With the vote to pick a candidate for governor just weeks away, the College Republicans organized a debate between the hopefuls Tuesday in Center City.
The event -- organized by the Philadelphia Federation of Young Republicans -- at the Wanamaker Building at 13th and Market streets addressed topics from tax reductions to abortion.
Former Gov. Bill Scranton and Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Lynn Swann are vying for the Republican nomination and squared off at the event. Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections will be held Nov. 7.
The party leadership will decide who to endorse Feb. 11, and until a candidate is chosen, there is little Penn College Republicans members can do to drum up support for him.
"[Pennsylvania Sen.] Rick Santorum is the only guy we know for sure that we are supporting," Wharton sophomore Michael Shiely said.
But the College Republicans have a plan next semester to work to gain support for the candidate chosen in February.
Shiely, co-chairman of the College Republicans, said the major issue at stake for him is "business taxes [that] are suppressing growth" in Pennsylvania.
Both Swann and Scranton said that they would lower taxes if elected. But they focused specifically on property-tax reform.
"We talk about these issues as if people weren't at the bottom of it all," Swann said, adding that a number of Pennsylvania residents have been forced to sell their homes because they cannot afford the taxes imposed on them.
Scranton proposed that "Harrisburg be put on a diet." Pennsylvania is in the bottom five for state economic growth and expenditures are growing twice as fast as the economy, he added.
The candidates agreed that spending more will not lead to economic growth for the state. Both extensively criticized the administration of Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell for an increase in paychecks without positive results.
The Philadelphia Federation of Young Republicans was created in April in an attempt to unite young Republicans. The evening's debate was the group's first large event to promote the Republican Party within the city.
Chairman of Philadelphia FYR Kevin Kelly said that the city's Republican Party has had "no representation" in the last 50 years.
"A one-party system is no system at all," Kelly said.
Members said they feel optimistic about the upcoming elections.
"A governor like Bill Scranton or Lynn Swann can lower taxes and improve the business climate in Pennsylvania," Shiely said.
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