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.
County
Lehigh
Occupation
Freelance Journalist
Education
Masters in Political Science from Lehigh University, Bachelors in English and Psychology from Rutgers University
Qualifications
I have a Masters in Political Science, am a long time community organizer, volunteer, precinct person, a mom of three boys, and a daughter of immigrants. The issues we're facing today are deeply personal to me. As a freelance journalist I write about politics and holding government accountable.
Our families are struggling to make ends meet with high costs of everyday essentials, cost of gas, and inflation. We are concerned about having affordable accessible healthcare, good public schools, and childcare for our families. We are concerned for our children to be able to afford homes and have jobs. We need better representation and someone who will fight for our shared values in Harrisburg and act as a guardrail against the overreach of government and attacks on our civil rights and democracy. I will work tirelessly to reduce the costs of living, make sure we are funding our public schools effectively, stand up to protect our democracy, and I will fight to make sure we are doing everything we can to make life better.
We should make sure our election infrastructure is secure and protected from any federal government overreach and outside influence. We should make sure we are encouraging more people to vote and to take part in the process to have their voices heard and know that their vote matters. We should have more education on policy making and the importance of taking part in the process. Free and fair elections are the hallmark of our democracy and we should fight those who try to take this right away from citizens or seek to disenfranchise our neighbors and families, or seek to make it harder for others to vote or have their vote counted.
The process should start sooner. There should be a more robust and good spirited debate to work together - with more transparency in the process. There needs to be more good will to reach a budget in a timely manner. We should plan ahead and adhere to deadlines as much as possible.
Yes. We need state protections and guardrails concerning the impacts on water, energy, or land use from the development and operation of data centers. I support the new legislation put forth by Democrats in the House such as (HB 1834) and (HB 2150) which established annual water and energy reporting requirements and other protections against higher utility bills, transparency for residents of PA and incentivizing renewable energy to lessen the burden of data centers on our communities. My opponent Milou voted no. I do not think state regulations would interfere with municipalities but should work in adding further protections that that are further reaching or that some municipalities may overlook and find common grounds to work together.
County
Northampton
Occupation
State Representative
Education
Graduate, Cedar Crest College
Qualifications
As a former small businesswoman, educator, working mom, and current State Representative, I understand the challenges faced by our communities and families. I carry that understanding to Harrisburg to address the issues that impact all of us.
People are concerned with rising costs impacting their personal budgets. That’s why I am working to ensure that PA’s budget is focused on our priorities – education and public safety among them – without spending more than taxpayers can afford.
I am also supportive of measures like “Tax Holidays” that temporarily eliminate taxes passed on to consumers for things like cell phones, household energy, and more. This is a commonsense approach that will provide immediate, and needed, relief for everyone.
I am also protecting the state’s Rainy Day Fund. This ensures money is there for emergencies and helps keep our credit rating strong, which reduces debt costs and saves tax dollars.
Overall, I am less concerned with specific “changes” but rather with putting forth efforts that help restore voter confidence in our election system which will, naturally, help increase participation. To do so, there are numerous steps we can, and should take, including things like ensuring that all election officials are following – in the same way – the clearly written rules and regulations passed by the legislature in our voting laws; making certain the voter rolls are up-to-date and only those eligible to vote can do so; and, implementing a fair voter id system.
Unfortunately, when it comes to budgeting, too many government agencies are simply dishonest with taxpayers – using “expected cost increases” that ignore historical, data-proven trends and grossly underestimate what actual spending will be. To produce real budgets, we need to use real numbers, developed using provable data, to best respect taxpayers.
We must also increase transparency and accountability in the process. Transparency in how agencies are developing budgets and spending money. Accountability in determining “what went wrong” when agencies spend beyond their budgeted amounts and in ensuring that government programs are free of fraud or waste so tax dollars actually help those they are supposed to.
As data center development becomes of greater concern to our state, certain steps can be taken to ensure their impact on the public is minimized. Steps like making certain data centers are placed only in industrial areas; that they do not drive-up energy costs for residential and small business consumers; and, that they are not negatively impacting our environment are all goals which state government can work on meeting. If implemented correctly changes at the state government level should, ultimately, not impact local municipal planning powers.
