In this second feature comparing Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial candidates and their platforms with their 20th century predecessors, we’ll examine similarities on two specific issues that are apparent with Republicans Tom Corbett and Dick Thornbugh who served as governor from 1979 to 1987.
By Ken Wolensky
Special to PoliticsPA
Public Sector Corruption
It is hard to find a public office seeker who doesn’t address corruption and the need to clean-up government. This was certainly the case with Dick Thornburgh. He ran issue-charged campaigns focusing on putting a stop to the incredible level of public sector corruption that plagued the Commonwealth in the 1970s. This issue resonated well with voters as, incredibly, more than 200 elected and appointed officials at all levels had been indicted, convicted of, admitted to, or pleaded no contest to corruption charges between 1970 and 1978, including several in the administration of Governor Milton Shapp (1971-1979). Perhaps the most well know prosecution was that of Henry J. “Buddy” Cianfrani, State Senator from Pennsylvania’s first district in Philadelphia. Cianfrani, a well know power broker was convicted in 1977 of federal racketeering and mail fraud charges and for padding his Senate payroll. He was sentenced to five years in federal prison and, after serving 27 months, was released. Ironically, his successor was Vincent Fumo who, similarly, was convicted in 2009 of over 100 federal corruption charges.
Thornburgh expressed outrage by the corruption. Following his defeat of Pittsburgh Mayor Pete Flaherty in 1978 (he had a 288,000 margin over Flaherty and narrowly defeated Democrat Allen Ertel by 100,000 votes in 1982) Thornburgh set out to clean-up state government. First, he made it clear that political patronage would take a back seat in his administration and that only qualified individuals would be hired for executive branch positions. Moreover, he promised to make significant strides in professionalizing state government. He largely delivered on this promise as. For example, many pedigreed engineers were hired by PennDOT, long a patronage bastion, and civil service-qualified hiring was expanded. His administration eliminated 15,000 positions that were deemed unnecessary. Many, he said, were acquired through patronage resulting in unqualified workers. However, this didn’t sit well with AFSCME and other unions that he had courted during the election. They argued that Thornburgh’s assessment of ‘unnecessary’ was subjective and arbitrary. Despite their best efforts, the state complement was significantly reduced during his tenure.
Moreover, executive branch employees and officials were required to comply with a tough and unprecedented code of conduct and ethics policy. For example, employees had to disclose all interests in private sector entities, particularly those that did business with state government. And, they were banned from accepting any gifts or payment for services associated with their state jobs, long a problem during the Shapp years. For example, should a state official speak at a professional conference, they were permitted to accept a meal, but nothing else or face termination.
Corbett isn’t overly specific on his anti-corruption stance yet he does make it clear that it won’t be tolerated in state government and that he will ban all political contributions and gifts during state procurement processes. Corbett’s goal is not only to ban such practices in the executive branch (where he can do so by executive order) but to extend it to the legislative and judicial branches; a more difficult task as legislation is likely required. And, it is clear from Corbett’s term as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General that his mantra has been intolerance of corruption. Perhaps the best example is the prosecution of those associated with the so-called ‘Bonusgate’ scandal that plagued the General Assembly. Corbett’s charges of malfeasance are sweeping though some argue that political motivation is the driving force: should he secure convictions, he may well be elected governor.
And, Corbett promises to eliminate WAMs or ‘walking-around money’ long a favorite of legislators who have been accused of using them less than honestly and purely as ‘pork.’ His goal here is hard to achieve, however. Efforts have been made in the past – largely without success – to eliminate such pending through both the budgeting and legislative processes. Tom Ridge, for example, attempted to address the issue without success. In fact, during his administration they earned the moniker ‘Ridges’ or ‘Regional Initiatives Designed to Guarantee Election Security.’ Organizations like Common Cause were not humored.
Jobs and the Economy
As with corruption, every public office candidate addresses jobs and the economy. Thornburgh faced a particularly difficult challenge in the late 1970s and early 1980s as deindustrialization hit Pennsylvania and the so-called ‘Rustbelt’ particularly hard. Areas of the Commonwealth saw double digit unemployment and it wasn’t unusual for the overall unemployment rate to hover at or near 10%. Moreover, the state unemployment compensation fund ran up huge deficits and had to borrow from the federal government to meet its statutory commitments. An indebtedness of $2.7 billion wasn’t repaid until 1988 during the tenure of Governor Robert Casey.
