Candidates

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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF PENNSYLVANIA
CITIZEN EDUCATION FUND VOTERS GUIDE

GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMER 5, 2002

The League of Women Voters publishes this information neither to endorse nor to reject the views of any candidate quoted and does not assume responsibility for the contents of a candidate's reply. Each candidate's reply has been printed as submitted, except to use standard abbreviations in the interest of space and to edit from the bottom of a candidate's answer when the total response exceeds the word limit. The candidates were asked to list their education, occupation and qualifications for the office they seek. In addition, candidates were asked to respond to selected questions.

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS-17TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

JOB DESCRIPTION - A Representative serves the electorate as a law and policy maker for the United States. He or she is responsible for considering and voting on legislative initiatives that concern national policy and programs ranging from national security to taxation. He or she also has oversight of the executive branch of government through the review and approval of budgets, expenditures and program accomplishments. Term: 2 years Salary: $150,000

QUESTION: How would you balance conflicting demands for increased defense spending, lower taxes and a balance budget?

(Vote for One)

Gekas

Holden

REPUBLICAN - GEORGE W. GEKAS, Harrisburg,D.O.B.: 4/14/1930

EDUCATION: Harrisburg public schools, 1948; Dickinson College 1952; Dickinson School of Law 1958

OCCUPATION: Member, U.S. Congress

QUALIFICATIONS: Ass't. D.A. 1960-66; Pa. House of Representatives 1967-1974; Pa. Senate 1977-1982; U. S. Congress 1983-present.

ANSWER TO QUESTION: By making a priority the president's request for national security measures, by postponing the effective date of proposed tax cuts, and by accepting the reality of deficit spending for 1 or 2 fiscal years. We continue the nurturing of the economy.

DEMOCRAT - TIM HOLDEN, St. Clair, Schuylkill County, D.O.B.: 1957 EDUCATION: BA, Bloomsburg University

OCCUPATION: Congressman; Real Estate Agent, Insurance Broker

QUALIFICATRIONS: Incumbent Congressman of 10 years

ANSWER TO QUESTION: Our nation is at a financial crossroads as we move from budget surpluses, which some of us fought hard to achieve, back to budget deficits. I have always made fiscal responsibility a top priority because we, as a nation, must live within our means. We must also honor our commitment to our seniors by protecting and preserving the Social Security Trust Fund. National and homeland security must be a top priority so that our men and women in the military and in law enforcement have the resources they need.

PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR

JOB DESCRIPTION - The Governor, as the chief executive officer of the Commonwealth, administers the laws and manages the financial affairs of the state, has extensive appointive powers, and may approve or veto every bill passed by both houses of the General Assembly. The Governor may serve only two terms in succession. Term: 4 years Salary: $142,142

PENNSYLVANIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

JOB DESCRIPTION - The Lt. Governor will be elected jointly with the Governor in the General Election. Candidates are nominated separately in the Primary. The Lt. Governor is President of the Senate, but has no vote except in case of a tie. In case of death, conviction or impeachment, failure to qualify, resignation or other disability of the Governor, the powers, duties, and salaries of the office are assumed by the Lt. Governor for the remainder of the term or until the disability is removed. Term: 4 years Salary: $119,399

Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor run as a team. Cast a single vote for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

Fisher	Earl	Rendell	Knoll
Heller	Krawchuk	Morrill	Smedley

QUESTION: What can state government do to ensure equitable funding so that all of our public schools can provide children with the best possible education?

REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR - MIKE FISHER, Pittsburgh, D.O.B.: 11/7/1944

EDUCATION: AB in Government, Georgetown University; JD in Law, Georgetown University

OCCUPATION: Attorney General of Pennsylvania

QUALIFICATIONS: Attorney General of Pennsylvania, 5 years; State Senator, 16 years; State Representative, 6 years; Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney, 4 years; Private Law Practice, 25 years

ANSWER TO QUESTION: Pennsylvania has increased funding for education by $2 billion over the last seven years, but reliance on property taxes must end. I will call a Special Session to deal with school funding. All ideas will be considered with fairness and local control the focus. The state must increase funding for special education; therefore I propose selling the state's liquor stores and place the revenue into a trust fund to offset the cost of special education.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR - JANE M. EARLL, Erie, D.O.B.: 8/10/1958

EDUCATION: BA in Political Science, Allegheny College; JD in Law, Ohio Northern University College of Law

OCCUPATION: State Senator in the Pennsylvania General Assembly

QUALIFICATIONS: State Senator, 6 years; Erie County Assistant District Attorney, 6 years; Private Law Practice, 5 years; Active community volunteer with a variety of organizations

ANSWER TO QUESTION: Pennsylvania has increased funding for education by $2 billion over the last seven years, but reliance on property taxes must end. Governor Fisher will call a Special Session to deal with school funding. All ideas will be considered with fairness and local control the focus. The state must increase funding for special education; therefore we have proposed selling the state's liquor stores and placing the revenue into a trust fund to offset the cost of special education.

DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR - ED RENDELL, Philadelphia, D.O.B.: 1/5/1944

EDUCATION: University of Pennsylvania - B.A. 1965; Villanova Law School - J.D. 1968

OCCUPATION: Partner, Ballard Spahr Andrews and Ingersoll, LLP

QUALIFICATIONS: As Mayor, I turned a record deficit into a record surplus, cut taxes by $300 million, turned years of job losses into years of job gains while dramatically improving services to the City's neighborhoods. I have announced plans to revitalize our communities and reform our inequitable education funding system.

ANSWER TO QUESTION: The Rendell-Knoll Administration will dramatically increase state aid to local districts while maintaining local curriculum control. Our goal is to raise state funding to over 50% of the costs of instructional education in our 501 school districts. This revenue will be generated through ferreting out government waste and inefficiencies, the placement of slot machines at existing Pennsylvania racetracks and redirecting a significant portion of the additional revenues generated from the recent increase in the State's tax on cigarettes.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR - CATHERINE BAKER KNOLL, McKees Rocks, D.O.B.: not given

EDUCATION: Bachelors and Masters Degrees, Duquesne University; Attended Harvard

University Kennedy School of Government; Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania

OCCUPATION: Former State Treasurer 1989-1997; Former school teacher and businesswoman

QUALIFICATIONS: I will put my real world abilities to work. My service as State Treasurer places me in the unique position as the only candidate who has made state government work for the people.

LIBERTARIAN GOVERNOR - KEN V. KRAWCHUK, Elkins Park, D.O.B.: 2/25/1953

EDUCATION: BS Physics, St. Joseph's University, 1975; Honor roll, Cardinal Dougherty

OCCUPATION: Entrepreneur, president/founder computer consulting firm, husband, father of three daughters.

QUALIFICATIONS: My long experience running my own successful business, combined with a strong distaste for high taxes, can bring more efficient, less expensive government by respecting the Constitution.

ANSWER TO QUESTION: Currently, public schools are effectively a monopoly, and like any monopoly, the result is high cost, low quality, and lack of choice. To provide the best possible education, we must introduce competition into our schools by allowing parents to choose any public school, and the funding which would have gone to their local school would follow the child to the school the parents' choose. That way good schools would grow, and bad schools would fail.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR - HENRY E. HALLER, III, Pittsburgh, D.O.B.: 2/25/1947

EDUCATION: B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1970

OCCUPATION: Retail Store Owner

QUALIFICATIONS: I have experience in business (working for a large corporation and also running my own small business), education (seven years on the board of an independent school), and politics (twenty years of activism with the Libertarian Party). This is real world experience, not the artificial experience of a career politician.

ANSWER TO QUESTION: I reject the premise of the question, which is that money is the most important factor in providing children with the best education. Numerous studies have shown that parental involvement and local control of schools are far more important. Thus, what state government can do is to empower parents to have a greater role in their children's education, to eliminate educational mandates from Harrisburg, and to return control to local school boards.

GREEN PARTY GOVERNOR - MICHAEL MORRILL, Reading, D.O.B.: 2/23/1955

EDUCATION: BA Thomas Edison State College; MDiv, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; post-graduate study in U.S. and Middle East

OCCUPATION: Consumer advocate, union organizer

QUALIFICATIONS: Longtime citizen advocate on energy, electoral reform, utilities, other social and economic justice issues. Represented working peoples' interests in testimony before the U.S. Senate and numerous state legislative committees across the country.

ANSWER TO QUESTION: The Constitution of the Commonwealth states that the General Assembly bears the responsibility for providing for the maintenance and support of public schools. I read that to mean full and equitable funding for all public schools. The Commonwealth should provide full funding for all public schools on an equal per pupil basis, with special funding added for unique circumstances. This undoubtedly means finding new revenue streams to replace the biased and burdensome local tax system.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR - VICKI J. SMEDLEY, Jersey Shore, D.O.B.: 2/14/1946

EDUCATION: BS Speech Pathology, West Chester University; Master's in Speech Pathology

OCCUPATION: Speech Therapist

QUALIFICATIONS: Pennsylvania Environmental Network, Board of Directors (1996-2002), President (2000-01); Arrest the Incinerator Remediation (AIR),Chairperson (1994-2002), Administered $130,000 EPA Grant; Smed's Breads (1985-93), Owner/operator; Women's Leadership Training (1998-99), (ISAR, Wash., DC); 20+ years, activist for social change.

