TOM CORBETT PROTECTS FAMILIES WHILE ONORATO PLAYS IN THE MUD

Onorato Attacks Use of Funding to Prosecute Child Predators and Take Felons with Guns off Philadelphia Streets
 
HARRISBURG – In Dan Onorato’s rush to distract and mislead voters he releases two mud-slinging attack ads that level unsubstantiated, miss-sourced attacks and criticizes the use of state funding to prosecute child predators and fight illegal gun violence on Philadelphia streets.   
 
“During Monday’s gubernatorial debate Dan Onorato claimed he would prioritize state spending but evidently prosecuting child predators and fighting illegal gun violence on the streets of Philadelphia aren’t among Onorato’s priorities,” said Brian Nutt, Tom Corbett for Governor Campaign Manager.
 
The Onorato spot cites an Office of Attorney General budget increase request detailed in a 2005 Pittsburgh Post Gazette article that funded the creation of the Child Predator Unit.  The spot goes on to accuse the Office of Attorney General of abusing taxpayer cars citing statistics from a Capitolwire article which specifically states that 25 of the 31 cars added under Corbett were for use by the new Philadelphia Gun Violence Task Force. 
 
“In his desperation to mislead Pennsylvania voters Dan Onorato attacks Tom Corbett’s actions as Attorney General to protect and defend Pennsylvania families,” said Nutt.
 
Additional attacks found in the ads reveal inaccurate sourcing and unsubstantiated generalities about Tom Corbett’s record. 
 
Onorato cites the Sunday News, 4/11/04 as evidence that Tom Corbett supported policies that cost jobs, yet this article contains no support for any policy of any kind whatsoever, while the additional CNN source is unclear and unsubstantiated.  Onorato’s claims on property tax reform are thinly supported by a letter to the editor written by a Democratic member of the State House, hardly an unbiased or factual citation.
 
When we turn our eye to Onorato’s claims about his own record again we find fuzzy math and selective, creative number crunching to produce inaccurate and misleading claims. 
 
Onorato says he created jobs, yet a careful look at the facts show that after December 2003 the number of employed workers in Allegheny County decreased by thousands.
 
Additionally, Onorato claims to have downsized his payroll but between 2004 and 2009 the county payroll increased full-time employees by 343 and in 2008 the county payroll was hiked by $2.6 million with many employees receiving double digit raises.
 
“Dan Onorato is a career politician who has nothing to offer the people of Pennsylvania but four more years of Ed Rendell.  He can’t sell that truth to the people of Pennsylvania so he portrays a creative interpretation of his own record,” said Nutt.
 
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