Effects of the Gubernatorial Election - NOT POLITICAL

We all know what Tom Corbett is like as a Governor, like him or not.

Tom Wolf is an unknown quantity when it comes to public transit.

The last Democratic Governor was Ed Rendell. We knew Rendell as DA. We knew Rendell as Mayor.

Rendell was a known quantity locally when he ran for Governor.

I'm not judging or endorsing either candidate in any way here.

Does anyone have any serious thoughts as to what the political atmosphere in Harrisburg will be for SEPTA if Tom Wolf wins the Governorship, or if Tom Corbett serves a second term?

Think about it.

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Clearfield wrote:We all know what Tom Corbett is like as a Governor, like him or not.

Tom Wolf is an unknown quantity when it comes to public transit.

The last Democratic Governor was Ed Rendell. We knew Rendell as DA. We knew Rendell as Mayor.

Rendell was a known quantity locally when he ran for Governor.

I'm not judging or endorsing either candidate in any way here.

Does anyone have any serious thoughts as to what the political atmosphere in Harrisburg will be for SEPTA if Tom Wolf wins the Governorship, or if Tom Corbett serves a second term?

Think about it.

As a former resident of Pa, Harrisburg has always been cool to Septa (and to mass transit as a whole.) I would predict the status quo to continue under another Corbett administration. I would think the same for Tom Wolf, but if he wins, he needs to to be allowed to prove (or disprove) himself. We'll see.

I think some state government elections will also play a roll. PA Senate & Assembly. I have my own notions of what will go down November 4, but thats another topic for another forum.

I do not think it makes a difference who the Governor is. Corbett sides with the Pennsyltucky politicians who make up the majority of the legislature, and Wolf is from York (If I recall properly), which does not have much of anything in the way of transit. Rendell knew of Philadelphia's needs having lived here for decades, so of course there was benefit for SEPTA there. Neither can be said of either candidate now.

My call: It is going to be another rough 4 years.

Oh but Wolf - and his party - cares deeply for the working class, and public transit - right? Sorry if that comment makes this political but were he to win I would expect him to care about such issues... Right?

I agree with some of the above posters that the makeup of the legislature will count more than who is governor. We'll still have to contend with Butler County's Gift To The Commonwealth and plenty of like-minded others.

Hi,

I've been lurking for some time, but given the timeframe before election day, let me ask this: there is a Philadelphia city bond issue ballot question, where the first listed item (among a disconnected grab bag) is capital transit improvements, so I assume it's the largest item. What is the way to find out either what projects this will pay for or what percent of total each item in the grab bag will get from the $137 million?

"City Bond Question: Should the City of Philadelphia borrow ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-SEVEN MILLION TWO HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($137,295,000.00) to be spent for and toward capital purposes as follows: Transit; Streets and Sanitation; Municipal Buildings; Parks, Recreation and Museums; and Economic and Community Development?"

My usual source of ballot question info, the Committee of Seventy website, does not break it out, though a little searching did find this - apparently the transit slice is only 3.7 million, and it's not clear for what intended purpose, but city council can rearrange as they see fit:
https://phila.legistar.com/LegislationD ... C5F3481F65" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regards,
Keith

The real question is what will become of the Secretary of Transportation position? If Wolf wins, will he keep Schoch - who was able to convince a "No new taxes" governor and legislature to raise a gas tax for transportation improvement to include mass transit. So far, there has been no hints/rumors on what Wolf would do in regards to this if he wins.

the sarge wrote:The real question is what will become of the Secretary of Transportation position? If Wolf wins, will he keep Schoch - who was able to convince a "No new taxes" governor and legislature to raise a gas tax for transportation improvement to include mass transit. So far, there has been no hints/rumors on what Wolf would do in regards to this if he wins.

For those wondering Wolf's position, i can tell you now, it is roughly in line with other PA dems. A Wolf budget would likely put more towards transit, plus one time projects like stations. It would be a brand new day for SEPTA.

I agree with R3 passenger. With neither candidate from the Philly area, it's unlikely there will be much change for SEPTA no matter who wins. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

Instead of speculating blindly about what Tom Wolf thinks based on where he's from, maybe we can read what he's actually written. This is a guest spot Wolf wrote for Philadelphia-based urban space blog This Old City, back in May, in the runup to the Democratic primary:

http://thisoldcity.com/policy/tom-wolf- ... ia-economy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Two fair use quotes:

Tom Wolf wrote: Unfortunately, the debate between Governor Corbett and the Republicans legislators this past fall was inadequate and unfair. It devolved into whether we should we fix our bridges or not.

Obviously, it’s unacceptable that Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of structurally deficient bridges and our drivers spend billions of dollars each year repairing their cars because of the poor state of our roads.

But I also think it is unacceptable that we have only one train traveling each day between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, our manufacturers and suppliers are less competitive because it is difficult and time consuming to travel around the state, and we continue to prioritize funding for infrastructure projects that encourage driving over the use of public transportation.

