| Montgomery County, PA | November 4, 2014 Election |
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IntroductionBy Robert Emmett Gillies, Jr.Candidate for State Representative; Pennsylvania State House of Representatives; District 154 |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
Opening statement with background and platformHello Everyone. I want to thank the brotherhood of Keneseth Israel and President Ross Schriftman for extending an invitation to myself and the other candidates to this forum. It is such an important opportunity for the voters to get to see and know who they are voting for. As stated, my name is Robert Gillies; I am a candidate for the 154th Legislative District. This past September, I celebrated 28 years of marriage with my wife Joan Keenan Gillies. We have three children, all in the midst of exciting years. Maura, a high school math teacher, head swim coach, and was recently engaged. Meghan, recently graduated from Penn State University and is working as a financial consultant and Robert III a Penn State University freshman. My life has been a unique journey, full of diverse experiences that have allow me to present myself as an ideal candidate. I grew up in Mainland PA, not far up the road. Back in the day, Mainland was considered a rural area. As a youth, I rode my bike everywhere, played baseball and football. My friends and I were always outside. During my school years, I was interested in a variety of activities. I played football, was a shot putter, pugilist and thespian. I attended college both as a full time student and later as a night student while working as a Laborer, Foreman and eventually Superintendent. My life took an important turn on July 25 1984, the day I met my wife. After meeting Joan, I took on a renewed sense of family and community. We married in1986 and moved to Springfield Township. This is where my political career began, as the township provided ample opportunities to serve the community. My first experience occurred after Joan and I attended a town watch meeting and I began volunteering for Town Watch. This is when I understood how fortunate we are to live in such a safe community and how important it is to be active in the community. In service to others, Joan and I became active in our local parish ministry, including volunteering with the annual carnival, Teen Mentoring, coaching and Parish Planning. Through these volunteer opportunities, we met so many wonderful individuals. We knew we wanted to have and raise our children in this community. As our family grew, I became involved in their sports programs, coaching soccer, little league, football and softball. When they took an added interest in swimming, I was able to become a board member of the Oreland Swim Club and eventually President of the club. As President, we replaced the pool and pool deck which was a successful project. I also became a member of the Oreland Lions, serving as President. I am passionate about our community; I knew I wanted to continue to look for ways to add value to our town. After serving four successful years on Springfield Township Planning Committee, I was again approached to increase my role in the community to run as a township commissioner for Ward 7. Upon deliberation with Joan, we took the plunge and I ran for the seat. Our campaign was successful, giving me the greatest opportunity to serve the community thus far. For the past 15 years, I have been a commissioner in Springfield. Some of the major accomplishments were: "« Reducing property taxes to offset the implementation of the income tax, "« Keeping taxes low and cutting when possible, "« Allowing the business climate to foster projects such as Giant, Movie Tavern, Modernization of Acme Market, development of flexible zoning to allow for added open space, "« Growing Springfield business tax base and at the same time growing our green space by 100%. I have remain active in volunteering in the community. I am a past teacher at the Technical institute in Philadelphia were we taught underprivileged men entry level mathematics and construction practices to allow these men to apply for and be successful in gaining entry to the Philadelphia local trade unions. In my professional career, I have been in the construction industry for over 35 years. I started as a laborer in local 332 and with the help of the contractors of the General Building Contractors Association, I gradually worked my way through the ranks to my current position as Senior Construction Manager. Now you have a little background on who I am, I want to provide you on my thoughts on where Pennsylvania should head in the next two years. Job creation needs to be the first priority of any government. When the Commonwealth reaches full employment, the government¡¦s fiscal issues become insignificant. Less money will be required on many of the services people currently depend on. The revenue to the government will far be in excess of the funds required. PA will experience significant growth. Education funding will become a greater focus as added funds become available and PA will be able to provide a first class education to every child. The government does not create job growth however the government¡¦s actions can and do hamper growth. We need to eliminate duplicate activities, combine related agencies and provide flexible development zoning options to the local communities. This will promote business growth. Cheltenham, for example, has several large tracts of land where flexible development will allow new businesses to be developed in harmony with the surrounding environment. These businesses will provide stability to the property tax rates for all residents. Portions of the land will be preserved, at no cost to the township residents providing needed park and habitat space while still generating an income from the proper development. Disposable income growth should also be a major focus as it is the engine that drives our economy. The government again can impact your disposable income very quickly. Taxing fuel at the point of production raises the cost of fuel, requiring costly green energy to be produced, Mandating food products such as corn as a fuel source where your cost for fuel and food become higher. All of these government actions, regardless of intention, reduce disposable income, lower the standard of living and provide less funding for important issues such as education and retirement. Education is the key to any representative republic. Children need to be taught the fundamentals of reading writing and arithmetic in tried and tested methods. There is no common core required, we know how to teach our children. Proper education of the citizenry is required for the republic to thrive. We will teach the fundamentals, but can never leave out the arts, history and sciences as all are required to provide a first class education for every child. A first class education system that starts in Pre- k through college requires adequate funding. Funding that is reliable and equitable. Funding that is controlled by the local communities and parents. We need to develop a formula at the state level where various considerations are in place. Each community and child will receive funds based on need, population, district size, performance and management of the district. The current system funds some districts at the expenses of others. All districts need to be accountable for their spending habits. While there are many other areas of improvement needed such as health care, welfare, immigration costs, potential communicable dieses, we together must focus on jobs, disposable income and education as the key to a successful government. My slogan is ¡§We are all in this together¡¨ Please know together we regardless of party, race, religion or orientation, can make a difference. I am asking for your vote on November 4th in making that difference. Thank you |
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