Pennsylvania State Representative District 5
Description of office: The General Assembly is the legislative branch of government in Pennsylvania. It is composed of two houses: the Senate is the upper house, and the House of Representatives is the lower house. A majority vote in both houses is necessary to pass a law. The PA House of Representatives consists of 203 members representing one district each, with an equal number of constituents. Representatives must be at least 21 years old, have been a citizen and a resident of the state four years and a resident of their respective districts one year before their election, and shall reside in their respective districts during their terms of service. The House develops budget packages, makes taxation decisions, allocates spending, and passes laws (including redistricting in collaboration with the Senate). The House also has the exclusive authority to impeach public officials. Representatives also serve on various policy committees that may propose legislation.Term: 2 yearsSalary: $113,591Vote for ONE.Note: On Democratic and Republican primary ballots, voters will also choose members of the State and County Committees. We do not list these candidates on Vote411. For information on these candidates, we suggest you contact your local Democratic or Republican Party committee.
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Andres R. F. Santiago
(Dem)
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Eric Weaknecht
(Rep)
What do you see as the most pressing issues facing residents of your district, and how would you address them?
What changes, if any, would you support to enable better access, ensure security, and support the processes of our elections?
What are your thoughts on the state budget process? What changes, if any, would you support so that the budget is enacted in a timely manner?
Should the state legislature enact laws concerning the impacts on water, energy, or land use from the development and operation of data centers? Would state regulation of data center development and operation interfere with the authority of municipalities to establish ordinances under the MPC (Municipal Planning Code)?
County
Berks
Occupation
Automotive Service Advisor
Education
Graduated from Wilson Senior High School, I have a diploma in Automotive Technology from Automotive Training Center in Exton. I have also taken some college courses at Millersville University and RACC.
Qualifications
I serve on the board of Berks County Rotaract as President Elect, and will be taking over as President in July. I do not have prior experience in lawmaking or public office.
The cost of living has gone up for most households. That includes utility costs that are skyrocketing, increases to healthcare spending now that ACA subsidies are gone, as well as the most recent increases to gas prices due to the conflict in Iran. Just over the past year I saw a 67% increase to my February utilities bill, for what amounted to essentially the same usage. While I may not be able to make gas more affordable, I want to work on implementing caps for yearly price increases on utilities, as well as looking into price capping for apartment rent increases and lot rental fees for mobile homes. I would also want to extend first time home buyer programs to more Pennsylvanians by increasing income thresholds, within reason.
Recently it has been alleged that someone has been registered and able to vote in both Montgomery and Berks county, for about the past 13 years. This is due to local election officials only being able to verify whether a vote has been cast within their county boundaries, not whether a voter has cast a ballot within the state. We need better oversight through policy and technology changes, to prevent instances like this ever happening again. I would like to see primary elections opened to Independent voters. There is no good reason that they should not be able to have a say in what candidates make it to the General election.
Pennsylvania's budget process seems quite lengthy. If we can change the process and spend less time reviewing parts of the budget that are not requesting budget increases, we may be able to speed it up. There is back and forth between what the Governor sets out as the budget and what agencies request for funding. Agencies must work within the set budget to figure out how they can continue running and how they are going to accomplish their goals for the future. I would like to see it changed so that more of the budgeting is done by the Governor's office. Local Representatives and Senators are much closer to the issues and have a better understanding of where we really need funds allocated. More of a bottom up approach, rather than top down.
I believe the State should create a bare minimum framework through law requiring prospective developers to give a detailed account of their impacts to the surrounding area during and after a build. I would include; the layout and timeline of the initial construction, yearly/monthly energy and water usage, noise pollution as well as any potential effects to the surrounding environment. If a data center plans a BYOP build, how are they going to ensure their power generation is sufficient to prevent the local area from blackouts or strains to the grid during high demand times? I do not know precisely whether it would interfere with Municipal authority, but local governments should be able to ask for more requirements, not less.
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