In an interview earlier this week, Paul Mango refused to condemn Tom Corbett and Harrisburg Republicans despite their record of billion dollar education cuts.
“Paul Mango joined Scott Wagner this week in making clear he would take Pennsylvania back to the Corbett era when school funding was slashed by $1 billion dollars, thousands of teachers lost their jobs, class sizes increased, and important programs like pre-K and tutoring were eliminated,” said Beth Melena, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Communications Director. “Mango and Wagner have a completely backwards idea of how we should be ensuring that our children are receiving the education they deserve. Pennsylvania’s students and economy cannot afford Mango and Wagner’s reckless education policies.”
BACKGROUND
“INTERVIEWER: So it is not lost on you that we had a Corbett Administration and total Republican control for a good chunk of it, if not all of it, and relatively speaking, little came from it in terms of a conservative victory. In my view, that’s my impression. What was yours?
MANGO: Well, you know, yeah, I’m not here to talk about other republicans.” [The Chris Stigall Show, 5/17/17]
“INTERVIEWER: Well, they say the Governor runs the largest corporation in the state. He is the chief executive officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He’s come out with some pretty dramatic changes for the budget in this coming season, but we still have ⅔ of Pennsylvanians are opposed to the cuts in education. If you were to give him advice, would you tell him to stick to his guns on these dramatic cuts that he’s making across the board. Education’s hit the worst, but everybody’s getting hit.
WAGNER: Yes, I believe that Governor Corbett needs to stick to his plan.” [Behind the Headlines, 5/23/11]