Corbett aide who edits faith-based journal resigns from state position

Until yesterday, the special assistant to Pennsylvania’s Welfare Secretary Gary Alexander was also the editor of a conservative publication that rejects divorce, homosexuality and abortion, among other things.

But Robert Patterson resigned his state position Tuesday, and a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Welfare tells the Inquirer it’s because Patterson was denied his request to continue working for the state and serving as editor of The Family in America.

With the state, Patterson helped set the policies for services administered by the DPW.

So his writings about “misguided” programs like the ones DPW oversees could have created a conflict of interest. His works for the publication cited studies that criticized the role of working mothers and use of birth control — issues many DPW programs tackle.