Gov. Tom Wolf tried his hand at his own form of an “Ask Me Anything” when he took to Twitter on Tuesday.
Tweeting from his official account @GovernorTomWolf, Wolf fielded questions from constituents during a half-hour long “Twitter Townhall” starting at 11 a.m. He answered a total of 18 questions on topics ranging from education to energy to working with the Republican-controlled legislature.
On the topic of education, Wolf reiterated his push for a 5 percent severance tax on natural gas extraction to fund Pennsylvania’s school system, linking to a video he posted earlier this month. He also stressed the importance of early learning and Pre-K schooling, teasing policy initiatives by telling constituents to “stay tuned for more next week.”
Wolf tackled a question about the damage of fracking by countering that the industry was vital in creating “#JobsThatPay.”
“To fulfill our potential, we must take responsible advantage of our resources,” Wolf wrote. “We can develop this industry in a safe & sustainable way. We want good jobs & a good environment.”
Wolf also insisted that he could work with the GOP-controlled legislature, highlighting his surprise visits to lawmakers earlier this month. The governor added that he and the legislature “MUST work together. We all want a better PA.”
It wasn’t just questions Wolf addressed during the townhall. Wolf answered a constituent who had tweeted about a state of emergency in Bradford, which she said only has 700,000 gallons of water for the whole town.
The Governor responded that he “spoke to the Mayor of Bradford a short while ago and closely monitoring the situation and ready to assist.”
Wolf took on all comers, even trolls.
The official Twitter account of the Pennsylvania Republican Party asked Wolf “How do you justify calling hard-working Pennsylvanians “underachiever(s)”?
Responding in three parts, Wolf wrote, “Fact check – I’ve never said that about our state’s hardworking people. They are the best. More at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/growls/Gov-Wolf-got-it-right.html. We’re at the bottom in the nation in job growth, have a massive deficit & struggling schools. We can do better. I will be leader for a change who brags about our great people and assets to improve PA.”
As for what he’s most proud of in his first month of office, Wolf mentioned the Medicaid expansion, gift ban and measures to protect parks and forests.
And, for those who were wondering, Wolf’s infamous jeep is a stick shift.
We also created our own Storify timeline which you can view below.
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11 Responses
The state health insurance program is a massive failure and former UPMC employees are getting hired by the state to allegedly provide help to those who are without or struggling to get health care. Gov. Wolf is a huge fan of Obama and so are these nasty, uneducated and disgusting phone reps who talk down to people who are in need. This usually is how a dictatorship operates. What exactly are we Governor? Taxes pay your wages and the wages of these indignant morons who get these cushy state jobs. How about an end to this nonsense.
Very well. Let’s see if he keeps up with it as I have plenty of questions he has yet to answer.
WesternPA_Pete-
That may be so that he doesn’t want to give up on it. I just think he should be honest about fracking being unsafe and unsustainable.
He should just come out and admit: We are going to screw up the environment and the health of the local residents in rural PA to fund education and other priorities. It’s a hard choice and we’ve picked them as sacrifice.
Then, we can at least have an honest debate about the pros and cons. But, to blatantly lie and claim that fracking can ever be safe (thus acknowledging it’s not safe now) is not helpful in the debate.
Hey David,
Give it up. Wolf has no intentions of killing that goose, especially when he has so many plans as to how he’s going to spend those golden eggs.
Abby – in what way is the Jeep “infamous”? Perhaps you simply meant “famous”?
Someone please give Alan Kennedy Shaffer a job he’s such a loser he’s resorted to begging for one in the comments section of politics pa
Tom, when will you finally hire Alan Kennedy-Shaffer?
Here was mine:
@GovernorTomWolf Why does PA still do business with IBM after the UI system fiasco, and how much money does Temple lose on its Tokyo campus?
Didn’t need Tom’s answer on what is a research question, but it would be nice to get TLC from one of the staff who could answer it. I hope the serious, tweeted questions that couldn’t get addressed in the 30 minutes do get an answer.
Thank you Governor Wolf! It is truly refreshing to have you as our Governor! I appreciate your transparency and leadership style.
#JobsThatPay ???
How about… #JobsThatPollute #JobsThatKill #JobsThatHarm #JobsThatExploit
When the DEP starts doing REAL testing of the wells and runoff, they are going to have to shut fracking down for public safety.
“We can develop this industry in a safe & sustainable way.” 100% false.
Fracking is inherently unsafe and unsustainable. That was the result of the NY report, and every experience where fracking is occurring.
“We want good jobs & a good environment.” YES, we do.
Fracking isn’t even a “good job” because the workers have higher rates of death as well as sickness from the chemicals. It’s bad for the environment and the residents living nearby.
Mr. Wolf: Go visit these shale fields, and NOT on some industry run tour that skips the contaminated areas and the people suffering with polluted water. Go on a real tour of the problems. The officials from NY did. You should too.
Jobs that are good for environment: how about manufacturing windmills or solar panels?