State Treasurer Rob McCord is now the eighth Democratic candidate to throw his hat in the ring for governor.
But just days into his campaign, he’s still aiming most of his venom at Gov. Tom Corbett.
The former venture capitalist has, as treasurer, challenged Corbett’s plans to privatize the state lottery and overhaul the public pension systems.
He also dings Corbett for signing a “no new taxes” pledge, saying such promises aren’t the source of good public policy.
"Raising taxes should be the last resort and I would say you shouldn’t hire another governor who yields to the political temptation to make a pledge and you certainly shouldn’t let a public official outsource his or her thinking to a lobbyist," McCord said.
McCord says his first priority, if elected, would be increasing funding for education, which has seen deep cuts in overall funding under Corbett.
He says the task would require a combination of cuts to other agencies, like Public Welfare, as well as a replacement of the impact fee on natural gas
drillers with a tax on drilling.
Other Democratic candidates include U.S. Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, former state Revenue Secretary Tom Wolf, and former Department of Environmental Protection secretaries Katie McGinty and John Hanger.
