I am horrified at McGinty's pro-fracking actions/ties to Big Fracking

[Divernan]

It is beyond outrageous that she campaigns as an "environmentalist".

http://energyjusticesummer.org/candidate-katie-mcginty-the-environmentalist-for-fracking-fact-sheet/
– After DEP, McGinty went to work as Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Strategic Growth at Weston Solutions, Inc., a gas industry consulting firm and member of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, enjoying the revolving door open to regulators among companies they are supposed to oversee. (McGinty’s LinkedIn Profile)

- McGinty more recently has worked for the shale gas industry as a business partner of Ed Rendell’s at Element Partners, which provides investment capital to shale gas industry start-ups. (“Keystone XL Influence Peddling Web Extends into PA Governor’s Race Via Katie McGinty” -DeSmogBlog)

– When McGinty ran for governor in 2014, she hired Mike Mikus to be her campaign manager. Mikus is a V. P. of IES Solutions, an energy consulting firm that represents the Colorado Oil & Gas Association and he is Executive Director for Consumer Energy Alliance’s Mid-Atlantic region which supports drilling on public lands. (http://www.solutions-ies.com/, “CEA Applauds Approval of Marcellus Shale Production on Airport Land by Allegheny County Council” -CEA)


– The gas industry donated $72,500 to Katie McGinty’s gubernatorial campaign in 2013-14. A new study finds a 47% increase in campaign donations from the natural gas industry to Pennsylvania politicians in the 2013-2014 election cycle (over 2011-2012). Lobbying expenditures reached $17.9 million, up $2.1 million from the previous two-year cycle. (“How Gas Drillers Rented Pennsylvania’s Government” – MarcellusMoney.org)

[JPZenger]

1. McGinty has solid environmental credentials, including work for Al Gore

http://billypenn.com/2014/11/10/katie-mcginty-101-10-things-to-know-about-tom-wolfs-new-chief-of-staff/

Here's some info on McGinty's background. I'm glad that Dems will have a choice in the Senate primary.

To keep it in perspective, Corbett received more than 20 times as much in political contributions from the fracking industry as McGinty did.

[Divernan]

2. Pfft! She was a legislative assistant for Gore back in 1992.

[Divernan]

3. Al Gore has been happy to trash fracking & the Keystone XL pipeline

Gore expressed skepticism about the fracking boom. He said he opposed the use of natural gas as a bridge fuel—something the Obama administration has supported—"until and unless they demonstrate the ability to stop the methane leaks at every stage of the process, particularly during fracking." (Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that some scientists argue can negate the climate benefits of burning natural gas instead of coal.) And he added that the increasing cost-effectiveness of solar and wind power was already posing a "threat to the viability of natural gas as a source of energy in the marketplace."
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/al-gore-climate-obama-clinton

Climate change is still a top issue for Gore, and he’s been happy to trash the Keystone XL pipeline, putting him to the left of both President Obama and Clinton on the issue. Both have publicly reserved judgment on the project until a State Department review is complete.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/al-gore-insiders-figuring-out-if-theres-a-path-for-him-to-ru#.ggMVywxXX

Speaking at an event honoring the 10th anniversary of the progressive think tank Center for American Progress, Gore praised President Barack Obama's efforts on climate change, stating that he thinks the president is sincere and that it will be a legacy issue for him. But on Keystone XL, which is waiting to hear its fate from the Obama administration, Gore was unequivocal.

"I hope as he gets down to the licklog, as he gets down to the decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, that he understands what this means," Gore said. "This should be vetoed. It's an atrocity, it's a threat."

Gore, who just concluded his third annual 24 Hours of Reality event, compared the reliance on fossil fuels -- particularly those derived from tar sands, which the Keystone pipeline would spur further development of -- to a drug addiction.

"Junkies find veins in their toes when their arms and legs go out," Gore said. "We are now at a point where we are going after dangerous and dirty fuels."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/al-gore-keystone-xl_n_4158648.html