Lynn Swann, a political newcomer, is the Republican challenger to incumbent Gov. Ed Rendell.
Swann is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he was an All-American wide receiver. He continued playing football in the NFL and had a Hall of Fame career as a receiver with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Presently, he is on the board of H.J. Heinz Company and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts.
He is former chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Swann supports measures to increase transparency in state government by promoting financial accountability. These measures include setting a state spending cap, extending a ban on becoming a lobbyist to all departing officials and promoting disclosure of gifts given to elected officials.
While not expressing opposition to gambling in the state per se, he has criticized the Rendell administration's handling of the process, saying it should not continue until the system is cleaned up. He says he would not favor expanding slots-only casinos into full-fledged gambling operations.
Swann plans to reduce violent crime by hiring 5,000 new law-enforcement officials by 2010. He wants to combat narcotics by creating a registry of convicted drug dealers.
He proposes education reforms that provide teachers with incentives to succeed and that increase access for low-income students to schools that have strong performance records.
Swann opposes abortion and favors reducing taxes.
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