The Quinnipiac University poll really frames the problem for a lot of the people running for office this year. Simply put, Pennsylvania voters have no idea who they are or what they stand for. And even those who've already made a decision say their vote is rather volatile. That’s where money talks. Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato has the biggest war chest at nearly $7 million and has already launched a statewide TV blitz. Surprisingly, state Senator Anthony Williams of Philadelphia who joined the race only in February has come through with two huge PAC donations from school-choice proponents giving him the ability to go on air with his message. The other two Democrats, Auditor General Jack Wagner and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, lag in fundraising but Hoeffel does finish second in the latest QU poll. They mixed it up pretty well in Wednesday's debate (Pete DeCoursey has a couple of stories on Capitolwire - subscription required) with spirited exchanges about campaign-finance reform (PA has no limits for donations to state candidates) and ending the perception, if not the reality, of "pay-to-play" politics in the state. Onorato seemed to lose his way a few times. But some of the liveliest back-and-forth centered on how best to reform failing schools. Williams wants to close them down, saying, " ... you gotta fund children and success, not systems." Hoeffel argues more investment in the existing schools because, "Survival of the fittest in public education will be a disaster." (Williams even got a shout-out this week from former Republican Senator and possible 2012 presidential candidate Rick Santorum.)
On the Republican side, that same QU survey shows Attorney General Tom Corbett steamrolling state Representative Sam Rohrer in the gubernatorial nomination fight. But a fascinating development at the end of the week again raises some questions about Corbett’s prosecution of the Bonusgate case. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala, a Democrat, has charged Senate Republican Majority Whip Jane Orie and her sister Janine with using Orie’s staff to do campaign and fundraising work on behalf of their sister, state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin Corbett has been investigating exactly these kinds of charges against legislative members and staff but so far has not charged anyone in the Republican-controlled state Senate. Corbett has indicted 25 people (both Democrats and Republicans) and won three convictions, seven guilty pleas, and lost two acquittals.
The state budget is potentially $700 million-$1 billion out of whack for this year due to lower than anticipated revenues. Now the federal government has denied the state’s bid to toll I-80 blowing another $472 million hole in the budget. Gov. Ed Rendell calls for a special session of the legislature to look at revenue alternatives, everything from privatizing the PA Turnpike, to higher fees for driver and vehicle registrations, to a tax on oil companies' profits. The next governor faces the loss of $2 billion in federal stimulus money, a $4 billion tab at least for state pension obligations, a huge deficit in the workers’ unemployment trust fund and myriad crises both seen and unforeseen. So who wants this job anyway? Well, at least 6 men are vying for the nominations of the two major parties. And we’ll talk about them all this on WITF-TV. Please send us your comments at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
