PA Gov. Tom Corbett sitting on $3.5 million war chest

His term doesn't end until 2014, but Pennsylvania Republican Gov. Tom Corbett already has a big advantage over any potential Democratic challengers. Corbett is sitting on a $3.5 million war chest and hasn't really started fundraising yet for a possible second term.

Gov. Corbett ends 2012 with $3.5 million war chest

Pennsylvania Dems See Gov. Corbett As Vulnerable in 2014

Pennsylvania Democrats are salivating at the prospect of taking on Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in 2014, but Corbett has not done a bad job in his first two years as governor.

Considering the fiscal mess left by former Gov. Ed Rendell, a free-spending Democrat, Corbett has had his hands full trying to restore fiscal sanity to the Keystone State.

And his efforts to privatize the state lottery and liquor systems could pay off big dividends for state taxpayers.

While Rendell kicked the can down the road on two pressing issues - public pension reform and transportation - Corbett said he is willing to tackle both problems, which has made him unpopular with the core constituency of Democrats - labor unions.

Corbett's poll numbers are down and there's even talk of a primary challenge from his own party by Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce L. Castor Jr., but don't bury Corbett so quickly.

Granted, Corbett  is the victim of lousy PR by his own staff and he continuously battles anti-Republican Harrisburg press corps that fawned over Rendell for eight years, but don't write off Corbett's political future just yet.

The only reason Democrats did so well in the 2012 elections for three state row offices was having Barack Obama at the top of the ticket. They won't have that luxury in 2014.

An if Corbett continues to sign balanced budgets on time - something Rendell was unable or unwilling to do over eight years - Pennsylvania voters will be willing to take another look at a second Corbett term when 2014 rolls around. 

Pennsylvania Dems Search For Right Candidate To Challenge Vulnerable Corbett - NationalJournal.com

Gov. Corbett turning into Gov. Christie

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett channeled his inner-Chris Christie during a recent press conference about the Penn State scandal when reporters kept asking the same question over and over about the length of time it took the attorney general's office to investigate Jerry Sandusky.

Corbett was attorney general for eight years until he took office as governor in January 2011.

 Corbett addressed the question of why the investigation took years before a grand jury indictment early on during the press conference, but it was asked again by a reporter.

A visibly upset Corbett snapped back at the unidentified reporter:

"Why are you all obsessed with that? We do not hold up investigations for anything. You are disparaging the reputation of the men and women in that office who have worked very hard to get to the result - that justice was served and a monster was taken off the street." After a pause, a still perturbed Corbett added: "To continue to ask that question, quite honestly, is in my mind out of line. These men and women did their job. And I did my job. The men and women on that jury did their job. And that's the story. Next question."

The press conference was carried live on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has had several well-publicized confrontations with reporters, including one case where Christie called the reporter an "idiot" for asking the same question that was already answered.

Below is The Philadelphia Inquirer's account of the Corbett exchange:

Gov. Corbett turns testy on handling of Penn State case

Shakeup in Corbett Administration Announced

Gov. Tom Corbett's much-maligned chief of staff has been given a promotion of sorts and the governor has replaced him with a Chester County resident (and husband of one of Corbett's cabinet members.)


Governor Corbett to Nominate William Ward to Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas; Names Stephen Aichele as Chief of Staff

Text of Gov. Tom Corbett's 2012-13 Budget Address

Gov. Tom Corbett:

“We must learn from the mistakes of the past. Government doesn’t tax money to get its needs; it taxes to get money it wants. Big government has a way of spending all the money it can get its hands on, and then some .Not only does this excessive taxation put a ball and chain around our economy, it simply does not solve our spending problem.“

Text of Governor Corbett's 2012-13 Budget Address

Gov. Corbett signs fiscal emergency bill for distressed cities

Pennsylvania Governor Corbett Signs Senate Bill 1151

Gov. Corbett Signs Highway Designation Bill for Route 23

A section of Route 23 from the Chester-Montgomery border to Route 100 has a new designation.

