"PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER" ENDORSES SCOTT CONKLIN FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR!

Centre County State Representative Scott Conklin's campaign for Lieutenant Governor was endorsed this morning by the "Philadelphia Inquirer."

"I am very humbled and honored to be recognized by the "Philadelphia Inquirer," Conklin said. "We went to Harrisburg four years ago to talk about reform, bringing integrity back to government, and getting it to run more efficiently."

Conklin believes that a vote for him is a rejection of the strong-armed, pay-for-play, payback system that must not be allowed to continue.

"I believe this will be a boost forward. Anytime you go against the entrenched machine and are recognized like this, by not just a state but a national newspaper, it is a huge boost to our candidacy," Conklin stated. "Because it gives the credibility and also the awareness that there is more to this campaign than just political power brokers."

Conklin's call for a constitutional convention to change our broken system of government was the inspiration for his candidacy. He is encouraging all reform-minded voters to support him on May 18th.

Read the endorsement! Please click on this link:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20100510_Editorial__Worthy_candidates.html

State Representatives who have endorsed Scott Conklin's bid for Lieutenant Governor:

• Barbin, Bryan (D)
• Burns, Frank (D)
• Caltagirone, Thomas R. (D)
• Casorio, James E., Jr. (D)
• DePasquale, Eugene (D)
• Deasy, Daniel J (D)
• Fabrizio, Florindo J. (D)
• Freeman, Robert (D)
• Gergely, Marc J. (D)
• Haluska, Gary (D)
• Hanna, Michael K. (D)
• Harkins, Patrick J. (D)
• Kortz, William C., II (D)
• Kula, Deberah (D)
• Mahoney, Tim (D)
• Samuelson, Steve (D)
• Solobay, Timothy J. (D)

Scott Conklin: The Candidate with the Qualifications

Lieutenant Governor’s Three Key responsibilities:

FIRST, Running the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA)

- As a county commissioner, Scott worked very closely with Emergency Management Director Randy Rockey and his staff to satisfy their needs in times of distress.

- Scott Conklin was the first chairman of the Centre County terrorism task force after the horrific acts of Sept. 11, 2001.


SECOND, Presiding over the Pennsylvania Senate

- Scott Conklin is the only candidate with the legislative experience to assume this responsibility on day one.

- Scott is currently Pennsylvania State Representative for the 77th District giving experience writing and passing legislation

- Representative Conklin pushed over 30 different reform measures including writing legislation to prevent teen dating violence in Pennsylvania.


THIRD, Supervising Pennsylvania’s Pardon Board

- Scott had the honor of chairing the statewide board of correction while serving as Centre county commissioner.

- Scott led the Centre County prison board and oversaw the construction of Centre’s current county prison.


Transparent, accountable, and responsible government starts with you, and with your support that’s what Scott Conklin will fight for. Scott is the only candidate that has the qualifications and the legislative experience to be the Lieutenant Governor on day one.


Thank you for all of your support!

17 Reformers Endorse Scott Conklin for Lieutenant Governor!

Centre County Representative Scott Conklin's campaign for Lieutenant Governor received a big boost this week. Conklin received the endorsement of 17 State Representatives who believe in his reform message.

"I am honored by the number of my colleagues that believe as I do that government needs to be reformed," Conklin said. "We have worked together, we have put in those 31 reform measures, the no-two a.m. voting and especially the new open records law. They believe like do I do, that we have to stop the old machine politics from coming back and taking over."



Conklin believes that a vote for him is a rejection of the strong-armed, pay-for-play, payback system that must not be allowed to continue. "And that's the reason we are banning together," Conklin stated. "We are trying to keep the reform message going before it gets squashed out by the old school politicians who want to keep things the way they are."



Conklin's call for a constitutional convention to change our broken system of government was the inspiration for his candidacy. He is encouraging all reform-minded voters to support him on May 18th.

Representatives who have endorsed Scott Conklin's bid for Lieutenant Governor:
· Barbin, Bryan (D)
· Burns, Frank (D)
· Caltagirone, Thomas R. (D)
· Casorio, James E., Jr. (D)
· DePasquale, Eugene (D)
· Deasy, Daniel J (D)
· Fabrizio, Florindo J. (D)
· Freeman, Robert (D)
· Gergely, Marc J. (D)
· Haluska, Gary (D)
· Hanna, Michael K. (D)
· Harkins, Patrick J. (D)
· Kortz, William C., II (D)
· Kula, Deberah (D)
· Mahoney, Tim (D)
· Samuelson, Steve (D)
· Solobay, Timothy J. (D)

Scott Conklin Trusts the Citizens to Guide State Reform

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hasn’t made any changes to its constitution since 1968. In the forty-two years since that last revision, the state has been littered with a plethora of problems. One of the most frustrating of these problems is the budget process which hasn’t met its June 30th deadline since 2002.When looking for ideas on reform Scott Conklin trusts in the people that know Pennsylvania best – the citizens.

