



Paul Glover

"Harrisburg needs a diet with less fat

and more greens."



Many voters want a governor who intends to ban fracking, create green jobs without raising personal taxes, reduce the costs of living by rebuilding our cities toward balance with nature , expand Medicare to all, end the school-to- prison pipeline, control banks, make education exciting, end the student debt scam, replace nuclear power.



Leaders of the Green Party of Pennsylvania invited me to stand as their candidate. I agreed, in order to promote green solutions. The first published announcement of candidacy appeared in Philadelphia Weekly.



I'm founder of more than a dozen organizations dedicated to ecology and social justice, including Ithaca HOURS local currency, Philadelphia Orchard Project, Patch Adams free clinic, Citizen Planners of Los Angeles, Ithaca Health co-op.



As well, I'm founder of the Green Party of Los Angeles (1984) and Ithaca Green Party (1987), and was invited by GPUSA to participate in the 2004 Presidential primaries.



I'm author of six books, including Green Jobs Philly, A Crime Not a Crisis (about Pennsylvania's medical insurance system), Health Democracy.



A former professor of urban studies at Temple University, I hold degrees in Marketing and in City Management. I consult for community economic development, offering workshops on community finance, community health co-ops, and urban ecology.



In 1978 I walked across Pennsylvania from Delaware Water Gap to the SW corner.



Building a Green Pennsylvania



Without raising taxes, we can fully employ Pennsylvanians to rebuild our cities and farms. Our priorities are to lower costs of heating and eating. To provide doctors and clinics for all. To produce healthy food from these fertile lands. To teach new skills of community management.



And to create systems of banking and credit that serve the above.



There's already enough money in Pennsylvania today to enable EVERYONE to work creatively a few hours daily and then to relax with family and friends and enjoy top quality healthy food, to enjoy clean, low-cost warm housing, clean and safe transit, high quality handcrafted clothes and household goods, to enjoy creating and playing together, growing up and growing old in communities where everyone is valuable.



And to do this while replenishing rather than depleting the health of the planet. While enriching rather than exploiting workers here and around the world.



But Pennsylvania many of us here want to create, a Commonwealth of good work and friends and health and ease, is restrained by state, national and global elites for whom nature and labor are disposable. Those who control our land, law and money are wasting our talent, money, and resources.



Our abundant wealth has not yet been translated into widespread well-being because local money is instead poured down the drain, lost as food bills to agribusiness; lost as purchases from chain stores; lost as energy payments to foreign utilities; lost as payments to auto manufacturers, to oil companies and auto insurance companies; lost as rent payments to absentee landlords; lost as tourist dollars to hotel chains; lost as medical payments to drug companies and HMOs; lost by destruction of farmland for suburbanization; lost in pumping clean water for flushing wastes; lost as tax payments to state and federal agencies which often do more harm than good; and discarded into landfills.



As a result, many Pennsylvanians endure poorly-paid service jobs, struggling to pay for rent and groceries. We see many having a hard time getting medical and dental care. Even the middle class is worried.



From here on, mere compentent management is not enough-- we need to explore bold new directions. Great change is coming to Pennsylvania. Even if you're doing well today you know that an unstable economy could sink it all. Orderly transitions begun today will prepare our safe passage. Nothing less is liberal, nothing less conserves.



By contrast, Greens stimulate locally-controlled economic development, featuring regional stock exchanges, mutual aid systems, food and fuel buying clubs, barter networks, business incubators, limited-equity co-housing, import replacement programs, health co-ops, local currency, bikeways, energy efficiency programs, re-use warehouses, and so forth.



Rather than watch middle class and low income Pennsylvanians fight over scraps, we'll join forces to take control together. We'll build the Mutual Class.



Among the candidates for governor this year, I'm promoting expansion of locally-controlled mutual enterprises, to make Pennsylvania a national example of people's power.



The Green Party learns from all who share such dedication. As governor, my door will be open to public interest and closed to greed. This has been my life.



paulglover.org * [email protected]

(215) 805-8330

(215) 805-8330

SOLUTIONS



* Greens promote grassroots alternatives to dependence on corporate and governmental domination, while confronting injustice.

