Kenney says no to Hope Scholarship
Campaign Bits
By Tom Waring
State Rep. George Kenney disagrees with the top campaign item on his opponent’s agenda.
In a meeting last week with the Northeast Times editorial board, Kenney (R-170th dist.) said he opposes the Hope Scholarship for several reasons.
Brendan Boyle, Kenney’s Democratic opponent, is promoting the concept — first introduced in Georgia — that would provide free college tuition for Pennsylvania high school students who maintain an A or B average and an attendance rate of 80 percent.
Kenney, seeking his 11th two-year term, noted that the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) helps high school students who qualify for college, not just those who have high grades and attend in-state universities.
"No child should be left behind if they qualify," he said.
In addition, Kenney is opposed to Boyle’s idea that 20 percent of the state’s profits from slot machines should be directed toward the Hope Scholarship.
"Those dollars, I believe, should go to property tax relief," he said, adding that slot machines won’t arrive until at least 2006.
Kenney and Boyle will not have a chance to debate the subject. The incumbent is declining the challenger’s offer of seven debates.
"He needs attention," Kenney said of Boyle.
Kenney, who will turn 47 on Oct. 29, said he was involved in neighborhood issues before being elected in 1984, adding that the 27-year-old Boyle seems to want to win a seat in the legislature to become a part of the community.
"This guy just moved here," he said of Boyle, an Olney native who attended the University of Notre Dame.
On other issues, Kenney expressed his support for extending Woodhaven Road to Philmont Avenue to ease traffic congestion on Byberry Road.
The legislator believes the state Department of Transportation will act, in some form, in the near future.
"Somerton needs relief," said Kenney, who lives in the neighborhood.
As for the property of the former Philadelphia State Hospital, commonly known as Byberry, Kenney sees a mixture of housing, business and open space. He worries about added traffic congestion.
A final decision on the property’s future should be made, he said, only after a comprehensive community meeting.
As for his tenure in the House of Representatives, Kenney said he helped to bring the veterans’ nursing home to Southampton Road and Roosevelt Boulevard and was part of a bipartisan effort to reform the Philadelphia Police Department.
Kenney defends the state’s efforts to impact the city, pointing to the takeover of the School District of Philadelphia. He thinks schools are now better and safer, and he credits CEO Paul Vallas with empowering principals.
In the next term, Kenney wants to beautify the Five Points intersection in Burholme, bring a walking path to Burholme Park and revitalize the Fox Chase/Rockledge business district.
The lawmaker also plans to fight the proposed closing of the mini-City Hall in the Northeast, saying it "makes no sense."
Gary Grisafi, the Republican candidate in the 202nd House District, is criticizing his opponent, Democratic Rep. Mark Cohen, for saying in a Comcast Newsmakers segment that he is working on riverfront development.
Grisafi, noting that the district does not include the Delaware River area, believes Cohen is out of touch.
"Mr. Cohen should concentrate on his own district, which is deteriorating quickly," he said.
Grisafi is concentrating on issues such as crime, dirty streets, fewer government services and Section 8 abuse.
Sam Mirarchi, who is challenging state Sen. Mike Stack (D-5th dist.), is criticizing his opponent for the stalemate on the future of Woodhaven Road. Stack was elected in 2000.
"The people are still waiting for him to do something — anything — to resolve the issue," Mirarchi said.
The challenger, who lives in Bustleton, shares Kenney’s support for a plan that would extend Woodhaven Road to Philmont Avenue in Lower Moreland Township. He believes the extension would alleviate traffic on residential Byberry Road and allow motorists to get to and from work more efficiently.
Asking, "Are you better off today than four years ago?" Mirarchi wants to go to Harrisburg to fight the city’s attempts to close recreation centers and the mini-City Hall in the Northeast.
"As a citizen of the Northeast, it seems to me that an area which pays forty percent of the city’s tax burden shouldn’t be losing services; it should be gaining them," he said.
The United States Chamber of Commerce last week endorsed Republican Mike Fitzpatrick in the 8th Congressional District, while the Sierra Club announced its support for Democrat Ginny Schrader.
The Sierra Club discounted the role Fitzpatrick, a Bucks County commissioner, has played in preserving 10,000 acres of open space. The environmental organization believes that’s not a federal issue.
"I stand behind my environmental record, along with the thousands of 8th district residents who have supported open space preservation," Fitzpatrick said.
Schrader is running a 30-second cable television commercial blasting Fitzpatrick for formerly being part of a law firm that represented Waste Management. The company has a large landfill in Tullytown.
The Fitzpatrick campaign called the advertisement an attempt by Schrader, a lawyer who has never held public office, to conceal her inexperience and what it refers to as her "issueless" campaign. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com