It appears that Representative Brandon Boyle feels confident enough in his performance to forgo an opportunity to address voters on the issues concerning our neighborhoods. On September 3, Marc Collazzo issued Mr. Boyle an invitation to engage in a series of debates.  Two weeks later we have yet to receive any response.  The people deserve the opportunity to hear how each candidate feels about the crucial issues concerning our great state.

“Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to; conviced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty” – Thomas Jefferson.

Representative Brandan Boyle:

I recently received your e-mail under the subject topic ‘Our District Ranked One of the Best in Region for Job Growth’. Your e-mail is extremely misleading and you convoluted the facts in order to present a positive spin about your supposedly job growth efforts to the electorate for the upcoming elections.

You stated that the ranking information was obtained from a report prepared by the William Penn Foundation and Temple University. The fact is that the report was prepared by the Metropolitan Philadelphia Indicators Project (MPIP) of the Institute For Public Affairs of Temple University.  MPIP is supported (funded) by William Penn Foundation and Temple University. William Penn Foundation does not prepare reports, only provides funding to various educational and non-profit organizations.

The 2010 Community Indicators Report you referenced was issued on July 13, 2010 and the report was for the time period of 2008 to 2009.  All statistics presented in the report were for this time frame including the job lost/gains.

You had been elected to the Pennsylvania House in November 2008 and became a legislator for the 2009-2010 regular session. Therefore it is quite a stretch and disingenuous to take credit for job growth for a time period during which you were not a legislator. And to state further that I ‘dedicated a great deal of time to job growth and economic development. Statistics show our work is paying off’. You may have dedicated time to job growth after you took office; however, you can’t take credit for the reported five per cent growth prior to 2009. In fact job growth has dramatically deteriorated since 2009 and the next report will probably reflect this fact.

Instead of quoting outdated facts, you should report what specific actions you have done in order to create jobs for your constituents. I am sure you may be hard pressed to report such actions.

The MPIP report also stated that property foreclosures were at high risk levels for the 170^th Pennsylvania House district. This should also be a major concern for you and should warrant a great deal of your time.

Gerry Wald

Philly Record

City Hall Sam Section:

Looks like Brendan Boyle is in for some tough competition this General Election.  His opponent Marc Collazzo comes from a well-respected Republican family.  Collazzo has been campaigning through the summer.  His lawn signs are starting to appear. He has been door-to-door in 100-degree heat.

The South Philadelphia Record. August 26 2010. City Hall Sam Page 9 http://issuu.com/phillyrecord/docs/pr-552-s

The Philly Record makes mention of Marc Collazzo’s successful fundraising dinner at Smoke Eaters Pub in Mayfair.  To view the article check out page 4 of the August 26th issue at the link provided below.

http://issuu.com/phillyrecord/docs/pr-552-s

Marc Collazzo, the Republican candidate in the 170th Legislative District, plans to establish an Assessment Appeal Program.

Collazzo, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle, views the city’s 9.9-percent property tax hike as punitive.

The candidate has already come out in favor of a freeze on property taxes when homeowners turn 65 and a cap on how much a city or municipality can raise property taxes in a given year.

After the next assessments are mailed, property owners unhappy with their tax bill will be able to contact Collazzo at 267-979-0893 or info@electmarc.com to seek assistance in preparing and submitting an appeal form.

A lawyer, Collazzo will also be available to represent owners at hearings.

“I entered this race not to just talk about helping . . . but to roll up my sleeves and do the hard work above and beyond the empty promises provided by all too many elected officials,” he said.

Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com

http://www.philly.com/community/pa/philadelphia/netimes/101489344.html?page=4&c=y

By Marc D. Collazzo

As a candidate for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, I have had the privilege these many months to go door to door speaking with neighbors, friends, residents and constituents about their priorities and needs.

It is obvious that the financial crisis has caused many to lose their homes and jobs as they cope with dealing with limited resources. More importantly, they are enraged by their current leadership in both city and state government in not only failing to remedy our economic woes, but by actually enacting legislation that worsens the situation by drastically increasing taxes and recklessly spending to the point that, for the first time in its history, Pennsylvania has a billion-dollar budget deficit!

