by City Commissioner of Philadelphia Stephanie Singer

Most Americans can name the current President, while many wouldn’t even recognize the name of their state’s Governor. Who is more important? Is the President the boss of the Governor? Who affects your life more?

The President of the United States gets a lot of attention. Presidential elections create a lot of buzz, with debates, huge volunteer organizations and lots of television advertising. There are television shows about fictional presidents and bestselling books about real presidents. Famous comedians tell jokes about presidents. Every kid knows that “President of the United States” is a respectable answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

There is no doubt that the President has awesome powers and responsibilities. Governors have awesome powers and responsibilities too, especially governors of large states like Pennsylvania and New Jersey. And the President is not the boss of the Governors.

Each Governor is the top executive officer of his (or sometimes her) state. Governors have enormous power to determine how money will be spent. For example, some Governors spent state money to help residents learn about and sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Other Governors decided not to get involved. Governors decide how to divide up a limited supply of money between schools, roads, prisons and other programs.

Governors play a large role in deciding how states will raise money too. How much of people’s salaries should go to the state? How much should corporations pay the state for the opportunity to drill for natural gas? How much money should people pay the state each time they buy alcohol or cigarettes or fill up a gas tank?

Like the President, a Governor can do certain things unilaterally. At the  same time, the Governor has an opportunity to make lasting changes and laws in cooperation with the state legislature. Many of the laws that affect our day-to-day lives are state laws. In some states men can marry men; in others they can’t. New Jersey grocery stores can sell wine; Pennsylvania grocery stores are forbidden to sell wine. In Colorado it is legal to smoke marijuana! All these were put in place or maintained by governors working with legislatures.

But Who Is Governor?

In 2014 Pennsylvania will elect a governor for the next four-year term. You can find out about candidates by searching the internet for “pennsylvania governor candidate 2014”. You can call or write your local newspaper to let them know that you want to learn about the candidates. Contact the campaigns directly and ask about the issues that matter to you. The choice Pennsylvanians make at the polls this year will have direct consequences for the state for many years to come.