Corbett, Wolf tussle over education, state spending

Republican Gov. Corbett and Democratic challenger Tom Wolf sharply framed the choice before Pennsylvania voters as they sparred Wednesday morning in a drive-time radio debate.

It was clear that Wolf intends to try to convince the electorate that Corbett starved education, and failed to keep promises of fiscal responsibility and economic growth.

And Corbett is seeking to portray the York businessman as a captive of public-employee unions who offers little in the way of detailed proposals and promises more than he can deliver.

Corbett "cooked the books" in the latest state budget, Wolf said Wednesday. He cited a series of one-time fund transfers and overly optimistic revenue forecasts, leading to a projected $700 million deficit that several financial rating agencies have cited in recent downgrades of Pennsylvania's credit worthiness.

"Are you accusing me of a criminal act?" shot back Corbett, a former prosecutor and state attorney general. He said budget-making is an inexact art, and contended that former Gov. Ed Rendell - in whose cabinet Wolf served - used some of the same tactics.

Polls show Corbett trailing Wolf by double digits with just over a month until polls open Nov. 4. Wolf's campaign also has a $1.7 million cash-on-hand advantage over the incumbent's.

"I've been behind in every race I've run," Corbett said afterward, predicting a comeback win.

For the first 17 minutes of the hour-long session, aired live from KYW Newsradio's Philadelphia studio, the rivals battled over school funding. Education is voters' top concern this year, according to polls.

Wolf said property taxes have gone up and class sizes have grown under Corbett because of cuts in state education aid. The Democrat pledged smaller class sizes.

"There was a fair funding formula," Wolf said. "You eliminated it."

Wolf's expressed goal of having the state pitch in 50 percent of education costs would cost $3 billion more per year, Corbett said. Wolf said "hundreds of millions" would come from a 5 percent tax he wants to impose on extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale.

"I didn't cut education," Corbett countered, pointing to a stream of federal stimulus money that had been used for schools but dried up early in his term. Since then, the state share has increased every year to its highest level.

He said pension costs for school employees were the biggest driver pushing districts to raise property taxes, and told Wolf, "I don't see how you can ignore the pension crisis."

As he has before, Wolf said he was committed to keeping a defined-benefit pension plan for state, municipal, and school workers, and said 2010 pension changes designed to reduce costs and increase the state contribution needed more time to work.

When a panelist asked when Wolf would release his income tax plan, the Democrat said - as he has before - that he first needed to see what sort of revenue gap he would inherit if elected.

He has said he wants to change the state's personal income tax so that the middle class gets a break and the wealthy pay more. Pressed further, he said Wednesday that he considered an individual income of $70,000 to $90,000 to be middle-class.

On economic issues, Corbett said the state had benefited from the shale gas industry, but Wolf argued that Pennsylvania is ranked 47th among the states in job creation. "Our economy is not very strong," Wolf said, pointing to the recent credit downgrades.

Corbett countered by citing an analysis that ranked the state 36th.

One of the sharpest exchanges was over the pornographic e-mails traded among state officials and jurists between 2008 and 2010, according to state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, who unearthed them as part of her office's review of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-crimes investigation. The e-mails dated to when Corbett was attorney general.

"I think the concern is the culture that allows something like that to happen," Wolf said. "Culture starts at the top."

Corbett has said he never knew of the offending e-mails when he was attorney general and would have gone "ballistic" had he been told.

"I wish they would have sent me one," the governor said. "I wish they would have, because it would have stopped right then and there."

After the debate, Corbett told reporters that he was offended at Wolf's implied criticism. "That was a cheap shot," the governor said. "Everyone knows that's not my culture."

Wolf initially hurried into an elevator to leave the studio, pursued by a dozen or so reporters and camera operators. He returned shortly afterward, saying he had more time in his schedule than he had thought.

He did not intend a cheap shot at the governor over the e-mails, Wolf said: "I'm saying that part of leadership in any organization is setting the tone to say this kind of stuff isn't permissible."

Asked how he would be able to avoid gridlock with a legislature that is projected to remain in Republican control, Wolf answered by turning to Corbett. "You haven't been able to work with your own party members in the legislature," he said. "I certainly won't do any worse than that."

Some areas of agreement - albeit on nonissues - appeared during a "lightning round" of questions. Both candidates said they prefer french fries to chocolate, and beer to wine. Both like dogs.

Asked what each does that annoys his wife, both men smiled. Wolf said there's nothing he does that annoys his spouse. Corbett said he interrupts her too much.

Outside the radio station in the Spring Garden section of the city, several dozen anti-Corbett protesters and some of the governor's supporters rallied.

A political scientist who has followed the debates twice used the word aggressive to describe this one's tone.

Corbett "remained aggressive in his critique of Wolf policy positions, but he had to spend a great deal of time on the defensive with education as the departure point for the debate," Muhlenberg College's Chris Borick wrote in an e-mail. "Wolf was more direct in his challenges to Corbett in this round in comparison with the first debate, but once again didn't stray very far from the 'play it safe' approach that he has adopted. . . . The back-and-forth on the pornographic e-mails did demonstrate a bit more aggressive approach from Wolf than I expected."

He said Corbett's response suggested Wolf had "struck a nerve."

The debate was televised live on CW57, and will be rebroadcast on CBS3 on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The last debate is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh. It is to be moderated by WTAE's Sally Wiggin and aired live.EndText