[img_assist|nid=1717|title=Frank Custer|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=71|height=100]Upping the ante in a state House race that Montgomery County Democrats think they can win, Frank Custer (D-Upper Gwynedd) has been calling on state Rep. Kate Harper (R-Lower Gwynedd) to either resign from her 61st Legislative District seat or stop working side jobs as a municipal attorney.

Aside from representing the district since 2000, Harper also works as a paid solicitor for Upper Moreland Township, Hatfield Borough Council, and the Milford Township Zoning Board. Custer says this has caused her to miss key votes and argues that Harper is shortchanging district taxpayers.

"I think she needs to do one or the other," Custer told PolitickerPA.com.  "I don't think it's fair to the taxpayers who are paying her legislative salary or the taxpayers who are paying her municipal salary.

"Everybody misses votes," he added. "There are times when you have to miss work ... but in this case, she's in a win-win situation, because she gets paid by the taxpayers even if she's not in Harrisburg,"

In an interview, Harper dismissed the criticism, saying "nobody works harder for the citizens of the 61st District than I do."

"I think we ought to be talking about the issues of importance to people who live in the 61st," Harper said.

She also argued that as a working mother, having the multiple jobs has made it far harder  for her integrity to be compromised in Harrisburg.

"I don't ever want to be dependent on a political job to be able to feed my family," Harper said. "I don't want to be in a position where some leader can come to me and say ‘if you don't vote for this bill, we're not backing you in the next election.' I always want to be able to support my family. I think it's important for integrity."

An article on The Pennsylvania Progressive blog pointed out Harper's "double-dipping" last month. Ever since then, Custer has been calling for Harper to make a choice.

In an e-mail to supporters this week, he pledged that, if elected, "my constituents will have my full and undivided attention and I certainly won't be collecting multiple taxpayer salaries."