Stage Set for November Governor Showdown

HARRISBURG – With May’s primary now over, the stage is set for a November election day showdown with Republican Governor Tom Corbett facing off with Democratic challenger Tom Wolf.

Wolf won his party’s nomination handily, taking 58% of the vote in a four-candidate field. Democratic challengers Allison Schwartz, Rob McCord and Katie McGinty split the remaining votes. None could crack 20%.

On the Republican side, incumbent Tom Corbett faced no ballot opposition. His only challenger, Bob Guzzardi, had his name removed from the ballot when he did not file his financial disclosure statement with the State Ethics Commission in a timely manner.

The case went all the way to the State Supreme Court, which ruled against Guzzardi and ordered his name be stricken from the ballot. Most observers viewed Guzzardi as more conservative than Corbett.

One side note to the Republican primary is that Governor Corbett received fewer votes in the primary by Republicans than did his running mate, Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley. Corbett, with approval ratings bouncing around in the 30’s, pulled even fewer votes than Cawley in his home county (Allegheny).

The lower vote totals could be an indication that some conservative Republicans, not happy with his performance, are sending the Governor a message.

So what do we know about how each candidate would treat the green industry?

Governor Corbett has been a strong supporter of the green industry, going back to his time as attorney general. He supported ACRE (the program that helps green industry business owners with local government conflicts) and was key in helping find solutions for several PLNA members faced with hostile actions by their local governments.

In fact, in 2008 PLNA presented then Attorney General Corbett with its "Green Industry Advocate” award at its annual meeting for his leadership with the ACRE program.

More recently, the Corbett administration initially opposed the turf grass fertilizer legislation (now SB 1149) during the 2011-12 legislative session, which PLNA opposes. However, in the current 2013-14 session, the Administration has been neutral on the bill, which is possibly one reason it has gotten legs in the Pennsylvania Senate.

To see Tom Corbett’s policies for Pennsylvania agriculture, click here.

The position of Tom Wolf on the green industry is a bit harder to ascertain. As Revenue Secretary under the Rendell administration, he kept a low profile and did nothing overt to help or hurt the green industry. There is nothing on his campaign website that addresses Pennsylvania agriculture or the landscape and nursery industry directly.

To see Tom Wolf’s campaign website, click here.

So, please read up on the candidates, make your choice and be sure to vote come November!