10 minute read
MICHAEL POLLACK
Q & A with Rabbi Michael Pollack
Non-violent civil disobedience put him in handcuffs more than once.
Advertisement
By Justin Sweitzer
ENERGIZED BY A march from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. in spring 2016, Rabbi Michael Pollack formed March on Harrisburg, a government reform advocacy group that has developed a reputation for staging nonviolent demonstrations aimed at rooting out corruption in state government.
The group uses three major tactics to advocate for good government reforms: physical marches to raise awareness about their cause, lobbying elected leaders to earn their support, and, if that fails, taking direct, nonviolent action to get attention.
At the heart of March on Harrisburg’s efforts is legislation that would ban elected leaders from accepting gifts – a practice currently permissible under state law. Pollack and March on Harrisburg activists have framed the gifts as legal bribery and argue the practice undermines trust in Pennsylvania’s elected leaders and democracy itself.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What prompted you to form March on Harrisburg?
It really started in 2016 before the presidential election – in the spring of 2016. We were a group of people who were frustrated that our political system seemed incapable of responding to all the crises coming at us day-to-day. We just saw these fights happening, lasting for decades, and there’s been no resolution, no progress, on things ranging from taking on climate change, to education funding, to dealing with opioid abuse, to progressive tax structures. We saw all these problems and a lot of us were working on these different fronts of struggle, and we just kept tracing it all back to the same set of people, the same greed, the same corruption – “the money wall” is what we call it.
In these various fronts of struggle, we all banged our heads up against that money wall. And so we came together and decided to dismantle that money wall. We all had too many experiences where a group has pushed a bill really far and then a guy in a
Pollack and members of March on Harrisburg have been arrested in the past for their various tactics. suit walks in the back room and whispers something to the city councilor’s ear and the bill’s dead – that’s it. So, we really realized that we have to unite across all different issues and challenge the corruption that maintains the system.
Was gift-ban legislation always your primary focus? How did that come to be
March on Harrisburg’s main priority?
We went with a gift ban because it’s something that’s very easy to understand. It’s not campaign finance reform, which usually leads people to kind of fall asleep … But the gift ban, people get that. It’s a gutshot kind of a concept. We also knew that it was unanimously popular amongst the public, and there was not going to be any need for
an education campaign to convince people what this is, or why to support it or explain to them what it is. Everybody agrees lobbyists should not be bribing politicians.
Zeroing in on the gift ban – in your eyes, why is that piece so crucial to restoring public trust in state government?
The gifts – it’s essential because it’s the most basic step. If our legislature can’t even outlaw the Super Bowl tickets and the day-to-day material bribery, there’s really no hope that they’re ever going to do anything about campaign contributions, or about independent expenditures, or about side jobs. There’s many ways that influence is bought, so we started with a gift ban because it’s the most basic – it’s the lowest-hanging fruit.
Gift-ban legislation has moved out of committee, but it still hasn’t received a floor vote in either chamber of the General Assembly. What’s stopping this measure from advancing?
Here’s what we know. You need six people to agree in order for it to get to the governor’s desk. For every bill in Harrisburg, only six people really matter. Those people are the committee chairs in each chamber, the majority leaders in the chamber, the Speaker of the House and the Senate president. If they’re all on board, it happens. If even one of them vetoes it, it doesn’t happen. A committee chair can hold up a bill even if everybody else is in favor of it. So, right now, we have five of those six people who publicly say they’re on board, and the sixth person, [Senate President Pro Tempore Jake] Corman says that if he were governor, he would sign it into law. So, the question is, why not just do it now as Senate president? But he won’t answer that question.
You have developed a bit of a reputation for taking actions that sometimes have resulted in arrests. Do you think that does more to help your cause or hurt it?
Absolutely, to help it. For the first two years or so of March on Harrisburg’s existence, we got a lot of flak from a lot of groups about our tactics … Direct action is able to move some people to action, but also to make promises that they break. But it does get people out of the way. It does free up space. It also has an impact on the people we don’t go after. The direct actions that we pull are seen by everybody else in the Capitol.■
Pennsylvania’s EV charging challenge
Will the federal infrastructure bill be enough to make the state a strong competitor in this race?
By Harrison Cann
STATE OFFICIALS want Pennsylvania to be the envy when it comes to EVs – electric vehicles.
The driving force behind this push toward electric vehicle expansion in the commonwealth is the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Congress passed in November.
Under the new federal infrastructure bill, Pennsylvania is slated to receive $2.8 billion over the next several years to improve public transit options, which the state hopes will help electrify its own fleet as well as other public transportation. The state also expects to get an additional $171 million to build out its network of electric vehicle charging stations.
