May 9, 2006 By Steve Ferris 4 min read

Robert F. “Bobby” Danko said he believes voters in the 50th Legislative District, which encompasses Greene and parts of Fayette and Washington counties, want a new representative in Harrisburg. Danko, in his fifth term as the Fayette County treasurer, is challenging longtime incumbent and House Minority Leader H. William DeWeese for the Democratic Party nomination in the May 16 primary for the 50th District seat in the House of Representatives.

“I just feel people want a change,” Danko, 74, said in a recent interview with the Herald-Standard Editorial Board.

It was supposed to be a question-and-answer session with Danko and DeWeese, but DeWeese declined an invitation to participate.

The district for which they are competing includes all of Greene County, a swath along Fayette County’s western border that includes Point Marion, Masontown, Edenborn, Palmer, Gates, Ralph, Luzerne Township and Brownsville, and, in Washington County, East Bethlehem Township and Centerville.

Danko said voters in Fayette and Greene counties asked him to run for the office again.

He said he people wanted him to challenge DeWeese in 1984, but he didn’t.

“I thought he was doing a super job,” Danko said.

But during the last 10 to 12 years, he said, he does not believe DeWeese has spent enough time with voters in the district.

“I’m going to give people a choice,” Danko said… “I never thought I’d get such good response in Greene.”

Greene County residents have contacted him asking for campaign yard signs and volunteering to work at polling places, Danko said.

Property taxes, the pay raise and heath care are the main issues people mentioned to him on the campaign trail, he said.

The Legislature’s clandestine vote to give themselves pay raises last year made this year “a good time to run,” he said.

“Everything should be done in the open, not behind closed doors,” Danko said.

He said all proposed legislation should be discussed in public and 10- to 15-day cooling off periods should precede all votes on proposed bills. He said the cooling-off period would give voters an opportunity to tell legislators how they feel about the bill before a vote is cast.

Danko is among the candidates endorsed by PACleanSweep, a reform group that grew out of the pay raise issue, but “I got very little help from them.”

Voters he spoke with want term limits imposed on legislators, he said.

He said his top goal if elected would be reducing real estate taxes imposed by school districts.

Senior citizens can’t afford the taxes on their homes and farmers in Greene County have been forced to sell their properties because of escalating property taxes, Danko said.

His solution is expanding the sales tax and reducing or eliminating real estate taxes.

“I’d like to see across the board a 5 percent sales tax on everything,” Danko said.

Health care, job creation, open record laws, lobbyist disclosure and campaign finance reforms also need to be addressed in Harrisburg, he said.

Even though there currently is no open records law in the state, Danko said he would provide information to anyone who asks, as he does in his current position.

He said he would not give in to pressure from legislative leaders concerning votes or releasing information.

“I’ll never be controlled by anyone in Harrisburg,” Danko said. “I’m going to do what my heart tells me to do. My heart’s always told me to do what’s right and you’ll never have a problem.”

He said he would not accept donations from political action committees, lobbyists or special interest groups, and he has returned gifts he received while holding the treasurer’s post.

Danko said his campaign is “self-financed” except for $550 in total donations.