Jim Christiana: Sell Pennsylvania Governor's Mansion

Pittsburgh -- The youthful Pennsylvania state representative Jim Christiana (R-Beaver) introduced legislation in June to sell the 32-room governor's mansion in Harrisburg, Pa.

"I don't think tax payers should be funding that when we have a $1 billion budget hole," he said, according to the Beaver County Times. While the legislator may have a point, Pennsylvania last year made national headlines for the state's difficulty in passing the 2010 budget, so his proposed legislation may not be as practical as it sounds.

Christiana's Proposal

Christiana proposes that the revenue that is generated from the sale be put in the state's general fund. His reasoning behind the sale is simple. Does the governor of Pennsylvania really need a 32-room mansion complete with a butler, housekeeper, groundskeeper, full-time chef and other staff when the state has a budget shortfall of more than $1 billion?

Christiana said that instead the governor be reimbursed for his lodging expenses. The lieutenant governor's home cannot be sold due to it being on federal property. Christiana is considering proposing a bill that would charge the lieutenant governor for his housing expenses.

The Pennsylvania Budget Woes

Summer of 2009 was marked by Pennsylvania government's inability to pass the state budget in a timely manner. Pennsylvania was three months late in passing the budget for fiscal year 2010. The current budget also has a $1.1 billion deficit. Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed a tax hike in order to avoid additional layoffs of state employees. Rendell has proposed expanding taxes on business income, natural gas extraction and cigar income.

Gary Tuma, the spokesperson for Rendell, argues that selling the governor's mansion is not a cost-effective solution to Pennsylvania's budget woes. He argues that the largest conference room in the executive space in Harrisburg holds just 28 people. The governor's mansion is used several times a month for important meetings of more than 100 attendees. Tuma also argues that the logistics in housing the governor, bodyguards and accompanying staff in hotels would be difficult and expensive.

Will Selling the Governor's Mansion Really Help the PA Budget?

At first glance, Christiana's proposal to sell the governor's mansion sounds like a good idea. The Pennsylvania budget is in a dreadful state and running the large piece of property has to be expensive. When asked how much it costs to run the 42-year-old governor's mansion, Christiana cannot answer. The Republican representative is also unable to provide an estimate as to what amount PA taxpayers can expect the state to receive from the sale of the mansion and accompanying three acres of property. Christiana estimates that selling the mansion will save taxpayers several million dollars, but he remains sketchy in how he comes up with the figure. Is there a market for a 32-room mansion in Harrisburg? That is difficult to say.

The Upside to Christiana's Proposal

Proposing legislation to sell the governor's mansion certainly sounds better to cash-strapped Pennsylvania voters than the Rendell proposed tax hike. Will it actually help with the budget crunch? That remains to be seen. Whatever the outcom,e the 25-year-old Republican from Beaver, who won the state senate seat in 2008, will certainly come out looking favorable to voters too shallow to delve into the pitfalls of the young legislator's proposal.

Sources:

http://dailyme.com/story/2010061000003981/christiana-pushes-sale-governors-mansion.html

http://realpapolitics.blogspot.com/