Twitter

By Hon. Bud Cook – PA State Representative

“From the 49th District, Parts of Washington and Fayette Counties, THE MON VALLEY, State Representative Bud Cook” is how I’ve introduced myself in Harrisburg and across our great Commonwealth.

Today, I come before you again to seek the employment from my constituents, my bosses in the 49th. Once again, I am asking you to rehire me for a 3rd term so that we can KEEP transforming our District, continue to GROW the Mon Valley, and provide a BETTER future here for your family and future generations.

Since 2014, my three guiding principles to government have remained the same:
1. Government MUST be FAIR, ACCOUNTABLE and TRANSPARENT;
2. We must Put Progress Ahead of Politics; and
3. We must Work Together Regionally

History….In 2014, after 40 years of failed leadership in our area I asked the voters of the 49th District to consider hiring me to represent them in our District and in Harrisburg. With a Democratic/Republican voter registration of 6:1, I came within 2,000 votes of replacing the 32-year incumbent legislator.

In 2016, after defeating a “Politically Connected” primary opponent, who outspent me by 11:1, the voters of the 49th elected me in the General Election when the Democratic/Republican registration in the 49th was 4:1.

In 2018, the “Politically Connected” convinced my challenger to switch parties to oppose me in the General Election, spent approximately $400,000 in a campaign against me, and after more than forty days of challenges to the election results, I was rehired by voters who want progress over politics. I was rehired by voters who want a fair, accountable, and transparent government. I was rehired by voters who want to work together regionally for a better future for their families and future generations in the 49th District and the Mon Valley.

The 2020 Primary Election is much more than a contest between two candidates for the Republican Nomination for the 49th District. It is a choice between two competing groups “We the People” vs. “The Politically Connected.”

The first task of any candidate is to choose a name for his or her campaign. I chose “4WethePeople” followed by my name “Bud Cook.” Why? I chose this name, so everyone would know who is boss and who always come first. “We the People” come first. My promise has been and will always be to put the constituents first. The “49th District” is ALWAYS before my name on every document that comes from our office, including my business cards. “We the People” come first.

My Opponent? My opponent chose to name his campaign “Friends of.” Who are the “Friends of” my opponent? And, even more importantly, what is their motivation?
The “Friends of” my opponent described him as a “welcomed challenge” to my candidacy. I believe that this “welcomed challenge” is a self-serving response by the “Friends” of “The Politically Connected” to our research over the past three years into the LSA (Local Share Account) review process in Washington County!

Local Share Account was established from a portion of the proposed “Significant Property Tax Relief Moneys” in exchange for casino gaming in the Commonwealth. Over the past eleven years, this represents approximately $70 million dollars approved by the Washington County Commissioners. Contrary to our first guiding principle and contrary to the LSA’s own guidelines, we found that the LSA review process is not FAIR, ACCOUNTABLE or TRANSPARENT.

If you are a Borough, Township City, Non-Profit, Volunteer Fire Department or any other organization seeking funding, everyone should have a fair and equal shot at all public funding. We found this process so flawed that on January 13 of this year, we asked both the Auditor General and the Attorney General to review the facts and data that we gathered as part of our research. It is our position that short of a forensic audit going back at least eleven years, we cannot trust that this government process is fair, accountable or transparent.

In a letter from the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington dated January 17, 2020 “The Redevelopment Authority has not ever received minutes from the LSA Review Committee meetings. RACW has no knowledge of any financial disclosures nor of any discussions regarding “rotating Review Committee Members” as the RACW is not a member of the LSA Review Committee.

What to expect… A troubling and unacceptable culture of “Nothing to see here; We will tell you what you need to know” and “It’s the way we’ve always done it here” exists in the 49th District and Washington County. If you challenge the “Politically Connected,” you can expect a personal attack, attacks on your reputation, attacks on your family, and attacks on your business or employment.

Based on data from the 2019 primary contest, we expect that the “Politically Connected” will spend at least $250,000 to support a Representative that the “Politically Connected” can control!

We the People will never get representation we deserve in Washington, DC, Harrisburg, or Washington County until we get and keep individuals in office that are “There To Do the Job for the People” instead of “There for a Job, doing the bidding of the “Friends of” the “Politically Connected.”

I am privileged and blessed to have served as your Representative for the past three and one-half years. As your Representative for the 49th, I pledge to my Bosses of the 49th and the citizens of the Commonwealth that I will continue to seek government for the people that is FAIR, ACCOUNTABLE and TRANSPARENT, I will always PUT PROGRESS AHEAD OF POLITICS, and I will WORK TOGETHER REGIONALLY.

• < Prev
• Next >