Anyone familiar with the election process knows candidates for state and federal offices make many promises aimed at demonstrating their leadership skills.

However, it's unheard-of for candidates to admit what really goes on in the legislative chambers — that, in most cases, they're not really leaders but, instead, followers of their party's leadership when considering legislation.

The leaders of both parties decide which way their respective members will vote, and the members obey or else face whatever ramifications the leaders decide to mete out.

Anyone not convinced that's the way the legislative process plays out needs only to read the article “GOP faces narrow majority in Pa. Senate” that was published in Thursday's Butler Eagle.

In commenting on the narrower Republican majority that will exist when the state Senate begins its new session in January, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, discussed one of the ramifications of not having the larger majority that existed in the just-completed session.

He said the “elephant in the room” has been the GOP's luxury of being able to pass a bill with Republican support while allowing several GOP senators to vote against it if they view it as politically perilous.

The key word is “allowing.”

“The luxury has been we could leave a member or two off on a vote,” Scarnati said. He said that luxury might now be gone “but that doesn't mean it's impossible to pass something.”

Two years from now, when legislative seats again will be on the ballot, voters should ask candidates whether they would have the courage to challenge the leadership on issues and tactics, if they disagree, or whether they would be content to be something of a puppet.

The $500 that the Winfield Township supervisors voted to allot to the Victim Outreach Intervention Center (VOICe) on Monday won't go far toward helping the agency meet its estimated $125,000 shortfall stemming from the loss of a federal grant.But if other municipalities and the county commissioners follow Winfield's lead, giving what they can afford from their 2013 budgets, the agency's financial crunch could be eased.VOICe performs the important function of helping victims of domestic violence.The loss of the federal grant resulted from the district attorney's office missing the grant application's filing deadline. The DA Office employee who was responsible for getting the application to the U.S. Department of Justice on time resigned rather than being fired.The missed deadline not only will negatively affect VOICe, but also the DA's office, which, in the past, had used some of the grant to fund an assistant DA position.Fortunately, money to replace that lost funding — the grant formerly funded 90 percent of the assistant DA salary in question — is now coming from the county's general fund.While Butler County Commissioner Bill McCarrier says the county is mulling whether to give VOICe more money in 2013 than the $20,000 given this year, it seems clear that the county's coffers won't be able to replace the bulk of the lost VOICe money.To VOICe's credit, the agency is projecting an upbeat attitude while acknowledging that there could be a slowdown in services once the full impact of the lost money kicks in.“When it becomes financially and logistically difficult, obviously services will slow down and back up,” said Robert Marchese, VOICe executive director. “However, our commitment will not.”That's where positive, generous attitudes like that exhibited by Winfield will become important in the weeks ahead.Winfield's lead should be followed by others, since VOICe's work is not confined to just one or several county municipalities.

Some of his constituents might not have been happy with the way he voted on certain issues in the U.S. House of Representatives, but outgoing Rep. Jason Altmire, D-4th, deserves the plaudits of everyone in his district for the way he managed his offices’ expenses during his three terms in Washington.Altmire, who lost in the primary election in the redrawn 12th District, says that during his six years in Washington, he has returned more than $1 million in unspent office funds.At the beginning of each term, all members of the House are given a pre-determined budget to administer offices in Washington and in their districts. According to Altmire, that’s about $1.5 million a year in taxpayer funds to be used at the House member’s discretion.“They can spend it however they want — they can spend it on mailings, on staff salary and bonuses, on equipment for their offices,” he said. “You have different districts that set up a number of district offices and all of that comes out of the same budget.”To his credit, Altmire sought to save money while making sure his offices met his and his constituents’ needs.That’s the way all government offices should operate.