New Video:Daily Local News Meet the Candidates
Filed in: News
October, 2010
Updated Photos From the Campaign Trail
Barb and Downingtown Mayor Josh Maxwell
Chester County Commissioner and Barb Bergeron at Women for Barb Event
Barb addressing her female supporters at Downingtown Country Club
Barb and a voter enjoy a few words at Good Neighbor Day in Downingtown
Team Barb manning the booth at Good Neighbor Day
Barb engaging many voters at Good Neighbor Day
Filed in: Photos
Barb Bergeron’s Press Release On Natural Gas Severance Tax
Barbara Bergeron for PA House 155
Press Release
For immediate release
October 4, 2010
State House Candidate Barbara Bergeron Urges State Senate to Pass Severance Tax Bill
Chester Springs, Pa. – State Representative candidate Barbara Bergeron today called on the State Senate to quickly pass Senate Bill 1155, a bill that would provide funding for municipal projects, environmental protection and the General Fund by levying a reasonable tax on the extraction of natural gas from Pennsylvania. The State House passed the bill last week.
The bill passed the House with bipartisan support, with every representative from Chester County except Bergeron’s opponent, Curt Schroder, voting for it. Republican Reps. Chris Ross, Duane Milne and Tim Hennessey all voted to pass the bill.
“Representative Schroder once again sided with big business instead of Pennsylvania taxpayers,” Bergeron said. “He claims to be a moderate and an environmentalist, but he was the only Republican from Chester County to reject this common-sense plan. It is inexcusable for Representative Schroder to force taxpayers to foot the bill for the damaged roads and contaminated water supplies these companies leave behind.”
Pennsylvania is the only major gas-producing state that does not tax big oil and natural gas companies for the natural gas they extract from the ground. Further, because most of these companies are based out of state, they do not pay corporate net income taxes in Pennsylvania. Other states also charge higher permit fees, as well as equipment taxes, transmission taxes and property tax assessments on the value of the gas in the ground – none of which are being pursued here.
“I am glad that the House of Representatives opted to side with Pennsylvania’s taxpayers by voting to stop giving big, out-of-state oil companies a tax break,” Bergeron said. “This much-needed reform will help protect our environment and create jobs, and it will save taxpayers money by reducing the burden of paying to clean up after this industry.”
-30-
Filed in: News
Schroder, Bergeron discuss taxes, commerce, jobs
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
News
Schroder, Bergeron discuss taxes, commerce, jobs
STATE HOUSE — 155TH DISTRICT
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
By ERIC S. SMITH, Staff Writer
State Rep. Curt Schroder, a Republican, is running against small-business owner Barbara Bergeron, a Democrat, in the 155th District.
In office since 1994, Schroder said many of his constituents are concerned about the economy this year. He said state spending must be reduced so that the state budget and ultimately state taxes, especially those levied against businesses, can be lowered.
“People are looking at the growth of government and the rate of spending, and they’re tired of things like the stimulus package and government borrowing at the state level,” Schroder said in a recent interview. “When they see their wallets draining, they don’t believe government is serving them well by acting like that.”
Bergeron said job growth is the chief concern among voters this year but noted that at the state level there is less that the government can do to spur growth. But she, like Schroder, wants to cut taxes for businesses.
“We’ve created a climate that doesn’t attract as much business as we’d like to see,” Bergeron said.
Both candidates favor lowering the state’s corporate net income tax, which is one of the highest in the nation. Schroder said he also favors eliminating the capital stock and franchise tax.
The two candidates differ on the issue of a Marcellus Shale severance tax.
Schroder recently voted against a tax proposed in the state House. He said the tax would be the highest natural gas severance tax in the country if it is passed by the state Senate, which still has to vote on the issue. Schroder said he would support a lower tax, depending upon other regulations that may be added to the bill.
The severance tax would be placed on the drilling taps and would charge the natural gas companies a tax on how much of the resource they take out of the ground.
Bergeron said the tax rate proposed in the House was likely a starting point for the Senate to negotiate from and that Schroder’s vote was “inexcusable.”
“No one is looking to bilk the gas companies,” Bergeron said. “We’re just trying to come up with a fair model.”
The two candidates also disagree on where the revenue should be allocated if the Marcellus Shale tax is passed by the House and Senate.
Schroder wants the revenue to exclusively fund environmental programs and go to the local municipalities affected by the drilling.
Bergeron would also fund those two areas, but she wants some of the tax revenue for the state’s general fund. Schroder opposes putting this revenue into the general fund.
Bergeron has criticized Schroder’s recent vote against the state budget, a spending plan that she called “pragmatic” and “bipartisan.”
Schroder said he voted against the budget because it is balanced with $850 million in federal stimulus funding. He said although the state has received some of that funding, the budget still has a $255 million deficit.
“I voted for fiscal responsibility and to rein in growth,” Schroder said.
Bergeron said Schroder’s vote in 2001 to increase pension funding by 50 percent and cut the time it takes for legislators to become vested was “a big vote,” and that the “legislators who voted for it should be held accountable.”
She said the state’s pension crisis could create a $5 billion to $6 billion deficit and the timeframe for eligibility should be reviewed.
Bergeron said she opposes changing the pension system from defined benefit to defined contribution for new members. The pension crisis affects all state employees, including legislators, and teachers, she noted.
Schroder said he favors changing the system to defined contribution, which is similar to most 401(k) retirement programs.
During the campaign, Schroder refused to debate Bergeron because of a controversial push poll, which is a phone survey with questions designed to push a responder into one direction or another. Schroder said a push poll conducted during the summer implied his campaign took contributions from a convicted felon. Bergeron said she did not commission that poll.
Since then, Schroder said, he has contacted the Chester County League of Women Voters to set up a debate. Bergeron said she was not contacted by the league.
Schroder lives in East Brandywine and was first elected to represent the 155th District in 1994. He has lived in Chester County his entire life and has a wife and two children. He graduated from Downingtown Area High School and holds a law degree.
Bergeron, of West Pikeland, owns a small business that consults with larger corporations on how to become more efficient. She has lived in Chester County for 23 years with her husband, and they have one son. She graduated from Ball State University with a degree in secondary education. She grew up in Indiana.
The 155th District includes Downingtown to the south, West Brandywine to the west, South Coventry to the north and Charlestown to the east.
To contact staff writer Eric S. Smith, send an e-mail to esmith@dailylocal.com.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/dailylocalnews
Filed in: News