HARRISBURG — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Knox, who is expected to spend millions of his own money on the campaign, said Thursday he wants to limit what other people can spend on state campaigns as part of a wide-ranging reform agenda.
"Maybe the wealthy actually have an advantage, in that they don't have to take contributions from special-interest groups," Knox said in a conference call with reporters.
Knox is one of five likely or declared Democratic candidates for governor, including Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato of the North Side, Auditor General Jack Wagner of Beechview, former U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel of Montgomery County and Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty.
In the Republican primary, state Attorney General Tom Corbett faces U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach of Chester County.
"To run on a reform agenda and say 'I'm using my own money' doesn't make sense to me," said Beverly Cigler, a political science professor at Penn State's Harrisburg campus. "To the average person, you are the special interest buying the election."
Knox, a Philadelphia businessman, sank $10 million of his money into a failed mayoral race in 2007, finishing behind Mayor Michael Nutter in the Democratic primary.
Knox favors general campaign donation limits, but specifically proposed a $500 contribution limit for donors who hold or seek state contracts.
"There's too much 'pay-to-play' in Pennsylvania," he said.
Billing himself as an "outsider," Knox suggested banning gifts and free meals from lobbyists; eliminating legislatively earmarked grants called WAMs, or "walking around money"; reducing the size of the Legislature; and requiring elected officials to resign before seeking a different office.
The 2010 election will be won or lost not on reform issues, but on "jobs, the economy and the state budget," Cigler predicted.
"(Knox) is not the highest-ranking person on my list to win the primary," said Tom Baldino, a political science professor at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre.
Baldino said Knox can't be counted out in what might be a low-turnout election, given the millions he must spend on TV ads. But spending the most doesn't guarantee victory, Baldino said, pointing to New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's defeat Tuesday. Corzine pumped at least $28 million of his own money into the primary and general election campaigns.
Knox was asked about the settlement he reached with the Philadelphia Board of Ethics in September for violating campaign finance laws in the mayor's race. Knox agreed to pay a $5,000 fine. He had paid for an ad attacking Nutter that ran under the name of a group that didn't exist. Knox on Thursday dismissed it as a "reporting error." But he said if he'd reviewed it, he would not have run the radio ad.
"I accept responsibility for it," Knox said. "People want confidence restored in government."
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