Petition: Biz leaders ask PA lawmakers to focus on the 2021 economy, not the 2020 election

The 2020 election may now be in the history books, but Pennsylvania business leaders are concerned that elected officials like are more focused on a past decision and restricting future voting than bringing about solutions for the future of the commonwealth.

With the “Back To Business” campaign, West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative (WPCC) working in partnership with Business in America launched a petition to bring these concerns to the likes of Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler and President of the Senate John Fetterman.

Rather than see the state legislature devote a taxpayer dollars to conducting an audit of the 2020 election, the business leaders behind the petition say they want the state’s elected officials to instead focus on economic issues that have seen delays because of partisanship. These issues include financial relief for businesses and support for residents facing foreclosure, evictions, utility shutoffs and unemployment.

“The pandemic isn’t over,” WPCC president Jabari Jones said in a statement. “Businesses and residents are still suffering. The Pennsylvania State Senate estimated that there are nearly a quarter of a million homeowners at risk of losing their homes due to past-due mortgages. We encourage the legislature to redirect its efforts away from a costly and partisan audit of the 2020 election and towards ensuring the Keystone State’s economy regains its previous strength.”

Read or sign the letter Michael Butler is a 2020-2022 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.