PA. Lt. Govenor's Race is Being Ignored - I'm voting for Senator Stack

[JPZenger]

Last edited Thu Feb 27, 2014, 05:45 PM - Edit history (4)

When Rendell was Governor, it was said that Katherine Baker Knoll was only one cheesesteak away from the Governor's mansion. Everyone was doing everything they could to get Rendell to live healthier, because they were afraid of Knoll, who often was confused.

Now, we have a chance to vote for a highly qualified Lt. Governor candidate in May. However, no one is paying attention to the race.

The headlines have been that one of Paterno's sons is running. He's got the last name Paterno! Jay is the brother of the guy who once lost a race for Congress. Jay was hired by his dad for a while to be an assistant coach.

I believe the most qualified and thoughtful candidate is State Senator Mike Stack of Philadelphia. He has been a State Senator for 8 years, was a Captain in the Pa. National Guard, is an attorney, and previously served as head of an agency in state government dealing with insurance. He has been a leader in state government on educational issues, jobs, trying to get Corbett to accept Federal health care dollars without tons of conditions, and fighting discrimination against gay persons.

http://www.stackforpa.com/

http://www.senatorstack.com/

https://www.facebook.com/StackForPA

http://www.stackforpa.com/issues/

Excerpt:

"Education

"Governor Corbett cut public education funding by $1 billion dollars. He also cut higher education funding by 20%. The Corbett education cuts have devastated proven education programs such as full day kindergarten, increased class sizes, and led to 14,000 educators losing their jobs. School districts have been forced to raise property taxes. Colleges and universities have been forced to hike tuition. We must restore this funding and make public education a priority again in Pennsylvania."

Gas Drilling

"Make no mistake about it, we need a severance tax and drillers are willing to pay it to have access to our vast natural gas deposits. Other leading natural gas producing states have severance taxes that generate over $400 million a year and help to fund education, environmental protection programs, road improvements, and other critical services."

Jobs and Tax Fairness

"Growing up and living in a working class section of Pennsylvania, I know our families are struggling just to get by. In the Senate, I’ve protected workers rights, increased the minimum wage, promoted workplace safety and created tax incentives that spur economic growth. We must have a tax code that promotes economic growth, while ensuring that our working and middle class families are not asked to shoulder an unfair burden."

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Other major candidates include Brad Koplinski, who serves on Harrisburg City Council, and Mark Critz, who was a congressional aide for years before serving one term in the US House.

http://www.koplinski2014.com/about_brad

Koplinski seems like a sharp guy, and a hard-working campaigner, but he is a little young. Almost all of his experience has been inside Harrisburg, except for a couple staff positions in DC. I think he'd make a great Lt. Governor in 8 years after the Wolf-Stack administration has completed its service.

Less well-known candidates include Bradford County Commissioner Mark Smith; state Rep. Brandon Neuman, of Washington County; and Brenda Alton, a Harrisburg pastor who was close allies with Harrisburg's former failed mayor.

[PAMod]

1. Catherine Baker Knoll was eminently qualified to be Governor.

She was educated at Duquesne, Wharton & Harvard for crying out loud - and had served in various capacities, including two terms as PA State Treasurer, with distinction.

And, not for nothing, one could also make the argument that Gov. Rendell might not have been elected in 2002 without her on the ticket.

I'm not trying to derail your plug for Senator Stack - I just didn't want anyone here to get the false impression that PA would have foundered had something happened to Gov. Rendell.

[JPZenger]

2. Yes, but

Yes, she was qualified to be elected. However, towards the end of her 8 year term, there were many people concerned that she had become confused. That is one of the dangers of electing very old people for 8 years.