Pawlowski

Ed Pawlowski said that his experience as the mayor of the state's third-largest city makes him a good candidate for governor.

“I think I have a story to tell,” Pawlowski, 48, said.

He has been the mayor of Allentown since 2006. When he started, he said it was a suffering, rust belt city.

Today, Allentown is the fastest growing city in the state. He said that he reduced debt by 38 percent and the city has seen decreased crime for six years.

Additionally, there has been no city property tax increase in nine years.

Pawlowski, who was in Butler on Thursday, is one of eight Democrats vying to face Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in 2014. The primary is in May.

He said he is the only mayor candidate in the race, and he has had to prepare a budget and make tough decisions.

“I'm the one with the executive experience. And I think that matters,” Pawlowski said.

He said the state has not done well under Corbett.

“We're headed in the wrong direction,” Pawlowski said, pointing out the state went from being ranked seventh for job creation to being ranked 49th.

To prevent “brain drain,” he said there needs to be an attraction program to bring good-paying jobs to the state and keep residents here.

Education is another one of his major issues.

He said if the state does not put money into education now, it will put money into prisons in the future.

Over the past few years, he noted that the state removed $1 billion in education funding. It later restored $90 million.“You're still $910 million short,” Pawlowski said.He said this has caused a reduction in the number of teachers and schools, which hurts students.When it comes to Marcellus Shale natural gas and other shale gases, he said the industry's impact on the environmental should be studied and it should have some regulation.He also would propose getting rid of the gas impact fee and have a gas severance tax instead. He noted that West Virginia has a 4 percent severance tax on shale gas.“There is no reason we can't have that in Pennsylvania,” Pawlowski said. “We have the gas, (the industry is) not going anywhere.”He said a 4 percent tax will bring in more than $1 billion in revenue.Pawlowski also is an advocate for bipartisanship in Harrisburg. He said a major problem is that the state Legislature cannot act due to a lack of leadership and bipartisanship.“I think people want to see an end to it,” Pawlowski said.He said there is not a Democratic or Republican way of doing things.“There's a right way and a wrong way,” he said.Pawlowski is married and has two children.