ANSWER TO QUESTION: We should: Prioritize education and bite the bullet to fund it from the General Fund; Eliminate: property taxes for education, vouchers, waste at the Department of Education; Convene a Tax Task Force; Enact a progressive, graduated income tax; Return State education funding to at least 50%; Disperse funds equally, based on the number of students per district; Maintain local control of schools; Share education costs with business and corporations that benefit from quality education; Reject "slots for tots".

SENATOR IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY-48TH SENATORIAL DISTRICT

JOB DESCRIPTION - A Senator serves the electorate as a law and policy maker for the Commonwealth. He or she is responsible for considering and voting on major legislative proposals that affect the entire state as well as minor legislation that affects only selected areas of the Commonwealth. He or she also has oversight of the executive branch of government through review and approval of budgets, expenditures and program accomplishments. Term: 4 years Salary: $63,629.16

QUESTIONS:

1. How can the state best meet its constitutional obligation to fund public education?

2. List your top three legislative priorities.

(Vote for One)

Brightbill

Arnold

REPUBLICAN - DAVID J. BRIGHTBILL, West Cornwall Township, Lebanon County, D.O.B.: Age 59

EDUCATION: Penn State, B.S.; Duquesne University School of Law, J.D. with honors; Certification in Mediation, Harvard Law School

OCCUPATION: Legislator

QUALIFICATIONS: Senate Leader; formerly Whip, Policy Chairman, and Caucus Secretary: wrote award-winning legislation as Chairman of Environmental Resources Committee; formerly District Attorney and school director.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS: 1. Pennsylvania's funding for public schools over six years has increased 32.5%. We are 14th nationally in per-pupil spending. I'm cosponsoring legislation to create a state wide plan which would substitute income for real estate taxes, limiting future real estate taxes, while enhancing state funding to school districts and giving taxpayers strong control over school spending. 2. Substitute income and reduce real estate taxes, giving taxpayers strong control over school spending; im-prove environmental programs; expand job creation.

DEMOCTAT - ED ARNOLD, North Lebanon Township, Lebanon County, D.O.B.: 3/4/1943

EDUCATION: B.S. Political Science - Lebanon Valley College '66

OCCUPATION: Farmer/County Commissioner

QUALIFICATIONS: My life experiences in agriculture and government uniquely qualify me to rep-resent the people of the 48th District. Presently serve as Lebanon Co. Commissioner, previously served two years in the Pa. General Assembly and worked two years in the Pa. Dept. of Agriculture.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS: 1. The Administration and the Legislature in their budget proceedings must work to more fully fund Education. 2. A. meaningful tax reform; B. Recognize & represent communities of the 48th District. C. work to sustain the family farm.

REPRESENTATIVE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JOB DESCRIPTION - A Representative serves the electorate as a law and policy maker for the Commonwealth. He or she is responsible for considering and voting on major legislative proposals that affect the entire state and minor legislation that affects only select districts in the Commonwealth. A Representative also hasoversight of the executive branch of government through the review and approval of budgets, expenditures and program accomplishments. Every law concerning taxation must originate in the House. Term: 2 years Salary: $63,629.16

QUESTIONS:

1. How can the state best meet its constitutional obligation to fund public education?

2. List your top three legislative priorities.

101ST LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT

(Vote for One)

REPUBLICAN - MAUREE A. GINGRICH, Palmyra, D.O.B.: 7/10/46

EDUCATION: Lebanon Catholic High School, PA College of Medical Arts (formerly Harrisburg Institute of Medical Arts)

OCCUPATION: Mature Market Concepts, Owner

QUALIFICATIONS: *Twelve years as local elected official, Palmyra Borough; *Business Owner; *Member Lebanon Valley Chamber Board; *Member Team PA Ambassadors; *Proven track record in public service to the Lebanon Valley.

ANSWER TO QUESTION: The current funding formula for public education has created unfortunate limitations in many districts. Some districts have extreme funding challenges due to lower property values while others are able to significantly exceed basic requirements due to high growth taxbase. Local school districts in partnership with state government must determine a uniform funding formula to provide a stable funding vehicle that will provide a quality education in a safe environment to all of Pennsylvania's children.

DEMOCRAT, NOEL HUBLER, Lebanon, D.O.B.: 9/25/59

EDUCATION: Ph.D. Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 1995. B.A.

Classical Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 1981

OCCUPATION: Associate Professor of Religion and Ethics, Lebanon Valley College.

QUALIFICATIONS: Concern for the community and a willingness to work and to listen demonstrated by an 8-month door-to-door campaign going to 12,894 households all over Lebanon County.

