News & Brews December 4, 2024
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Austin Davis to lead Dem. Lt. Gov. Association
Pa. Lt. Gov. Austin Davis was chosen in an uncontested election yesterday as chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association. which, per its website, is “solely focused on electing Democratic lieutenant governors and candidates each year.” POLITICO reports, “Over the next two years, there will be over two dozen lieutenant governors elected across the country, some independently and some as part of a gubernatorial ticket…. Davis did not rule out the DLGA getting involved in the party’s primary contest in next year’s off-year elections in Virginia, an open seat they want to flip, if it means weeding out candidates who prove they can’t win or will drag the party down in the general election.”
This Pa. politician is a political ‘threat to Josh Shapiro’
Despite his lackluster performance as governor and his “strategy of silence” on important issues, Gov. Josh Shapiro remains popular among voters. But another Pa. politicians who’s less well-known (as of now) has actually captured more votes than Shapiro in a statewide race: Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity. And Axios reports that Garrity is now “the first person political insiders put on a short list of contenders who could challenge Gov. Josh Shapiro in 2026.”
Pa.’s biggest cities eye school closures
In Philadelphia, as some school buildings operate far below capacity, the city is formulating a plan involving closing some school buildings. The Inquirer reports, “Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. indicated the school system will have a minimum target school size going forward. That target has not yet been set, he said.” Across the state in Pittsburgh, the school district announced last month that no schools will close for the 2025-2026 academic year, but that’s to “allow school leaders more time to comprehensively review the recommendations consultants hired by the district delivered,” which “recommended … [the district] permanently close 10 school buildings and reconfigure more than a dozen others.”
Allegheny County Council passes 36% property tax hike
Remember the news from back in October that progressive Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato had proposed a 47% property tax increase? Well, yesterday the County Council approved a somewhat-lower-but-still-high tax increase of 36%. WESA reports that the vote was a “10-5 margin, just clearing the two-thirds supermajority required by county law to approve a change to real estate tax rates.” Three Democrats as well as the council’s only two Republicans voted against the increase.
76ers consider paying more to get council approval for new arena
The Inquirer reports that the talks between the Sixers and the Philly City Council over the proposed Center City arena are now focusing in part over whether the Sixers will pay more than the $50 million previously talked about for the community benefits agreement. The possibility is “an indication the 76ers are willing to do what it takes to get the $1.3 billion project approved by Council before lawmakers adjourn for winter recess on Dec. 19. In hearings over the last three weeks, Council members have raised concerns about whether the agreement would adequately address community needs and protect neighboring Chinatown and the likelihood that the project will cost SEPTA millions in added operational costs.”