Letters: McGinty the best Democrat for Senate seat

ISSUE | CAMPAIGN 2016

McGinty the best Democrat for Senate seat

In its endorsement of Joe Sestak for U.S. Senate ("Sestak gets primary nod," April 10), the Inquirer gave short shrift to Katie McGinty's candidacy, saying her campaign has not shown that she is ready for the Senate.

Fitness for office should be judged by the candidate's experience and performance in other jobs, not by four months of the campaign:

As head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, McGinty drove an agenda that delivered historic gains on renewable energy and ecosystem protection, ensured clean air and water, and restored Florida's Everglades.

As head of environmental protection when I was governor, she convinced a wind-energy equipment manufacturer to locate its

U.S. operations in Pennsylvania and made the state a leader in renewable energy, attracting more than $1 billion and creating 3,000 jobs.

As Gov. Wolf's chief of staff, she oversaw the reinstatement of a moratorium on leases for drilling in state parks and forests and regulations protecting water and cutting methane pollution. She helped expand Medicaid to 500,000 Pennsylvanians, saving taxpayers

$600 million, and helped save the Children's Health Insurance Program for thousands of Pennsylvania families.

Based on these and other public-service successes, McGinty is the clear choice for Democratic voters in the primary election.

|Ed Rendell, Philadelphia