Pennsylvania Governor Corbett Signs Highway Designation Bill

Pennsylvania tinkers with Electoral College

Pennsylvania lawmakers and Gov. Tom Corbett want to change how Pennsylvania awards its delegates to presidential candidates. Republicans say it's a more fair way to pick a president and would give a greater voice to rural voters. Democrats say the plan is intended to erase their strongholds in major cities.

Check out this interesting analysis at National Journal on how the 2008 presidential race would have been different if all states changed the way they award delegates.

Moving Markets - Reid Wilson - NationalJournal.com

Gov. Corbett: $3.8 Million will Improve Operations at 8 PA Airports

Pottstown Municipal Airport will receive $146,250 for final design on the runway pavement rehabilitation and for final design of the runway safety area, according to the governor's office.

Governor Corbett: $3.8 Million will Improve Operations at Eight Airports

Gov. Tom Corbett Issues First Veto

Gov. Tom Corbett issues his first veto today, rejecting HB 1696, which involves reassessments in Washington County. Corbett says the bill is unconstitutional.

Governor Corbett Vetoes House Bill 1696

PA Gov. Tom Corbett achieves much of first-year agenda

Aided by a more conservative state Legislature, Pennsylvania's new Republican governor has accomplished much in his first 6 months in office, including signing a state budget on time, something Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell did not do in 8 years.

With the budget out of the way, look for a busy fall when the Legislature comes back from its summer vacation.

The Associated Press' Peter Jackson reviews Gov. Tom Corbett's tenure so far.

Corbett achieves much of first-year agenda

Gov. Corbett Requests Federal Disaster Aid for Five Counties

Governor Corbett Requests Federal Disaster Aid for Five Counties

Corbett to sell Rendell 'Tour Bus'

A tour bus used by former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell to push his big government agenda - at taxpayer expense - will be sold, Gov. Tom Corbett announced Wednesday.

Corbett called the bus a "white elephant" that cost Pennsylvania taxpayers more than $66,000 for maintenance "despite it being driven less than 26,000 miles in eight years."

It appears Rendell shot the transmission on the bus, leaving behind an anticipated repair bill of at least $5,000.

"My administration is committed to refocusing state spending on the core functions of government and that does not include maintaining a 41-foot motor coach that has largely sat in the garage," Corbett said in a press release. "This fiscal year alone taxpayers have paid for batteries, towing and window tinting. As of today, we will not ask taxpayers to put one more cent into the upkeep of this vehicle."

On a more serious note, Corbett has commissioned a review of the state's massive vehicle fleet to determine if the state can save money by reducing the number of vehicles it owns.

Read the full release at the link below:

Governor Corbett Sends Defunct Tour Bus to the Auction Block

Gov. Corbett breaks major campaign promise

You have to wonder about the people Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has surrounded himself with in his fledgling administration. He's stepped on one land mine after another over the past two months.

From the editorial page of The Pottstown Mercury:

THORNS to Gov. Tom Corbett for reneging on his campaign pledge to end legislative grants known as WAMs and approving more than $48 million in pet-project grants. The requests had been submitted during the administration of former Gov. Ed Rendell, and a Corbett spokesman said the new administration felt an obligation to honor them. Tell that to local school districts, who feel there should be an obligation to support public education. Or, to taxpayers who believe Corbett has an obligation to clean up Pennsylvania's legislative spending practices. All told, the Corbett administration provided a list of more than 1,200 grant applications it was approving from programs previously submitted. The biggest grant was for $5 million for a nonprofit-run statewide program called the Fresh Food Financing Initiative. WAMs, state grants known as "walking around money," are requested by legislators to court favor in their home districts. In his successful campaign for governor, Corbett aired a TV ad attacking WAMs, in which he said, "The first thing we're going to do is put a stake in the heart of the WAMs program. Millions of dollars spent on legislative pet projects with little oversight." Maybe it could be the second or third thing he does.

