GOP candidate for governor stops in Slippery Rock
SLIPPERY ROCK — There's no secret why Republican gubernatorial candidate Jason Richey was in Slippery Rock on Saturday.
“I'm running for governor, and I'm looking for the support of Butler County. I need it,” said Richey before meeting with Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo and attending a rally at North Country Brewing Co., Cannery & Taproom, 111 Arrowhead Drive.
“JD is a supporter, and he's hosting the event,” he said.
It was part of a number of rallies and visits the Aliquippa native and partner at Pittsburgh's K&L Gates law firm, has made across the state since he announced his candidacy May 20.
He estimated he has visited about three-quarters of the state's 67 counties and mounted an intense social media effort since his announcement.
Speaking of the seven other declared GOP candidates for governor, Richey said, “They are all from the East. I'm the only candidate from Western Pennsylvania, which is critical in my mind.”He noted there have been four GOP conservative governors since the 1960s, and they all came from the western part of the state.“There are more Democrats than Republicans in the state,” he said. “But Democrats in the west and independent voters will vote for a reasonable GOP candidate.”He said he is running to “stop a decline in both the state's economy and population that has been going on for the past 40 to 50 years.”Richey said while his GOP rivals for the nomination are criticizing each other and the present Wolf administration, he is focusing on policy with his “Contract with Pennsylvania,” a 12-point plan for reversing Pennsylvania's decline.
Key to Richey's plan is abolishing the state personal and business income tax.“We should never penalize anyone for working, which is what that tax does,” he said.An abolishment of the income tax will attract families and businesses to the state and keep people from leaving the state, he said.He proposes making up the income tax revenue by both shrinking the size of state government and closing loopholes in the state sales tax.He estimates there are 300 loopholes in the state sales tax.This will have two effects. People will have more money to spend, and it will attract new businesses.“Eliminating the 3% income tax and enforcing a 6% sales tax will bring in more money,” he said.Eliminating state government agencies such as the Liquor Control Board and the Turnpike Commission also are high on his list of priorities.He called the Liquor Control Board outdated and “a great place for politicians to park their friends so they can draw $100,000 salaries and a pension.”Richey said he was compelled to run for governor because of Gov. Wolf's response to the COVID pandemic with its arbitrary rules on which businesses could remain open and which could not.Richey said he would make it his priority to restore the public's faith and trust in the state's election process.
To that end, he is calling for the repeal of Act 77, which created a new option to vote by mail up to 50 days before an election and to be placed on a list to permanently receive a ballot application by mail.He said the act allows for voting abuses and that balloting should be done in polling places.“I'm in favor of voter ID. I think it is really important. You need IDs to function in society,” he said.“We need to do a better job to get everyone who wants one a voter ID.“I don't think it's too much to ask for people to have an ID for voting. It is an important public duty,” he said.Richey, 49, and his wife, Melissa, live in Sewickley with their three teenage sons, Justin, Logan and Marcus, who attend Quaker Valley High School.A graduate of Hopewell Area High School, Richey attended Allegheny College in Crawford County, where he went on to become a three-time NCAA Academic All-American as a member of the Allegheny wrestling team.After college, he worked in an Aliquippa steel mill to help pay his way through law school at Ohio State University.At K&L Gates, he defended the energy, manufacturing, and construction industries and fought against government corruption.“I'm used to working 18 hour days,” he said. “That's the kind of effort they can expect for me working for the public.”
