PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: Democrat Tom Wolf cruised to the Democratic nomination for governor on a wave of overwhelmingly positive ads introducing him to the state’s voters. Mr. Corbett, of course, had no primary opposition at all, so he had no need to run negative ads during the primary, although his campaign did air one quirky commercial making fun of Mr. Wolf’s trademark Jeep.
But now the general election combat is underway in earnest, with both sides airing sharp attack ads. The Corbett campaign was up with the negatives first. After launching a generic defense of his adminstraiton last week, the incumbent turned to an attack on Mr. Wolf’s tenure as secretary of revenue under the administration of former Gov. Ed Rendell. The Wolf camp fired back Tuesday with a video, not yet airing on broadcast TV, which contains a litany of charges against the Corbett administration that echoed the criticisms that all of the Democratic primary candidates had trained on the incumbent…
The Corbett ad attempts to tie Mr. Wolf to a list of tax increases proposed, but never enacted, during Mr. Rendell’s second term. It also warns that Mr. Wolf wants to raise income taxes. Mr. Wolf has proposed changing the state income levy from its current flat rate, 3.07 percent, to a more progressive structure that would provide a substantial personal or household exemption with a higher rate on income above the exempt level. There would be winners and losers under such a structure compared to the current one. In theory, less affluent taxpayers would pay less and wealthier taxpayers would owe more. Mr. Wolf has said that the plan would be structured to benefit most middle class taxpayers, but without more precise details, it’s impossible to assess its full effect… (more)
