The Philadelphia Republican Party opposes Mayor Jim Kenney’s sugary drinks tax and an alternative plan introduced by City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown that would impose a 15-cent tax on beverage containers, other than milk or baby formula.
“Councilwoman Reynolds Brown’s container tax is possibly even more regressive and difficult to justify than the mayor’s soda tax proposal,” said Joe DeFelice, chairman of the Philadelphia Republican Party. “She is correct that the tax would ‘cast a wider net:’ even more opportunities for people with means to leave the city along with their tax dollars, and even fewer opportunities to those already struggling with their finances to avoid a regressive tax.”
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Otto Voit, a Berks County businessman and former U.S. Army officer who is the Republican nominee for state treasurer, has endorsed Donald Trump for president.
“He has proven time and again that he has the resolve and courage to do the things others do not have the stomach to undertake or even say,” Voit said. “We need to shake things up in Washington, D.C. and in Harrisburg. We cannot get our nation and this state back on track if we keep fostering the culture of cronyism and selfishness in our political system.
“Like me, Donald Trump has real-world business experience and he is not afraid to make the tough call on important issues regardless of political correctness or ruffled feathers. This is something that is crucial for any successful leader and a lesson I learned during my military career.”
Voit faces Democrat Joe Torsella, the founding president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. He ran for the Democratic nomination in the 13th Congressional District in 2004, but lost to Allyson Schwartz. ••
