Four candidates share ‘politics and pizza’ with IUP students – Longview News-Journal

It was supposed to be a chance to hear candidates running for various state and regional offices, sign petitions to get them on the ballot in the spring or in at least one case in the fall and have a slice of pizza.

There was pizza, but because the petitioning window for the spring primary had been moved, the only petitions available were for a seat on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Student Co-ops board of directors.

There still were candidates who showed up anyway Wednesday, two for state House and two for governor, to address some 20 people taking part in IUP Votes second annual Pizza and Petitions event.

Three political parties were represented, including Republicans John Ventre for governor and incumbent Jim Struzzi for state House, Democrat Brian Doyle for state House and Libertarian Joe Soloski for governor.

We need to turn government in Pennsylvania on its ear, said Soloski, who was a certified public accountant in Kittanning for 30 years before moving seven years ago to State College.

I want to fundamentally change Pennsylvania government, Soloski said, pledging on day one in office to take a 65 percent pay cut, cut the state budget by 5 percent and press for term limits of eight years in any state office.

It would change Pennsylvanias top office from having the third highest salary among governors in the 50 states, to being the lowest paid in the country, even at barely under $70,000, Soloski told the IUP Votes audience.

Hed also cut the pay, per diem rates and benefits for the highest paid legislature in the nation, the General Assembly.

Also from nearby is Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, resident Ventre, who calls himself a Tea Party Patriot, wants to cut state spending by 5 percent, cut business taxes from 10 to 5 percent, and reduce the size of the General Assembly from 253 members to 78 (67 representatives, 11 senators).

There are clear differences between Soloski and Ventre, one of a long list of Republicans in the hunt.

Soloski said his party has supported LGBTQ rights since its formation 50 years ago, calling it a matter of personal liberty, and told the audience, we want to stay out of your lives.

Ventre recalled the traditional national motto of From Many, One, or E Pluribus Unum, and said race and gender would be removed from all applications from day one.

Both stressed the Second Amendment to the Constitution, with Soloski saying, I want to see Pennsylvania become a constitutional carry state, without any restrictions.

Ventre also had clear differences with some in the audience, who laughed when he referred to Marxism. Ventre said he opposes the progressive movement, and told the audience, this is not the America I grew up in.

Why are you even here? Democratic 62nd District state House candidate Doyle asked. Stop wasting our time.

Ventre also said he was the only candidate to say during recent gubernatorial debates that Joe Biden did not win the (2020 presidential) election. He also said Donald Trump had the right policies as president.

(Russian President Vladimir) Putin would not be doing what he is doing if Trump was still in office, Ventre said.

The Hempfield Township Republican also questioned why others in the GOP championed a Democratic talking point in Act 77 of 2019, a voting rights law declared unconstitutional by Commonwealth Court last month.

He also said his comments have been censored on social media, and from replays of at least one televised debate.

As for the state House candidates in the 62nd District, the man Doyle may face in the fall, incumbent Struzzi, said he has been doing whats right for the people of Indiana County, fighting to protect jobs, including those that could be lost because of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

However, Struzzi said, I know we have to do everything we can regarding protection of the environment, but not at the cost of jobs in coal and power industries.

Struzzi also said he was working on behalf of IUP and the other state-owned universities, but he also agreed with Ventre that I believe in school choice.

Doyle, who heads the IUP student Democratic organization, said he believes in common sense policies, including a $15 an hour minimum wage, legalized marijuana (saying 70 percent of Pennsylvanians favor it), and caps on prescription prices.

Doyle also disagreed with the two gubernatorial candidates in that reform should be from the bottom up, not the top down. He said he wants to build a Pennsylvania that works for everyone, and that hed donate portions of his salary to such venues as the NAACP bail fund and local scholarships.

Organizers said they had hoped for other candidates, for governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. Senate and state House.

The two gubernatorial candidates offered more details of their campaigns on websites, Vote4Ventre.com and JoeSoloski.com. Struzzi also has RepStruzzi.com and a campaign page on Facebook while Doyle has pages on Instagram and Twitter.

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Four candidates share 'politics and pizza' with IUP students - Longview News-Journal