GETTYSBURG TIMES (072007): "Legislator criticizes buget process, governor on radio show"

BY JARRAD HEDES
Times Staff Writer

Local State Rep. Dan Moul (R-91) referred to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell as “sleazy” Thursday morning while discussing the 2007 state budget process and other political issues on Fred Snyder’s “Breakfast Nook” aired on 1320 WGET AM.
“This is a very popular Governor,” said Moul, who resides in Conewago Township. “He’ll stick one hand in your left pocket and one hand in your right pocket and he’ll make you think he is scratching your back for you. I don’t want to be that sleazy. I don’t want to learn anything from this guy.”
The freshman Republican legislator, who also held a town meeting in Carroll Valley Thursday night, told Snyder he doesn’t feel Adams and other counties outside of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are getting their fair shake when it comes to state funding.
He also advised his constituents against voting for a state leader with a background similar to Rendell, a Democrat serving in his second term as Governor and former Philadelphia mayor, in the future.
“The Governor could really care less about a Republican from Adams County,” Moul said. “He has no reason to want to put money down here. He is from Philadelphia. After this first budget process that we have gone through, my message is now...people who live in Central Pennsylvania and vote for a Governor from Philadelphia, you are shooting yourself in the foot because the money is going to go to Philly. Never ever vote for a Governor from Philadelphia.”
Citing examples such as Philadelphia’s $880 million convention center and a new $235 million arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Moul called the funding distribution method an “atrocity.”
“(Representatives from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) just locked up our five percent capital discrecinary fundings budget, which is the five percent from gaming revenues for capital projects, for the next 30 years between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia,” Moul said. “I don’t see one benefit here in Adams County of putting $235 million of our tax money into a hockey club in Pittsburgh.”
Moul also had strong remarks regarding his initial state budget experience.
“There is a team that is selected by the leadership and the Governor that is put together,” Moul explained. “They work on (the budget) and say here it is, vote it up or down. I really didn’t have a whole lot to do with it until the night before we were to vote on it. They said here is what we came up with, tomorrow morning you are going to vote on this. Being involved with it really is nonexistent. Needless to say I voted no all day on just about every component of the budget.”
Although he voted no, Moul said that and many of his other votes that contrast with the agenda of the majority party, and what he calls “the Philadelphia boys,” carry little weight in Harrisburg.
“Let me be extraordinarily clear about this," Moul said, “the (Philadelphia boys) outnumber us tremendously and they make no mistake about saying we are going to do whatever benefits us and if you don’t like it, we will just outvote you. They have the numbers because they have the population. The party that is in control pretty much has to stay in step with their leader. If they don’t, they won’t get projects put in their area. It is basically all of them plus the Philly boys against us.”
Because, according to Moul, the majority of state legislators have so little say in the budget process, a large portion of money was wasted by having everyone work on the weekend in order to get a timely approval.
“We worked six weekend days on everything but the budget, so basically we just threw close to $600,000 of taxpayer’s money down the drain and they didn’t even bat an eye about it,” Moul said. “We need to make changes.”
Representatives from Rendell’s press office did not return messages seeking comment.
Jarrad Hedes can be reached at jhedes@gburgtimes.com.