By Scott Wagner

I'm running for governor because I believe the special interests controlling Harrisburg are abusing ordinary Pennsylvanians. And I believe that you need a governor who's a lot more like you and a lot less like them. You need a governor on your side.

Four years ago, I battled for a seat in the state Senate for the same reason, but it didn't take long for me to realize two critical realities: the dysfunction and the grip of special interests were far worse than I'd ever imagined, and there was only so much a senator could do to make change.

The real ability to effect change lies with a governor -- one who's willing to get the job done.

I grew up working seven days a week on a small family farm where I was taught that there is work that must be done, and I was being counted on to make it happen. I learned that no job is beneath me.

I was taught that when you start something you finish it, you do it well, and you do it right. That early training allowed a farm boy to become a successful businessman despite not having gone to college.

It allowed a farm boy to fight and win against bad actors within the business community.

It allowed a farm boy to steer his businesses through five recessions, to provide thousands of family-sustaining jobs and issue more than a million paychecks. It will allow that same farm boy to take on the job of fixing what's wrong in Pennsylvania -- and finish it right and well.

What's wrong in Pennsylvania never changes. We are over taxed. Government regulations, which favor special interests, sabotage small businesses that could otherwise provide job opportunities. We have a tax and spend culture that serves politicians at the expense of the people. And that's just the beginning.

The solutions don't change either. We all know what needs to be done, and there's no shortage of politicians selling nifty promises that never materialize.

I am running for Governor to defend people who've been sidelined, and to demonstrate what Pennsylvania can look like if we make it work for the them rather than politicians and their funders.

My platform rests on common sense. My policies and ideas come from one source only: the hardworking men and women of our Commonwealth who have long been forgotten.

We need a governor who'll end regulations that keep businesses from providing jobs and better wages.

We need a governor who'll pay more than lip service to school safety, the opioid crisis and managing the peoples' tax dollars with respect for those that provide them. We need a governor who's willing to go to work for the right people.

We need a governor who not only knows how to get the job done -- but who's actually willing and determined to do it.

Change won't come easily -- and it sure won't come from accepting tens of millions from the special interests who want the status quo. It will come when we band together and refuse to back down.

And when I'm governor, change will come because my loyalties are not in conflict. I don't owe any favors, and I don't need a job.

It will come because when I start something, I finish it. I don't back down, I don't let up, and I don't take short cuts. I do what it takes to get the job done -- and I'm going to fix Pennsylvania. I'm going to do it well, and I'm going to do it right.

State Sen. Scott Wagner, of York County, is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania governor in the May 15 primary.