This Wednesday February 3,
Philly For Change welcomes to Meetup,

Groundbreaking Progressive State Representative
BABETTE JOSEPHS
in a frank discussion on redistricting, census, and campaign finance reform

***Along with***

PennFuture's superstar organizer
CHRISTINE KNAPP
on clean energy legislation

Progressive State Rep candidate in the 172nd district
TIM KEARNEY
on the 2010 campaign

***Updates on***

Health Care, including the push for Single Payer in PA

More 2010 campaigns

And MORE!!!

PHILLY FOR CHANGE FEBRUARY MEETUP

WHEN: Wednesday, February 3 @ 7:00

WHERE: Tritone, 1508 South St
(wheelchair accessible)
near subway and buses.

Montco Commissioner, former Congressman, and Gubernatorial hopeful Joe Hoeffel won PFC's gubernatorial endorsement at January's meetup by a comfortable margin, garnering 86% of the votes cast.

You can volunteer for Joe's campaign or contribute financially by visiting JoeHoeffel2010.com

Congratulations, Joe, and good luck in your primary battle.

Philly For Change Governor’s Questionnaire


1.  If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you achieve them?

    As Governor, my top three priorities would be the following:

1.    Provide a HOPE Scholarship Program to help families afford higher education
I have been a longtime advocate of offering a HOPE Scholarship Program in Pennsylvania.  HOPE is an acronym for Helping Our Pupils to Excel.  Under my program, students who graduate from high school with at least a 3.0 grade point average would have their tuition paid for at a state-owned university.  Students choosing to attend a state-related institution, a private institution, a community college, or a vocational-technical school would receive a grant valued at the average cost of a state-owned university.  The program would be funded by excess profits from table games at Pennsylvania casinos.

2.    Reform the operations of state government
The taxpayers deserve a government that puts their needs first and that addresses those needs in the most cost-effective way possible.  I know firsthand where the waste, fraud, and abuse is in government programs from the thousands of audits that I have conducted as Auditor General.  I will implement my recommendations for saving money in state government programs in order to maintain vital government services without raising taxes.  I will also pursue fundamental reforms such as eliminating bonuses and vendor favoritism in state government, reducing the size of the General Assembly, and ensuring that the state budget is passed on time every year.

3.    Create high quality, family sustaining jobs to grow our economy
As Governor, I will work with the private sector to improve the employment situation in the Commonwealth, so that all Pennsylvanians who want to work hard and pursue the American dream have the opportunity to do so.  I will use my experience as Auditor General to fix the state’s economic development programs and hold the recipients of state assistance accountable for creating and retaining the jobs promised.  I will also use my experience to bring transparency and competition to the state’s own awarding of contracts for goods and services.  Finally, as further discussed in my answer to Question #6 below, I will maximize the state’s new Marcellus Shale energy resources to create jobs and reduce the cost of natural gas in an environmentally responsible way.
2.  What steps will you take to improve Pennsylvania's economy and raise Philadelphians out of poverty?
 
As discussed in my answer to Question #1 above, I will invest in education, economic development, and social services programs to benefit Philadelphians and all Pennsylvanians.


3.  How will you assure economic stability for Philadelphia's public schools? Will you propose a new funding formula?

I am a graduate of a public high school and my children have attended public schools.  I have always been a strong advocate and supporter of public education.  I believe that the education of our people is one of the most important responsibilities of public officials and that every public school should have the resources needed to provide our children with the best possible education.  The current system of funding education has clearly been the biggest weakness of our public school system, and I have fought to improve the system of funding public education in the Commonwealth in a fiscally responsible way.  My audits have identified hundreds of millions of dollars that could be saved in the state budget by improving the management of various programs and services.  As Governor, I will implement my audit recommendations and other ideas in order to generate significant savings that could be used to provide stable and sufficient funding for public education in all 500 school districts.


4. Summarize briefly your positions regarding abortion and emergency contraception.

I am a pro-life Democrat.  I support public funding and access to family planning and contraceptive services that do not include abortion.  

Because I strongly believe that the right to life must also mean the right to a decent life for both mother and child, I have always placed a priority on strengthening health care, education, social services, and other important programs.  I have also been a strong proponent of adoption.  I served on a statewide adoption task force and I have chaired the annual Genesis-Riverside Run for Adoption in Pittsburgh since 1994.  This event has played a major role in promoting adoption as an alternative to abortion.  My wife Nancy and I are the proud parents of two adopted children, Luke and Sara.



5. What steps will you take to protect the LGBT community from discrimination?

I would continue to support efforts to strengthen state anti-discrimination laws to protect the LGBT community.  As a State Senator, I introduced, co-sponsored, and voted for many such bills.  My administration will also lead by example in hiring and working with members of the LGBT community.


6. In light of Pennsylvania's expanded natural gas drilling, will you commit funds from mineral extraction for environmental protection?  How will you protect our environment from problems associated with such drilling and assure that Pennsylvanians economically benefit from this growing industry?

