Politics PA

By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Knox on Thursday will unveil a list of government and electoral reforms he says he’ll bring to Harrisburg if elected, including vows to enact stringent campaign finance reform and force sitting public officials to resign if they undertake a campaign for new office.

“Because I am not a career politician, I have no stake protecting Harrisburg’s business-as-usual culture,” Knox said in a statement his campaign provided PoliticsPA. “If elected governor, it will be my priority to work to restore public confidence in the ability of state government to respond to the needs of families, and not just the demands of politically connected special interests.”

In addition to campaign alterations, the candidate said he wants to eliminate discretionary legislative spending accounts, known as “WAMs,” and reduce the legislature’s size. He also wants to mandate ethics training for lawmakers, prohibit lobbyist gifts to state officials, and enact a merit-based appointment system for judicial candidates, among other reforms.

Knox said he would call for a special legislative reform session immediately after taking office.

Thursday’s announcement is an attempt by Knox’s campaign to position him as the “outsider” and reform candidate among the five-man Democratic field. His proposal to prohibit sitting public officials from running for office is also a not-so-subtle dig at his opponents, all of whom hold office.

Knox, a wealthy businessman who ran unsuccessfully for Philadelphia mayor two years ago, faces Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty, Auditor General Jack Wagner, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel for the Democratic nomination.

Each of them will likely fight Knox for the reform candidate title with state government approval ratings at historic lows after a much-maligned 101-day budget impasse. They will likely also charge that his proposal to limit campaign contributions is nothing more than an attempt to give personally wealthy candidates, such as Knox, an unfair advantage.

Knox’s campaign finance reform plan includes a proposal to limit contributions from “those who do business with Harrisburg” to $500. Caps would be set for everyone else at a “low level,” said Knox, who acknowledged enacting the limit would be difficult but called it a “cornerstone” of his campaign.

Candidate running for state office in Pennsylvania do not face any campaign finance restrictions, unlike those running for federal office.

Knox’s campaign said it devised the reform platform with help from Common Cause, a good-government advocacy group.

Thursday could mark the unofficial beginning of the Democratic gubernatorial race, which has been mostly quiet thus far. Campaign staffers have mostly focused on behind-the-scenes efforts while receiving little mainstream media coverage, a stark contrast to the statewide race being waged for U.S. Senate.

Auditor General Wagner is expected to make his official gubernatorial campaign announcement next week.

Related Posts

1. PoliticsPA Reports: Knox touts wealth as key to reform
2. PoliticsPA Reports: Knox unveils energy plan but faces questions over event location
3. PoliticsPA: Rival campaigns react to Knox’s exit
4. PoliticsPA: Knox ends campaign, says Onorato gives Ds best chance in fall
5. PoliticsPA: In five-man field, Doherty positions as darkhorse

Tags: Tom Knox, Tom Knox for governor

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 3:20 am and is filed under PA Reports, PoliticsPA Reports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.