'Let's make Pennsylvania the Texas of the natural gas boom'

Another sharp contrast between Ed Rendell and Tom Corbett.

Last year, Gov. Ed Rendell and Democratic lawmakers pushed for a plan to impose the highest severance tax in the nation on Marcellus Shale extraction in Pennsylvania.

The plan was defeated in the Legislature, primarily by Republican lawmakers.

Despite losing the governor's mansion and the majority in the House, Democrats are back again pushing for a tax on Marcellus Shale.

Instead of rushing into a quick decision, Gov. Tom Corbett has appointed a commission headed by Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley to study how Pennsylvania can best protect its natural resources while benefiting from a potential windfall.

From Corbett's Tuesday budget address:

But government is not meant to be the answer for jobs. The private sector is. The Marcellus Shale discovery, a natural resource deposit that rivals the ages of coal and oil, is a great example.

Limited government means not mistaking someone else's property for your own. There has been much pressure to tax the gas being drawn from the Marcellus Shale. The Marcellus is a resource, a source of potential wealth, the foundation of a new economy. Not just something new to tax.

Pennsylvania can become a center not just of resources but a center of the industry that backs up those resources. For every pipe running a mile underground we should have jobs at distribution centers, at refineries, at shipping ports, and the offices and companies that run them.

These resources, by the way, belong to the people who own the mineral rights. Those people are getting their fair share by working out their own leases with the companies doing the drilling. That's how it should be. That's the American way. What Pennsylvanians will gain is the jobs, the spinoffs, and if we don't scare these industries off with new taxes, the follow-up that comes along. You see underneath the Marcellus Shale is another bonanza. It's called the Utica Shale. And where Marcellus promises 50 years of energy the Utica promises riches going into the next century. Let's make Pennsylvania the hub of this boom. Just as the oil companies decided to headquarter in one of a dozen states with oil ... let's make Pennsylvania the Texas of the natural gas boom. I'm determined that Pennsylvania not lose this moment. We have the chance to get it right the first time, the chance to grow our way out of hard days.

Governor Corbett Announces Formation of Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission

Gov. Tom Corbett Budget Address

Click on the link below to read the transcript of Gov. Tom Corbett's entire budget address.

Governor Tom Corbett 2011-12 Budget Address

GradingTom Corbett's First Budget Address

Tom Corbett will never be mistaken for Ed Rendell.

His first budget address, delivered Tuesday, was as sharp a contrast as you will get between the slick, polished, media-savvy Ed Rendell and Tom Corbett, a prosecutor who still doesn't feel comfortable in front of large crowds, even after being elected governor of one of the nation's largest states.

Corbett was all business Tuesday as he addressed a joint session of the Pennsylvania Legislature. The subject, digging out of the fiscal mess left behind by Ed Rendell, was a sobering topic.

Corbett tried a couple of funny lines, but his delivery was off. If you're looking for charisma, start changing the channel until you find Charlie Sheen.

Corbett is at his best when he talks straight to fellow Pennsylvanias. It's a refreshing change from "Fast Eddie" Rendell, who had trouble telling the truth.

The Commonwealth Foundation gave Corbett a solid "B" for his message. That's a big improvement considering the same group gave Ed Rendell eight straight "F" grades on his budget addresses.

Here's the CF press release analyzing Corbett's speech:

The Commonwealth Foundation graded Gov. Tom Corbett's budget address a solid B today in its call to end the tax-borrow-and-spend approach to budgeting that placed Pennsylvanian in the present fiscal crisis.

"Unlike the past eight years that earned a fiscal grade of F, this budget puts the taxpayers first and deserves a solid B for not increasing taxes, reducing expenditures, and putting the taxpayers' interests first," said Commonwealth Foundation President and CEO Matthew J. Brouillette. "But much more can be done to limit state government to its core functions and begin reducing Pennsylvania's ranking as the 10th highest tax burden in the nation."