The Commonwealth’s traditional industries – steel, coal, and manufacturing – were particularly hard hit. U.S. Steel, Bethlehem Steel and others shuttered mills and laid-off tens of thousands. Consumer demand for coal waned. Garment and textile manufacturing couldn’t compete with low-cost foreign imports. Garment alone lost nearly 50,000 jobs from 1978 to 1988. Workers and their unions – as well as federal, state and local governments – remained powerless. As Dick Thornburgh put it, “The national economy caught a cold; Pennsylvania came down with pneumonia
In response, Thornburgh policy wonks, university professors, and private sector experts launched the acclaimed Ben Franklin Partnership. An alliance between government, private industry, and research universities, the program fostered the development of and provided seed capital for high-tech enterprises such as robotics and information technology. Moreover, he launched a Small Business Action Center as a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs. And, funding for the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) was quadrupled to attract new and diverse employers. The Commonwealth also implemented a customized job training program, a new travel and tourism initiative, and a $20 billion infrastructure improvement program. By the end of his term, Thornburgh took credit for the creation of 500,000 new jobs, mostly in service and technology job sectors.
Corbett faces a challenge similar to Thornburgh in that the Commonwealth’s unemployment rate was 9.5% in January, 2010. And, while job growth in education, technology, and the public sector has been evident in the past two decades a large share has been in service and retail; jobs that frequently lack pensions, health care, and other benefits. Economic concerns have been compounded by the Great Recession.
Corbett’s policy proposals appear quite similar to Thornburgh especially when it comes to growing new technologies. For example, he proposes an initiative called ‘Discovered in PA’ and advocates that “ Pennsylvania has world-class research in several major areas including life sciences, robotics, nanotechnology, energy, advanced materials and manufacturing and information technologies. (I) believe that university-based research and development needs to be better leveraged into commercial opportunities through the creation Technology Transfer Incentive Program, which will help to move new ideas from the lab to the marketplace. To help facilitate the start of the program, (I) will establish a collaborative public-private partnership, ‘Discovered in PA – Developed in PA.’ ” The program will be an arrangement among universities and representatives of the Governor’s Office, Department of Community and Economic Development and Department of Education to foster higher education initiatives for related economic growth. The proposal, at least at this point, is not overly specific. For example, it doesn’t appear to address the role of the private sector.
To augment this program, Corbett proposes a program entitled ‘Grow Venture Capital Investments” that addresses the current lack of venture capital for Pennsylvania-developed technology and related initiatives. To leverage such capital he proposes to use federal Small Business Innovation Research grants, so called ‘angel funding,’ and early stage venture money for new business start-ups especially in information technology, life sciences, robotics, nanotechnology, and energy. Finally, he proposes a state tax credit for angel capital funders (although he doesn’t provide figures for the expected level of investment or impact of the tax credit on the Commonwealth’s already tight budget). Both Discovered in PA and the venture capital initiative appear quite similar to the Ben Franklin Partnership in intent and expected outcomes. Indeed, Ben Franklin provides an important and successful model.
In summary, Pennsylvania’s current level of public sector corruption and its economic problems are strikingly similar to those of the late 1970s and early 1980s. One requires intense investigation and absolute zero tolerance. The other requires new and innovative solutions. Candidate Tom Corbett’s policy proposals in both arenas are strikingly similar to those of Governor Dick Thornburgh; perhaps no mere coincidence. It is often in the best interest of candidates to examine the record of their predecessors to examine what worked, what didn’t, what carried well in the polls, and what secured votes. Corbett doesn’t seem to mention his predecessors yet his campaign may well learn – or already has learned – from Dick Thornburgh.
Ken Wolensky is a historian who writes and speaks frequently on Pennsylvania’s political, public policy, industrial and labor history. He has authored numerous books and articles on these topics.
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The Thornburgh economic spending programs are still in place. Thus, Corbett is for the status quo. The status quo is not working. Maybe that is why the Commonwealth Foundation gave his economic program an “F.”