Day: November 4, 2014

Today is Election Day. Sen. Scott Wagner (R-28) who is running for a full term after winning a special election, March 18, has sent the following letter to his constituents. It’s worth being read by all who care about this state and the nation.

By Scott Wagner

I am writing to the voters of the 28th Pennsylvania State Senate District regarding the upcoming election . . ., Tuesday, November 4th.

I made a decision over a year ago to run for the State Senate position that I currently hold.

I made that decision because I was fed up with the status quo.

Without going into details, most people know that I am in the Pennsylvania State Senate because of unusual circumstances.

I was fed up with a government that was making what I love to do harder and harder each year.

What I love to do is start up and build businesses that create jobs and employ people.

Let me repeat – create jobs and employ people.

Pennsylvania has a lot of opportunities and it also has many issues.

Let’s talk about some of the issues.

The number #1 issue in the 28th Senate District is school taxes.

A significant driver of the ever increasing school taxes is a state pension system that is vastly underfunded and facing a $47 Billion Dollar shortfall.

During my short period of seven months in the Pennsylvania State Senate it is crystal clear to me that the public sector unions have complete control of Harrisburg and are blocking pension reform, school tax elimination, liquor privatization, and prevailing wage mandates on school districts to name a few.

Pennsylvania needs government reform and it needs it quickly.

Pennsylvania does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.

I knew this fact before I went to Harrisburg and I now see it first-hand.

My opponent will say we need jobs.

Here is the real issue. We have a skilled labor shortage. South Central Pennsylvania has approximately 3500 job opening for skilled workers.

By skilled workers I am referring to truck drivers, mechanics, welders, industrial electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers and machine operators to name a few.

This past May, Pennsylvania colleges graduated 12,000 teachers with 3,000 positions available.

York County needs to change its junior and senior high school education programs to include education for the trades.

Pennsylvania has a prescription drug epidemic and that has created a heroin crisis.

Pennsylvania is not a “right to work” state.

Pennsylvania is ranked 34th in the nation as having a percentage of its workers unionized.

Pennsylvania has major competition with southern “right to work” states.

We have a lot of work to do to make Pennsylvania more competitive against other states.

I started my business career over thirty-five years ago; it has taken a lot of hard work and risk to get to where I am today.

Success doesn’t just happen; I have had many failures also and have turned those failures into learning experiences.

Having served in the Senate for seven months it is crystal clear to me that there is not a single person in the house or senate that has my extensive business experience and knowledge of how the real world operates.

In my short time in the senate my name has been in newspapers continuously, or I am on TV and you can find me on the internet because I am not a status quo person.

I ask questions, continuously looking for ways to improve things, and as a result I am seen as a disruptor.

I love when someone says “we have always done it this way”.

People have said, “Wagner’s style won’t work in Harrisburg – he is abrasive and he is outspoken”.

Let me be clear – I am not a status quo person.

I intend to be a Senator who will be disruptive.

I will break the rules with professionalism, a strategy, style, and class.

I already have a career.

I am a leader, I am a strategist, I am a visionary and I am a team builder.

And most important – I am not, and will not be owned by lobbyists, special interest groups, senate leadership, and a corrupt system.

I have pledged to serve two four-year terms in the Pennsylvania State Senate.

It is not my goal to become a career politician. I am seen as a very dangerous person to a lot of people who live on the system in Harrisburg.

We have a lot of things in Pennsylvania that are simply outdated and broken, and need fixed quickly.

If you want a Senator who will go to Harrisburg to make Pennsylvania a better, more competitive state so Pennsylvanians have good sustaining jobs and Pennsylvania is a better place to live and prosper, then I ask for your vote on November 4th.

Scott Wagner Letter Explains What Needs Doing