Rendell takes aim at candidates, defends record

HARRISBURG - He has tried to lay low in the governor's race, steadfastly refusing to endorse a candidate in the primary and generally watching quietly from sidelines.

But on Wednesday Gov. Rendell could be muzzled no longer.

He called a news conference to vent, among other things, about remarks made by some of the candidates seeking to replace him, and to defend his own record.

Rendell accused them of making hypocritical, misleading or downright false statements in their campaign ads.

Rendell singled out two candidates - Democratic Auditor General Jack Wagner and Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett - for wrongly accusing the state government of over spending.

"They ignore the fact that we've made significant cuts already," said Rendell.

Rendell went on to say the candidates - as row office chiefs - were being hypocritical for asking for "significantly" more money in this year's budget, while promising to cut spending if they are elected governor.

"The auditor general and attorney general don't have to wait to cut the budget, they could cut the budget right now by doing one simple thing: reduce their own budget request."

Rendell said Wagner asked for $5.8 million or 12 percent percent more and Corbett asked for $6 million or 16 percent increase.

Spokesmen for both Wagner and Corbett said Rendell's figures were high and that increases in both agencies were mandated by union contracts.

"The attorney general has asked for a 2.2 percent (or $1.9 million) and that only covers union-mandated contract increases in pension and salary that Rendell negotiated," said Corbett's spokesman, Kevin Harley.

Wagner went on the offensive later in the day, holding a news conference to respond to Rendell's charges and saying it was "unfortunate that the governor had weighed in" on the race.

He said while he is asking for a 6 percent increase in the 2010-2011 budget it is because of an administration-negotiated union contract, adding since taking office five years ago his office's budget has shrunk, while the state budget has grown.

Rendell also attacked Corbett for a television ad promising to reduce the size of the state government's fleet of vehicles. Rendell claimed the attorney general had 500 passenger vehicles for 900 employees, compared with state agencies under the governor's control where there are fewer than 5,000 passenger vehicles and 76,000 employees.

Harley said the agency has 800 employees and 467 vehicles and that 75 percent of them are used by law enforcement agents as required by union contract.

Rendell's entrance into the campaign comes as a public-opinion poll made public Wednesday by Franklin and Marshall College showed that the public's impression of Rendell has dropped in the past two months.

In March, 41 percent of the public viewed him favorably and 42 percent viewed him unfavorably. In a survey of 1,023 adult Pennsylvania residents last week, his "favorable" rating remained the same. But his "unfavorable" rating had climbed to 47 percent.

Meanwhile, two new polls show that, with days to go before Tuesday's primary, Corbett and Allegheny County executive Dan Onorato hold commanding leads in their respective party primaries.

The two polls - one by Franklin and Marshall College, the other by Quinnipiac University - showed that something dramatic would have to happen before Tuesday for either front-runner to lose.

On the Republican side, state Rep. Sam Rohrer (R., Berks) has made little progress in catching Corbett, the party's endorsed candidate, according to the surveys.

Of greater interest to politics-watchers is how state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams (D., Phila.) has done in trying to catch up with Onorato in the Democratic primary.

The late-starting Williams has spent $4 million to $5 million on TV ads, according to his camp. That's probably not quite as much as early-favorite Onorato has spent, but it dwarfs what any other Onorato rival has been able to lay out.

The F&M poll suggested that Williams was not getting much bang for his buck. It showed Onorato with 34 percent support among likely voters, compared to 8 percent for Auditor General Jack Wagner, 6 percent for Williams and 5 percent for Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel.

A large percentage of voters - almost half - remained uncertain about who they'd vote for.

"It certainly looks like it's close to being over," Berwood Yost, director of the college's Center for Opinion Research, said of the race.

"Onorato has certainly built a formidable lead," Yost said. "But I would never say it's really over when you have this many undecided voters."

The survey of about 404 Democrats had a rather large margin of error - plus or minus 7.9 percent. It was conducted from May 3 through Saturday.

A Quinnipiac survey of 945 likely Democratic voters, conducted between May 5 and Mother's Day, found Onorato with a 27-point lead over any of his primary foes. The poll had a reported margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

The Quinnipiac poll showed Onorato with 38 percent of the vote, Wagner with 11 percent, Williams with 10 percent and Hoeffel with 9 percent. But a third of voters still hadn't made up their minds, and more than have said they might change their mind.

Contact staff writer Amy Worden at 717-783-2584 or aworden@phillynews.com.