Gubernatorial Candidate William McSwain Blasts New Police Initiative



Alex Lloyd Gross Photo-Delaware valley News.com File Photo Former US Attorney William McSwain

by Alex Lloyd Gross

William McSwain  is a former US Attorney for the area that includes Philadelphia.  He is now considered a front runner to win the republican nomination. for Governor.  Even though he lives in West Chester, he is appalled at  the violent crime in Philadelphia. this is compounded by an initiative put forth by city council which limits  the ability of police to keep citizens safe. this initiative will not permit car stops of  vehicles for minor infractions, such as broken tail lights or expired inspection or registration.

“This incentivizes people to not be safe. If they are not going to play by the rules, there is no consequence, then people are not going to get their cars inspected  or do so in a timely manner. This can cause accidents.” he said  Recently, in Montgomery County, Jaqueline Walker was charged with third degree murder after her vehicle plowed into first responders at an accident scene. Her vehicle was not safe to drive. According to McSwain, expect more of that with this initiative.

“it gets worse, the allows criminals to carry unlicensed guns because they know there is a greater likelihood their car won’t get stopped.  There will be more accidents and drivers that play by the rules will see their insurance premiums skyrocket,” McSwain said.  McSwain said that Philadelphia is the murder capitol the of country. Criminals are riding around with guns in vehicles that have illegal tint. This happened in Philadelphia recently.Click the link, you can watch a video of a mass shooting on Chew Avenue by armed criminals in a vehicle with illegal tint. This council initiative would not allow police to stop the vehicle for the tint.  A citation could be sent in the mail.. Police would not be able to make contact with any of the occupants inside the vehicle.

 

According to McSwain, there is no justification presented to city council that police stop drivers bases on race.  “This was done to appease  the Woke religion, which teaches police are bad and target minorities,” he said. The truth is, they do not. “There has never been any evidence presented to council that says this this,” he said.  The best advise he can give is cooperate with police even if you feel the stop is unjustified.

As for other key issues facing voters, McSwain is a firm supporter of gun rights. “The problem is not more gun rules, but getting criminals with guns off the streets, and the council initiative does nothing to help this, McSwain said. Legal gun owners do not go out and commit crimes , he said.

McSwain is a republican and while his position on safety and law and order should resonate with people in urban areas, he has other positions which  will not. Specifically his position on the state minimum wage, which stands at $7.25/hr. He is against raising it a penny, even as all neighboring states are pushing towards $15/hr. “Studies have shown, when the minimum wage goes up so does inflation and jobs get lost,” he said. In spite of his position, the fact is  that there has not been any inflation or job loss in New Jersey, Delaware, New York , West Virginia or Ohio, which have all higher rates than PA.  McSwain is not tuned into the majority of state residents who encourage a raise to the state minimum wage, some that even come from within his own party. in fact, many voters are fed up with crime in urban areas and will do anything to stop violence, however, not raising the wage hurts them economically and they will be inclined to vote for the candidate that will help put dollars in their pocket. Especially when someone just a few miles away across the state line is making much more than them doing the same job. “This is not a priority for me at this time”, he said.

 

McSwain, is just one person in a large pool of republicans that are running for the nomination, which will happen next primary. Whoever wins that  gets to face the democratic candidate in November. The winner of that election gets to be called Governor for the next four years.

“I am a republican prosecutor, the only prosecutor on the republican side, and I think I’ll have good luck with that, people in this state are tired of having the pandemic mismanaged for the past two years,” he said. This includes the school system. he is against the Critical Race Theory and will not allow it to be taught in PA Schools. “People are equal, and I don’t want any teachings that judge people by race, McSwain said. CRT teaches that White people are predisposed to discriminate against Black people and “white privilege” exists.

McSwain said that he agrees with the statement, past actions and current behavior  decide what will happen during a car stop. White people get tickets or arrested on warrants everyday. Black people get cut breaks everyday as well.   If you are respectful, the officer is more inclined to give your a break. If you have a warrant out for your arrest, it is your fault you missed court. The officer is doing their job by taking you to court.

Josh Shapiro is a democratic challenger for Governor. He is the current state Attorney General.  It is very likely that these two will wind up their respective party  nominees.