The wrath of the people of my home and legislative district, the 170th, feel that government officials care so little about their suffering that the city of Philadelphia passed a 9.9 percent property tax increase that many feel will now force them to sell their homes and move away from the only city that they called home.

It is distressing to think that hard-working men and women, who have invested their blood, sweat and tears into saving enough money to purchase and maintain a residence, will be taxed to the point that all of that money and effort will be for nothing.

As a lifelong Philadelphia resident, I cannot sit back and let the current leadership further deplete the city of Philadelphia of its most important resource – its people!

Harrisburg, and in particular, my opponent, Brendan Boyle, have done nothing to create prosperity and stem the tide of the oncoming recession. They have failed to establish jobs, decrease government spending or lower our tax burden.

It is time to stop the flow of people fleeing this city by promptly enacting measures to give them relief, including placing a cap on how much a city or municipality can raise property taxes in a given year (9.9 percent is punitive even in a thriving economy), completing a fair, accurate property tax assessment system for residential homes and freeze property taxes when citizens turn age 65.

Rome was certainly not built in a day, and no one can promise a miracle cure. However, the status quo has created this emergency and forced a mass exodus from our once proud city. It is long overdue to remove the “For Sale” signs and bring back the feeling of “home sweet home.”

Guest Opinion from philly.com by Marc Collazzo

http://www.philly.com/community/pa/philadelphia/netimes/101492629.html?page=6&c=y

Marc Collazzo, the Republican challenger in the 170th Legislative District, is calling for a freeze on property taxes when homeowners turn 65, a cap on how much a city or municipality can raise property taxes in a given year and a decrease in government spending.

The candidate said the city’s recent 9.9-percent hike in property taxes would help chase people out of Philadelphia.

Collazzo, who held a fund-raiser last week at SmokeEaters Pub, faces Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle, older brother of Perzel’s challenger.

Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com
http://www.philly.com/community/pa/philadelphia/netimes/100993874.html?page=4&c=y

Marc Collazzo, the Republican candidate in the 170th Legislative District, is crediting state Auditor General Jack Wagner, a Democrat, for pointing out that the Department of Public Welfare’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning waited a year before spending about $60 million in federal stimulus funds.

In that time, about 12,000 families were on a waiting list for services.

Collazzo is challenging freshman Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle, older brother of Kevin Boyle. During the campaign, Collazzo has pushed for spending cuts, budget deficit reduction, lower taxes and a focus on job creation.

Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com
http://www.philly.com/community/pa/philadelphia/netimes/100451604.html?page=3&c=y

Philadelphia public school system doles out high salaries to staff

While we’re told that our financial belts require tightening, it’s insulting to know that the administration of the Philadelphia public school system can continue to “feed the beast” to the detriment of its proscribed purpose – the education of our youth.
Phil Goldsmith, in his July 29 article (“$338 Thou?!), described in vivid detail how the salaries of school administrators have continued to rise under the direction of Arlene Ackerman, while the school district faces a “fiscal tsunami.” The federal stimulus money the district has relied on for operation will be gone, tax revenues continue to plummet and the Pennsylvania education budget is lower than in previous years under the Rendell administration.

While other elected officials, including Mayor Nutter, have taken 5-10 percent reductions in their annual salaries as a result of the state’s economic crisis, Ms. Ackerman and her personal hires make almost double what individuals in similar positions make in other large cities throughout the United States.

What’s more alarming is that this upward trend in school-administration earnings has continued since Pennsylvania’s takeover of the Philadelphia school system in 2002.

The unemployment rate in Philadelphia is more than 9 percent and rising. The current majority in the government has done nothing to create any new jobs.

But this hasn’t stopped Ackerman from doing just that. For example, she created the position of chief of institutional advancement for Leroy Nunery four months ago at a salary of $180,000.

No explanation was given for what that position was for, but Nunery must have been so good at it that he was promoted to Ackerman’s second-in-command with a $50,000 raise! Goldsmith noted that a six-year teacher with a master’s earns only $50,000. Despite comments to the contrary by the school board, these salaries are not “budget-neutral.”

