Via WagnerForGov.com: http://wagnerforgov.com/2018/07/16/video-fetterman-announces-new-ticket-policy-keep-property-taxes/
Breaks From Wolf’s Push To Provide Relief
On July 5th John Fetterman held a press conference where he asserted that the Wolf-Fetterman ticket no longer wants to pursue property tax reform, despite the fact that it was something the Governor ran on in 2014 and was running on in 2018 as well.Fetterman’s sudden announcement even had veteran Capitol reporter Jan Murphy confused, as she pointed out that Wolf has pushed (unsuccessfully of course) for property tax reform in the past.
Click HERE for the video of the exchange.
TRANSCRIPT
JAN MURPHY: “On property tax reform, in your neck of the woods is that something that is like the top concern?”
JOHN FETTERMAN: “No. I think a lot of people understand how just important public education is. And I think that property taxes are necessary to have well funded public education across Pennsylvania. And Governor Wolf has been at the head of the movement to restore the cuts that were left by his predecessor and he stands in opposition to all those kinds of cuts and changes that Scott Wagner would make should he be elected governor.”
JAN MURPHY: “I thought that the Governor was supportive at some point in his first four years – I thought that that was one of his issues that he wanted to address?”
JOHN FETTERMAN: “Sure. Well I can’t speak to the exact positions three or four years ago. I can only speak to the current state of affairs. I can only speak to what is at stake right now for Pennsylvanians and the choice that they have here in the commonwealth.” (Press Conference, 7/5/18)
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Fetterman’s admission that Wolf will not pursue property tax reform is in direct conflict with what the Governor said in a radio interview on KDKA on May 15, 2018.
RADIO HOST: “What ever happened to our property tax relief that we’ve heard about, and heard about, and heard about? Where is our property tax relief?”
TOM WOLF: “…So we keep trying and keep talking about it, but it is an issue that I think is really important. I ran on it four years ago. I still think it is important and I will continue to try and do something about it.” (4:39-6:18, KDKA, 5/15/18)
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The Wolf-Fetterman ticket’s sudden reversal on property tax reform stands in stark contrast to Scott Wagner’s position on the issue.
As ABC-27 reported earlier this month, “‘If you vote for me and I become the next governor, I will eliminate the school taxes on your home,’ said Scott Wagner.” (ABC-27, 7/5/18)
“John Fetterman has made Tom Wolf’s change of heart on this issue crystal clear,” said Wagner for Governor campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo. “If Pennsylvanians want their out of control property taxes that are forcing them from their homes to stay the same they should vote for Tom Wolf, and if they want them eliminated they should vote for Scott Wagner.”
And if there was any doubt that Fetterman was speaking for the entire ticket with regards to its new property tax position, the Wolf campaign extinguished it with a nonresponse to a questionnaire from the Central Penn Business Journal late last week:
“Wagner supports eliminating school property taxes and raising personal income and sales taxes to cover the cost. Wolf: Wolf’s campaign did not respond directly to this question.” (Central Penn Business Journal, 7/13/18)
