Corman: 24 years in Pennsylvania Senate a ‘great ride’ full of proud moments
How does one say goodbye without actually leaving?
After 24 years in the Senate, I am stepping away from public life. But as a lifelong resident of Centre County, I’m not going anywhere.
Who could have guessed that nearly a half century ago when I walked on the floor for my father’s first swearing-In to the Senate of Pennsylvania, it would begin a near five-decade relationship between the Corman family and the citizens of the 34th Senatorial District?
My father and I had very different careers. He was much more community-focused, holding constant constituent hours and working closely with local governments. I took a different path into leadership of the state legislature, becoming the first legislator in 90 years to hold the positions of Appropriations Chairman, Majority Leader and President Pro Tempore.
However, as much as I enjoyed the statewide politics and negotiating budgets and legislation, it’s the local projects that I will remember the most.
We were able to achieve nearly $2 billion of investment into central Pennsylvania by completing I-99, the Lewistown Narrows, the Missing Link and the Lewistown Bypass. We were able to fund the 322 Connector, the I-99/I-80 High Speed interchange, as well as local projects like the Waddle Road Exit, Science Park Road improvements and the Y in Zion.
In the last transportation bill, we were even able to secure funding to save Colyer Lake.
The success didn’t end with transportation projects. We restored activity to brownfield sites like Cerro, Corning, International Paper and burned-down buildings in Bellefonte. We created greenfield sites like First Quality, Primary Health Network, Juniata Business and Benner Commerce Park, where economic activity is thriving.
On the education front, we worked with our three vocational schools — the Central PA Institute of Science & Technology, the Mifflin County Academy of Science & Technology, and the Huntingdon County Career and Technology Center — to expand opportunities for both students and adults to get training they need to enter the workforce.
We also extended the reach of nonprofits to support special projects with the Centre County Fire Training site, Centre Safe, Schlow Library, Special Olympics, Easter Seals and numerous Little Leagues. We also partnered with the Grange Fair to make its equine facility one of the best in the nation, not to mention securing funding for the State College Spikes stadium.
While each of these projects was special in its own way, the one local priority that defined my career was the fight against the NCAA when they tried to take $60 million away from the Penn State community.
As a Penn State alum and a lifelong member of this community, I felt the way in which the NCAA handled the case — and how the national media portrayed our community — was unfair. Not many in public life wanted to step in and take them on, but I felt compelled to do it.
To me “Success with Honor” was much more than a motto for the football team; it was a slogan for our entire community. Buying into the national media’s narrative would mean we had been living a lie. I could never, ever accept that to be true.
I was proud that my lawsuit ultimately led to the repeal of the NCAA sanctions against Penn State and removed that troubling precedent so no other university would have to suffer a similar fate.
As I look forward to the next chapter of my career, I thank my family, friends and supporters for all your love and support over the years. I also appreciate my detractors, who made me better and more understanding of points of view other than my own.
When Bubba Watson won the Masters, he said he did not know what to say because he never got this far in his dreams. Forty-five years after I walked on the Senate floor for the first time, I now know exactly what he meant.
My years in the Senate have been a great ride. Thank you all for traveling this road with me.