ANSWER TO QUESTION: The Commonwealth share of funding for education has dropped from 55% to 33%, resulting in increased pressure on local schools and escalating local taxes. I favor an immediate return to 50% funding for education from the state through: 1) cuts in state bureaucracy 2) increased equity for education funding 3) allowing slot machines at race tracks and dedicating the proceeds to education. My plan would allow for an immediate 30% savings in local taxes.

LIBERTARIAN - ERIC ALAN PAUL - Annville, D.O.B.: 2/5/66

EDUCATION: Cornwall Leb. School dist. 11 1/2 years Dip; Thompson Institute 1 year Dip; Vo-Tech 1/4 year Cert.

OCCUPATION: Of all things, a convenience store clerk!

QUALIFICATIONS: Lived in the REAL WORLD for 36 years. Ran against Mr. Krebs in

2000. Politically involved for 18 years. NRA Member and musical activist.

ANSWER TO QUESTION: Simple. Merely get rid of 2 unconstitutional elements in this Communist wealth. 1. Get rid of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Relocate their staff to various government and provide positions where they will still receive excellent pay. Then, redirect their funding to education. Also, legalize & tax Marijuana & hemp. These taxes will also fund education. Make the state income tax TRULY voluntary. There you have three ways to fund education and get rid of "property taxes" at the same time.

GREEN - ERIC R. WOLFE, Lebanon D.O.B.: 29 November 1952

EDUCATION: Elementary-Harrison/ High School-Lebanon Senior High (class of 1970) / U.S. Navy Quartermaster "A" School / Casper Community College (Casper, Wyoming) / Harrisburg Area Community College / Penn State University (Harrisburg) / Flinders University (Adelaide, South Australia). Hold 2 associate Degrees in Law.

OCCUPATION: Television Camera Operator at Penn National Race Track+Grantville

QUALIFICATIONS: I am a native of Lebanon. I lived in various parts of the world. A former Boy Scout, U.S. Navy Vietnam Veteran. Have 2 degrees (1 in Legal

ANSWER TO QUESTION: "Leave no child behind." Presidential Candidate George Bush. Begin to return to the State funding schools the 50+% Vs. the 30% today. Give equal funding to all schools, no matter what the district income. Push for Arts, physical education, and teach to open minds, not teach to tests. Teach more civics and geography. Keep the business of sneakers and sodas out and give schools a reason not to be tempted by corporations making money from children's health demise.

102ND LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT

(Vote for One)

REPUBLICAN - PETER J. ZUG, Lebanon, D.O.B.: 11/11/58

EDUCATION: ELCO High School; Kutztown University

OCCUPATION: Legislator

QUALIFICATIONS: Kutztown University - Outstanding Alumni Award; Millersville University - Legislative Fellow; ELCO Distinguished Alumni Award; Guardian of Small Business Award; Silver Beaver Award from the Boy Scouts of America; Pennsylvania Transportation Alliance - 2000 Champion

ANSWER TO QUESTION: "The Commonwealth must attempt to allcoate its financial resources across a State with a divergent range of economies, while still maintaining the historic ability of local school boards to make policy decisions, including academic programs, personnel practices and levy of taxes. We can meet our obligation by providing local districts with the maximum options of local revenue-raising, and then providing generous assistance to those areas with both low average personal incomes and low property values."

DEMOCRAT - DAN BACKENSTOSE, Lebanon , D.O.B.: 02/13/41

EDUCATION: Franklin & Marshal (A.B) 1963; Temple Univ. (MS) 1968 Environmental Toxicology

OCCUPATION: Cabinetmaker, Artist

QUALIFICATIONS: I have owned my farmette since 1968. Am concerned about the future of Lebanon County; school teacher; environmental toxicologist (9 yrs); environmental consultant; have opposed general "expansionist" in the county. Lanc. Co. has been had...Leb. Co. is next!

ANSWER TO QUESTION: The State should pay for over 50% of education cost. We have previously madethis commitment, but the legislature has not honored their pledge. Ed Rendell suggest that increased revenue from slot machines and keno could raise substantial revenues. I agree. I believe that a complete overhaul of our state tax system in combination with the additional gaming revenues will provide the increased state funding for schools. Property taxes should be reduced.

LIBERTARIAN - RAYMOND S. ONDRUSEK, Myerstown, D.O.B.: 9/27/57

EDUCATION: ELCO High School. Elizabethtown College. The Stevens Institute of Technology (Deans List). HACC.

OCCUPATION: Software Developer

QUALIFICATIONS: Qualified by age and residence according to Article II section 5 of the constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

ANSWER TO QUESTION: The property tax and all School District taxing authority must be repealed. The State will cut spending from other programs and divert revenue to the schools, funding all schools including charter, cyber, and home schools, equally per student. Any school wanting or needing more revenue will charge tuition or raise revenue privately. The State will not enact new taxes or raise any existing taxes. Parents will choose where to send their children to school.

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