Meet the candidates

October 30, 2014

Mike Driscoll

Pennsylvania voters will go to the polls next Tuesday, and a change in the governor’s mansion is looking likely.

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Republican Gov. Tom Corbett has faced low approval ratings for much of his term. His lieutenant governor is Jim Cawley.

Four Democrats ran in the primary to challenge him. The overwhelming winner was Tom Wolf, a wealthy York County businessman and former secretary of the state Department of Revenue. He leads Corbett by double digits in most polls.

State Sen. Mike Stack, of Somerton, crushed four opponents to win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

“I’m very excited,” he said during a campaign stop Tuesday morning at the Paley Early Learning Center, 2199 Strahle St. “The whole thing’s been really exciting. I’m excited for the people from Philadelphia. I think Tom Wolf’s going to be a good governor. But we’re not done yet. It’s important that everybody get out to vote.”

Corbett believes he deserves a second term based on the creation of 184,000 private-sector jobs, an unemployment rate that is lower than the national average, the elimination of a $4.2 billion deficit and an increase in education funding of $1 billion.

Stack, though, argues that a change is needed to improve the state’s outlook on jobs, education, health care and property taxes.

“Tom Wolf, he’s a business guy. I’m an experienced hand dealing with the legislature. We’ll make a great 1–2 punch,” he said.

Even if the Wolf-Stack ticket is elected, the new administration will likely face a Senate and House of Representatives controlled by Republicans. Stack sees himself as a bridge-builder.

“I can help Tom Wolf. I have those relationships with Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and the House,” Stack said.

Stack said he has not experienced much anti-Philadelphia bias as he’s campaigned across the state. He tells voters that people from all areas of the state want a better way of life.

“We’re letting people across Pennsylvania know about a place called Northeast Philadelphia. It’s a special place,” he said.

Much has been made about Stack’s statements that he might keep his Senate seat while serving as lieutenant governor.

One possible scenario would be to remain in both offices for a couple of months before calling a special election to coincide with the May primary, to save tax dollars and guarantee higher voter turnout. That way, the 5th Senatorial District would have representation in the early months of 2015 before Stack would have to leave office. He wouldn’t accept two salaries.

“It’s not quite as simple as it appears,” Stack said.

Here is a look at the other local races on the ballot:

1st Congressional District

Democratic Rep. Bob Brady faces Republican Megan Rath in a district that includes 30 percent of the Northeast, much of which is east of Frankford Avenue.

Brady, of Overbrook, was elected in 1998. He’s earned top scores from the AFL-CIO, NAACP and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. He’s worked to prevent outsourcing of jobs and settle strikes and labor-management disputes. He favors increased spending for school construction and smaller class sizes.

Rath, of Fairmount, has an economics degree from Penn State. She is a sales consultant for a company that provides hip and knee replacement hardware. She also volunteers at a home for victims of sexual assault. She wants to increase school funding, improve school safety, create jobs at ports and waterways, lower the cost of health care and use free-market reforms to improve the quality of health care.

13th Congressional District

Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz is not running for another term. She lost a bid for governor in the primary. The district is about evenly split between Philadelphia and Montgomery County.

State Rep. Brendan Boyle, of Somerton, won the Democratic primary against three candidates from the suburbs. Dee Adcock, a businessman from Abington, won the Republican primary.

Boyle lost two bids for state representative before being elected in 2008. He is running unopposed for re-election to that seat, but would give it up if elected to Congress. Adcock challenged Schwartz in 2010, winning 44 percent of the vote.

Boyle’s top issues include raising the minimum wage, making college more affordable and providing more funding for education, starting in the early childhood years.

Adcock has promised to donate his salary to charity. He supports term limits, a balanced budget, energy independence, limited spending and taxes and the elimination of earmarks.

2nd Senatorial District

This has been a very quiet campaign.

Democratic Sen. Tina Tartaglione is being challenged by Republican John Jenkins.

Tartaglione, first elected in 1994, had to survive a primary challenge from former City Councilman Danny Savage and Tomas Sanchez, husband of Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez.

Jenkins is admissions director at West Catholic High School. He is active with the Mayfair Civic Association and Mayfair Town Watch.

173rd Legislative District

Democratic Rep. Mike McGeehan isn’t running for another term.

The Republican candidate is Mike Tomlinson, a lifelong Holmesburg resident who also ran for the 5th Senatorial District seat in 2013. He’s a CPA and former high school math and accounting teacher. He’s active with the Holmesburg Civic Association, Tacony/Holmesburg Town Watch and Friends of Holmesburg Library. He strongly opposes methadone clinics.

The Democratic candidate is Mike Driscoll, a Torresdale resident who defeated two opponents in the primary. He’s business development administrator for the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union. He formerly served as deputy secretary of the Department of General Services in the administration of Gov. Bob Casey.

Tomlinson has knocked on more than 15,000 doors during the campaign, and visited many businesses. His top issues include providing school vouchers, increasing the number of charter schools and replacing the School Reform Commission with a local board. He also wants to decrease the number of members in the state Senate and House of Representatives.

Driscoll has been active with groups such as the Delaware River City Corporation, Impact Services, Self Help Movement, St. Hubert High School and the Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation. His top issues include a focus on constituent service, bringing manufacturing to the district, developing the riverfront, more funding for early education, making college more affordable and creating a climate that will enable smart, hard-working college graduates to find good jobs.

Two proposed charter changes, one bond question

• “Shall The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to establish and define the functions of the Office of Sustainability, headed by a Director of Sustainability?”

• “Shall The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to transfer responsibility for managing and operating the City’s jails from the Department of Public Welfare and the Board of Trustees of Philadelphia Prisons to a new Department of Prisons and Board of Trustees?”

• “Should the City of Philadelphia borrow ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-SEVEN MILLION TWO HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($137,295,000.00) to be spent for and toward capital purposes as follows: Transit; Streets and Sanitation; Municipal Buildings; Parks, Recreation and Museums; and Economic and Community Development?” ••