Onorato and Corbett Debate

The two candidates for governor met for their first debate last night and at times it was hard to tell them apart. Republican Tom Corbett did challenge Democrat Dan Onorato early on, calling him a career politician who doesn’t tell voters the whole story about his track record. “When he talks about not raising the property tax in Allegheny County, he’s absolutely correct. But what he leaves out is that he has created the single largest tax increase in the history of Allegheny County, in order to balance a budget, when it came to the Port Authority,” says Corbett. Onorato lobbed near-identical attacks at Corbett, arguing the Attorney General’s track record doesn’t mesh with his campaign promises. “Tom’s the one who signed the no tax pledge, and changed the definition three times in the last month. Tom’s saying he’s going to cut state government. He’s asked for an increase every year in his budget. Tom said he’s going to reduce the cars. His fleet went up. They’re facts,” says Onorato. When they weren’t throwing barbs, the two men actually agreed on several issues. Both vowed to shrink spending, cut corporate taxes and reform state government. The forum was the first of three debates. The two men will meet again in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh next month. Corbett leads in the polls, and also has more money in his campaign warchest.