Helen Gym
Helen Gym, a Democratic candidate for an at-large City Council seat, is urging Council to meet the School District of Philadelphia’s full $105 million request by providing sustainable, recurring sources of revenue.
Gym said, “One of the reasons the city finds itself in trouble with school funding every year is because too often we rely on unsustainable solutions that don’t offer stability for proper budgetary planning. My plan lays out four areas where City Council can raise the resources necessary to meet the superintendent’s request for $105 million in local funding, and does so through stable and recurring sources of revenue.”
Gym would raise the money through the use and occupancy tax ($42.5 million), a parking lot tax increase ($7.5 million), real estate taxes ($45 million) and contributions by nonprofits ($10 million).
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State Rep. Martina White (R-170th dist.) is among the winners of the third annual Maverick PAC Future 40 Award.
The Future 40 Award recognizes professionals deemed by their peers from across the country as current and future leaders in business and politics.
ldquo;Maverick PAC’s goal is to build a network of and highlight the next generation of leaders. The Future 40 is our opportunity to acknowledge individuals on the ascent in their careers. They are rising to the top of their field, whether in the board room or in elected office,” said Maverick PAC chairman Jay Zeidman.
White and the other award recipients will be recognized at this year’s annual conference, being held at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas July 16–18. The conference will feature former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo.
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Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released a statement regarding the state House of Representatives’ unanimous rejection of Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposal.
“Gov. Tom Wolf cannot even get a single member of the House Democratic Caucus to stand up and support his massive tax hikes,” Gleason said. “Gov. Tom Wolf has spent months discussing the ‘holistic’ nature of his spending plan, only to watch it get unanimously rejected by the Republicans and Democrats in the state House. Even House Democrats don’t want to be associated with Tom Wolf’s new burdens on Pennsylvania families.
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A Robert Morris University poll showed that about one-third of Pennsylvanians believe Attorney General Kathleen Kane should resign, though almost half don’t know enough to take a position.
Some 33.5 percent said Kane, who has been involved in numerous controversies since taking office in 2013, should resign. Another 17 percent said she should remain. A total of 49.5 percent said they don’t know enough to express an opinion.
“Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s support has evaporated,” said Philip Harold, a Robert Morris political science professor who analyzed the data.
Once a rising star in the Democratic Party after she became the first woman and the first Democrat to be elected state attorney general, Kane’s standing has plummeted amid revelations of an abandoned criminal investigation and an ongoing criminal investigation into whether she deliberately leaked grand jury information to retaliate against a critic.
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Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, of Hazleton.
Barletta said: “Sen. Santorum is one of our nation’s most passionate and effective voices for hardworking American families. He understands that we need policies in Washington that put the American worker first, not big government or big money. This means prioritizing manufacturing and ending Obama’s amnesty policies. I am looking forward to working with the Santorum campaign in the months to come to ensure that Rick Santorum and his pro-growth and pro-worker agenda takes back America for hardworking families.”
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Meanwhile, Santorum will be the featured speaker at a June 19 breakfast reception at the Northeast Republican Leadership Conference, which will take place at the Sheraton hotel, 201 N. 17th St. in Center City Philadelphia.
Other speakers will include former United National Ambassador John Bolton; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina; U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham; Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus; Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; and Iowa Rep. Steve King. ••
