Lieutenant governor faces new criticisms in fight for re-election
HARRISBURG – Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll has had her series of missteps in public office. There have been the slips of the tongue in calling Gov. Ed Rendell the 1940s gangster movie star Edward G. Robinson.
There was her unannounced appearance last year at the funeral of a slain Marine in Pittsburgh, where she handed out business cards.
Last fall, she took a singing parrot onto the Senate floor, which many criticized as in poor taste.
A brief blip occurred in Baker Knoll’s re-election campaign this year, when former U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel of Montgomery County attempted to get onto the Democratic ticket.
But Rendell called him off, and in doing so vowed to back Knoll, which he explained had to do with keeping an East-West balance on the gubernatorial ticket. Knoll, the former state treasurer and first woman as lieutenant governor, is from the Pittsburgh suburbs.
Now Knoll, 75, is facing a new round of criticisms from Democratic challengers seeking to unseat her. They say she is not up to the task of becoming governor, should she be needed.
“At this point it’s a very serious situation,” said Harrisburg activist Gene Stilp, 55, who’s running for lieutenant governor. “We have a lieutenant governor, Catherine Baker Knoll, who exercises extremely poor judgment and is incapable of stepping in for Ed Rendell. I’m not talking about age at all.”
Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds Valerie McDonald Roberts, 50, said she was asked to run for lieutenant governor by someone “in political circles” who was concerned about Knoll’s abilities to become governor. She said the fact that Knoll refused to debate in the lead up to Tuesday’s primary says it all.
“I’m stepping up not because it’s an opportunity, but because we are in a crisis situation,” Roberts said. “I think the governor needs someone he can definitely work with and have confidence to rely on.”
Knolls’ campaign said the criticisms are unfair. They say Knoll has been actively traveling the state “as an ambassador” to the governor, talking to seniors about today’s Medicare prescription drug cut-off deadline and serving as chairwoman to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council, a gubernatorial appointment.
“The criticism amazes me because this is the only person in this race that has served in an executive form,” said Knoll’s chief of staff Jeff Coyne. “The governor has the confidence in her that should she have to be elevated, she can do the job because she’s the only one who has the experience and the knowledge.”
Rendell’s campaign spokesman Dan Fee reasserted on Friday the governor’s continued support for Knoll.
“She has been an excellent lieutenant governor,” Fee said. “And she has been an able partner in beginning the process of revitalizing Pennsylvania. She’s been a friend and an ally. She’s run the Senate effectively and efficiently.”
But her opposing candidates say they could do better.
Stilp says he wants to trim spending off the more than $1 million a year office, saying it could be done 95 percent cheaper.
“A staff, a mansion, two chefs, three offices, security by state police,” he said. “It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars.”
Stilp also touted his credentials as a firefighter and emergency management technician and consultant, saying he knows firsthand how to handle emergencies.
William Hall, the third Democratic opponent from Northampton County and a builder by trade, never has held political office. But he said he’d help solve Medicaid’s $1 billion funding crisis, and has an idea on property tax reform to exempt the first $25,000 of a home’s value from property taxes.
“I’m trying to prove to the governor right now I’m capable of taking on that problem,” said Hall, 55.
Roberts said she intends to reinvigorate the office, cutting fat out of the budget, and advancing the governor’s major policy goals, especially concerning education funding.
“You shouldn’t have to pay a person $130,000 with an $8 million office to smile and have photo ops and cut ribbons,” she said. “We need more bang for the buck.”
The lieutenant governor’s salary this year is $135,000 and previous news reports have tallied all costs for the four-year term to be $8 million.
Alison Hawkes can be reached at 717-705-6330 or ahawkes@calkins-media.com.