Rendell offers promise of leadership with vision
We had waited the campaign season for Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Fisher to tell us what he would do for Pennsylvania. We are still waiting. His Democratic opponent, the charismatic, personable Ed Rendell has not been shy about sharing his vision for a stronger Pennsylvania, where public school students will attend smaller classes, where their parents will pay fewer taxes to support the schools and be able to find jobs and where their grandparents will have the money to pay for medication.
The Pennsylvania governor’s race boils down to this. If you are happy with the way the commonwealth is currently run, and want the status quo to continue, vote for Mike Fisher. If you are ready for changes to improve Pennsylvania’s government, vote for Ed Rendell.
The Herald-Standard believes that Pennsylvania is ready for the leadership that Mr. Rendell offers. For far too long, Harrisburg has been in the grips of party leaders unwilling to stand above the fray and fight for programs that radically depart from the way we’ve always done business. Rendell proved during his tenure as Philadelphia’s mayor that he isn’t afraid to shake things up – including bucking unions, traditional party loyalists – for the betterment of all the people.
Rendell has a plan for school funding. He recognizes the state isn’t pulling its weight, and that if it did property taxes would be reduced. He envisions that by trimming the state budget and permitting slots at the state’s horse tracks this can be done. He has wisely backed off initial plans to expand gambling beyond that, calling for further study. His plan might be somewhat optimistic but at least it is a plan.
Fisher, by contrast, has dragged out Act 50 as a solution to school funding. If giving voters the choice of lowering property taxes but raising local income taxes worked, public school funding would have been solved several years ago.
When polls began to show that he trailed Rendell by double-digits, Fisher pledged that he would not raise taxes. No one, of course, would promise to raise taxes, but with revenue falling far short of projections, Pennsylvania is heading into another fiscal crisis without the umbrella of a plush Rainy Day Fund.
Rendell promised that he would do everything possible to avoid raising taxes, the same pledge made during the Philadelphia mayoral campaign. He was able to pull it off then.
Voters are fortunate in that two men of such high caliber are running this race. Mr. Fisher has been a capable public servant in the General Assembly and as the state’s attorney general. But Rendell is the better choice for governor.