* Mutual Enterprise revives the American tradition of mutual benefit organizations, craft, and small businesses that celebrate community and nature. I favor neither heartless capitalism nor bleeding-heart socialism.



JOBS

green jobs: agriculture, construction, healing

rebuild cities toward balance with nature c

charity to ownership

worker ownership



HEALTH CARE

co-op legislation:

---community cost containment bill

reform Pa Insurance Dept.

build free clinics

nurse practitionsers operate independently

MDs permitted from out of state

medical marijuana

clean water via biodigester toilets



LAND

land trusts

adverse possession: revise to 4 yrs in Pa for nonprofit uses such as

---agriculture and solar housing

conservatorships

permaculture zones

end clearcutting



FOOD

urban orchards

food forests

greenhouses

CSAs

permaculture

edible parks

right-to-farm laws

limit corporate monocropping

regional sourcing



FUEL

oppose fracking

oppose nuclear fuels

oppose oil wars

phase out surface mining

favor passive solar construction and solar envelope zoning

favor wind farms with bird excluders

favor superinsulation

favor shift from automobiles to rail, bus and bikes

favor energy co-ops

favor municipalization



HOUSING

passive solar

mimimum R60 for new construction

weatherization, superwindows

city takes foreclosed homes by eminent domain

transfer tax for for solar housing

anti-gentrification tools

compost toilets

extreme makeover



WATER

prioritize porous paving

depave abandoned parking lots

require onsite collection on large commercial/industrial lots

rooftop and rainwater collection

compost toilets



FINANCE

regional stock exchanges (my proposal for Philadelphia Regional & Independent Stock Exchanges

establish State bank

transfer pension funds from Wall Street to SRI

community currencies

microcredit

bank regulations

public banking

credit unions

Funds for Ecological Living (FELS)



TRANSPORTATION

buses

bicycles

light rail

restrain cars

progressive street reclamation



EDUCATION

student loans: pay it forward

NEeighborhood Enterprise SchoolTeachers (NESTS)

green jobs: "Deep Green Jobs" is another book I've written

neighborhood management



CRIME

decriminalize victimless crimes

restorative justice and alternatives to incarceration

swift trials

youth courts by peers

rehabilitation: teach skills

require college education for police

end prison labor for corporate profit: require minimum wage

restore voting rights to ex-felons



GUNS

hunting for food, not fun

defend homes and Constitution

oppose "stand your ground" laws

end straw purchases

favor instant background checks

ban submachine guns

demilitarize police



WOMEN'S RIGHTS

favor right to choose: pro-life is more than pro-fetus

contraception and prenatal care

equal pay



GAY RIGHTS

marriage approved



GOVERNMENT

end revolving door between agencies and industry

end nepotism

cap administrative salaries: 3;1 ratio

require competitive bidding



YOUR SUGGESTIONS WELCOME



The following proposals are offered to restore this American republic to control by its full electorate; to free its markets for the employment and enjoyment of all workers; to transfer control of money to its public and to establish responsible banking; to secure homes from seizure; to assure quality education and medical care for all; to refresh America's soil, water and air for the health of endless generations; and to rebuild its cities toward balance with nature.



Government is Owned by Wall Street

Currently, Pennsylvania's power brokers are bankers, insurance companies, real estate developers, universities, and casinos. They dominate state policy to protect their interests. They define the boundaries of reform.

---Pennsylvanians can make Harrisburg serve social justice, create jobs, and heal the environment.



GREEN JOB CREATION: Employ Pennsylvanians though systems of community-based barter credits, to manufacture and install residential energy efficiencies, to remove excess paving, to install neighborhood gardens and orchards, and to provide health services. Accept these credits for part payment of property and sales taxes. Foreclose abandoned factories, then transfer them to local nonprofit organizations prepared to use them for green technologies and health services.



PENSIONS AND SAVINGS: Demand that Harrisburg divest its pension holdings in insurance companies and student loan banks (like Chase and Wells Fargo), and move State accounts to community-based banks and credit unions. Endorse regional stock exchanges.



REAL ESTATE SALES: Require that transfer taxes go to a community fund for weatherization in lowest-decile neighborhoods. End 10-year tax abatement for new construction of commercial, industrial or other business properties.



VACANT LAND USE: Require that government-owned vacant land in lowest-income neighborhoods be made available for organic farms, gardens, greenhouses and orchards on long-term lease with first option to buy.



BUILDING PERMITS: Allow architectural innovation for earth-sheltered housing, straw bale housing, compost toilets and greywater, etc.



FREE CLINICS: Donate government-owned land and buildings to nonprofit groups establishing free clinics and health co-ops according to grassroots standards.



DECARCERATE: Decriminalize such victimless crimes as marijuana possession.



END FORECLOSURES: Cease evictions of Philadelphians from foreclosed residential properties.



IMMIGRATION REFORM: End police collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which harrasses residents of color.



IMPORT REPLACEMENT PROGRAM to capture contracts for local enterprise.



START INSULATION FACTORIES require R60 on new



CAP TOP BUREAUCRATIC SALARIES



GREEN JOBS CURRICULA IN SCHOOLS & Budget



11 WAYS TO REDUCE PROPERTY TAXES AND MAINTAIN SERVICES

To solve big budget problems, Pennsylvania needs to think bigger than corporate cash. The costs of serving chain retailers (road building & widening & repair, traffic control, sewer, water, drainage, air & water pollution, police & fire protection, subsidy for underpaid workers, commuting time, loss of local businesses, etc) are greater than the sales & property taxes they pay.

We'll prosper instead by creating mutual aid systems (health co-ops, buying clubs, local stock exchange, barter networks, import replacement, etc)

Local governments are trapped in greater demands and limited income. We will need to do more with creativity than dollars.



1. Reduce traffic: 2/3 of City budgets are direct or indirect subsidy to automobiles. For every 10,000 fewer cars on a street there are lower repair costs.

2. Print money: spend it for government services and accept it for tax payments.

3. Reduce firefighting needs, and reduce fire insurance rates by making housing fire-resistant.

4. Reduce police expenditures by creating good jobs and healthy youth culture with less alienation and economic desperation.

5. Reduce health insurance costs. See below.

6. Nonprofitize: bid certain work to local nonprofit groups which pay livable wage, keep overhead low, empower workers, and unionize.

7. Quit hiring expensive consultants. Rely on local expertise. We have enough local talent to start entire universities.

8. Cease pickup of leaves and small branches. These should be composted within neighborhoods.

9. Require institutions to pay for fire protection proportionate to the alarms and coverage needed by student and campus neighborhoods. Whenbudget limits require reduced fire services, institutions become less safe.

10. Municipalize electric distribution. Residents pay half the kwh rate. They can spend their money with local businesses instead of utilities.

11. Begin sewerage reform. By relying on clean NSF-approved composting toilets, we'll reduce water treatment and pumping loads 50%, which reduces water system costs.



11 WAYS TO LOWER HOUSING COSTS

Seniors, young families, African-Americans and low-income workers are having a harder time buying and maintaining homes.

1. Tax absentee landlords-- those who live outside Tompkins County.

2. Limited-equity housing: When government gets control of housing, through tax default or sale, resale price should be half of median income, with priority sale to lowest-income people residing in the house at least five years.

3. Community-build and sweat equity for low-income residents should be offered.

4. Superinsulation and superwindows should be rewarded with tax credits or abatement of assessment increase. Gas/electric efficiency is the foundation of community power.

5. Retrofits with thermal mass, solar water heating, solar greenhousing should be rewarded with tax credits or abatement of assessment increase.

6. Rent control as last resort, if programs and incentives do not lower 10% of rental units to maximum 25% of lowest-paid full-time wages.

7. Livable Wages also reduce the proportion of wages paid as rent and make ownership more possible.

8. Penny-per-gallon gasoline tax can apply to energy-efficiency retrofit fund for lowest-income residents.

9. Building/zoning code reforms to permit strawbale, compost toilets, elder cottages, etc.

10. Senior/youth housing connections to bring together those needing help with those needing housing.

11. Tree plantings to reduce heating and cooling fuel use.



12 WAYS TO CREATE JOBS

Regional Stock Exchanges can gather capital for ecodevelopment that enriches the community.

