








































COMMONWEALTH Matters


COMMONWEALTH, Volume 18, Issue 2 (2016). © 2016 The Pennsylvania Political Science Association.  
ISSN 2469-7672 (online). http://dx.doi.org/10.15367/cjppp.v18i2.111. All rights reserved.

COMMONWEALTH Matters

J. WESLEY LECKRONE
Editor-in-Chief  

The Pennsylvania Political Science Association and the Pennsylvania 
Policy Forum envisioned a journal that combined traditional schol-
arly work on policy and academic commentary on current events 

when they partnered with Temple University Press to publish a revamped 
COMMONWEALTH. Our first issue featured academics and practitioners 
examining problems related to education policy in Pennsylvania. 

Volume 18:2 is the first general issue featuring a range of political and policy 
topics in the Commonwealth. Michele Moser Deegan and A. Lanethea Mathews- 
Schultz examine Medicaid expansion in Pennsylvania with a focus on regional 
inequalities in access to services. They draw on successful models from other 
states and provide potential solutions to problems in the Commonwealth. 
Paula Holoviak and Thomas Baldino explore the politics of policymaking by 
examining Governor Tom Wolf ’s first year in office. Their analysis compares 
Wolf to governors over the course of the last half century and offers some 
lessons to help future governors navigate the start of their administration. 
The next two articles address the implications of recent statewide elections 
in Pennsylvania. John Kennedy places the state’s 2016 presidential primary in 
historical context and shows how the relevance of Pennsylvania affected voter 
turnout across the Commonwealth. Jenna Becker Kane examines the Novem-
ber 2015 state Supreme Court elections that transformed the composition of 



2 J. Wesley leckrone

Pennsylvania’s highest court. Her comparative analysis shows that spending in 
the Pennsylvania races was in line with recent elections in other states. Finally, 
Kathleen Rogers provides a research note exploring the role of women in the 
Pennsylvania legislature. In addition to statistics comparing female representa-
tion in the Commonwealth to other states, she provides rich qualitative data 
from interviews with several women who have served in the General Assembly.

Looking ahead to next year, Chris Borick of Muhlenberg College is serv-
ing as the Special Editor of an issue examining environmental and energy 
issues in Pennsylvania that will be published in mid- January. General issues 
of COMMONWEALTH will follow in June and October.

Temple University Press is providing issues 18:1 and 18:2 of COMMON-
WEALTH to the public for free at https://tupjournals.temple.edu/index.php/
commonwealth/index. Beginning in 2017, a subscription will be necessary to 
view future issues of the journal. Current members of the Pennsylvania Politi-
cal Science Association will receive access as part of their annual dues. Non- 
PPSA members can purchase a subscription for $30 per year and institutions 
for $90. Please encourage your library to subscribe to COMMONWEALTH by 
sharing the form at the back of the issue.




