Raja Cares About Jobs, Fitzgerald Cares About Himself

Why should voters give Rich Fitzgerald any more responsibility when he’s squandered the public’s trust already?

Harrisburg, PA – The Republican Party of Pennsylvania issued the following statement regarding Allegheny County Executive candidate D. Raja’s 100-day plan:

“D. Raja recently released a comprehensive 100-day plan that focuses on economic development and job creation in Allegheny County, something that Rich Fitzgerald hasn’t done during his time on County Council. In fact, the most notable accomplishments Rich Fitzgerald boasts are based on tax-hikes – from the infamous drink tax to his desire to tax non-profits.  Why should voters give Rich Fitzgerald any more responsibility when he’s squandered the public’s trust already? Raja has a plan to move us forward while Rich Fitzgerald is the same failed agenda that has resulted in doubling Allegheny County’s unemployment rate,” spokeswoman Valerie Caras said.

“Rich Fitzgerald has no idea how to create and keep jobs and the only person he has worked to employ is himself. The contrast between Raja, who has owned and operated a thriving business that employed over 300 people, and Rich Fitzgerald, who has allowed Allegheny County unemployment to nearly double under his watch,  couldn’t be clearer. To get Allegheny County moving again, voters should ditch Rich and vote for D. Raja for County Executive on November 8th.”

Raja plans first 100 days

Republican Allegheny County executive candidate D. Raja plans to tackle a long list of economic development and quality-of- life issues should he be elected Nov. 8, starting with transit funding and property reassessments, he said at a news conference this afternoon.

Mr. Raja, who runs a Scott tech firm called CEI, repeatedly argued his business experience will make him a good leader of the county, and peppered his remarks with mentions of “metrics,” “benchmarks,” Excel spreadsheets and other terminology found more often in boardrooms than on Grant Street. He released a “100 Day Plan” that charts what he would try to accomplish during his first quarter in office, covering proposals for drilling at the Pittsburgh International Airport to helping start-up firms hire more workers.

“What the 100-day plan [will do is] provide benchmarks of how the Raja adminstration will perform and how the public can judge the performance. That’s the biggest thing in business that we need is to set a benchmark and you can evaluate the performance against the benchmark. That same kind of practice is needed in county government,” he said.

(McNulty, Tim. “Raja plans first 100 days”. Pittsburgh Post Gazette. October 26, 2011. )

Fitzgerald advocated taxing non-profits; taking funds from universities and hospitals to pad county coffers.

“By taxing nonprofits, the county would not aim to punish them or portray them in a bad light. On the contrary, our universities, colleges and health-care facilities are great economic generators that provide many jobs for our citizens. The University of Pittsburgh’s 27,000 students and millions of dollars in research grants creates an enormous amount of wealth for the region. Carnegie Mellon University’s worldwide reputation for excellence brings many companies to our region that look to utilize its tremendous resources.

“Likewise, they should pay for the services of the county government. If they don’t, a bigger burden is left on property owners, and county taxpayers need relief.

(Fitzgerald, Rich. “Tax the nonprofits.” Pittsburgh Post Gazette. November 18, 2009.)

Despite resounding disapproval from Allegheny residents, Rich Fitzgerald supported a 10% drink tax.

“Isn’t it amazing that on the one hand the politicians spend millions of our tax dollars to promote the hospitality industry and tourism in Allegheny County,” a woman says in the ad. “Then with the other hand they want to give Allegheny County the power to slap us with a new 10-percent hospitality tax. “I’m a waitress, not an economist, but that doesn’t make good business sense to me.”

The ad goes on to say that 500 hospitality jobs could be lost in the Pittsburgh area if the threatened alcoholic beverage tax is passed.

“Allegheny County Council president Rich Fitzgerald indicated, however, that even if the tax were enacted in the fall, it might not be as high as 10 percent, and he promised that there would be public hearings.

(Frumkin, Paul. “Proposed drink tax in Pennsylvania stirs controversy over excise levies.” Nation’s Restaurant News, July 29, 2007.)

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