1. Insulation co-op: installation

2. Solar co-op: installation and repair.

3. Food processing of regional agricultural produce: canned, pasta, dehydrated, tortillas

4. Food buying club storefront sells near wholesale

5. Building disassembly rather than demolition

6. Re-use warehouse featuring name-your-own price sales, distributes new and like-new clothes and housewares to those in need.

7. Cargo bicycle manufacture enables us to move kids and groceries without cars.

8. Vacancy surtax on empty storefronts: 25% after 3 months; 50% 4-12 months; 100% after one year.

9. Import replacement program connects everybody for everything, reducing dependence on imports.

10 Eco-tourism: B&B, pedicabs, cabs, discounts for those arriving by train, bus, sailboat, bike, foot.

11. Flexible Manufacturing Networks bring together tools and skills to fill joint contracts.

12. Invest part of City pension funds into dedicated accounts in local credit unions and TCTC, to accomplish the above



5 WAYS TO LOWER HEALTH COSTS

Most of a City's budget increase is to pay health insurance for City employees. At the same time, many Ithacans have no health insurance or pay too much for it. Others stay in jobs they don't like, just for health security. The federal government should pay all health costs, but HMOs have bought too much political power. So we have to take control and do it ourselves.



1. Partner with government and school district health plans for lower rates. Invite all residents to join.

2. Community-wide self-insurance: instead of paying millions of dollars yearly to HMOs, we can pool our money to cover every need. In the short run, shift to higher-deductible HMO, fill in with Ithaca Health Fund.

3. Clinics for medical, dental, preventive and holistic care: providing care free or at-cost, hiring local people, financed by memberships and by savings above.

4. Prioritize clean air, clean water, clean food and exercise-- healthier living lowers health insurance premiums and costs.

5. Plant orchards



8 WAYS TO REDUCE TRAFFIC

We've reached the limits of our capacity to squeeze more cars through our cities. Hereafter, to thrive economically we'll need to learn new ways to organize our mobility and to decentralize services to rely less on automobiles.



1. Bikeways to make bicycling safe for going to work, school, getting groceries, visiting friends.

2. Smaller buses save purchase, maintenance and fuel costs, which could go instead to purchase more buses and drivers to serve more routes. Another penny-per-gallon gasoline tax can lower bus fares.

3. Trollies are more than transportation. They move the spirit of the city.

4. Decentralization of services reduces the need to travel for work, school, groceries, childcare.

5. Limit undergrad cars make campus parking conditional and revocable. Provide tuition/discount coupon incentives to students who leave cars home.

6. Park & Ride + shuttle with incentives for use.

7. Traffic calming requires a safer pace.

8. Progressive Street Reclamation replaces paving with playgrounds, parks, gardens.



DEMAND THE DETAILS BEHIND THE SLOGANS. ASK ALL CANDIDATES WHAT THEY PLAN!





_____________________________________

PENNSYLVANIA ECO-GOALS (PEGS)

1,000,000,000 berry bushes

250,000,000 fruit trees

200,000,000 solar electric panels

100,000,000 superwindows

80,000,000 biodigester toilets

15,000,000 solar hot water heaters

10,000,000 green roofs w/rainbarrels

500,000 green collar jobs

100,000 ecolonies/earthships

100,000 neighborhood gardens

50,000 community land trusts

20,000 miles of bicycle paths

10,000 farmers markets

3,000 miles of ultralight trolley

500 miles of high-speed rail

500 neighborhood currencies

50% bicycle commuting

30% trolley commuting

20% pedestrian commuting

10 regional stock exchanges

_____________________________________



Candidate Responses

to Neighborhood Networks



What would be your three highest priorities as Governor?



1. Aggressively fund energy efficiencies and expand tax credits for solar/wind/ cogeneration, to reduce demand for fossil fuels and end fracking. Shift budget from prisons to jobs and schools, and from roadbuilding to transit.



2. Fully employ all Pennsylvanians to rebuild cities, suburbs and farms toward balance with nature, partly with regional credits and regional stock exchanges, as described in my book Green Jobs Philly



3. Permit formation of



EMPLOYMENT & JOBS

grassroots health cooperatives to provide a genuinely nonprofit medical base for statewide universal health coverage. What is your major proposal for creating more jobs in Pennsylvania, and how many of those jobs will be lower wage vs. higher wage jobs?