Scott has spent the last couple of months since the budget crisis organizing a collaborative event which took place this past Monday. The event was open to all citizens to voice their opinions and lend their ideas on how to improve the Commonwealth. “We will come up with the best possible plan if we just trust in the people” Conklin said.

The people voiced their opinions on everything from campaign finance reform to term limits for legislators, and the ideas were met with much appreciation from the servant leader of the 77th District. “We hit multiple stumbling blocks with this year's budget and I think the process is partially to blame.” Scott received many opinions from the audience on how to make fundamental changes in the drafting of the state budget. The state of Pennsylvania can’t go through another impasse. Scott believes “this is the perfect opportunity to bring those changes to light" and will continue to be the fighting voice of the Centre County citizens in Harrisburg.

Centre County Representative Scott Conklin Files Petitions for Lieutenant Governor

Representative Scott Conklin officially announced his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania today. Conklin said he is humbled by the outpouring of support he has received and plans to take his reform message state-wide. 



"It is because I believe in servant leadership. We have come along way over the last few years, 31 reform measures, we have an office of open records so the public can see what is going on, but we need to do more," Conklin said. The representative was urged to run by many who saw his forum on the need for a constitutional convention that aired on PCN. Conklin recognizes that citizens remain frustrated in their government.




"We can take our frustration and turn it into something positive," Conklin said. "This campaign is about taking how frustrated everybody in the state is and making it viable that we can have a better future." Conklin plans to hit the campaign trail later this week and urges all citizens to sign up for his newsletter and keep up to date. 

The Centre Regional Chapter of the AFL-CIO Endorses Rep. Scott Conklin

Centre County Representative Scott Conklin picked up another key endorsement in his campaign for Lieutenant Governor. The Centre Regional Chapter of the AFL-CIO, which represents workers in four counties, endorsed his candidacy because of his long standing record of helping working families. President Dan Long praised Conklin's efforts from the time he served as county commissioner to his most recent work in the state house.

"He (Conklin) is pro working family. Everytime I've called him with a working family issue he has been very open, listened and taken our perspective," Long said. "It has been tremendously helpful to the working class in his district and hopefully he can take that to the state-wide level."



Representative Conklin said he was humbled by the endorsement and looks forward to pushing for reform measures that will benefit working families if he is elected.

Time to reform Harrisburg's broken government

During my years of public service, I have always tried to provide servant leadership to those who have given me the honor of electing me county commissioner and then state representative.

This year, after hearing the public outcry to change our broken system of government, I am offering my candidacy for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania.

I came to this decision after the many calls and e-mails I received after our two forums on reform and after careful counsel of friends and family. I am humbled that almost 3,000 voters signed petitions to get me on the ballot.

Keep in mind, I only distributed the petitions to the counties, and on their own the people responded warmly to my candidacy. So, with my wife by my side, I filed those petitions last week.

I believe we have a real opportunity to get the word out about the need to overhaul our system to reflect this new century that we are in.

My first call is for a constitutional convention. We have not had one in more than 40 years, and I believe the time is now. In fact, to achieve the real reform that is necessary, we need to change the rules so that they will stand up to the court challenges that will come if we don't.

Do we need to take a hard look at the budget process? I think last year's embarrassing impasse screams the answer: Yes!

Do we need to take a serious look at redistricting? Anyone who has looked at the legislative map in Pennsylvania would say we need to redraw lines.

Is the size of government too large, too small or just right? These are just three of the issues that can be addressed through a constitutional convention.

While I am passionate about the reform message, before making this decision I also took a very careful look at the duties of lieutenant governor.

I found that my background is well-suited for the position. The lieutenant governor is responsible for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, or PEMA. As a county commissioner, I worked very closely with Emergency Management Director Randy Rockey and his staff to learn what their needs are in times of distress. I also served as the first chairman of our terrorism task force after the horrific acts of Sept. 11, 2001.

The lieutenant governor is also responsible for the state's pardon board. I had the honor of chairing the statewide board of correction while serving as your county commissioner. I also led our prison board and oversaw the construction of our current county prison.

If elected, I would also have the honor of presiding over the Senate, and I'm the only Democratic candidate running with the legislative experience to be ready to assume this duty on Day One.

I also believe that, in the event I would be called upon to assume the duties of governor, my years of serving as your county commission chairman, your state representative and my extensive time in the private sector make me ready and qualified to answer that call.

Finally, it is not lost on me that our machine driven politics for personal gain is a failure. I think the performance of our state government as a whole over the past several years illustrates quite brightly that we need a fresh perspective. So it is for all of these reasons and many others that I threw my hat into the ring.

The time for real reform is now, and I humbly ask for your support in the effort.