After a budget speech that included a laundry list of liberal priorities – from gun control and charter school reforms to LGBT nondiscrimination and increased funding for social services programs – Democratic lawmakers sided with Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday.
“It’s time” for such issues to be included in the budget, Rep. Stephen Kinsey of Philadelphia told the Capital-Star. “We really need to take action, and he is a visionary leader.”
Wolf’s 2019 budget, fresh off his landslide re-election in 2018, overcomforted Republicans, as some Democrats expressed privately.
The second-term governor also came under attack from the left for conceding on the minimum wage, signing the general aid repeal and agreeing to eliminate straight-ticket voting.
To build rapport and soothe hurt feelings, Wolf met privately with Democratic lawmakers — both leadership and rank and file — throughout the fall, Democrats said. The fruits of these meetings were included in the administration’s budget.
“His speech reflects the agenda of our members, and we can do a lot with that,” said House Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny.
Dermody added that he didn’t expect every proposal to make it to the finish line. But on issues such as universal full-day kindergarten, increased preschool funding and additional staffing at the Department of Environmental Protection, Dermody expects success in June.
Other Democrats, such as Kinsey, have praised the focus on reducing gun violence by funding social programs and tightening property restrictions through universal background checks.
Wolf spent the last part of his speech emphasizing the need for action on gun violence, something the Republican-controlled General Assembly has repeatedly opposed.
But Wolf’s remark also highlights the schism among Democrats, especially in the House, where Western “Blue Dogs” like Rep. Chris Sainato of Lawrence County coexist with progressive Democrats from cities and suburbs.
Sainato, who represents New Castle, said he likes the education elements of Wolf’s budget. But he didn’t hesitate to oppose calls for novel gun laws.
“Many of us in the West support the Second Amendment,” Sainato told the Capital-Star. “[Wolf] “he has the right to propose what he does, and we have the right to believe in what we do.”
Some progressive Democrats could still list priorities they’d like to see Wolf address.
Progressive Party Rep. Sara Innamorato of Allegheny County said she wanted to “take a critical look at all of the corporate gifts available in the state” and appreciated that Wolf targeted the state’s horse racing fund to cover tuition costs for low-income people in the program. .
Innamorato said she wants to focus state spending on affordable housing and mass transit – two issues mainly absent from address and budget.
“If we don’t prioritize a budget that puts people first, we won’t be able to solve any of these systemic problems,” Innamorato told the Capital-Star newspaper.
But the address is only the beginning of the fight, lawmakers noted. The address is the blueprint for the next six months, until the budget deadline arrives on Wolf’s desk.
“I saw this as a common-sense, thoughtful budget that we can work on,” said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny.
