Candidate for
State Senator; District 1

Republican candidate Jack Morely is pro-choice. Republican candidate Jack Morely is pro-einviroment.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

In the 1980's Mayor Goode defied a Federal Cour Order to build another prison. Mayor Goode gambled that a Judge would not hold him in contempt of court and arrest him. In the 90's a Federal Judge re-issued the Court Order to Mayor Rendell. Mayor Rendell also defied the Order and failed to build another prison. The consequence has been that prisoners are released prior to the end of their sentence. The consequence has been that the City can not hold a repeat offender until trial. The consequence has been that Judges dismiss cases for the flimsiest of reason because they know there is no place to incarcerate criminals. I witnessed a Judge dismiss a case because the arresting police officer, a reservist, was called to duty in Iraq. The most prominent reason Judges dismiss cases is when witnesses fail to appear. Another prison must be built. When the City can begin holing repeat offenders until trial, crime will be instantly reduced by 25%. In 2007 the State of New York announced the closing of a medium security prison. We could use New York's prison until ours is built. Judges must use all available law enforcement to compel witness testimony. In other words Judges should use Sheriffs, Probation Officers, Parole Officers, SEPTA Police, School Police, etc. to pick up witnesses at their homes and drive them to the Courtroom for trial. The District Attorney uses a device called a "felony waiver discount". If the accused waive their right to a jury trial and are found guilty, they are sentenced to less than statutory minimum standards. "Felony waiver discounts" must be banned. When all of my proposals are executed, then and only then, will violent crime be significantly reduced.

I support Senate Bill No. 1272 that would commit Violent Sexual Predators to mental instituitons after their release from prison. Statistics prove that almost all sexual offenders commit sexual crimes again after release from prison. The United States Supreme Court has held that this civil incarceration is constitutional.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

Philadelphia must begin implementation of the Direct Instruction (DI) method of teaching. DI was invented in 1970 by University of Oregon professors. DI is a scripted program wherein the teacher solicits student unison respones. Terminology is consistent for every subject. Every study completed that compares DI to other teaching method has proven that DI student have higher test scores and graducation rates. DI's arguably best example is in a Houston, TX school wherein the entire student population consists of either Afican American or Hispanic children.

We spend 240% more per student now then we did in 1971. Test scores however are the lower now than any time in the last twenty years.

Philadelphia public schools can not succeed while parents abdicate parental responsibilities. No amount of money will improve test scores and graduation rates if children fail to learn enough discipline from parents to respect their teachers, not disrupt class, actually attend school, etc. Only sixty three (63%)percent of Philadelphia seniors graduate, and that does not include those who drop out of school before their senior year. Far too few of Philadelphia student take the SATs. For those who do, the average total score is more than two hundred (200) points below the National average. Thirty thousand students skip school every day. In my opinion twenty four thousand (24,000) are "ghost students", in other words student who quit school but are kept on the list as active students so that the school district can continue to extract the per student funding from Harrisburg. Through no fault of their own, public school teachers have become nothing but glorified baby sitters. Simply stated we can not continue to fund such failing entitlement. Government can not get into the business of raising children.

Responsible Philadelphia parents are forced to pay for their children's education twice, through real estate tax and tuition bills at a Catholic or private school. Philadelphia parents realize a financial windfall when they move out of the City. In addition to avoiding the educational costs stated above they avoid the local income tax.

Casino revenue will help the situation but the real solution is a tuition tax credit. A tuition tax credit would call for the repeal of all taxes associated with education and provide parents a tuition tax credit for the cost of educating their children. Neglectful parents will still neglect their children but the rest of taxpaying society will not have to pay for public education failures.

ENVIRONMENT

Special Session Senate Bill No. 1 will help people pay for solar panels and hybrid vehicles. I support Special Session Senate Bill No. 1 without amendment. You should write letters of support for this Bill to your State Senatore, State Represnetative, and copy the Honorable Mary Jo White, Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee and the Honorable Camille George, Chair of the House Environmental Resoureces & Energy Committee.

Incremental reductions in oil use can decrease our overall dependency on oil and therein reduce oil costs. Center City has an existing steam utility infrastruction for heat. We could divert steam from a trash to steam plant to the steam utility infrastructure. The steam utility infrastructure could easily be expanded. I suggest this so that current oil heat systems could be converted to steam heat systems and therein reduce our dependency on oil. An additional benefit of my idea is the reduction of land fills.

The dredging project approved for the Delawre River should be delayed until a process that collects all of the dredged materials is created so that seal life down river is not harmed by the toxic sediment that exists on the river bottom.

A 2003 Brookings Institue study revealed that one thousand acres a day is developed in Pennsylvania. Clearly this rate of development can not continue. I will introduce legislation that reduces the amount of land that can be developed. Renovating and re-using Philadelphia's abandon factories, as the 90's Federal Empowerment Zone grant was intended to do,m is one benefit of reducing urban sprawl.

REDUCE, RE-USE AND RE-CYCLE