At a recent Senate Transportation Committee hearing, state legislators heard from electrification advocates and trucking companies about the potential impacts on electric vehicle expansion in the state. And while some Republicans expressed concerns about imposing mandates on the oil and gas industries, there was no denying the sector’s overall growth throughout the commonwealth.
“This is the future,” said state Sen. Wayne Langerholc, a Republican from Bedford County. “I think we need to get ahead of this and realize the potential this
COURTESY OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The popularity of electric vehicles has increased dramatically in recent years in Pennsylvania.
has to bring jobs and economic growth to our region.”
But there are plenty of roadblocks the state must bypass to get to sustainability. It needs a network of charging stations in order for consumers to plug in while on the go.
David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, said it’s a “chicken and egg” situation.
“Do you need to build the infrastructure so that consumers buy the cars? But also, who wants to invest in infrastructure if there’s not somebody to use it?” he asked.
As it stands, Pennsylvania has 2,450 public charging plugs at more than 1,000 locations across the state. More than 950 of the locations have plug types usable by non-Tesla vehicles, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. The state’s Alternative Fuels Corridor program has focused on filling charging gaps along major interstates, including I-78, I-80 and I-81. There’s a charging project that has either been completed or is under construction in 46 of the commonwealth’s 67 counties and the program’s goal is to have electric vehicle chargers every 50 miles along the highways and no more than five miles from the road, with accompanying roadside signs.
Federal infrastructure funding is earmarked for the installation and operation of electric vehicle chargers, including the installation of traffic control devices, signage and mapping and analysis related to charging equipment.
Matt Smith, president of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, said his city is primed to be a leader in electric vehicle expansion and autonomous vehicle development.
“The Pittsburgh region is really putting down a marker where we think we’re going to be a global leader because we’ve got companies like Argo AI and Aurora, which [are] now public,” Smith told City & State.
He said the region’s academic institutions, growing companies and energy sector can all help it become a model for infrastructure upgrades. One thing that Pennsylvania has a lot of – natural gas – could also play a role, something that environmental advocates say is counterintuitive to the purpose of electrification.
“Here in western Pennsylvania, the really exciting opportunity is sort of marrying our natural gas baseload resources with electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations,” Smith said. “That could be a really high-value opportunity for this region if we’re able to put the two things together.”
Although natural gas emits less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels, charging electric vehicles with power from a non-renewable grid would diminish the environmental and health benefits associated with electrification.
Ashleigh Deemer, deputy director of PennEnvironment, said the Port Authority
Matt Smith says his city of Pittsburgh is primed to be a leader in electric vehicle expansion.
– Wayne Langerholc of Pittsburgh’s 25-year plan fell short of its goal to electrify its fleet because the plans relied on the use of gas buses. She noted that those plans were changed after more than a dozen groups sent the port authority a letter thanking it for its promise to have a zero-emission fleet by 2045 and urging it to commit to powering the fleet with renewable energy.
“If you’re going to electrify and try to get to zero emissions, you should make sure the sources of power are also clean,” Deemer told City & State.
Unfortunately for Pittsburgh and the burgeoning electric vehicle industry, it’s not that simple.
Pennsylvania is among the largest energy producers in the country, trailing only Texas in natural gas production. Despite carbon emissions dropping due to natural gas taking the place of fossil fuels, the state has a long way to go if it wants a renewable energy grid.
“We actually view natural gas as a very sustainable source of baseload energy here,” Smith said. “We have an all-theabove energy strategy and we think that natural gas actually is a critical piece of that puzzle.”
Colton Brown, an energy program specialist with DEP, said rural and urban communities alike face difficulties when it comes to accessibility to the new technology that powers electric vehicles.
“They’re certainly different struggles, whether it’s a rural area or urban area,” said Brown. “Urban areas are much more likely to have issues with charging … there’s a much higher percentage of people that cannot charge where they park their vehicle overnight. But then the rural areas have issues with having charging somewhere nearby. So, we’re definitely thinking about all of those pieces and trying to ensure that everybody gains access to charging.”
PennDOT is currently developing a mobility plan to look at key destinations across the state to determine how electric vehicles remain safe during emergency responses, such as majors floods or snowstorms.
The state faces a lot of barriers as it looks to become a leader in electric vehicle infrastructure and development, but experts in the field say the federal funding boost should get the commonwealth’s network off the ground. Still, there may be more questions than answers when it comes to the state’s future in transportation. ■
Pennsylvania must ensure its electric vehicle network is accessible to different communities throughout the state.
