The National Federation of Independent Business last week announced its endorsement of Republican Dee Adcock in the 13th Congressional District.
Adcock owns a swimming pool company and is a member of NFIB. He faces Democratic state Rep. Brendan Boyle in the Nov. 4 election.
“Dee Adcock knows what it takes to run a successful business, make payroll and cope with all the obstacles facing business owners today,” said Kevin Shivers, executive director of NFIB Pennsylvania. “As a member of Congress, we know Dee will work to implement policies that promote job creation, reduce barriers to economic growth, and cut unreasonable and costly regulations allowing small business to expand and hire new workers.”
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The NFIB also has endorsed Gov. Tom Corbett for re-election over Democrat Tom Wolf.
“I am honored to have the endorsement of the NFIB, which serves as the voice of over 15,000 businesses in Pennsylvania,” Corbett said. “I am proud of the work my administration has done to keep taxes low in Pennsylvania, which has helped to create 180,000 new private sector jobs. I look forward to partnering with these job creators over the next four years to build an even stronger Pennsylvania.”
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Rob Gleason, chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, is criticizing Democrat Tom Wolf’s campaign for comments about Corbett’s service in the Pennsylvania National Guard.
A spokesman for Wolf’s Campaign for a Fresh Start claimed that Corbett “joined the National Guard to avoid going to Vietnam.”
“The time has come for Tom Wolf to stand up and put an end to his campaign’s repeated attacks on the PA National Guard,” Gleason said. “Tom Wolf has remained silent while his campaign has equated joining the PA National Guard with dodging the draft. Since Tom Wolf has refused to comment on his campaign’s awful comments, we can only assume he is comfortable with his campaign’s attacks on veterans.
“The statements made by the Wolf campaign regarding the Pennsylvania National Guard are highly offensive. It’s time for Tom Wolf to send a message that such behavior against our veterans is unacceptable and call for the resignation of any party who has attacked Pennsylvania veterans.”
Corbett served in the National Guard from 1971–84.
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Wolf was endorsed by Education Voters Action Fund, which promotes a pro-public education agenda in Pennsylvania while opposing vouchers and calling for charter school reform.
“Public education has been left behind under Gov. Corbett’s leadership over the last four years in Pennsylvania. Tom Wolf will make support for public education a top priority once again,” said Susan Gobreski, executive director of the fund.
Wolf released the following statement: “If elected, I will make education a top priority in the commonwealth by instituting a 5-percent severance tax (on natural gas extraction) to restore Tom Corbett’s $1 billion cuts to education. These cuts have caused over 27,000 educators to be laid off, increases in class sizes, skyrocketing property taxes and the elimination of valuable programs.”
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The Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan watchdog whose mission includes fighting for honest elections and increased access to voting, is urging Anthony Clark, chairman of the city elections commission, not to seek re-election in 2015 if he cannot disprove a report in City Paper that he has not voted in almost three years.
“It’s astonishing that the head of the board that oversees Philadelphia’s elections doesn’t vote,” said Ellen Kaplan, Seventy’s interim president and CEO. “Clark should be the first to set an example for city voters about the importance of voting. He can’t credibly deliver this message when he doesn’t vote himself.”
Clark earns $134,149 annually.
The Committee of Seventy wants Philadelphia to eliminate partisan elections of city commissioners.
“Seventy has long supported replacing three independently elected city commissioners with an appointed elections professional like other 21st-century cities,” Kaplan said.
The Republican City Committee described Clark’s failure to vote as “appalling yet expected from the Democrats that run this city.”
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The Committee of Seventy last week urged City Council to enact, and send to city voters for approval, a pending proposed amendment to the Home Rule Charter to create a permanent and independent inspector general.
A proposal introduced by Councilman Jim Kenney in January 2013 sits without action in Council’s Law and Government Committee.
Seventy’s call comes after Mayor Michael Nutter’s signing of an executive order to continue the Office of the Inspector General, which roots out corruption, fraud, misconduct and waste in city government. The OIG’s oversight extends to all departments, agencies, boards and commissions under the mayor’s jurisdiction. City Council and the independently elected row offices are not covered.
“The OIG should have oversight over every city department funded by the taxpayers’ dollars,” said Ellen Kaplan, Seventy’s interim president and CEO. “Elected and appointed city employees, as well as city contractors, have nothing to fear if they are doing their jobs honestly.”
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Congregations of Shaare Shamayim, at 9768 Verree Road in Bustleton, welcomes the public to attend a candidates forum on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 10 a.m.
The synagogue’s Men’s Club is organizing the event, which will be moderated by lawyer and educator Ruth Horwitz.
On Nov. 4, voters will choose candidates for state representative, state Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and governor and lieutenant governor.
Light food will be provided. ••
