Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, ‘02 gave a keynote address titled The State of Pennsylvania’s Government at Widener Law Commonwealth last week.
The Auditor General spoke about the good aspects of Pennsylvania government, but also about the improvements that could be made to make processes more efficient and our government more effective.
“We need to not worry about who we are going to blame, but how we ourselves are going to make it better,” DePasquale said.
He added that the job of a democracy is to ask hard questions and hold leaders accountable for their actions.
He cited several challenges facing Pennsylvania’s government, including the gerrymandering of the legislative districts, campaign funding and different sides not working together to resolve issues.
“We the voters elect those who serve,” he said. “So all of us have to take a look in the mirror and see what each of us can do to improve the situation.”
He added that another hurdle is that too much emphasis is put on what each side is doing wrong, and not trying to work as a whole for the common good of the constituents in the Commonwealth.
After Auditor General DePasquale concluded his keynote address, a panel of legislators provided commentary about the topics addressed in the speech, including campaign fundraising, gerrymandering of districts, electing a part-time legislature, and the limit set on gifts.
The following legislators participated on the panel: Senator Daylin Leach, 17th District; Senator Rob Teplitz, 15th District; Senator Patricia H. Vance, 31st District; Representative Bryan Cutler, 100th Legislative District; and Representative Patty Kim, 103rd Legislative District. Professor Jill E. Family, Director of Widener Law Commonwealth’s Law and Government Institute, served as the moderator for the panel discussion.
The legislators shared the sentiments of the auditor general and agreed that change is needed. When Professor Family asked the legislators what they believe to be the biggest challenge to state government several topics bubbled to the top, including voter apathy, budget troubles, and the dying breed of moderates.
“Everybody thinks all of us are bad,” said Sen. Vance. “And, that is absolutely not true. However, we do have legislators who posture, or say one thing and do another, and that is affecting us all.”
Rep. Kim noted that it could be helpful to have more female lawmakers in the Capitol, and it could have an effect on the outcomes and efficiency of the process.
"The top leaders from all of the chambers are all males and I like to think if more women were at the table we be able to get this done a little faster. But, I don’t have proof of that,” she said. “I think we need more women in elected office. Men, when they look at success, they look at it like climbing a ladder, women look at it as linking arms, working together and pushing forward; and are not really into getting the credit.”
