Democratic state House candidate Frank Farina views adequate funding for public education in Pennsylvania as an essential ingredient for building strong communities.
The Jessup businessman, who faces Republican Theresa Kane of Olyphant for the 115th District seat now held by retiring Rep. Ed Staback, told the Times-Tribune editorial board on Thursday that the commonwealth needs to be investing in public schools, not cutting funding.
"That is a huge step right there. A good public school system is going to attract good people, which in turn the community as a whole benefits from," Mr. Farina said. "Our children are our future. We can't take away from our children right now. We have to add to our school systems."
Mr. Farina, who owns a landscaping company, said the state also needs to support small-business job creation through incentives. Mom-and-pop businesses help make communities strong, he said.
"If we strengthen our communities, we will be on our path to good things," he said.
To provide more money for education and small business development, Mr. Farina said he favors closing the "Delaware loophole," which costs the commonwealth an estimated $500 million annually by allowing corporations to avoid taxes on their Pennsylvania holdings by transferring revenues to units in more tax-friendly states.
He also supports higher taxes on the natural gas drilling industry, calling the current impact fee inadequate.
"By not properly taxing gas drilling, we lost a half-billion dollars. So right there is $1 billion between the Delaware loophole and taxing the gas industry," Mr. Farina said.
The candidate said he has no strong opinion one way or another on the structure of the state Legislature, which many critics argue is both too large and too costly. He will know better after he has been there, he said.
"I don't think I'm in a position to answer if it is right or wrong right now," he said.
Asked about Scranton's plans to impose a commuter tax on nonresidents who work in the city as part of its Act 47 financial recovery plan, Mr. Farina said he wants to see Scranton get back on the "right path."
However, the commuter tax raises issues that need to be looked at more closely, he said. One of those is why Act 47 isn't working for Scranton and many other financially distressed cities.
"Maybe it's not the cities as much as it is Act 47 itself," Mr. Farina said. "There is obviously a problem, and we have to come up with a solution to strengthen and help Act 47 do its job."
Contact the writer: dsingleton@ timesshamrock.com