matthew@votegordon.org
...and watch this page for updates! Thank you for participating.
"What will Growing Greener II do for Montgomery County?"
"What are the priority state road projects in the 70th district?"
Question from V., in East Norriton, June 15, 2004:
"What will Growing Greener II do for Montgomery County?"
Governor Rendell is seeking to put a referendum on the November ballot for voters to decide whether to establish the Growing Greener II program, an $800 million bond to invest in environmental and community quality-of-life initiatives. I strongly believe this program will reinvigorate the Pennsylvania economy, without a tax increase, at an estimated bottom-line cost to the average Pennsylvanian of only $5 per year! Direct benefits to Montgomery County will come as candidate projects receive grants to restore our waterways, clean up contaminated sites, invest in residential areas, and preserve open space and farmland. The money could be used, in part, to provide state matching funds for open space acquisitions by Montgomery County, for which the County has already approved a $150 million budget. Growing Greener II will make that County open-space money go a lot farther, and can also be used to help redevelop blighted or polluted properties to put them back to productive use. We have already seen benefits to Montgomery County from the first Growing Greener program, including a grant to the Montgomery County Lands Trust to preserve open space and Unami Creek. With the backing of Montgomery County Representative Daylin Leach and Senator Connie Williams who provided much of the driving force behind the bill, I will make sure that Montgomery County gets its fair share of the benefits once the money is earmarked for specific projects.
Representative John Fichter has not supported placing this referendum on the ballot for voters to decide, which is a short-sighted, wrong position. The Patriot News (June 9, 2004) put it bluntly: "It would be mindless to pass it up." Why would Fichter pass up this chance to reinvigorate our economy and beautify our environment at such a bargain cost? The Philadelphia Inquirer hazarded a guess (June 8, 2004): "Some in the Republican legislature just want to hand the Democratic governor a loss. National GOP politics also intrudes. Some Republicans fear a state environmental ballot question could turn out too many John Kerry voters in the fall." It is a disgrace that a state representative would place partisan politics above the welfare of our community. Call Rep. Fichter at (610) 584-0070 and tell him that you want him to support the bill to place Growing Greener II on the ballot. Let the Voters Decide!
The money to repay the bond will come in the form of modest landfill tipping fee increases imposed largely on out-of-state residents who dump their trash in Pennsylvania. Additional monies are recouped from companies which fail to reduce their toxic emissions. None of the money would come from increased taxes on Pennsylvanians. It is estimated that the cost to the average Pennsylvanian will be only $5 per year! The $800 million would:
- Invest $80 million in our polluted rivers and streams so they can be utilized once again by our communities and outdoor enthusiasts.
- Invest $140 million to clean up abandoned mines and other environmental hazards, and to prepare contaminated industrial sites, known as "brownfields," for redevelopment.
- Invest $80 million in alternative energy production, including using waste coal to produce cleaner energy sources.
- Invest $170 million in housing and communities.
- Invest $330 million to improve state parks and infrastructure that supports fish and wildlife habitat, and to preserve open space and farmland.
This program will create economic incentives to reduce pollution in Pennsylvania, increase the lifetime for waste disposal facilities, while at the same time making fundamental improvements in our quality of life, at very little cost to Pennsylvanians. I support the bill to put this referendum on the November ballot. Let the Voters Decide!
Question from R. in East Norriton, April 13, 2004:
"What are the priority state road projects in the 70th district?"
Matthew's response: The maintenance of a sound road infrastructure is critical to the economic growth of the district, and is necessary to ease the congestion caused by suburban sprawl and other developments. The state must help ease traffic flow to limit commute times, especially to areas where substantial growth is targeted. Undertaking such projects must be done with the involvement and interaction of the neighborhoods affected, so that a balance is struck between roadway improvement and maintenance of neighborhood features, including during the construction phase. Smart roadway projects have the potential for improving our quality of life in significant ways: reducing commutes so that we can have more time with our friends, families, hobbies, and personal projects; increasing productivity at work; helping rebuild areas with struggling economies by increasing investments in those areas with improved access; and better access to jobs and recreational opportunities.
In our district, I would like to see improvements which result in decreased bottlenecks at rush-hour "pressure-points", through development of turn lanes and better signals in certain areas. These projects would be prioritized based on feedback from local citizens and PennDOT. I would like this to be achieved without harmful diversions of traffic onto secondary roads into our neighborhoods. I also would like to see better access to our county seat, Norristown, from the major highways, including route 202, particularly where lane reductions currently occur. I also am interested in pursuing the light rail project to ease overall congestion and make access better for the entire proposed light rail corridor. If I am elected, I will act on the recommendations of citizens and traffic engineers to move projects that achieve these goals, and are economically and environmentally viable, beyond the study stage and into implementation.
Current projects within the district can be identified by visiting the PennDOT web site. Click for: current construction projects, paving projects , future project info, and information about specific projects .
Campaign Staff Login:
