Letters: Too much power for one person; Filippelli, Dauler bring knowledgeable leadership

Editor’s note: The Centre Daily Times welcomes letters endorsing candidates in the May 18 primary election and will accept letters that are received by May 10. Letters are subject to editing, must be based on facts and should avoid attacks on other candidates.

Too much power for one person

Pennsylvania’s statutes on disaster emergencies are extremely expansive. The governor is granted the ability to suspend laws during a declared emergency. They can close businesses and restrict the movement and activities of citizens. The governor can shut down schools, compel evacuations, commandeer property, and arrest anyone who fails to comply with their orders. In the hands of the wrong person, these powers can inflict immense harm.

A single person should not have the ability to declare a disaster emergency and to renew it indefinitely. They should not be able to ignore the legislature’s request to end the emergency declaration. A single person should not have the ability to decide which businesses are essential and which ones will be ruined, nor should a single person dictate who can and who cannot work to feed their family. This is too much power for any one person!

The amendments on the May 18 ballot will maintain a governor’s ability to address emergencies quickly, but they will limit the duration of emergency orders to 21 days, and approval of the legislature will be required for a governor to extend or re-issue the emergency order. These common-sense revisions will restore the proper checks and balances in Harrisburg.

Don’t be fooled by the wording of the ballot questions. The questions appear to be purposely written in a very biased and confusing manner. The amendments will protect the rights of all Pennsylvanians. Republicans, Democrats and independents should vote YES on May 18 to protect our freedom!

Filippelli, Dauler bring knowledgeable leadership

I am writing to encourage State College Borough residents to vote for Ron Filippelli and Cathy Dauler to be members of Council on May 18.

Both are longtime volunteers to borough and Centre Regional commissions and committees, and both have served on council in the past. They know well the history and tensions of many of the issues confronting us today, and will help guide our public deliberations toward a more equitable and sustainable future.

In addition to sound financial management as we recover from the pandemic economy, Ron and Cathy are committed to a sustainable and safe community, a countywide mental health response network and a professional police force with community oversight.

Those of us who now live in the surrounding townships understand the centrality of Borough Council decisions to ensure the health and safety of our own communities.

I have served on a number of borough commissions and regional committees and know well the importance of dedicated, knowledgeable leadership.

Congressmen should explain votes on Paycheck Fairness Act

On April 15, The Paycheck Fairness Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a 217-210 vote. Unfortunately, Representatives Fred Keller and Glenn Thompson cast “no” votes.

Aimed at eliminating the gender pay gap and strengthening workplace protections for women, the legislation would bolster the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which has helped to even the playing field, but still leaves far too many women in both private sector and government jobs earning significantly lower pay than men for equal work.

Women have been hardest hit by pandemic job losses — losing nearly 1 million more jobs than men. Couple that with the decrease in women’s participation in the workforce due to a severe child care shortage, and it’s plain to see that systemic inequalities have left women financially insecure.

Currently, women in the U.S., on average, are paid just $0.82 for every dollar paid to men. In 2021, this is unconscionable to me, especially as a woman who has been employed in a typically male profession.

The implications of this are far-reaching — and cumulative — for both men and women. We need a gender equitable recovery — and The Paycheck Fairness Act is a positive step forward.

Voters, especially women, deserve to hear why Representatives Keller and Thompson voted “no” on this important, and long overdue, legislation.