Full employment is possible, since there are billions more hours of labor needed to rebuild our cities, suburbs and farms so that they are maximally energy efficient and regionally reliant for provision of food and fuel.



My book " Green Jobs Philly " details a dozen such innovations. Among these are urban permaculture, greenhousing and aquaculture; insulation factories; and regional stock exchanges that gather capital of all kinds (including land) for regional eco-development. Import replacement programs and industrial retention are key as well. I would promote the Green Labor Administration (GLAD) as a nonprofit WPA, to coordinate these activities.



Lower costs of living are de facto higher wages, so will promote regional economies that reduce prices of food, fuel, housing and health care.



How, if at all, would you improve the bargaining rights of public employees? Would you support legislation to prohibit employee firings without due cause?

Public employees need to emphasize solidarity with fellow workers so that all advance together. Otherwise there is resentment and right-wing push back. Unions need to emphasize greater worker control, rather than merely bigger paychecks. Otherwise industries merely leave town. Local authorities may exercise eminent domain to prevent industrial job flight ( Pittsburgh-Nabisco 1982 ).



Please comment on the following policy issues and whether you would support legislation that would:



Raise the minimum wage?

Yes. Spending power of the minimum wage has lagged during the past 40 years. The current minimum wage is so low that, to keep employees alive, taxpayers must subsidize businesses. Higher minimum wage benefits small businesses by expanding discretionary income.



Assure that women receive equal pay for equal work?

Yes. Support the ERA as passed in Pennsylvania 1972.



Mandate earned sick leave?

Yes, though details will need to accommodate small businesses.



Establish paid family leave?

Yes. Scandinavian countries have proven the financial, social and public health benefits of this policy.



EDUCATION

How do you propose to ensure that schools in our state are adequately funded? Would you support a funding formula for school districts to ensure that they are adequately funded? If so, what would be the key factors in such a formula?



Public schools should be well funded so that all students are respected. This require teachers who deeply care, modern libraries in each school, extracurricular activities, bathrooms that work, and meals.



While Tom Corbett and all the Democratic candidates would fund our schools partly with fracking revenue, I believe our children need healthy water as well as good schools and jobs. The far greater funding for schools will be redirected from prisons and by progressive income tax. The wealthy will prosper when surrounded by educated people rather than a vast restive underclass. It costs less to send youngsters to college than to jail.



Curriculum reform is likewise essential, to reward creativity by both students and teachers, to provide knowledge relevant to varied social conditions, and to maintain enthusiasm for learning. Key elements of a well-rounded education include community management, entrepreneurship, public advocacy, and conflict resolution, The arts are quite as important as sciences, since they teach constructive expression of both anger and enthusiasm.



I have drafted plans for Neighborhood Enterprise SchoolTeachers ( NESTS ), to provide immediate reward for learning where this would prevent dropouts.



Green jobs can also employ least formally-educated youth, and ex-offenders, to prepare Pennsylvania for its next century.



What additional regulation, if any, do you believe should be applied to the public funding and operation of charter schools?

My motto is No School Left Behind, No funding for charters and their facilities should outstrip funding for general public schools in class size, special needs, employment counseling.



Would you support more funding for higher education or should institutions raise their own funds by increasing tuition?

Many universities are pricing themselves out of the market. Their high tuitions are caused by high overhead-- by excess bureaucracies, overbuilding, and wasteful utility loads.



State government can facilitate transition to affordable education by rewarding those colleges and universities that use staff efficiently, reduce energy loads, reduce student costs of housing and textbooks.



Likewise, state funding for education should emphasize those business and technical fields that most directly contribute to making the state more energy efficient, and which stimulate regional economies.



It is the obligation of elder generations to transfer knowledge to the next generations painlessly, so that society can progress. Student loan usury betrays this obligation. The State of Pennsylvania should support the student loan buy-back campaign which retires student loans for pennies on the dollar.



TAXES

Assuming the need for more revenue, what statewide taxes would you increase? What, if any, new taxes would you propose?