This exposé by Goldsmith presents another “black eye” to those in government who were charged with improving the lives of its citizenry and protecting the future of our children. We cannot forget that while Ackerman has been allowed to hire and spend as she wished by the current administration, education has been in the top three areas in the amount provided by the state budget.

Clearly, it’s not that we need more money for education – it’s really time to change how we spend such funds. Instead of spending six-figure salaries for administration, we must limit the amount of employees and salaries for the school board in order to allocate more funding to follow the child. Education resources must be used at early ages so that we can reach our youth during their most formative years to give them the tools they will need to lead productive lives. Moreover, let’s use that funding to allow parents to send their children to the schools of their choice.

AS A CANDIDATE for the General Assembly, but, more importantly, the father of a child entering the city’s public-school system, I say we must remind leadership that it’s our money and it must be used for our most prized resource. . . our children.

Marc D. Collazzo is the Republican candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 170th Legislative District in the Northeast.

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/99989859.html

Marc Collazzo – Letter to the Editor

Phillynews.com

Those of us who love classic cinema know the famous line from the movie Network, where a local news anchor snaps about the current state of affairs and urges the angry and disgruntled to go to their windows, open them, stick their heads out and yell, “I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore!”

This frustrated refrain has been replayed on television, advertisements and even at sporting events. After watching the budget “negotiations” between Philadelphia City Council and Mayor Michael Nutter and then seeing the outcome, I now fully understand why the famous movie line struck a chord with so many people.

The recently enacted budget for the city of Philadelphia offers little in the way of relief for a local economy still in the throes of a recession. Despite the economic doldrums surrounding this year’s anticipated revenue, Philadelphia’s city government intends to spend more money this year than it did last year. As a result, the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative has affirmed what we already know: the financial crisis is causing the politicians to propose “higher local taxes and new fees in the year ahead.”

Of the 13 city governments nationwide facing significant budget gaps, only Philadelphia has had the audacity to enact broad-based tax hikes for a second year in a row! We all remember in 2009 when City Council raised the city’s sales tax to 8 percent with the help of their friends in Harrisburg.

And now all Philadelphians face a property tax increase of 9.9 percent. If that wasn’t enough, these substantial tax hikes have been coupled with 339 job cuts at the expense of public safety, with the loss of police and fire jobs. It seems City Hall never considers cutting its own wasteful spending as a budgeting priority.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia has deferred its contributions into the pension fund until 2012, delaying yet another financial crisis. This deferral was a result of House Bill 1828, which gave Philadelphia the authority to put off pension contributions and the ability to increase the city’s sales tax. Making matters even worse, the 2009 sales tax increase brought in less revenue than expected since people simply shopped outside of Philadelphia where the sales tax remains 2 percent lower.

Residents of the 170th Legislative District should remember this legislation since their current state representative, Brendan Boyle, first proclaimed to the Philadelphia Daily News that he would not support such a measure because of the financial harm it would inflict upon his constituents.

Boyle was right to take that position, but he then changed his mind and voted in support of this measure. In other words, he was against it before he was for it. Political doublespeak at its best.

Philadelphia began this year’s budget process with a shortfall of $179 million, and fiscal responsibility must be placed as the top order of business. The Pew Charitable Trusts found that Philadelphia has just 45 percent of the funds on hand needed to pay current and future retirees down the road.

The end of the road is quickly approaching unless new leaders with strong convictions and responsible ideas are elected to put the brakes on this “runaway government.” Government spending must be dramatically reduced by cutting the size of government while ensuring public safety and stability by using tax dollars for what really matters: police and fire departments, education funding that follows the student, not the school, and improvements in sanitation and infrastructure.

People of Philadelphia and across the state are enraged at the rate in which we are being taxed to make up for the irresponsible actions of our government. We can no longer tolerate elected officials holding us hostage with cuts to critical health and welfare programs and tax schemes that kill jobs and shrink our economy.

Join me at the window, Philadelphia. Let’s together tell them, “We are not going to take this anymore!”

Mr. Collazzo is the Republican candidate for state representative in the 170th Legislative District.

http://www.philly.com/community/pa/philadelphia/netimes/Letters_to_the_editor_for_June_24_2010.html?viewAll=y&c=y