Corbett Says Onorato's Using “Scare Tactics” in Ad

Republican candidate for governor Tom Corbett on Monday accused his Democratic rival of using "Halloween scare tactics'' in a TV ad to mislead senior citizens into believing Corbett would cut state services they depend on.

Dan Onorato's ad opens with a narrator saying: "Warning for Pennsylvania Seniors. Tom Corbett's budget plan might negatively affect you.'' Then, against black-and-white images of concerned seniors, the narrator lists services the ad says "could'' be cut if Corbett is elected, including Meals on Wheels, home health care, Alzheimer's outreach and funding for senior centers.

It provides no attribution for those claims, nor does it say Corbett has proposed such cuts.

Corbett, the state attorney general, said he has promised to protect the revenue from the Pennsylvania Lottery, which pays for programs for the elderly that include property-tax and rent rebates, low-cost prescription drugs, free public transit rides and long-term living services.

"It's despicable for a candidate to threaten seniors with no facts, no evidence and with mere speculation,'' he said during a question-and-answer session at a Harrisburg luncheon sponsored by the Pennsylvania Press Club and the Harrisburg Rotary Club.

"I have said repeatedly we will defend the lottery fund and not let it be raided'' for other purposes, he said.

In response to a request for substantiation, Onorato's campaign offered excerpts of comments Corbett made in June about the need for spending cuts, but none of the comments involved programs for elderly Pennsylvanians.

"We stand behind the ad, and we believe it speaks for itself,'' said Onorato campaign spokesman Brian Herman.

Onorato, appearing at a forum on higher education on the Penn State University campus in State College, cut off a questioner before she could finish asking him to respond to Corbett's comments.

"I don't know what he's talking about,'' Onorato said. "He says he's going to cut everything, and he's got to live up to his consequences.''

Corbett said he is preparing his own TV ad responding to Onorato's ad.

Corbett, who maintains a slight lead in independent polls, has pledged not to raise any state taxes or fees if elected and vowed to cut state spending as part of his plan to offset a shortfall estimated at as much as $5 billion in the budget year that starts July 1.

Onorato, the elected chief executive of Allegheny County's government, campaigned in Pittsburgh on Monday morning and was attending an educational forum at Penn State University on Monday afternoon.

Corbett also defended his stance against any new tax on natural-gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale reserve, saying it could harm the industry. And he insisted his judgment would not be swayed by the $358,000 he received in campaign contributions from the industry through mid-September.

"Money does not influence my decision making as attorney general, and money will not influence my decision-making as governor,'' he said.

Onorato, a 1983 Penn State graduate, was at his alma mater to attend the forum and drum up support among young voters -- a voting bloc that helped get President Barack Obama elected in 2008.

"Eight days out, people are predicting that young people aren't going to vote again,'' Onorato said. "You can prove them wrong here.''

Corbett and Onorato are vying to fill the seat that Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell will vacate in January after completing the maximum two terms in office.