WAGNER EARNS POSITION ON
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY BALLOT FOR GOVERNOR
Harrisburg (Mar. 5, 2010) - Auditor General Jack Wagner has earned a position on the May 18th Democratic primary ballot for Governor by filing his initial collection of nomination petitions this afternoon with the Pennsylvania Department of State.
"I am extremely proud of the support that we are receiving from thousands of taxpayers and families across the Commonwealth," said Wagner. "Our message of major reforms in state government such as eliminating bonuses, passing budgets on time, making the contract process competitive, ending risky interest rate swaps, and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse is resonating in all parts of the state. This initial filing represents very hard work in many of Pennsylvania's smaller counties, and I want to particularly take notice this weekend of their steadfast efforts and thank them for a job very well done. I believe that every county will be important to us in winning in May, and again in November."
Pennsylvania law requires statewide candidates to file petitions containing 2,000 signatures of registered voters of their party, including at least 100 signatures from each of at least 10 counties. The signatures are gathered during the three-week circulation period by hundreds of campaign volunteers, sometimes in harsh weather conditions. Wagner's initial filing included over 4,200 signatures from 46 counties, including Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Centre, Clearfield, Dauphin, Elk, Indiana, Lackawanna, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Venango, and York. Petition signatures from Pennsylvania's two largest counties, Allegheny and Philadelphia, will be submitted next week.
As Governor, in addition to reforming state government, Auditor General Wagner's top priorities for Pennsylvania will include: providing a HOPE Scholarship Program to help families afford the cost of higher education, maintaining vital government services without raising taxes, maximizing the state's new Marcellus Shale energy resources to create jobs and reduce the cost of natural gas in an environmentally responsible way, and creating high quality jobs to grow our economy.
Wagner, twice elected with bipartisan support as the state's independent fiscal watchdog, received record-breaking vote totals in his re-election in 2008. As a gubernatorial candidate, he has earned endorsements and support across the state. Most recently, he was endorsed by the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, which represents more than 7,000 Pennsylvania restaurants and foodservice establishments. Pennsylvania's restaurant industry plays an integral role in the state's economy, employing more than 470,000 people and generating $16.2 billion in annual sales.
He has been endorsed by dozens of local elected officials and party leaders, the affiliated political action committee of the Pennsylvania Business Council, and Henry Nicholas, President of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, and President of District 1199c of the national union.
More information about Jack Wagner, his record of reform, and his campaign for Governor can be found at www.jackwagner.org.
Of course just because a candidate files nominating petitions doesn't mean they have a place on the May primary ballot. This is simply the first step in the process as Ralph Nader and Carl Romanelli can attest. Next comes a week when people can challenge the validity of the signatures on those petitions. Only properly registered Democrats can sign petitions and they can sign but one for the Office of Governor. If some of the signatories are not registered Democrats or they signed another candidate's petition prior to signing Jack's they can be challenged.
Candidates challenge each other's petitions all the time. This is the quickest, surest way of knocking your opponent out of the race. Democrats knocked both Nader and Romanelli off the ballots to preserve votes for John Kerry and Bob Casey. The current BonusGate trial is full of testimony about how that was done using public resources. This is why petition season is fascinating to witness as hardball politics gathers momentum. We'll wait and see if any of the major candidates decide to throw some high hard ones at their opponents.
