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Wagner fires back at Rendell

Auditor General and gubernatorial hopeful Jack Wagner was quick to respond to cries of hypocrisy from Gov. Ed Rendell Wednesday, defending his record of fiscal responsibility, complimenting the governor on his recent weight loss and saying that Rendell clearly has a horse in the race.

Wagner’s comments, in a Harrisburg news conference and a campaign statement later, came after Rendell had lobbed criticism at Wagner and Tom Corbett, the state Attorney General and GOP front-runner for governor. Rendell chided Corbett for advocating cuts in the in state’s motor-vehicle fleet while his office has about one car for every two employees. But the words aimed at his fellow Democrat were more surprising, despite the fact that Wagner’s relationship with the Rendell administration has been notably and publicly icy (“Gov. Rendell says I’m a pain in the butt, and he’s right,” Wagner says in one campaign ad). Rendell criticized Wagner for advocating cuts in state spending while seeking a larger budget for his office.

But Wagner quickly shot back, saying the increased budget request was due to labor contracts out of his control. It amounted to one of the most public spats between Rendell and Wagner to date.

“Get your facts straight, governor,” Wagner said, according to PoliticsPA. “Because that’s one thing the department of auditor general operates on: facts.”

Wagner also talked about the widespread perception that Rendell is supporting Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato in the primary, PoliticsPA reported. Rendell has publicly stayed neutral, but many of the governor’s longtime financial supporters are backing Onorato.

“Clearly, I understand what’s going on in this campaign,” Wagner said. “And I have said right from the start, I have seen the contributors who have traditionally given to Ed Rendell giving to another candidate in this race. So you can’t fool me on that one. You can’t fool the other candidates on that one. You can’t fool the public on that one.

“It’s pretty darn obvious who the governor is supporting in this election,” Wagner added.

In a statement later, Wagner said Rendell’s much noticed weight loss could serve as an example for state government.

“Gov. Rendell has lost weight in recent months, and he looks great,” Wagner said. “What I want to do is put the state budget on a diet.”

May 12, 2010 at 11:09 pm

--pa2010.com Staff

Tags: Dan Onorato, Ed Rendell, Jack Wagner

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