Alex Trebek moderates PA Gubernatorial Debate
Kid reviewer was youngest journalist at debate
Television personality Alex Trebek was the keynote speaker for the 34th Annual PA Chamber of Business and Industry Dinner held at the Hershey Lodge on Oct. 1. Trebek also served as the moderator of a Pennsylvania gubernatorial debate between Gov. Tom Wolf (Democrat) and Scott Wagner (Republican).
Trebek is probably best known for hosting the television game show “Jeopardy!”, for many years. Before the debate, Trebek spoke a little about his life in the entertainment industry and his very special connection to the state of Pennsylvania. He mentioned that a lot of the winners on “Jeopardy!” come from Pennsylvania. He told the audience that while working in Canada on television many years ago, he became a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, and asked Wolf a trivia question about the NFL team, and then things got more serious for the debate.
I’m a kid, age 12, so I can’t vote yet, but here is why the debate and this event are important. The governor of Pennsylvania makes decisions that affect everyone who lives in the state including kids like me. Being governor is sort of like being classroom president but with a lot more responsibilities. Every four years, there is an election to decide who will be governor and grownups go to the polls to vote for the person they think will do the best job.
Currently Wolf has the job and wants to continue being governor for another four years, but Wagner, a former state senator from York County, wants to be governor too, so on Nov. 6, the election will take place and it will decide who will be Pennsylvania’s next governor. Whoever gets the most votes will win the election and the job.
Debates, like this one at The Hershey Lodge, take place before elections so voters can find out about the candidates and what they think about certain issues. These debates help voters make up their minds about which candidate will get their vote.
I look forward to when I am old enough to vote for the people who I believe will do the best job, and maybe being a contestant on “Jeopardy!”, so when Alex Trebek asks me to tell him a little bit about myself, I can say that I was at the debate he moderated in Pennsylvania, one of his favorite states!
Rodeo would like to say thanks to The PA Chamber of Business and Industry.
Kid reviewer Rodeo Marie Hanson, 12, Fleetwood, contributes columns to Berks-Mont Newspapers. Rodeo was the youngest journalist at the Pennsylvania Gubernatorial debate.