We need a progressive income tax. This state offers a good quality of life to those who are wealthy, and their expanded tax contribution, to an efficiently-run government, will make their lives here even more enjoyable.



Do you favor eliminating the Delaware loophole? Why or why not?

Sure, it would capture about $50 million additional for Pennsylvania.



Do you support the proposed Constitutional Amendment that would take away local discretion in taxing non-profit institutions?

Enabling localities to define and tax "purely public charities" risks inequitable taxation. These taxes could divert resources from community health centers and related essential programs.



At the same time, some large "nonprofit" institutions serve as tax shelters for their extensive for-profit enterprises. Such tax-free businesses can burden localities with uncompensated costs of fire and police. State standards for taxing these should be explicit and might be available to localities when the State neglects to collect.



Would you favor an amendment to allow for graduated tax rates?

Yes.



ECONOMY

Would you do anything to foster the development of worker, consumer or producer co-ops, and what would that be?

Am deeply committed to co-ops, which I regard as the foundation for the viability of the middle class and traditionally poor hereafter. I've been involved in the co-op movement for over 40 years, beginning as an employee of Southern Consumers' Co-op in Louisiana. I've been an active member and/or employee of several food co-ops, and am founder of the Ithaca Health co-op . I started a revolving loan fund that makes interest-free loans to Community Supported Agriculture.



Therefore, state loans and grants for start up and expansion of co-ops, particularly worker-owned co-ops, should be generously available to co-ops that make specific and measurable commitments to Rochdale principles.



Do you favor legislation creating a public bank along the lines of the Bank of North Dakota, or fostering the development of county or municipal public banks?

Yes. This will stimulate business and job development by retaining capital, providing low-interest loans, and set public pensions upon a secure foundation. I appeared on a panel with Ellen Brown, author of "The Public Bank Solution ," and have attended several of the organizing meetings for a state bank, in Philadelphia. Moreover, I have drafted plans for the Philadelphia Regional and Independent Stock Exchange ( PRAISE ).



PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE

& RESOURCES

How would you fund increased road and bridge repair?

Favor user fees for road repair, with higher fees required for state routes whose bridges are most urgently needing repair.



How high would you prioritize mass transit in the overall transportation funding picture?

Transit is the pivot of our future, economically and environmentally. It should receive highest budget priority.



Would you support or oppose funding for bike lanes?

Support bike lanes and bike paths. Bicycle lanes reduce traffic congestion. Bicycles reduce damage to roadways, thus reducing costs of road repair. Bicycles reduce pollution of air and water; they reduce urban respiratory illness.



I have relied on a bicycle for 60 years and do not own an automobile.



Energy

Would you direct your representative to the Delaware River Basin Commission to vote for or against allowing fracking in the Delaware River watershed basin?

Yes. Emphatically oppose fracking because it has proven to pollute groundwater and cause earth tremors, because the toxic chemicals used are proprietary secrets, and because most of the gas extracted is intended for export rather than to lower our costs.



Would you support a moratorium on new gas drilling permits and new shale gas infrastructure until and unless scientists and policy makers come up with a waste solution and find a way to avoid drinking water contamination, surface water contamination, air pollution, and massive methane leaks into our climate from all phases of this extraction process?

Support this moratorium. Caution is essential when dealing with water quality. For example, experts assured us for decades that cigarettes, nuclear fission and food additives were safe.



Would you support Act 13 (impact fee, zoning for gas drilling, physician "gag" clause, etc.) as is or would you make any changes?

Act 13 is an intolerable intrusion on the obligations of townships to regulate for public safety, and upon physicians to communicate public health concerns.



How would you speed the transition from an economy reliant on carbon-based fossil fuels to one based on renewables?

I'd shift the state budget to stimulate energy efficiencies, since the best fuel is least need for fuel. Favor both incentives and requirements for efficiencies. Germany mandates R90 for new construction. Favor tax incentives for solar, wind, cogeneration and microhydro.

--- I received a grant 1989 from the Fund for Investigative Journalism for my study of the Tompkins County fuel system, and was appointed to the Ithaca Energy Commission in 1995.



