Hohenstein’s plan includes supporting beat and bicycle cops and adding a new health center to the area.
Joe Hohenstein, the Democratic candidate in the 177th Legislative District, last week held a news conference to outline a five-point plan to improve communities.
State Rep. Jared Solomon joined Hohenstein at the event, held near the 5000 block of Aramingo Avenue.
The plan includes taxing large corporations to bring resources to neighborhoods; providing excellent constituent services; supporting beat and bicycle cops to improve police response time; working to add an additional city health center in the Northeast; and encouraging neighborhood beautification projects.
Hohenstein also would try to drive resources to parks, playgrounds and other public spaces such as swimming pools and basketball courts.
“That’s where quality of life happens,” he said.
Solomon said voters in his district are more interested in issues such as potholes and trashy streets than policy issues like corrections, health and education.
“I fully support the plan,” he said.
Hohenstein, like Solomon, plans extended district office hours.
“A minimum of two nights a week and Saturdays, if possible,” he said.
Hohenstein would also have mobile office hours at senior citizen centers and recreation centers.
Hohenstein faces Republican Patty-Pat Kozlowski.
Meanwhile, Kozlowski will be holding an upcoming fundraiser/comedy show featuring “man of a thousand voices”/comedian Joe Conklin and Sudsy “from K&A.”
The $50 fundraiser will take place on Aug. 30 at the Bridesburg Outboard Club.
Kozlowski will be cooking homemade Polish and Italian food.
State Rep. Martina White held a fundraiser last week at Union Tap, a bar at 2711 Comly Road.
Among those in attendance were City Councilman Brian O’Neill, city elections commissioner Al Schmidt, congressional candidate David Torres and ward leaders Dan Tinney and Joe Giedemann.
White, who faces Democrat Michael Doyle, said she is campaigning at voters’ doors.
“I go door to door all year round. It’s one of the favorite parts of my job,” she said.
White said she is optimistic, contending that voters approve of the job done by her and her staff.
The lawmaker remains hopeful that the Senate will take action on House Bill 27, which would delay releasing the names of police officers involved in shootings until 30 days have passed, or until the investigation is concluded, whichever is completed sooner. The bill passed the House and Senate in 2016, but was vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf.
On other issues, she supports a state bill that would eliminate the city’s beverage tax. She cited a poll showing 67 percent of people in the 170th Legislative District opposed to the tax.
The legislator has hosted forums on opioid abuse and drug-giveback events. She was happy to vote for a budget that funded schools without raising taxes.
White applauded Majority Leader Dave Reed’s strong statement after the release of a clergy abuse report in the Catholic Church. Reed promised a vote on a bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations for abusers to be charged and extend the time victims can sue their abusers.
“It’s really important to protect the most vulnerable in our community. There should be no safe haven,” White said.
Scott Wagner, the Republican candidate for governor, last week released a plan intended to improve K-12 education policy in Pennsylvania.
Wagner’s plan would increase education funding by more than $1 billion annually.
“I’m committed to record investments in education so that every child has access to opportunity, every parent has peace of mind knowing their child has a chance to learn, every teacher has the tools they need and every taxpayer knows we are doing it at a price they can afford,” Wagner said.
Wagner’s plan said he will pay for the investment by “tightening our belts and cutting corporate welfare.”
In addition, he will create a Teach to the Top program to reward great teachers with bonuses for jobs well done.
To make schools safe, he will place armed guards at every school and have single entrance points and body scanners.
To help parents who send their kids to private schools, he plans to expand the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program.
The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO has made its endorsements for the general election.
Statewide, the union is backing Gov. Tom Wolf and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. for re-election.
In the 2nd Congressional District, the AFL-CIO is supporting Rep. Brendan Boyle.
In the 2nd Senatorial District, the union has endorsed Sen. Tina Tartaglione, who is unopposed.
In state House races, the AFL-CIO is backing incumbent Republican Rep. Tom Murt, who faces Democrat Daryl Boling.
Also endorsed are Democratic Reps. Kevin Boyle, Mike Driscoll, Ed Neilson, Jason Dawkins, Jared Solomon and Isabella Fitzgerald, all of whom are unopposed.
The union is backing Democrat Joe Hohenstein in the 177th Legislative District.
The AFL-CIO has not announced an endorsement in the 170th district race between Republican Rep. Martina White and Democrat Michael Doyle.
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce has hired Jeopardy host Alex Trebek to moderate a debate between Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican challenger Scott Wagner.
Answers do not have to be in the form of questions.
Wagner and Wolf have agreed to the Oct. 1 debate.
Republican Party of Pennsylvania communications director Jason Gottesman is criticizing Gov. Tom Wolf and his lieutenant governor running mate, John Fetterman, in regard to the case of Juan Ramon Vasquez, an illegal immigrant from Honduras who sexually assaulted a 5-year-old family member after his 2015 release from a city jail despite a request to have him turned over to federal immigration authorities.
Vasquez was arrested for the assault and was sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison following a guilty plea. Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to illegal reentry into the U.S.
Fetterman, in comments unrelated to the Vasquez case, has said that “cities across Pennsylvania remain a rightful sanctuary for a lot of these immigrants and a place of refuge for families across Pennsylvania.”
“By their record and their on-the-record comments, Tom Wolf and John Fetterman seem more concerned with protecting illegal aliens than protecting Pennsylvania citizens,” Gottesman said. “Do Tom Wolf and John Fetterman believe that Philadelphia — and other sanctuary municipalities across Pennsylvania — should remain ‘a rightful sanctuary’ and ‘place of refuge’ for illegal aliens like Juan Ramon Vasquez, who was able to commit an atrocity as a direct result of sanctuary city policies? In the wake of Vasquez’s new guilty plea, it is incumbent on these candidates to readdress where they stand and reassert whether they prioritize the well-being of illegal aliens or the safety of Pennsylvanians.”
The National Federation of Independent Business endorsed U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta for Senate during a news conference at an electrical apparatus facility in Cambria County.
NFIB cited Barletta’s support of tax reform.
“Congressman Barletta has been a true champion for Pennsylvania small businesses in the U.S. House,” said NFIB’s state legislative director, Rebecca Oyler. “He understands firsthand the challenges small businesses face every day. He has been a staunch supporter of efforts to lift burdensome regulations and secure tax reform for small business. We are confident that he will continue to be an advocate for small businesses in Pennsylvania and across the country in the U.S. Senate. We are proud to endorse Congressman Barletta for election to the U.S. Senate on behalf of our members in Pennsylvania.”
Barletta, a Republican, is challenging Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr.
Barletta scored an 89 on the NFIB’s 2017–18 scorecard. Casey scored 0.
The Green Party’s Neal Gale and Libertarian Dale Kerns are also in the race.
Daryl Boling, the Democratic candidate in the 152nd Legislative District, will hold a question-and-answer session with Moms Demand Action and Everytown on Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Upper Moreland Public Library, 109 Park Ave. in Willow Grove.
Boling supports “common-sense” gun reform to stop gun violence. ••
