Governor
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.)
Candidates for governor of Pen
nsylvania met for the first open
debate during a special meet-the
candidates forum held Monday
here during the annual meeting of
the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau
(PFB).
Moderated by Brad Eckart,
director of governmental relations.
American Farm Bureau, the highly
structured forum presented six
questions to each of seven pros
pective candidates for governor for
election in November next year.
Candidates include Tom Ridge,
(R-Erie, 21st Dist.); Mark Singel,
current state lieutenant governor,
democrat; Ernie Preale, Pennsyl
vania attorney general, republican;
Earl Baker (R-Paoli), state senator;
Mike Fisher (R-Pittsbuigh), state
senator; Bob O’Donnell, (D-
Phila.), state representative; and
Charles J. Volpe, businessman,
democrat.
Format for the forum was highly
structured, which included an
opening statement of three minutes
for each candidate; a one-minute
answer to the series of six ques
tions (the order was determined
through a drawing held prior to the
forum); and a two-minute closing
statement Questions varied wide
ly and ranged from property tax
reform in the state to how impor
tant agricultural programs will be
under the new administration to
preserving wetlands and labor
laws as they apply to seasonal and
migrant farm workers.
Candidates were completely in
favor of widespread property tax
reform, giving high priority to
agriculture, support of a mandat
ory state recycling law, and com
pensation for farmers if they’re
property is devaluated. Candidates
differed in their opinions some
what on how they would approach
defining and dealing with wetlands
and how state labor laws should
accommodate the unique aspects
of agriculture employment Nearly
all agreed that die state’s Depart
ment of Environmental Resources
(DER) would be restructured.
Following is the list of six ques
tions. Each candidates response
was carefully recorded, and a sum
mary of their platforms and posi
tions is included.
Questions
• Question 1: Do you support
property tax reform in Pennsylva
nia, and more specifically, regard
ing state and local funding for
public education? If you do, is
Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidates at the PFB Convention on Monday. From
left, Tom Ridge, Made Singe), Mike Fisher, Earl Baker, Ernie Preate, Bob O’Donnell,
and Charles J. Volpe, Jr.
Candidates
there a specific approach that you
favor?
• Question 2; Both farmers and
consumers benefit from Pennsyl
vania’s Department of Agriculture
(PDA) programs. What priority of
funding would you give to PDA?
• Question 3: Pennsylvania’s
recycling law hasn’t done much to
curb roadside litter in rural areas.
What do you propose to get and
keep bottles and cans out of fields?
• Question 4: What is your
definition of a wetland worth pre
serving? How would you protect
wedands really worth saving?
• Question 5: Should property
owners be compensated when their
property is devalued because gov
ernment regulations are placing
restrictions on their land use?
• Question 6: In recent years,
certain attempts have been made to
apply laws written for transient,
seasonal farm workers to all farm
workers. How should state labor
laws accommodate the unique
aspects of agriculture
employment?
Tom Ridge
“You need an agriculture leader
in the governor’s office, and I want
to be that leader,” said Tom Ridge
in his opening statement “You
need someone who understands
that you are businessmen and
businesswomen and that profita
bility is what you’re interested in,
and that in order to do that you
need government off your backs,
markets open, so that you can real
ize the potential that you have in
your communities.”
In the last 11 years, according to
a newsletter published by the Agri
culture Coalition Newsletter,
Debate At Farm Bureau Forum
Earl Baker
Ridge for Governor, Ridge has
represented rural northwestern
Pennsylvania in the House ofßcp
resentatives. Ridge stressed that
his priorities will include “greater
marketing efforts, measures to
improve farm exports, and a com
plete overhaul of the Department
of Environmental Resources’*
(DER).
Platform goals include develop
ing an aggressive, well-staffed
PDA; make marketing ag products
a priority; make “grown in Pen
nsylvania” and “made in Pennsyl
vania” labels a trademark sem
throughout the world; support new
product and market research; and
work with state farmers to improve
their profitability.
Ridge voted for and strongly
supported the recent North Ameri
can Free Trade Agreement,
approved by the U.S. House late
Wednesday by a vote of 234-200.
NAFTA will take effect on Jan. 1,
1994, if Congress approves.
Regarding the property tax
reform question, Ridge said that
“we don’t need more taxes, we
need more effective and responsi
ble government Any tax reform
must be revenue-neutral.”
Ridge said he favors eliminating
the practice of unfunded mandates.
He said too often that tax reform is
looked at as an excuse to raise tax
es, and cited the fact that farm
income is down 24 percent last
year, and during the past five
years, farm taxes went up 38
percent
Regarding question 2, PDA’s
funding priority. Ridge said the
“primary responsibility is to find
better ways to spend the money
you’re already sending” to the
state. He said that if the state gov
ernment would have limited its
spending “simply to the level of
inflation the past six to seven
years, the stale’s funding would be
$l3 billion instead of $l6 billion.”
Regarding question 3, the Bottle
Bill-type legislation, he said if the
state’s going to be in the business
of recycling, that somehow the
state would have to try to create
markets for the kind of material
being recycled. Public education
about recycling is also key.
Regarding question 4, preserv
ing wetlands. Ridge told those pre
sent that he tried to take the lead on
a comprehensive wetlands man
agement and reform measure in the
House. “I do not thing that all wet
lands are created equal. I do not
thing that a farmer or a business
man in a community should have
to knock on four or five different
doors in order to get some kind of
approval.” Ridge said classifica
tion of wetlands to their ecological
value and relationship they have to
the community is important
Ernie Preate
On question 5, property devalu
ation compensation, what amounts
to taking and how that compensa
tion should be carried out needs to
be fully examined. ‘This question
needs to be given a very high prior
ity,'" he said.
On question 6. transient worker
laws. Ridge emphasized the need
to not take “unfair economic or
social advantage of transient work
ers at any time or any place. The
best tiling for Pennsylvania to do is
to understand that we need them.”
.Mark Singel
Mark Single has served as the
stale’s acting government since
June, when Gov. Robert Casey
underwent a heart transplant. Sing
el is a former state senator and is a
two)term lieutenant governor.
“This has been the most pro
agriculture, pro-farmer adminstra
tion in the history of Pennsylvani
a,” said Singel. “Every one of the
promises and commitments that
we made in 1986 were fulfilled.
And we intend to do much more.”
Singel, in his opening statement,
spoke about the leadership given
by Secretary of Agriculture Boyd
Wolff to represent fanning and
related industry, the state’s “$4O
billion dollar enterprise.
“We will continue to treat it with
the top priority that it deserved.”
Singel said the state has spend
$lOO million to preserve some
30,000 acres of farmland in the
state.
Regarding the question on prop
erty tax reform, Singel said he sup
ports a program that he has sup
ported of which the largest benefits
will go to the fanners. On the
PDA’s funding priority. Singel
said that he “will not create new
programs just to create new prog
rams.” Priorities include market
development, product, salesman
(Tum to Pago A 32)