EDITORIAL: DePasquale in the 10th
Rep. Scott Perry typically prowls the farthest fringes of the Republican party. He generally doesn’t pretend to engage those in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District who disagree.
And he makes no apologies.
That’s Scott Perry. We shouldn’t expect the Carroll Township Republican to change his ways now, after four extreme terms. That’s who he is.
The question for us: Is that who we are?
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We don’t think it is.
When we consider climate change, we don’t throw “whataboutism” at God. (Google “God pollutes” — Perry’s the No. 2 return.)
We acknowledge systemic racism, even today, and the need for change. We’ve seen too many Black deaths at the hands of law enforcement, and we know it’s not “sensationalism” to condemn it.
When it comes to the pandemic, no, we haven’t swallowed the cherry chloroquine. “Generally speaking,” we will listen to the actual scientists, rather than Scott Perry’s dubious assessment of risk.
And that’s just a few examples from the last two terms.
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Enough.
It’s time for a change.
We’ve known and respected his Democratic challenger, Eugene DePasquale, since the 1990s, when he was helping to create local jobs as York City’s director of economic development. He later represented York City and the surrounding suburbs in the state’s 95th House District before being elected Pennsylvania’s auditor general in 2012.
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As the state’s top fiscal watchdog, DePasquale has worked for the people of Pennsylvania — not for a party.
He highlighted the state’s failing child welfare system, a backlog of untested rape kits and lax oversight of Pennsylvania’s nursing homes.
Just Tuesday, he updated the state on his investigation of fellow Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf’s business waiver process, noting the “program appeared to be a subjective process built on shifting sands of changing guidance, which led to significant confusion among business owners.”
In an earlier interview with The York Dispatch editorial board, DePasquale said a bevy of emails and other communications — involving state lawmakers, lobbyists and other prominent political players — seeking to influence the approval of business waivers in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic could require further investigation.
"We are concerned that some of those need to be turned over to other law enforcement entities," he said.
This is hardly the work of a party toady — and exactly the new attitude we need from our representatives in Washington.
Vote for Eugene DePasquale in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District.