Jack is the only candidate with the wide experience and proven track record our next Governor is going to need to lead Pennsylvania. Our next Governor must be able to hit the ground running to address our severe economic challenges. Only Jack has the experience to lead on behalf of over 12 million Pennsylvanians. He has fought to make government accountable to the people and to make it more responsible with taxpayer money for 30 years. You can trust his record and have confidence that his leadership will build the foundation for our future.

Fighting for his community

Jack has been a tireless leader for the communities he has served and is rooted in the belief that he is elected to be an advocate for every community in Pennsylvania, no matter how hard the fight. Through Jack’s leadership, workers’ rights and health care benefits have been protected, jobs have been saved, and jobs have been created. As a Senator, Jack led the charge to secure a new convention center for Pittsburgh. He was also one of the only elected leaders to oppose the “Pittsburgh Big Dig” the “Tunnel Under the River,” advocating instead for smart growth and planning that would better serve the residents and neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. Recently, Jack stood by community leaders in his home community to call for accountability to save Pittsburgh libraries.

Reforming PA

In the Senate, some ten years ago, Jack was the author and primary sponsor of a proposal to cut the size of the legislature by one-third. He also authored legislation to allow same-day registrations for Pennsylvania elections. Now, in the race for governor, he is the only candidate calling for a constitutional convention to comprehensively reform government. However, Jack stands firm in recognizing that a Governor is in the position to effectuate these changes through his leadership, and can address many of our challenges immediately, before a Constitutional Convention could be legislated, under our Constitution. Jack’s commitment to enacting meaningful reforms immediately includes his commitment to enacting contribution limits, which would end pay to play politics and return integrity to the electoral process in Pennsylvania.

Keeping Government Accountable

While others have declined to speak out about government’s shortcomings, Jack has consistently fought against the grain. As Auditor General, Jack performed the first-ever special performance audit of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). He challenged Pennsylvania’s antiquated practice of awarding contracts without competitive bidding. Jack uncovered millions lost by poor business practices within the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.

Leading on Pennsylvania’s Budget Crisis

Jack has been the most outspoken critic of Pennsylvania’s budgetary crisis, and is the only candidate for Governor who has called for reform AND offered substantive policy measures to address the deficit, when the legislature was in the throes of the historic budget impasse. Jack has criticized the current leadership for failing to pass a timely budget seven years in a row, not only during the past budget cycle, when the crisis received heightened media attention. During the historic 2009-2010 budget impasse that lasted 101 days and gave Pennsylvania the unfortunate distinction of being the last state to pass a budget, Jack offered a seven-point plan to save more than $1.3 billion dollars, and provided expertise on how the Commonwealth was to balance its budget with no tax increases. When the Governor finally signed the budget, a number of Jack’s proposals were incorporated into the final plan, importantly achieving Jack’s directive that the Commonwealth not raise taxes on hard-working Pennsylvanians.

Veterans

Recognition for Jack’s continuing efforts to assist veterans has included the Veteran of the Year Award from Veteran Community Initiatives, the Veteran of the Year Award from the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program, the Outstanding Legislator Award from the Pennsylvania Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Outstanding Service Award from the Pennsylvania War Veterans Council. He is actively involved in a variety of other veterans organizations, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Veterans Political Action Committee, Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans Institute, and Italian-American War Veterans.

Electability

Jack is the only proven vote-getter in statewide elections in a race for Governor that is simply too important to risk. Jack is the only Democratic candidate for Governor who has run statewide and won. Not only has Jack been successful in his statewide bids for office, Jack’s vote totals have been historic, both by final vote count, and by netting more county wins than any Democrat in recent history.

Most recently, in 2008 Jack was re-elected receiving a record 3.3 million votes and 59% of the vote against two other candidates. Jack received the highest number of votes by any candidate from any party for any office on the ballot. Jack’s vote total was higher than that of President Obama, and 300,000 votes greater than the presumptive Republican nominee for Governor. In 2008, Jack netted the second-highest number of votes in Pennsylvania history.