Op-Ed: Support emergency powers amendment to restore transparency in state government

Originally published in The York Dispatch.

For over a year, Gov. Tom Wolf has dismissed calls for transparency as he enforces restrictive emergency executive orders. His disaster declaration for COVID-19—renewed four times since last spring—has allowed him to exert a level of control like nothing our commonwealth has experienced in its 340-year history.

While hiding his decision-making process throughout the pandemic, Wolf has made limited, if any, efforts to present concrete or objective goals related to further reopening Pennsylvania’s economy or ending his emergency powers. Parents attempting to balance work and virtual schooling; businessowners struggling to keep their doors open; or those individuals suffering with isolation and loneliness are left paralyzed, unable to plan ahead or predict when life could return to normal. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. Other states are finding ways to improve transparency and provide clear benchmarks for reopening despite the crisis. Wolf’s insistence on secrecy calls into question his leadership and management of the crisis.

From AARP to the ACLU, groups with varied interests — along with elected officials in both political parties — have…

Read more at The York Dispatch.