Candidate for
Lieutenant Governor; State of Pennsylvania; Republican Party

The most important question you should ask any candidate is why they're running for the office they're seeking. There are three reasons why I'm seeking the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. All are a result of my observations of state government and conversations with Pennsylvanians over the last several years.

1) A Limited, Citizens' Constitutional Convention to Reform the Institutions of State Government While Protecting Individual Rights

Pennsylvania desperately needs a constitutional convention. It's the only way to attack the roots of corruption, fraud and the budget debacles that have plagued Harrisburg of late. I've spent a lot of time over the last four years studying how such a convention should be designed.

In 2007, I authored legislation to enable a convention and submitted it to the Senate's State Government Committee. That legislation was introduced verbatim in both the Senate (SB1290) and the House (HB2723) in 2008 and received bipartisan support. Sadly, both bills were left to languish and die in committee. It was reintroduced during the current session (SB340 and HB1929), again with bipartisan support, and currently awaits committee action.

In the interim, I have received feedback and commentary from Pennsylvanians across the political spectrum about the bill. Pennsylvania has also been fortunate to have a bipartisan collection of think tanks conduct and publish an in-depth study of the issue of a constitutional convention. As a result, I've updated the language to make it a better bill.

The convention authorized by my proposed Citizens' Constitutional Convention Act of 2011 is designed to be transparent, an instrument of the people rather than politicians and lobbyists, and to protect our individual rights. The convention would also be steered away from divisive social issues by requiring supermajority approval of any proposed changes to Pennsylvania's Constitution.

2) Permanent Elimination of Property Taxes in Pennsylvania

Article I, Section 1 of our Constitution guarantees our right of "acquiring, possessing and protecting property." There's distinct reason why this right is so prominent within the document.

Property is the key to all liberty and prosperity. Without property, the other two simply cannot exist. Sadly, we cannot own our property outright in Pennsylvania currently because we all must pay tribute to government through property taxes. Even long after we've paid off our mortgage obligations, we still pay rent to government through property taxes.

Secondary to this is the fact that property tax assessments are subjective, unfair and very expensive to administer. Finally, this patchwork system of inequitable taxation leads to devastating situations in which families - especially senior citizens - are forced out of homes they've already bought and paid for due to the crushing tax burden.

This is all unacceptable. It puts us in the position of having government control us rather than us controlling our government. Without real property ownership, we control neither our liberty nor our chances for prosperity. Without property tax elimnation, local governments will continue to waste countless tax dollars on an assessment system which can never be equitable or fair.

I believe the only answer is to eliminate property taxes. Once and for all. Period. The first question many ask when considering the prospect of eliminating property taxes is how to replace the revenue it generates. I say it doesn't matter - not now at least.

There have been many plans offered in the past which were tied to specific revenue replacement schemes. Virtually all have failed because people fight over the replacement scheme's creation of "winners and losers." My position is that we should save this part of the battle for another day.

This can be accomplished with a constitutional prohibition on property taxes which sets a deadline for the General Assembly - say five years into the future - when property taxes will be abolished. The legislature will just need to figure out another way. We can argue over revenue replacement when the time comes, but let's agree to eliminate property taxes first.

3) Defending and Enforcing the 10th Amendment from Harrisburg

There's been a lot of noise recently about the federal government overstepping its constitutional bounds. While I agree with this sentiment, it is not a new phenomenon. Federal intrusion into state affairs has been going on for a very long time.

What most people don't realize is that our best defense against federal intrusion is a strong state government which actively defends its citizens and its authority. Such defenders are few and far between in Harrisburg, but we can change that in 2010.

In addition to the constitutional argument against federal intrusion in state affairs, there are practical considerations. For instance, if we weighed the burden of federal regulations on Pennsylvania's public education system versus the percentage of education funding that comes from Washington, would it really be worth the trouble? I believe every state department and agency receiving federal funds should be tasked with publicizing the two sides of this equation.

Unfunded federal mandates consume limited public resources, tie the hands of local officials, and represent a major obstacle to conquering runaway spending and fiscal recklessness. If elected Lieutenant Governor, I'll work to help local government leaders, school district officials, and state agency heads compile no-nonsense lists of unfunded federal mandates that ought to be cancelled or opted out of immediately.

Pennsylvania's geographic location, natural resources, transportation system and diverse population are what makes it the Keystone State. Pennsylvania should also serve as the keystone in the effort to keep the federal government in check when it attempts to overstep the bounds set by the United States Constitution and the Tenth Amendment.

My Tenure As Lieutenant Governor

If elected, I will serve as a vocal and dedicated advocate on these three issues in addition to fulfilling the constitutional duties of presiding over the Senate and chairing the Board of Pardons, and any other duties the Governor may assign.