at you; they say you're only trying to score political points
even when you are sincere about the legislative work you are doing," Blaum
said. "I didn't want that to happen to me as chairman of Aging and Youth nor
did I want to risk putting the legislation in danger." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He said he's spent too much time and effort ascending to the chairmanship
of Aging and Youth to "toss all of it away." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Married and the father of two girls, ages 5 and 8, Blaum said a candidacy
for statewide office would have taken him away from his Wilkes-Barre home more
than he'd have liked. "I see little enough of the kids as it is, I need to see
them more often than I do." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While he says he was confident he'd have been able to raise the truckloads
of money he'd need to run, he still had that nagging feeling that this isn't
the time for him to go through a primary campaign, and if successful, to take
on the rigors of a general election campaign. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 s for who he'll back for the Democratic nomination for governor this
spring, Blaum isn't ready to say right now but it will be either Singel or
state Rep. Dwight Evans of Philadelphia. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Blaum says he's had tremendous respect for both of them, but isn't ready
just yet to come out of either one. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 So as he sits out this statewide election and concentrates on keeping his
state representative seat in the Sixth District (121st), Blaum has not forever
abandoned thoughts of higher office. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He's never lost an election. He was elected to the Wilkes-Barre City
Council in 1976 when he was 23. In 1980, he was elected to the state House of
Representatives and has won re-election ever since. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There is sure to be an opportunity down the road for Blaum to move up. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It could be an actual run for lieutenant governor in four years, or even
governor. Or the U.S. Congress. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Anything seems attainable for Kevin Blaum. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He is, after all, just 41. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And he's a winner. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Associate Editor Bill Griffith's politics column runs on Sundays. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rep. Kevin Blaum

Blaum Won't Be 
Lieutenant Governor 
Candidate This Year 
Democratic State Rep. Kevin Blaum Of Wilkes-barre Has Decided He Won't Be A 
Candidate For Lieutenant Governor Of Pennsylvania This Year.

Blaum Won't Be Lieutenant Governor Candidate This Year Democratic State Rep. Kevin Blaum Of Wilkes-barre Has Decided He Won't Be A Candidate For Lieutenant Governor Of Pennsylvania This Year.