Ferlo on State Government

Photo courtesy of the Polish Civic Association of Pittsburgh.

As Pennsylvania’s state government completed its seventh month without a full working budget, the NewPeople thought it valuable to seek the observations of a long-time progressive voice in our state and city politics, Jim Ferlo. Ferlo spent 12 years as a state senator and 14 years before that on the Pittsburgh city council, including four years as council president. His answers to our questions reflect his deep knowledge and extensive experience, particularly regarding state government.

Q: How do you explain the 2014 statewide elections, when Tom Wolf, pushing for higher state spending on education and increased taxes to pay for it, beat his opponent by 10 points while anti-tax, anti-spending Republicans increased their majorities in both houses of the Pennsylvania legislature?

A: The 2014 state-wide political reality was not unlike the second Obama election. Congressional reapportionment and its trickle down to state government re-districting gave the advantage to Republicans, creating optimum districts for their voting base. For example, minority communities were split up to weaken a more Democratic or progressive voting base. In Pennsylvania, a few Democratic congress members, working in their best interests, carved out their best voting districts and allowed the Republicans to have most of the Congressional districts, disproportionate to the number of registered Democrats vs. Republicans. I didn't run for re-election because I was basically gerrymandered out of the City of Pittsburgh and three-county area I represented. Home-field advantage was given to Sen. Vulakovich (R) filling the new 38th District, which to a large extent was Jane Orie’s former Republican district. The 38th District had lost the most population, making it an easy target for the Republican majority, ridding themselves of my more progressive tenure.

After the debacle of Corbett’s term, along came Tom Wolf, a "fresh" business guy with no political baggage to speak of, with a good, warm background story and early money to gain hegemony through purchased media. Wolf appealed to the majority of statewide voters on the need to restore public education funds, to reduce property taxes and tax what most people feel are the outrages of the Marcellus Shale oil and gas industry. That's the majority of voters statewide, especially where there is not active Marcellus Shale drilling. In the Marcellus Shale areas, the industry may have been the first sign of life for job seekers and for local governments in need of taxes and infrastructure. They see Pittsburgh and Philly getting millions over the years in economic development dollars and now they have an opportunity to bring jobs and income to their smaller communities. So it’s easy to understand their support for Republican candidates and some Democrats---and the environmental downsides moved to the rear of their concerns.

Q: Separate plans to reduce the size of the state legislature have passed the state Senate and House. What do you think would be a workable, affordable size for the legislature? Would a smaller legislature accomplish more?

A: I have always voted for decreasing the number of House and Senate positions. Progressive Senator Daylon Leech argues otherwise, raising issues of democracy and reduced access to elected officials. Given my experience, I believe a lesser number of legislators will not necessarily reduce their budgets or operating expenses but will create more staff efficiency, improve access of physical locations, and possibly create an environment where legislators could more likely reach the bottom line while negotiating the budget. And their respective districts may not be so parochial and of one mind on issues. Sen. Leech argues that a smaller Legislature means the non-elected staff will run the show more. Quite honestly, that has always been the case and given some of the folks elected, it’s a good thing that executive’s more permanent staff have some power, influence, and institutional knowledge when advising on budgets and policy.

Q: Harrisburg now seems in some ways more dysfunctional than Washington, given that we have no budget more than seven months after one was due. What do you think needs to happen to increase our state government’s effectiveness?

A: The Governor needs to be stronger. He should have demanded that all legislators not be paid past June 30th until we have an approved budget! Without feeling any immediate pain they had time to play it out. The harsh reality is that most voters want to get to heaven without dying, meaning they want more dollars for education but don't want to pay more taxes. The House Members of both parties are all now running, as are many Senators, and are not likely to take a tax vote in the middle of their nominating petition process and upcoming re-election! The Republican majority in both the House and Senate worked to sandbag our Governor from day one of his term.

Q: What do you say to the many progressives who have become discouraged with the electoral process, and fail to vote, especially in years when there is no presidential election?

A: Look, people need to register and vote either Democrat (or in some rare cases, Republican) and also to respect and support independent third-party efforts where and when possible. Let me make one observation, the Occupy "movement" created some political agitation but it didn't elect or change the term of one member of Congress or local official. The Tea Party movement captured a dumbed-down electorate’s frustrations and managed to elect enough members of Congress to turn the electoral process far to the right and, even more, to undermine the Obama Presidency.

Regarding someone supporting a local Republican, the racist and xenophobic State Rep. Metcalfe only won his last primary by 200 votes. A more moderate and relevant Republican running in that Republican Butler County District on the actual ballot and not as a write-in would be a marked improvement and have sent a stunning message to many Republicans on their right wing advances.

Neil Cosgrove is a member of the NewPeople editorial collective.

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