Opponent questions ethics of state lawmaker from Delaware County

Ethics charges are being lobbed in a state legislative race in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The Republican challenger claims the incumbent is funneling state money to relatives and supporters.

Marcus Hook Mayor Jay Schiliro, the GOP candidate, says his Democratic opponent, state Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, is directing state grants to groups with which he has personal connections.

“This is grant money that he received that was directed to groups who are directly associated to him his family and friends,” Schiliro alleges.

Schiliro says he has written the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission asking it to review the grants.

“There’s a lot of unanswered questions for not just a few thousand dollars, but hundreds of thousands of dollars, so it’s time to find out where this money is going,” he said. “When we looked into it ourselves, it all traced back to Thaddeus himself and his family and friends.”

Kirkland did not return calls to his offices seeking comment on the allegations, but he did tell the Delaware County Daily Times that he welcomes the investigation and called his opponent a coward for holding a press conference on the Columbus Day holiday.