Tom Wolf wrote:While other states and cities have continued to expand and modernize their transit systems, our transit authorities, like the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), have struggled to survive. Instead of updating equipment and tackling major improvement projects -- like expanding the Broad Street Line to the Navy Yard -- SEPTA has had to plan for significant cut-backs in services.

Allowing our public transportation systems to fall apart is not just a bad transportation policy, it’s a bad economic development policy. For example, the Broad Street Line extension would make the Navy Yard much more commuter-friendly and attractive to businesses looking to relocate to Philadelphia.

Additionally, transit-friendly cities are more attractive to young residents, they help cut down on major traffic congestion, and they save residents money. According to Building America’s Future, residents who choose to commute to work by public transportation instead of by car save more than $9,000 per year. As governor, I will prioritize investments in local public transportation systems so that Pennsylvania is positioned to attract new businesses and residents to our urban centers and our cities have the resources to redevelop and revitalize struggling neighborhoods.

My takeaway: He may be a manufacturing guy from York, but Tom Wolf gets cities, and transit, at a deeper level than any Governor than any in Pennsylvania's recent history, and that includes Philadelphia's own Ed Rendell. If you are a single-issue transit voter, vote Wolf.


Full disclosure: I have also guest-blogged for This Old City, calling for the state to fund increased frequencies on the Pennsylvanian, as well as for an overnight train between New York and Pittsburgh.

CComMack wrote:Instead of speculating blindly about what Tom Wolf thinks based on where he's from, maybe we can read what he's actually written. This is a guest spot Wolf wrote for Philadelphia-based urban space blog This Old City, back in May, in the runup to the Democratic primary:

http://thisoldcity.com/policy/tom-wolf- ... ia-economy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Two fair use quotes:

Tom Wolf wrote: Unfortunately, the debate between Governor Corbett and the Republicans legislators this past fall was inadequate and unfair. It devolved into whether we should we fix our bridges or not.

Obviously, it’s unacceptable that Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of structurally deficient bridges and our drivers spend billions of dollars each year repairing their cars because of the poor state of our roads.

But I also think it is unacceptable that we have only one train traveling each day between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, our manufacturers and suppliers are less competitive because it is difficult and time consuming to travel around the state, and we continue to prioritize funding for infrastructure projects that encourage driving over the use of public transportation.

Tom Wolf wrote:While other states and cities have continued to expand and modernize their transit systems, our transit authorities, like the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), have struggled to survive. Instead of updating equipment and tackling major improvement projects -- like expanding the Broad Street Line to the Navy Yard -- SEPTA has had to plan for significant cut-backs in services.

Allowing our public transportation systems to fall apart is not just a bad transportation policy, it’s a bad economic development policy. For example, the Broad Street Line extension would make the Navy Yard much more commuter-friendly and attractive to businesses looking to relocate to Philadelphia.

Additionally, transit-friendly cities are more attractive to young residents, they help cut down on major traffic congestion, and they save residents money. According to Building America’s Future, residents who choose to commute to work by public transportation instead of by car save more than $9,000 per year. As governor, I will prioritize investments in local public transportation systems so that Pennsylvania is positioned to attract new businesses and residents to our urban centers and our cities have the resources to redevelop and revitalize struggling neighborhoods.

My takeaway: He may be a manufacturing guy from York, but Tom Wolf gets cities, and transit, at a deeper level than any Governor than any in Pennsylvania's recent history, and that includes Philadelphia's own Ed Rendell. If you are a single-issue transit voter, vote Wolf.


Full disclosure: I have also guest-blogged for This Old City, calling for the state to fund increased frequencies on the Pennsylvanian, as well as for an overnight train between New York and Pittsburgh.

My only issue is his ads suggest he was opposed to Act 89 which yeah raised the gas tax and other driving related fees but also provided a dedicated revenue stream for mass transit.

R3 Passenger wrote:Wolf is from York (If I recall properly), which does not have much of anything in the way of transit.

What transit York does have has a stupid name: Rabbit Transit. And I'm a Bugs/Looney Tunes fan. But somebody possessing power at Time Warner must see the humor in the name.

motor

ekt8750 wrote: My only issue is his ads suggest he was opposed to Act 89 which yeah raised the gas tax and other driving related fees but also provided a dedicated revenue stream for mass transit.

I also noted this when I saw it; I think he was just employing the old political tactic of taking a bill or vote completely out of context to make it seem like the opponent is a bozo, even though the politician who's commercial it is agrees with the bill as a whole.

Either way I'm not pleased.

Rabbit Transit in York does have a pretty decently run weekday rush-hour service interstate connector bus that runs all the way to Baltimore County and connects with the Maryland Transportation Authority run Light Rail line. Considering that part of south central PA has ties with the Baltimore market, it's actually a useful service.