November 13, 2013

Republican Party women are lining up in support of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s bid for re-election. Corbett — along with his wife Susan — kicked off the 2014 campaign with a talk to about 30 women invited to the session by Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh.

“I’m excited to see Gov. Corbett,” said Chadds Ford Republican Party leader Mary Kot before the governor arrived at the Inn Keepers Kitchen in Dilworthtown. “He’s been a great governor and we’re looking forward to four more years. It’s wonderful to be at an all female event with so many women supporters because there are so many women in the Republican Party and this is a great way to highlight [that].”

Kot said she sees Corbett as strong on child protection laws and in trying to privatize the state stores. She said privatization is important and she that will happen in a second term for the governor.

Corbett’s comments focused on his first four years and how he handled the economy, business climate, education and women’s issues.

Kot was equally impressed after the Corbett spoke.

“I think it’s commendable he kept all his campaign promises. He came in with a huge deficit and was able not to increase taxes. I’m excited about his focus on education and his concern with one out of five students not graduating from high school, the programs he’s putting in place to change that and in making Pennsylvania more business friendly,” Kot said.

Welsh, too, said she was excited.

“Promises made were promises kept,” the sheriff said. “He promised to hold the line on the budget and he’s done that. He’s certainly answered a lot of needs within his cabinet and administration with having a lot of women involved. So I’m really excited about his campaign.”

Welsh added that she was pleased about Corbett launching his campaign with a trip through Chester County. And she thinks the results of the recent election will make things even more interesting.

“They just elected a woman sheriff in Delaware County, there’s a woman sheriff in Montgomery County and I’m here in Chester County. He’s got a triple threat here, three Republican women sheriffs? It doesn’t get any better than that,” she said.

Beth Zenuck, chief of staff for state Rep. Stephen Barrar and former commissioner in Upper Chichester Township, said Corbett has done a “phenomenal job and would continue that during a second term in office.

“I think he’s held the line on taxes, hasn’t raised them. Some cuts had to be made and some people aren’t going to be happy about that. I think we’re in a much better financial situation now than we were four years ago…and we’re becoming a much stronger business-friendly state, which does create jobs,” Zenuk said.

Corbett’s low-key, conversational address picked up on wife’s concern that 20 percent of high school students fail to graduate and that he inherited a $4.2 billion state debt.

“If you recall, I made a promise not to raise taxes and I’ve kept that promise,” the governor said. “…We had to reduce spending.”

But Corbett, a former teacher, said it wasn’t his administration that cut spending to education, regardless of what his detractors say.

“Facts are facts. It had been cut in the previous administration when they took state money out of the basic education and spent it on other areas, increased spending in other areas and then replaced it with federal one-time money,” he said. “Since that point in time, state funding for education is at the highest level it’s ever been in the state of Pennsylvania.”

He said education is the number one item in the state budget, making up 40 percent of state spending. Social services and various forms of public assistance make up another 38.9 percent of the spending.

Corbett added that there is an ongoing underfunding of the state pensions system and that he was forced to reduce the size of state government to reduce its cost.

However, the governor takes pride, he  said, in the fact that Pennsylvania’s private sector has increased the number of jobs by more than 140,000.

He added that he values advice from women, not just from his wife. Corbett said his chief of staff is the first woman chief of staff in the state and that there are eight women in his cabinet.

Photo above: Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh, left, introduces Gov. Tom Corbett and his wife Susan at a campaign kickoff event at the Inn Keepers Kitchen in Birmingham Township.

It was a time to remember and honor US military veterans and the owners of the Pennsbury Inn did just that with a “Vets sleep for free” event at their Route 1 Bed & Breakfast.

Cheryl and Chip Grono have been offering a free night to veterans on Veterans’ day for the past four years. It’s part of a nationwide program put on by the Professional Association of Innkeepers International.

Regardless of the source, the veterans who stayed at the inn overnight on Nov. 11 were appreciative.

Nate Marx, an Army veteran, said it’s “heartwarming.”

“It’s people going above and beyond and it makes me feel good. Vets had a bad experience [after Vietnam],” he said.

Chuck LaChance, an Upper Chichester resident who served in the U.S. Marine Corp for 14 years and served during the first Gulf War, said he loves the idea.

“It’s nice to be thought of,” he said.

LaChance added that he and his wife now love staying at B&Bs and would rather do that than stay at a hotel when they go on vacation.

In other remembrances, there was a brief ceremony at the Veteran’s Memorial on Smithbridge Road in Concord Township on Sunday, Nov. 10. New flags were raised and attendees paid special respect to the fallen when Taps was played.

During the ceremony, organizer Marty Frick said the name “veteran” was something that had to be earned.

On Nov. 8, preschool students at Chesterbrook Academy in Chadds Ford hosted a lunch for local veterans. Students presented cards to thank veterans for their service and served an all-American lunch of hamburgers and fries as the veterans shared their stories. Students also raised money for the Wounded Warrior Project through a Harvest Fest.

Main photo caption: Veterans Chuck LaChance, Nate Marx and Nate Knox, with their wives, gather around the breakfast table at the Pennsburuy Inn.