State Parks and Forests

Do you support or oppose clear cutting on state forest lands? How about fracking in state forests or parks?

Oppose clearcutting and fracking everywhere.



What would you do as Governor to ensure our parks and forests remain available for our grandchildren?

Population pressure undermines the future of every good thing.



State Liquor Laws

Do you believe the PA Wine and Spirits shops should be privatized, and if so, in whole or in part?

Favor retaining public ownership. Restrained and orderly distribution of wine and liquor outweighs greater projected tax revenue from thousands of corner stores.



HEALTHCARE

What is your view of a woman's right to make health decisions concerning her own body? Do you support or oppose the current restrictions on abortion in PA? Would you seek further restrictions on abortions after 20 weeks or require new standards for abortion facilities?

Pro-life means more than merely pro-fetus. Oppose the state's intrusion on a woman's right to decide whether to have a child.



Would you support or oppose increased state funding for family planning?

Expanded family planning leads to greater public health and fewer abortions.



Would you support an expansion in Medicaid and if so, how will you deal with the 10% state contribution in 2017?

The expansion of Medicaid in Pennsylvania will benefit our economy and our taxpayers when a progressive income tax is enacted. I support SB400, which projects a $17 billion saving statewide.



Do you support a state based health insurance exchange or is it better to let the federal government run the exchange on behalf of the state?

Absent a universal coverage plan, I would prefer a state-based ACA exchange that is at least as inclusive as the federal plan. However, I am author of the book " A Crime Not a Crisis ," which details collusion between Pennsylvania legislators, insurance regulators and insurers to maintain corporate monopolies. Therefore I am not assured that current Pennsylvania administrators would enforce ACA for maximum public benefit.



Would you support or oppose a state single payer plan for Pennsylvania? Please explain.

I support state single payer legislation, and have done so for years. This will benefit both public health and our economy, enabling people to start businesses doing what they enjoy doing, and shifting wages from insurance premiums to the new economy.



Again, we need a genuinely nonprofit medical infrastructure in order to lower medical costs. Grassroots co-ops are able to provide coverage for a fraction of corporate insurance.



PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

Do you believe the current welfare grant should be increased? Are there any other changes you would make to our welfare laws for families with dependent children?

Green job development and urban rebuilding need all hands on deck. Therefore, full housing, food, child care and community college tuition should provided in exchange for sweat equity. Everyone who wakes up in the morning has something to offer.

Their contribution, for public benefit rather than corporate exploitation, should be compensated with respect and dignity. Part payment may be made in the form of community credits.



Do you believe that General Assistance should be restored? Why or why not?

Yes. GA and GA Medical Assistance provides 68,000 Pennsylvanians without children with health care access, safety from domestic abuse, assistance with crippling disability, and alcohol/drug rehab. Am likewise opposed to the projected food stamp cuts. I organized a " Making Hunger Visible " demonstration in November 2013.



CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Would you legalize and regulate the sale and production of marijuana, or otherwise change our drug laws?

Yes would legalize. Criminalization of marijuana damages lives far more than inhalation does. Taxpayers pay police, court and prison costs to restrain this relatively harmless euphoriant. Criminalization is moreover hypocritical since sale of deadly tobacco is permitted. Pharmaceuticals are far more harmful than marijuana, which has proven an effective palliative for many ills.



What would you do to stop the proliferation of guns and gun crimes in urban areas?

Jobs fight crime. As Pennsylvania's industrial jobs were exported, desperation and drug sales moved in. Would establish the Green Labor Administration (GLAD).



Responsible gun ownership should not be infringed. Their legitimate use is to provide food, to protect the home and the United States Constitution.



Within Pennsylvania's first- and second-class cities I favor limits on semiautomatic weapons, and 7-bullet clip maximum. Toughen anti-straw purchase enforcement.



Add nonviolent conflict resolution to curriculums.



What are your views on "stop and frisk" and how it should be implemented, if at all?

This is a racist strategy that decreases respect for police and impedes community policing. It would be more effective to stop and frisk bankers, to ensure they are not carrying junk bonds; and to stop and frisk elected officials, to ensure they are not carrying cash bribes.



