I Can Get Pennsylvania Back on Track

The next Governor of Pennsylvania is going to be faced with huge challenges. Hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens are unemployed. Experts are predicting a multi-billion-dollar deficit. And residents have lost confidence in state government.

Pennsylvania needs a Governor who can get the state back on track and - just as importantly - someone who understands what Pennsylvania families are going through in these tough times.

That's why I'm running for Governor.

My opponent, Harrisburg Republican Tom Corbett, just doesn't get it. He thinks "the jobs are there" but out-of-work Pennsylvanians would rather sit around on unemployment than go back to work. Speaking to the state's big business lobby, Tom Corbett said he supports a $3 billion tax on workers - and then, when the audience changed, so did his opinion. That's not leadership.

I'm the only candidate with real experience balancing the budget. As Allegheny County Executive, I have successfully balanced the budget of Pennsylvania's second-largest county seven years in a row without raising property taxes. My own office budget has not increased since 2004, and I have worked to reduce the size of government. By taking measures such as cutting the number of take-home cars in county agencies by 10%, I have been able to save the taxpayers $31 million a year.

Tom Corbett has asked for more money from the taxpayers every year since taking office. Even during this year's fiscal crisis, Tom Corbett requested a 13% spending hike earlier this year. And while he pledged to cut the state vehicle fleet by 10-20%, he has actually increased the number of taxpayer funded vehicles in his own office by 5%. Tom Corbett's only experience with spending is to increase it. Do we want a Governor who values his own spending over the state budget?

I know what we need to do to get Pennsylvania's economy back on track--and I have the experience and the vision to prove it.