Governor candidate Mastriano holds rally in Big Run

BIG RUN — Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano held a campaign rally at the Big Run Event Center on Wednesday.

Mastriano said he and his team have been traveling on a bus tour, including in traditionally Democratic areas. Mastriano said the nation and the state can be transformed if like-minded people stand together, mentioning Ben Franklin’s quote about “hanging together or hanging separately.” He said he first ran for state senate after retiring as a colonel in the United States Army and earning several Ph.Ds, and

said he never wanted to be in politics, but felt a call to serve his country in that capacity. He said that is why he believes the “political ruling class” doesn’t understand his campaign.

“That’s the thing that has the RINOs, the establishment, political ruling class and the consultants so worried. They see somebody in me, like any veteran, who has sacrificed for this country,” Mastriano said.

He alleged that under the guise of the pandemic, the freedoms of the American people, and the people of Pennsylvania in particular, were taken away by governors via executive orders. He said the movement behind his campaign would take back the state government and put it in the hands of the people, noting that government derives its power from the consent of the governed.

“We saw what happened the past two years, and we do not consent. Did you consent to the masking orders? Did you consent with the ‘jab for a job’ requirements? Did you consent with the kids being sent home (from school) and the unions calling the shots? Did you consent with the elderly and the sick being sent back from the elder care facilities? Did you consent to (Rachel) Levine knowing the danger and smuggling Levine’s own mom out? Neither did I,” Mastriano said.

He said he set a state record for signatures for Republicans, thanking his supporters for gathering 29,000. He denounced several issues in his campaign speech, including the gas tax of 2013, former Gov. Ed Rendell’s casino initiative, inflation and how unemployment was handled, alleging that the government has created a “socialist utopia” of sorts.

“The goal of my administration is to roll back regulations and roll back the tax burden. This isn’t a game for me,” Mastriano said.

He said the government of Pennsylvania should be an example to the rest of the country, and the world.

“The administration of Tom Wolf and Josh Shapiro are a continuation of what we are seeing in Washington, and ain’t nobody got time for that. It’s been an honor fighting for you the past two years. When America ceases to be free, there is nowhere else to go. Pennsylvania should be the leader in freedom from around the world. Philadelphia was where the light of freedom was lit. We are the recipients of that legacy. If you are a Pennsylvanian, you are part of William Penn’s dream for Pennsylvania, which is carved in two levels of the Rotunda in Harrisburg. ‘My God will make us a holy experiment, my God will make it so.’ The nations need an example to see what is just and right. Thank you for your time and your support,” Mastriano said.

Here are some of the topics Mastriano covered at the event: Executive privilege:

Mastriano said the political establishment does not want him to the win the primary because he will “wield the governor’s pen for the benefit of the people of Pennsylvania.”

“I do have executive power as governor and on Day 1 a lot of things are going to happen. It’s going to be called ‘Follow the Science’ kind of pen. Guess what? We are going to follow the science. On Day 1, guys can’t compete in girl’s sports. Follow the science,” Mastriano said.

He said he will ban transgender individuals from using the bathroom of the gender they identify with as well.

Energy:

He called attention to the gas tax of 2013, and said that the Republican plan to use the gas tax for infrastructure was deceptive. He said on day one he will take Pennsylvania out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, otherwise known as REGGI, which he said is a similar initiative to the Paris Climate Accord, and will have member states pay for greenhouse gas emissions. He said that according to Gov. Wolf’s own numbers would generate $461 million in extra taxes. He said that Republican estimates suggest that two years in the initiative will cost $2 billion.

“Since he did not have a vote by the general assembly, on day one with the stroke of a pen, we are out of REGGI. We are done,” Mastriano said.

He said his goal as governor is to take Pennsylvania from the third-highest energy producer to the numberone energy producer in the nation. He said he will roll back regulations and streamline the permit application process in the state.

“Our vision for Pennsylvania is for a bright future and hope. So we will move with alacrity, speed and decisiveness to roll back regulations where we can. Our goal is to go from 153,000 regulations to under 100,000 in the first 100 days,” Mastriano said.

Abortion:

He said that every baby born deserves a right to life, and denounced the practice.

Education:

He said according to a National Education Association report from 2020, Pennsylvania spends an average of $19,000 per student and is the 12thmost expensive state in the nation in education, and 28th in quality of students. He said one of the goals and priorities of his administration will be school choice. He said the eduction money in Pennsylvania would be assigned as eduction scholarships to kids, and parents would be able to choose which school they would attend. He said his plan would bring competition back to schools. He said he would issue an executive order banning what has been termed critical race theory and school officials, as he puts it, “indoctrinating kids on sexual preference.”

He said he intends to bring in curriculum based on the 1776 program.

“Our kids should be taught how to think, not what to think. It’s not hard. Let’s get back to basics,” Mastriano said.

Election security:

He said he was one of the senators who held hearings examining claims of widespread election fraud and alleged that he and others in the hearing exposed evidence of such. He said the hearing was underneath his constitutional authority to hold and alleged the media condemned his efforts to question the integrity of the 2020 election.

He said that he would institute voter ID as governor and he is the co-prime sponsor with state Sen. Judy Ward on that legislation. He said he would repeal Act 77, which was passed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature and had provisions for mail-in voting during the pandemic. He claimed it was hijacked by the Wolf administration and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.