Taxpayers pay Tom Corbett $174,914 to serve them as Governor. That's certainly enough for the Governor to pay for personal travel and recreation.
But State Impact PA reports that a major donor to the Governor, who provides services to the gas industry, paid $1,422 in transportation and hotel bills for a "long weekend" for the Govenor and his wife in Rhode Island. http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/12/20/ethics-filing-shows-corbett-took-free-vacation-from-businessman-with-ties-to-gas-industry/. Incredibly, after the trip, the Governor made that mess even worse.
After the free vacation and other free transportation from the donor, the Governor appointed the donor and his wife to a combined three positions involving state government. I wish this was fiction, but it's very much a fact of the day.
I am sometimes asked why the public is oft cynical about the Governor and especially his oversight of the gas industry. The Governor here shows why. While in office, he is taking major perks from people who do business with him and the state. He then also uses his powers as Governor to appoint the person and his wife from whom he takes free trips to not one, not two, but three positions.
How could the public not be cynical? Pennsylvania must do better, and that is why I am running for Governor. Please visit: www.hangerforgovernor.com and www.facebook.com/hangerforgovernor.
The current Governor serves one god- the gas industry. He has surrounded himself with other disicples of the industry-Krancer, Henderson, Yaw. Someday this story will be told and people will scratch their heads in disbelief "How did this happen?".
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