Yes.  The new Marcellus Shale energy resources give the Commonwealth an unparalleled opportunity in the coming years to create tens of thousands of good paying, high quality jobs to our communities and bring in much-needed revenues to state government.  However, while I am committed to maximizing these new resources, I am equally committed to ensuring that it be done in an environmentally responsible way.  As Governor, I will make sure that the industry understands that these resources belong to all Pennsylvanians, that we – not outsiders – intend to reap the benefits, and that we will not tolerate any harm to our precious environment.  I will insist that the costs of the increased government oversight necessary to build and monitor this new industry be borne by the industry itself.

 

Philly For Change Governor’s Questionnaire
 

1.  If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you achieve them?

My top three priorities are creating jobs and building Pennsylvania's economy; strengthening our educational programs at all levels; and providing health care for all Pennsylvanians.

My plan for Pennsylvania's economy will create jobs, build a strong workforce, help small businesses, and bring together our farms, suburbs, and cities. I will increase access to community college programs so that today's workforce can learn new skills and take on new roles in our changing economy; and improve our early childhood programs, K-12 schools, and state system of higher education to ensure future generations are fully prepared. We must create a diverse economy, investing heavily in green industries but also in healthcare, infrastructure, and environmental management, both in the long-term and through a "Jobs Now" initiative to fast-track key projects. I will help small businesses by pushing for health care reform, beneficial loans, and new partnership opportunities with universities. Finally, I will encourage smart development strategies which will foster symbiotic relationships between communities: revitalization of urban centers to complement open space preservation programs, transit-oriented design to combat suburban sprawl, and farm-to-city initiatives to bring Pennsylvania's number one industry and its population centers closer to one another.

Pennsylvania's schools are on the right track, showing tremendous recent gains following a redesigned state funding formula. I will ensure that this progress continues, providing full support and funding for this formula to balance the playing field by ensuring adequate funding for all students. I'm also strong advocate of expanding early childhood education programs and full-day kindergarten; and as I believe higher education must remain an affordable option for everyone, I will develop a comprehensive and responsible tuition relief program that will allow every Pennsylvanian the opportunity to further their education.

As Governor, I will support and work to achieve insurance coverage for every Pennsylvanian. I will explore ways to create a publicly financed, publicly administered, and privately delivered health insurance program -- similar to the Medicare model -- for the commonwealth. I support establishing minimum nurse-to patient ratios in hospitals to ensure that the quality of care improves and the number of medical errors decreases, increasing the minimum nursing home staffing levels at nursing home facilities in our commonwealth, and improving long term home health care options that ultimately empower consumers and the workers who care for them.

2.  What steps will you take to improve Pennsylvania's economy and raise Philadelphians out of poverty?

For improving Pennsylvania's economy -- my number one priority as governor -- please see my answer to question (1).

I believe education is the best path out of poverty for Philadelphians (and all Pennsylvanians, for that matter). Please see my answer to question (1) which addresses how I will improve our education system.

3.  How will you assure economic stability for Philadelphia's public schools? Will you propose a new funding formula?  

I support our existing school funding formula. With full funding from the commonwealth, this plan will protect Philadelphia's schools and provide them the stability and resources necessary to make them the equal of schools across Pennsylvania.

4. Summarize briefly your positions regarding abortion and emergency contraception.

I support a woman's right to choose. I trust women to make their own personal, private decisions regarding reproductive health issues -- the government should not be involved. Moreover, we must not allow healthcare reform to prevent a woman from selecting a healthcare plan that covers abortion. I have issued a statement that as governor, I will veto any bill presented to me by the state legislature that attempts to prevent Pennsylvania's healthcare exchange from including a plan which covers abortion (as the Senate's version of the healthcare bill would allow to happen).

I also support access to emergency contraception for all women in Pennsylvania, and specifically the CARE Act (Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies) which requires emergency rooms throughout Pennsylvania to provide emergency contraception to victims of rape.

5. What steps will you take to protect the LGBT community from discrimination?

I support amending the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to include "sexual orientation" and "gender identity or expression" as protected classes, and expanding the definition of a hate crime to include crimes motivated by malicious intent toward an individual’s or group’s ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or gender or gender identity. Both of these proposed laws will extend critical protection against discrimination to the LGBT community.

I also believe that we must end the discrimination preventing couples in love from marrying because of gender. I support full marriage equality for all Pennsylvanians.

6. In light of Pennsylvania's expanded natural gas drilling, will you commit funds from mineral extraction for environmental protection?  How will you protect our environment from problems associated with such drilling and assure that Pennsylvanians economically benefit from this growing industry?

I support an extraction tax on natural gas, and some of the funds from that tax will be directed towards renewing the highly successful Growing Greener programs (scheduled to expire in 2012 and 2011). The extraction tax on natural gas will ensure that they have a sustainable funding source going forward.

I have already begun urging the Department of Environmental Protection to strengthen their limits on chemicals in wastewater produced by the natural gas industry, and have called on all my competitors in both parties to join me in this. I am calling for a comprehensive environmental impact study to be conducted before the commonwealth issues additional drilling and wastewater permits. But I maintain my belief that with responsible regulation, this industry can still thrive in Pennsylvania and we can derive maximum benefits from our Marcellus Shale resources without compromising the health or safety of the commonwealth.

The sound baffles on the stage at the Tri-tone almost look like a stage backdrop.

And this guy is very wrong.

I'm not the only one my mother dresses funny!