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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Jack Wagner Unveils Reform Agenda For Pa.

"The train is off the tracks. Voters know that government is politically paralyzed and not serving people well or efficiently. Structural reform is urgently needed. It is essential to growing jobs and the state economy, while keeping taxes low. Voters want competition, transparency, and accountability to improve government performance."

That's how Auditor General Jack Wagner, a Democratic candidate for Governor, sees things after visiting all 67 Pennsylvania counties. We're going the wrong way.

Today, at a Harrisburg news conference and follow-up news release, he made the following proposals to reform state government:

· Hold a constitutional convention to empower citizens to bring fundamental reforms to state government

· Reduce the size of the General Assembly by 1/3

· Eliminate bonuses in state government

· Get state government spending under control

· Pass state budgets on time

· Bring competition to every single contract in the state procurement process

· Ban local governments from attaching risky derivatives/"swaps" to their debt

· Ensure that taxpayers receive property tax relief promised by gaming

· Enact campaign finance reform and end pay to play

· Allow independent voters to participate in Primary Elections

· Take the politics out of the redistricting process and promote nonpartisan, compact, and contiguous redistricting

Pretty impressive. You can read more detail at his campaign webpage.
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9 comments:

  1. Chris CaseyMarch 31, 2010 at 5:39 AM

    wagner has an excellent reform platform. I'm glad you are covering it, I kind of don't have the time you know. Besides working full time, editing my novel, analyzing voting data for blog posts, trying to organize and recruit Democrats in my precinct, oh and lets not forget my leadership of team "Easter bunny/Frosty the Snowman" I don't have time for REAL news!

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  2. AnonymousMarch 31, 2010 at 7:59 AM

    Doesn't go far enough. Reduce the Pa. General Assembly by 2/3. They are the most bloated body of elected officials in the nation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMarch 31, 2010 at 9:36 AM

    Jack Wagner impresses me every time he talks. It's too bad he doesn't have enough of the party machine behind him to win the primary.

    If you are a registered Democrat, please consider this guy when you get in the booth in a few months.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 31, 2010 at 9:37 AM

    Wagner has my vote

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMarch 31, 2010 at 11:06 AM

    He's a wolf in sheep's clothing. Once he gets into office he'll follow the lead of the corrupt, pay-to-play Democrat Party in Pa. and derail our state right over a trestle.

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  6. AnonymousMarch 31, 2010 at 11:23 AM

    Reducing the size of the legislature, while a start, won't make a significant impact on the budget.

    "Get state government spending under control" is way too vague. Everyone says that.

    Passing state budgets on time? In other words, to hell with fighting for fiscal sanity as long the trains run on time.

    For now, he is just another guy making feel good promises that won't be kept.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMarch 31, 2010 at 11:42 AM

    Just a heads up:

    Your link is to ".com", and you just get a search page. The site is actually ".org"

    Spent some time there, not a work about the looming pension crisis, but plenty about how we're gonna pay for a state owned college education (or grant 10K per year for those who prefer a private university) for everyone who graduates with a 3.0.

    How in the hell do you propose something like that and not even hint at how you're going to pay for it?

    11:06 - good call.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bernie O'HareMarch 31, 2010 at 1:12 PM

    Thanks for noting the error in my link. I'll fix it. I will be supporting Jack in the primary, but am fearful that Onorato is going to buy the nomination.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousMarch 31, 2010 at 8:03 PM

    I actually hope Onorato does that. Then Corbett will kick his sorry ass so bad in the general that we'll never here from Danny boy again.

    ReplyDelete

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