| abstract | - I know many of you know this, but, not only am I lucky to have a supportive spouse, but aren't we lucky to have the best United Way Director in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania serving us right here in Westmoreland County. Let me introduce my wife, Nancy. It was my hope that my dad would be here to share this moment with me. He has always been my biggest supporter. However, he has been hospitalized. I will let you know how he is doing as more information becomes available And, if you remember, Ali was barely a year old when I first announced my candidacy for the State Senate in 1995. She is now 9 years old, an excellent student, and a soccer player in the Penn-Trafford School District. I’m sure Nancy doesn’t mind me saying this, but she is the person who I have the most fun with and brightens every day of my life. Our daughter…Ali. I also want to acknowledge members of my staff who do a tremendous job of communicating with constituents. In an average month, they deal with over 750 calls, e-mails, and letters. Over 70% of those, result in direct assistance from the staff. Bobby Battistel is one of those great success stories. Thank you Bobby for being here for my announcement. Thank you all for coming…. Everyone, who knows me well, knows how much I love Westmoreland County. It's where my family roots are, and it is where to this day that I feel most comfortable. I grew up in Manor, and. as a matter of fact, I still live on the same tract of land on which I grew up. It's a piece of property that goes back to my great-grandfather. That makes Ali the 5th generation in the family to live there. Like many communities throughout Westmoreland County, it was safe, the country and landscapes were beautiful, and there were lots of open spaces. People who mirrored the character and values of this region surrounded me. They cherished family, friends, the community, and traditions. A person's word was as good as gold, and trust was a part of the basic fabric of society. No doubt, a person returning to Westmoreland County after years of absence would notice great changes in the structural landscape of the region. Most of those physical changes are good and are marks of progress. They would still find tight-knit communities, people who value open spaces, patchwork farmland, and rolling hills that go on as far as the eye can see. They would also find that we have people who maintain the best values of past generations. The values that I am talking about have provided me with a firm foundation for my years of public service. My word is good; you can trust me; I stand firm on principles; and I keep my promises. I can back those statements up by referring to my record as a public servant. For example, in 1989, I said that children from lower income working families, who couldn't afford insurance, should not be without health care. I promised that I would press that issue until every child that needed health insurance would have it. After years of fighting for what was right, the Children's Health Insurance Program was passed into law. My word was good; I kept my promise. Since that program was started, a total of 15,000 children from Westmoreland County have been enrolled in that program, and over 500,000 children statewide. Furthermore, that program became a model for the entire nation. SHERRY DONATO - thank you for sharing YOUR story with us. Here is another example of what I am talking about. When the steel mills shut down and families were receiving mortgage foreclosure notices, I said, "Let’s give these people a chance to get back on their feet." MY PROPOSAL became known as HEMAP, Homeowners Emergency Assistance Program. Since it was passed into law, 1200 families in Westmoreland County alone were able to save their homes and eventually were able to return to making payments on their mortgages. Once again, my word was good; I kept my promise. Ten years ago, I introduced legislation to provide a permanent source of funding for volunteer fire departments. I thought it was wrong to have volunteer fire departments be placed in a position where their access to state assistance was mostly through WAM grants. I insisted that there had to be a better system. Representative Tom Tangretti agreed with me, and, finally in 1998, we were successful in having direct grant money included in the State budget. Today, every fire department in the state is eligible for a grant. My word was good, and I kept my promise to leaders like Greensburg Fire Chief Ed Hutchinson. Ed, thank you for coming here. It meant a great deal to me. Just a few months ago, a great accomplishment came from Harrisburg. We all know how devastating the cost of prescription drugs can be for seniors. Four years ago, I said that I wouldn't give- up until we added more seniors to the PACE program. As co-chair of the Senate Committee on Aging and Youth, I (along with Senator Orie) led a bi-partisan effort to press for expansion of the program. When that mission was accomplished, I was invited to the Governor's bill signing ceremony at which he said, "unanimous approval of this expansion would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of Senators Allen Kukovich and Jane Orie." I welcome Margaret Dropik here as a new PACE recipient. Thank you for coming from Mt. Pleasant to share this day with me. Incidentally, the expanded PACE-PACENET program will add over 115,000 seniors to that program. Since passage, I -- along with my staff -- have traveled to many senior citizens to help seniors sign-up for the program. I am told that over 700 have done so already in the county. Whether it’s expansion of the PACE program or laws initiated by me, like the Attendant Care Act, a law that makes it possible for Alzheimer patients to stay with their families instead of going to nursing homes, seniors know my word is good and I will be there for them. Families also know that I am there for them, whether it is for my initiative like the Children's Trust Fund, which provides added protection for children in abuse cases ... or for my initiative that led to a program to clean-up water supplies called PENNVEST. Clearly our work to improve the quality of life has just begun. I now want to share with you my vision on how to build on our accomplishments. First, we need property tax reform, and we need it now. I would like to see those legislators, who are holding up the vote on property tax reductions and further complicating it with other issues, to allow the General Assembly to vote on it before the end of June. I am dedicated to bringing about passage of such legislation. I would like to see the public become more knowledgeable about the great work that is being done in our schools in Westmoreland County. Too often we fail to appreciate what is being accomplished and the dedication to young people that exists in the school systems. Furthermore, I would also like to see the State of Pennsylvania, along with members of the education community, stand up to the federal government and tell them that there are parts of the "No Child Left Behind" that make no sense. Second, every day more citizens of Pennsylvania realize that removing old slag dumps, improving sewage and water systems, stopping acid mine runoff, cleaning up waterways, and protecting open spaces are among the most productive approaches that we can take to encourage economic growth. I am encouraged to see a Governor who realizes that these quality of life issues lead to jobs and can stop the flow of young people away from Pennsylvania. I will do everything in my power to further this realization because there is no glory in being ranked 47th among the states in growth during the 1990's. We can and will do better. Third, I would like to see increased investments in Westmoreland County and the state. Those investments must be tied to economic growth, job growth, and quality of life issues. We need to create more jobs, good paying jobs, and we need to work with Governor Rendell to make that happen. The first step is to ask the voters to approve a bond issue that would provide funds for the state to invest in manufacturing, to invest in brownfield sites, to invest in downtowns, and to invest in start-up businesses. As far as what we have accomplished in the past year by working with the Governor Rendell, first, we secured nearly $8.5 million in grants and loans for community projects and our fire departments. Second, $185 million has gone to water and sewage project through out the county. Third, major state grants have been matched by businesses such as Sony and the Mt. Pleasant Glass Centre to promote economic development. I am also proud of the fact that I played a key role in securing $6 million in federal money for first responders, that is, our fire fighters and emergency personal. (HUTCHINSON) I can say with confidence that further grants will be announced within the year. In conclusion, I return to my original thoughts about Westmoreland County. It is a wonderful place to live and to raise a family. The people who recently moved here realize that in a short period of time. There is something special about the land and the people of Westmoreland County. As we seek progress and ways to improve the quality of life in this region, we rely on our character and the values I talked about earlier. We are about family, community, trust, integrity and accomplishment. I/we are so close to have a chance to accomplish so much to improve our quality of life -- not only for ourselves -- but for our children and for our children's future. That is why I decided to run for re-election, and that is why I am here asking for your support. Thank you.
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