What is your view of the death penalty and the fact that some states have adopted a moratorium on it?

Favor ending the death penalty. It does not deter homicide, it executes many innocent persons, its costs to taxpayers are greater even than life sentences, it is rarely imposed by civilized nations.



Do you believe our prisons should be privately owned or managed?

Private ownership of prisons is itself a crime. They are schools for criminality, releasing inmates often more bitter and more desperate than when they entered. The prison industry feeds on social tragedy, lobbies for money that should go instead for rebuilding cities and towns.



The PA Department of Corrections (DOC) budget was once $200 million and now approaches $2 billion. Do you think we should continue on this path of increases; if so, why, and if not, how would you reallocate some of these funds to counter incarceration and recidivism and what amount of funds would you reallocate?

Decriminalization of victimless crimes will reduce the public burden of prison building and maintenance. Favor repeal of the 1995 three-strikes law. Favor alternatives to incarceration, peer-managed youth courts and restorative justice programs.



Money saved should shift to green job development in cities and towns currently depending on prison employment. Any prison labor should be compensated at above minimum wage rather than slave wages.



LGBTQ

Do you support legislation enabling gay people to marry?

Yes. People in love should be entitled to marry.



What is your view on employment non-discrimination for LGBT individuals? Do you support HB 300?

Favor passage of HB 300, which provides protections regarding employment, housing, and public accommodations.



Would you support anti-bullying legislation, such as the PASS Act?

Yes, favor the PASS Act. Would review the specific legal definitions of bullying that follow enaction, and the remedies within and beyond school.



IMMIGRATION

In addition to recognizing the role the Federal government has, what should a PA Plan look like to deal with employers and the issues around illegal or undocumented immigrants?

Cease collaboration with ICE.



Should undocumented immigrants be granted a path to citizenship? If yes, please provide an overview of your plan. If not, what do you propose as an alternative? Should the state provide public benefits such as medical, social services, employment and/or educational services to them and their families?

Yes.



As long as Pennsylvania and the United States offer comparatively greater shelter from dire poverty, famine and war, people will arrive here illegally. Keeping these people outside the law will merely keep them in the shadows of society. They should be welcome to contribute constructively and to pay taxes. They will not compete for jobs if we expand job programs as introduced above.



People without easy access to health care become a likely source of contagion.



An ultimate solution to illegal immigration is therefore to foster labor rights, human rights and dignified economic opportunity for all people in the countries from which people escape. Therefore, Pennsylvania-based manufacturers and retailers should be rewarded for maintaining sweatshop-free standards.



Al Dia weekly. I have lived in Nicaragua. Note: I speak Spanish and readweekly. I have lived in Nicaragua.



Should undocumented students who otherwise qualify be entitled to pay in-state tuition at state-related and community colleges?

Yes. The alternative is to maintain a permanent ignorant and alienated class that will drag us all down. Their talent should be welcome.



GOOD GOVERNMENT

& CLEAN ELECTIONS

Where do you stand on the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling? Would you support a Constitutional amendment that establishes that money is not speech, and that corporations are not persons entitled to constitutional rights? Why or why not?

Support efforts to repeal Citizens United. Favor Constitutional amendment to revoke "corporate personhood," and to break the link between corporate money and "free speech." I was a speaker at the 2011 " Move to Amend " conference in D.C.



What is your view of limits on campaign contributions by individuals? By PACs? By corporations? By unions? Should names and amounts of contributors be published online?

Access to broadcast media should be provided free to all ballot candidates, by reviving the fairness doctrine, since airwaves are public. This would decrease prices of print advertising, through competition.



Campaign finance reform should be enacted that strictly caps contributions by individuals, PACs and corporations. Campaign playing field should be leveled so that ideas and policies are broadly available.



Contributions should be published online.



Voting Rights

Would you support a repeal of the Voter ID law in Pennsylvania? How would you ensure that all qualified voters are able to cast their votes in a timely and valid manner?

Support repeal of such vote suppression laws.



Would you support early voting or vote by mail up to two weeks before Election Day?

Support enaction of such vote facilitation.



Would you require a voter verified paper audit trail on voting machines?

Yes. Lack of paper verification has already corrupted elections.