Gubernatorial candidates disagree on few issues during debate
Share with others:
HARRISBURG -- Gubernatorial candidates found few areas of disagreement during a cordial debate tonight at Harrisburg Area Community College.
Participating were Attorney General Tom Corbett, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, state Rep. Sam Rohrer, state Sen. Anthony H. Williams and Auditor General Jack Wagner.
Candidates agreed that government reform is needed but disagreed on specific measures to prevent gerrymandering, improve accountability, ensure on-time budgets, amend campaign finance laws and make judges more accountable.
Mr. Corbett and Mr. Rohrer are running in the Republican primary and the others are running in the Democratic primary.
Mr. Corbett spoke in favor of term limits and said he would supported a constitutional convention if the scope were well defined.
Mr. Hoeffel said he wants Pennsylvania to be more socially liberal and more fiscally conservative. He said that he would not resolve a budget impasse with a stop-gap measure but would stop funding programs to force legislative action.
Mr. Onorato supports same-day voter registration and said he wants to align state campaign fund-raising laws with federal restrictions. He said this election is about jobs and the economy.
Mr. Rohrer, meanwhile, wants to require photo identification of voters to ensure only those who are qualified cast ballots. He would oppose a constitutional convention and would fight to eliminate school property taxes.
Mr. Wagner supports strict limits on campaign contributions and a ban on bonuses for state employees.
Mr. Williams said would work to prevent campaign contributors from receiving state contracts and that he would try to improve the state's 8.9 percent unemployment rate.
The forum was sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Common Cause Pennsylvania and the Committee of Seventy.
First Published March 31, 2010 9:19 pm
