Familiar opponents vie for state House seat, offer tax ideas

The last time Mike Crossey took a political seat held by Thomas Stevenson, it was on the Mt. Lebanon commissioners board.

Crossey is trying to take a seat from Stevenson again, only this time it's for the state House.

Crossey, a Democrat, in March surrendered his seat on the first Allegheny County Council to challenge Stevenson, a Republican seeking his fourth two-year term representing the 42nd Legislative District.

Crossey, 51, a Keystone Oaks High School teacher, served two years as a Mt. Lebanon commissioner, replacing Stevenson, 50, who had been a commissioner for seven years. Stevenson has been a House member since 1997.

Crossey's county council term ran through 2003, but county ethics rules required him to resign to seek the state House seat. Crossey would have faced an uphill fight to hold onto his county council seat next year, as last year's redrawing of county districts moved Mt. Lebanon into a heavily Republican district that includes GOP incumbent Vince Gastgeb of Bethel Park.

The redrawn 42nd District includes Mt. Lebanon, Green Tree, Rosslyn Farms and Thornburg, as well as parts of Scott and Bethel Park, where Democratic and Republican registrations are split more evenly.

Crossey said giving up his county council seat shows he is committed.

"I believe in what I'm doing," he said. "I believe that I can be more effective and make a bigger difference on the state legislative level than I was able to make on the county council level."

Stevenson argues he is more qualified than his opponent.

"I have experience to create jobs here in Pennsylvania and to improve our educational system," he said. "I have been involved with it for six years and accomplished improvement in both areas."

Stevenson said Crossey's career as a teacher may compromise his ability to work on property tax reform. Stevenson favors replacing the property tax with a mixture of property and income taxes, and he thinks school districts, municipalities and counties should determine which taxes to use. And he believes income limits should be raised so more seniors qualify for tax rebates.

Both men say property tax reform should be put to a referendum.

Crossey said past statewide referendums to replace the property tax with increased sales and income taxes have failed because voters don't trust politicians. He said the referendums should be held at the county level.

"Pennsylvania is such a diverse state," Crossey said. "What's good for us here may not be good for Centre County. Let's fix it where it's a problem, and it's a big problem here in Allegheny County."

Stevenson said he also favors lowering the corporate net income tax to make Pennsylvania more competitive with neighboring states.

"Right now we have the third highest corporate net income tax in the United States," Stevenson said. "Because of that fact, it's very difficult to attract businesses from out of state to relocate to Pennsylvania, and it's very hard to keep our existing businesses here."

Crossey said the state has given away billions of dollars in corporate tax cuts in the name of economic development but has nothing to show for it. He said economic development dollars should be tied to job creation.

Stevenson also wants tighter constraints placed on school boards: Districts, he said, should be required to cut real estate millage if the earned income tax is increased and millage hikes should face a referendum. And, Stevenson said, more controls should be placed on teacher pay, which he said has risen faster than the annual inflation rate.

"I firmly believe in merit pay for teachers," Stevenson said. "I believe the good teachers should be paid more than they are right now."

Crossey said he favors allowing slot machines at the state's race tracks, with the resulting tax revenue going to schools to cut property taxes. Crossey also backs allowing school districts to offer a homestead exemption, which would exclude the first $10,000 of a property's value from school property taxes.