Videos from the gubernatorial debate

In the excitement of debates and forums, we forgot to post videos from pWe got a handful of clips. Embedded above is a brief video of Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel discussing his position on abortion rights. More clips can be found on the a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/pa2010Video" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.youtube.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fuser%2Fpa2010Video','pa2010.com+YouTube+Channel')" target="_blank"empa2010.com/em YouTube Channel/a./p
pa href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OeGhTnjjGk" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.youtube.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_OeGhTnjjGk','Click+here+to+see+Allegheny+County+Executive+Dan+Onorato+discuss+manufacturing+and+industrial+revitalization.')" target="_blank">Click here to see Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato discuss manufacturing and industrial revitalization.

February 2, 2010 at 8:30 am | Comments (0)

As expected Onorato & Corbett have big money leads

There were no real surprises as the first nuggets of state campaign finance data began to trickle out Monday.

In the race for governor, Democrat Dan Onorato and Republican Tom Corbett have no rivals in fundraising. Corbett, the Republican front-runner, raked in about $4.2 million in 2009, compared to $3.6 million collected by Onorato. But thanks in part to leftover funds from his 2007 county executive race, Onorato still finished the year with about $6.5…

February 1, 2010 at 11:56 pm | Comments (3)

Cambria Dems endorse Wagner

Cambria County Democratic Party leaders endorsed Auditor General Jack Wagner for governor Monday, adding to Wagner’s growing base of local party support.

“He will have my vote at the Democratic State Committee meeting in February, and I will encourage others to vote for him during the endorsement process,” said local party chair Helen Whiteford said in a campaign statement.

Added county party treasurer Barb Kline: “I’ve known Jack as a public servant for years, and…

February 1, 2010 at 2:31 pm | Comments (0)

Dems come together for another gubernatorial debate

PITTSBURGH—The four Democratic candidates for governor came together here Sunday for their second debate in three days, talking about their stances on passing state budgets, creating jobs and health care policy.

The event, co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, the Pitt College Democrats and the 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club, featured a lively debate between the candidates, facilitated by questions coming directly from audience members. Key issues of discussion also included tax…

January 31, 2010 at 5:20 pm | Comments (4)

Dems court the liberal base on social, fiscal issues

HARRISBURG—The four Democratic candidates for governor came together for the first time in a public forum here Friday night, airing their positions on everything from taxes and job creation to abortion rights and same-sex marriage in front of a crowd of about 300 liberal activists.

The two-hour event at the Pennsylvania Progressive Summit saw the candidates mostly agree on many fiscal issues while disagreeing on some social issues. With the liberal wing of the party…

January 30, 2010 at 5:05 pm | Comments (6)

Another local Dem leader endorses Wagner

Schuylkill County Democratic Party leaders endorsed Jack Wagner for governor this week, giving the Auditor General the backing of yet another local party leadership structure ahead of next month’s Democratic State Committee meeting.

Wagner has now been endorsed by the leader of more than a dozen county parties, even as he trails his opponents in fundraising and campaign infrastructure. But the growing level of support among party leaders makes it likely that Wagner will emerge…

January 28, 2010 at 12:18 pm | Comments (4)

Onorato leads a wide open primary

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato is leading the Democratic primary for governor, but almost three-quarters of voters remain undecided, according to a new poll.

The Franklin & Marshall College survey released Wednesday showed Onorato winning 10 percent of the vote, more than twice the support enjoyed by any other candidate in the race. But 72 percent of voters said they didn’t know who they would back come primary day. The poll of 443 registered Democrats…

January 27, 2010 at 9:02 am | Comments (6)

Common sense solutions for the economy

The economy in the United States is bad and Pennsylvanians are hurting. Our families are being squeezed by high and prolonged unemployment, by rising costs for gasoline, electricity, health care, and education, and have suffered a dramatic reduction in pensions and other forms of savings. One in five Americans is currently unemployed or underemployed. One in eight Americans is on food stamps. Allegheny and Philadelphia counties each lost 20,000 jobs in 2009, nearly 20 percent…

January 21, 2010 at 9:58 am | Comments (2)

Wagner hires a consulting team

Four months before primary voters go to the polls, state Auditor General Jack Wagner has hired a team of consultants to handle political strategy for his gubernatorial campaign.

Wagner has hired Bronstein & Weaver—a strategy and mail firm that has worked on local races in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York—to be his political advisers. David Dix, a Philadelphia-based political operative who has worked before with the firm’s partners, Michael Bronstein and Matthew Weaver, is…

January 19, 2010 at 4:27 pm | Comments (7)

Wecht mulling a gubernatorial run, but laying low

Nationally-renowned pathologist Cyril Wecht said Monday that he is indeed considering a run for governor, but has yet to put together a campaign committee or start fundraising a mere 16 weeks before the wide-open Democratic primary.

In a brief interview with pa2010.com, Wecht avoided any specifics about his gubernatorial aspirations, but confirmed

January 19, 2010 at 9:18 am | Comments (3)