Earlier in the year, we started a series of guest posts by the candidates running for governor of Pennsylvania, hoping to find an alternative to New Dem Allyson Schwartz. With her recent exposure as a co-chair of the virulently anti-family, pro-Wall Street, conservative group Third Way, we thought it was time for another installment. This guest post is by Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski. Feel free to check out earlier guest posts by John Hanger and Tom Wolf at the links.Guest Postby Ed PawlowskiOne of the things I enjoy most about being Mayor of Allentown is the fact that, within just a few minutes, I can go from Center City where new economic development is creating an urban revitalization with new businesses, entertainment and jobs, to one of our great parks where all visitors can enjoy nature at its best.Allentown is called “America’s Parks Place” for a reason. We have more parkland per capita than just about any other city in the country, including New York. We have passive parks where visitors can enjoy the quiet benefits of nature, and active parks with playgrounds, spray parks and ball fields for visitors of all ages. In many ways, the City of Allentown is much like the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where our natural resources and beautiful parks attract visitors from all over the world.We’ve done many other things in Allentown over the past eight years to improve our local environment, too. We have worked with Allentown Garden Club to beautify the small islands at many of our intersections by transforming former concrete pads into little public gardens.We synchronized our traffic lights to cut down on fuel consumption and air pollution.And we worked with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania-- before the current administration to install solar panels on the roof of a former Mack Trucks facility and generate enough electricity to power the entire complex-- which is now used as a manufacturing incubator and urban industrial park that employs many city residents.In Allentown we have taken great pains to protect and improve our wonderful resources over the past eight years. Unfortunately, as in so many other areas, Pennsylvania has gone in the wrong direction. Budget cuts have devastated our state parks and endangered our environment. Layoffs have forced closings and other restrictions, and the results have also endangered the tourism-based economy that is so important to many of our communities.But perhaps the biggest threat to our state comes from one of its greatest natural resources.The Commonwealth’s abundance of natural gas has made Pennsylvania a leader in natural gas production, producing 10 percent of the nation’s natural gas and holding vast export potential. It’s essential that Pennsylvania have policies to protect the public’s most valuable asset-- our environment to ensure landowners and citizens are fairly compensated and revenues are put to good use benefitting all Pennsylvanians.If I am elected governor in 2014, one of my first acts as governor will be to authorize a 10-month review of the Marcellus Shale impact with a close eye to environmental safety, property rights and the potential benefits of a severance tax that is predicted to generate $420 million this fiscal year and $1.2 billion by 2020.We need to return to the royalties act to make sure that our property owners are properly compensated and we have to comply with the provisions of the federal clean air and water act and we have to hire the inspectors and regulators needed to ensure that compliance.If we are looking at 80,000 miles of pipeline in a state that is only 40,000 square miles in size, we have to ensure that efforts are made to minimize risks associated with natural gas extraction and transport, with fair policies that protect the safety of citizens, our environment and that provide a level of predictability for companies that drill here.We can do better. We can protect our environment while creating jobs.For more information on my campaign for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2014, please visit my website, www.PawlowskiforPA.com. You can learn more about my background, the success we have achieved in Allentown, and my plan for a better Pennsylvania. You can also volunteer or donate to our campaign by visiting the appropriate page on the web site.Mayor Ed Pawlowski, City of Allentown Candidate for Governor
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