Brouillette praised the governor's call to give taxpayers greater control over school property tax increases above the rate of inflation, but encouraged him to go further. "Act 1 of 2006 failed to control property tax increases, and homeowners are paying for that legislative failure today," said Brouillette. "But we should give taxpayers a say over any and all tax increases. These are the taxpayers' schools and they should decide if they want to pay a penny more for them."

The governor also called for wage rollbacks and salary freezes for state workers who received pay increases while the private sector lost jobs. "Gov. Corbett gave great hope that Pennsylvania can end the inequity between private-sector taxpayers and government employees who enjoys better health care benefits, better pensions, better job security, and an earlier retirement," said Brouillette.

"In calling for ‘collective sacrifices' in the union bargaining process, Gov. Corbett asked state government workers to share in the same economic reality and burdens the taxpayers have every day," said Brouillette. "With 17 of 19 state union contracts set to expire in June, this is a reasonable approach to restoring the balance of power back to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania."

Setting the agenda for greater school choice and expanded privatization to include ending the state monopoly over liquor, Gov. Corbett called for "reality-based budgeting" by changing the budget focus from inputs to outcomes and having government prioritize spending based on well-defined core functions.

"This is a big step in the right direction, but it only slows the runaway tax-borrow-and-spend train that is state government," said Brouillette. "Pennsylvania still has a lot of work to be done, but we are hopeful this governor and this General Assembly will keep the promises they have made to the taxpayers."

To earn an A+, the Commonwealth Foundation recommends the complete elimination of "corporate welfare" programs; a more fiscally conservative revenue projection; reducing welfare fraud and abuse; and better financial planning for the coming pension, retiree health care, and Medicaid funding crises.

Readers weigh in on Corbett media snub

Interesting exchange by readers left under my story about Gov. Tom Corbett dissing the press during a campaign stop for Pennsylvania Senate candidate Larry Medaglia.

READER 1: "Every Republican official must learn to deal with the media's bias toward all conservatives, but this action invited problems, evidenced by the nation-wide attention this insignificant event quickly garnered. His staff must be very inexperienced."

READER 2: "Sorry Jean. Do you see who wrote this article. Mr Phyrillas, probably the most conservative media person you could find. So not all the media there was liberal. Also what does experience have to do with it. I would say lack of common sense."

I am going to have side with Reader 2 on this one. While liberal media bias is prevalent across the country - and in Pennsylvania - this wasn't about anyone ambushing Corbett with tough questions. The press was invited to cover the governor's endorsement of a fellow Republican. What's so controversial about that?

It goes back to the Corbett handlers - who came with him from his eight years as Pennsylvania attorney general - being too isolated. The new governor appears to have too many "yes men" surrounding him. Obama suffers from the same problem.

There's a big difference in being attorney general and governor. Corbett hasn't made that transition yet.

Newspaper: Thorns to Corbett staff for blocking access to governor

In office for just over a month and Tom Corbett appears to have forgetten who he works for - the people of Pennsylvania. A 10-minute speech at a campaign event is top secret, according to his over-protective staff, which ordered seven members of the press thrown out of an event they were invited to cover.

The people surrounding Gov. Tom Corbett are doing him a disservice by shielding him from the press. Why is he paying a press spokesman who refuses to even return phone calls to the press?

See related editorial from The Mercury below:

Corbett's staff gets thorn for blocking access to governor - pottsmerc.com

Gov. Corbett shuts out media

A really dumb move by Corbett's staff. This was a campaign rally to help a Republican win office. Instead the focus is on Corbett's secrecy and downright rudeness. Sneaking out a backdoor? The local TV station gave the event 15 seconds on the air since Corbett pulled the plug on coverage. The KGB-style actions of Corbett's staff ruined it for all.

Corbett shuts out media; Candidate embarrassed by governor’s staff's actions (video) - pottsmerc.com