Ed Rendell

As mayor, Rendell inherited massive fiscal problems. The state legislature established a fiscal oversight board to monitor the City of Philadelphia's fiscal issues. During his career as mayor, Rendell cut a $250 million deficit; balanced Philadelphia's budget and oversaw five consecutive years of budget surpluses; reduced business and wage taxes for four consecutive years; implemented new revenue-generating initiatives, and dramatically improved services to Philadelphia neighborhoods. He also appointed Philadelphia's first ever Latino deputy mayors, with the naming of Benjamin Ramos and Manuel Ortiz. Read Less

Rendell's campaign website was described as having "cutting edge in design for a political site."

The first piece of legislation Rendell initiated was The Plan for a New Pennsylvania. The Plan proposed using slot machine revenue to reduce taxes by $1.5 billion (an average 30% decrease for homeowners) and included $687 million in increased education funding. The plan was to be paid for with a proposed income tax increase from 2.80% to 3.75% plus increased taxes on utilities and beer. The governor's plan passed but with a smaller tax increase to only 3.07% and increased education funding of $450 million. The final budget deal included additional taxes on cigarettes and utilities.

Later that year, the Rendell administration also passed a prescription drug plan that covered older Pennsylvanians.

In his first year, Rendell created the Office of Management and Productivity with the goal of cutting $1 billion in administrative expenses by the end of his first term. One of the most widely touted successes from Rendell's productivity initiative was strategic sourcing in which he overhauled the Commonwealth's antiquated procurement system, leading to $180 million in annual savings and a quadrupling of Pennsylvania's minority and women owned business participation rate. In 2004, Rendell persuaded the Pennsylvania General Assembly to pass measures to legalize and tax slot machine parlors, with the revenues from these measures to be used to reduce property taxes. Prior to this legislation, the only legal forms of gambling in Pennsylvania were horse racing and the state-run lottery. Read Less

The governor said he was willing to consider legislation that changes Act 72, and legislative proposals were made to force school districts to accept the money. Other proposed legislation would have required the issue to be voted on in each district as a ballot question, rather than decided by school boards. Property tax relief and Act 72 were issues of great controversy and have been subject to political gridlock, and it was unclear when changes would be made. Read Less

Later, he signed the measure's repeal. Read Less

PHEAA, however, is not a direct state government department, created as a quasi-governmental agency in the 1960s by the Pennsylvania General Assembly and which is governed by a Board composed primarily of members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate. Read Less

Approximately 25,000 state workers were furloughed. The shutdown was resolved within 24 hours.

Governor Rendell, a capital punishment supporter, has signed 78 execution warrants during his term, but none of them were enforced due to stays. Read Less