Gubernatorial Hopeful Won't Rule Out Tax Hike

Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty says he wouldn’t shy away from raising taxes as governor, if the state needed the additional revenue.
Doherty, who’s running in the four-man Democratic primary, says he’s raised taxes as a mayor, and wouldn’t have a problem doing-so as governor, if he thought it was the best course of action. He says candidates who promise not to raise taxes aren’t dealing with reality.

"You’re not going to raise taxes? Where are you going to get the money from? And don’t tell me you’re just going to keep reducing the size of government. That means you’re going to keep reducing the hopes and dreams of the people in this state. All your saying is, we will ignore this problem and let’s hope it goes away."

In an interview, Doherty also said he’d consider leasing out more state forest land for natural gas drilling – but would also push for tougher environmental regulations.
He says he favors abortion rights – but acknowledges he was anti-abortion when he first ran for office.
Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, Auditor General Jack Wagner and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel are the other Democrats running for governor.
State Senator Anthony Williams of Philadelphia is considering making a late entry into the race.