2006-2007 Piccola Asked to Leave Two Insurance Boards as a Conflict of Interest

• February 7, 2006: Talk about a dose of your own medicine. State Sen. Jeff Piccola, the Dauphin County Republican who asked a Penn State trustee to step down in January, is now facing a demand he resign from two corporate boards.

Political activist Eric Epstein declared last week that Piccola’s position as a board member at two insurance companies wedges the legislator in a conflict of interest. That's because Piccola votes on legislation that can benefit those companies, said Epstein, the coordinator of RockThe Capital.org. Epstein, who ran against Piccola in 2004, has also been at the forefront of the anti-pay-raise movement in Harrisburg. We've all got to play by the same rules, and I think the senator wants to tilt the playing field," Epstein said Monday. “And I think what he did (with respect to Penn State) is what’s wrong with Harrisburg."

On January 26, Piccola asked Judge Cynthia Baldwin to resign as chairwoman of the Penn State board of trustees. He said her university role would conflict with her pending appointment to the state Supreme Court.

Piccola got caught saying one thing and doing another.