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Lamar Advertising, a major campaign benefactor, will not run billboards critical of state legislators. Executives at a major outdoor advertising company refusing to run billboard ads criticizing state legislative leaders for voting themselves 16- to 34-percent raises, have been a steady source of campaign donations for some of those same lawmakers. Officials at Lamar Advertising Co., which rejected the critical billboard ads proposed by the Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania, have given nearly $30,000 during the past five years to Pennsylvania candidates and political action committees, according to campaign finance records. Two of Lamar’s top executives, based at the company headquarters...

Lamar Advertising refuses billboards it says are critical of public officials. A group of conservative political activists has raised nearly $7,500 for its planned advertising blitz against state legislative leaders, including Senate Democratic Leader Robert J. Mellow, who helped engineer 16-to-34-percent pay raises for themselves. Now, it just needs to find a way to spend it. The group, called Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania, announced last week that it planned to target legislative leaders – including Mellow, who represents the boroughs of Avoca, Dupont and Duryea in Luzerne County – in a statewide anti-pay raise ad campaign on billboards and in...

Pennsylvania Republicans are threatening the Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania (YCOP) for sponsoring a public information campaign exposing a hefty pay raise passed for lawmakers, judges and top executive-branch officials. On July 7 at 2 a.m., state legislators voted to give themselves a pay increase of more than 30% without debate. YCOP is demanding repeal.

If Pennsylvania turns into a bastion of conservatism, political anthropologists might someday partially credit a 25-year-old Duquesne University law student from Newton Township. Christopher K. Lilik -- who goes by Chris and likes punk rock -- and his band of young bloggers helped an obscure conservative Republican congressman from Allentown scare the heck out of the state's senior U.S. senator in the spring and boosted President Bush's Pennsylvania vote in the fall. They call themselves the Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania (YCOP) now and aim to keep conservative ideology at the political dinner table. But Mr. Lilik isn't looking for his...

Young Conservatives Proudly Announce Addition of Commonwealth’s Conservative Leader PITTSBURGH – Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania (YCOP) today announced that the man who helped inspire its conception, Congressman Pat Toomey (R-Lehigh), has accepted the invitation to become Honorary Chairman of its Board of Advisors. “Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania has a very important role to play in the political arena in our Commonwealth – to promote conservative policies and candidates among our next generation of civic leaders,” Toomey said. “I commend the founders of YCOP for their vision, and I look forward to supporting their effort.” “Congressman Toomey is my hero, and...