Ridley Park, Pa. – Blue-collar businessman and Republican candidate for Pennsylvania Governor Dave White (R-Delaware) penned a new opinion piece in the Erie Times, vowing to support the small and mid-sized Pennsylvania communities forgotten by the Wolf Administration.
In his op-ed, Dave White expresses his commitment to programs like the City Revitalization Improvement Zone (CRIZ) that spurs new growth in cities that have struggled to attract development and help revive struggling downtowns. While Governor Tom Wolf (D-York) has placed a moratorium on the program, Dave White will utilize it to help communities like Erie and many others across the Commonwealth grow again.
CRIZ For Erie, When I’m Pennsylvania’s Governor
By: Dave White, for the Erie Times
“As I’ve travelled across the commonwealth since announcing my candidacy for governor in November, one of the most common complaints I’ve heard from community leaders about Tom Wolf’s tenure as governor is that he has left Pennsylvania’s small and mid-sized cities behind.
Upon taking office, Gov. Wolf shuttered key economic development programs that were used by his predecessors to great success, leaving a void in many cities’ ability to attract the growth they so desperately need.
When elected officials discuss economic development with professionals who work in that field, the first question is always the same: What tools and or programs are available in your city to fund economic development? In Pennsylvania one of the tools that has been gathering dust since Gov. Wolf took office is the City Revitalization Improvement Zone or CRIZ for short…
… As governor of Pennsylvania, one of the first things I would do is reinstate this vital tool that will help not only Erie but all of the third-class cities in Pennsylvania. Instead of taking tools out of local leaders’ hands to attract businesses, I would work with them on programs that meet their needs to spur development. But I wouldn’t stop there.
One of Pennsylvania’s biggest disadvantages in economic development has been its lack of a chief executive who was willing to put in the time and effort to draw in businesses looking to expand or relocate. For the past 7 years, Gov. Wolf has been asleep at the wheel, in my opinion, doing a woefully inadequate job while states like Texas, Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina cleaned our clocks in attracting businesses.
Pennsylvania may not have the weather that Florida can offer, but we have two things those other states can’t offer: the best workforce in America and unparalleled energy resources. When my administration combines those assets with tools like CRIZ and a governor willing to be Pennsylvania’s cheerleader-in-chief, I have no doubt that cities like Erie will see the kind of development they’ve sorely needed for decades.”
To read Dave White’s op-ed in support of revitalizing Pennsylvania’s forgotten communities, click here.
Original source can be found here.
