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Lt. Governor Candidate Supports Call for Constitutional Convention Lt. Governor candidate, Rick Schenker announced on his website that he is supporting a call for a constitutional convention. “A constitutional convention is usually something that I would see as a "last resort" to fix the plague of corruption that we have in Pennsylvania. However, I have come to the conclusion that the corruption in Harrisburg is so out of control that I must absolutely support a constitutional convention,” Schenker wrote on a blog at his website. Schenker said that the research he has been doing on corruption in government nearly brought him to the decision to drop out of the Lt. Governor’s race. “The corruption in Pennsylvania is so pervasive and so ingrained that it is frightening what people with political power can do. At one point about a month ago, I almost withdrew from the race because I realized there are some people that would be willing to threaten my safety, my family and even my freedom, if I were to become a threat to their power,” said Schenker. Schenker said there is a culture of corruption that is strangling our state government in Harrisburg. “There is an aura of arrogance among some of the state’s top elected officials. It has become so wildly corrupt that I have no choice but to join with groups like Democracy Rising PA to support a constitutional convention,” said Schenker. According to Schenker, the birth of reform-oriented groups seems to have done little to dissuade the Harrisburg power brokers from practicing the dark arts of corruption. It’s easy to understand why many Pennsylvania voters could feel angry, disappointed and discouraged. But based on the recent indictments of public officials in both political parties, Schenker said there is a renewed interest in breaking the control of the political power brokers. In spite of all the news about corruption, political leaders, according to Schenker, have placated the public with only the appearance of reform. “It seems as though our voice is loud outside the Capitol, but it gets muffled inside the halls of power. Sure, there are reform-oriented lawmakers in the state Legislature, but they seem to be few in a body of many. Yes, there are reform groups that challenge the system from the outside, but their message seems to land on deaf ears on the inside. “I honestly don’t even care if I get elected, I am running to support the efforts of these reform groups like Democracy Rising PA and the Tea Party movements to help break the strangle-hold of those that would use taxpayer resources for their own personal benefit. If I happen to win, we will have a voice where it cannot be ignored – in the highest levels of the executive branch of our state government,” said Schenker. Schenker’s platform is simple and straightforward: term limits on all state lawmakers, reduce the size and cost of the legislature and make it part-time, and no more money or gifts from lobbyists. “I have other things I want to accomplish—like the elimination of WAM’s—but my basic platform are those three items,” said Schenker. “I can already hear the groans from the political class and the arguments that long-term lawmakers have “institutional knowledge” and “issue expertise.” And yet, all that “knowledge” and “expertise” was unable to thwart the ill-conceived pay raise, or stop the bonuses paid for state employees doing campaign work,” said Schenker. “If history is any indicator, the defenders of the status quo will likely attack the messenger instead of his message. Therefore, I fully expect a tough battle in the months ahead. I only spent four years as Erie County executive before willingly walking away from the seat of power. Call me crazy, but I always believed a public servant should run on a platform of goals, accomplish them and then return to the private sector. It is easy to see that is a view that is not shared by most of the career politicians in our state Capitol,” said Schenker. According to Schenker, “some people have said that the lieutenant governor’s position is a “do-nothing” job and I couldn’t possibly accomplish the reforms I’m proposing. To that, I say that Pennsylvanians deserve a do-something lieutenant governor who will make these reforms their main purpose for going to work each day for the next four years so that we take power away from those that are abusing it for their own selfish purposes.” “There are a lot of people in the Lt. Governor’s race—fine people that you can invite to your community parade. Please, don’t invite me to be in a parade. All I want to do is to help fix the problems then move on with my life,” said Schenker. Schenker encourages people to visit www.ChallengeCorruption.com to join the effort to take back Pennsylvania state government from the cronyism and corruption that has defined it for far too long. “I even give out my phone number on my website so people can see if I am the real deal. If they share my goals, I sure could use their support as we push to challenge corruption in Harrisburg,” he said. |
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