Biographical Information
County
Allegheny
Occupation
Legislator
Education
Pennington School (1974); Kenyon College (1978)
Qualifications
For over 25 years, Rep. Frankel has served as the State Representative of the 23rd Legislative District. Currently, he is the Majority Chairman of the House Health Committee, where he promotes science-based policies to protect and improve the public health of the Commonwealth.
What do you see as the most pressing issues facing Pennsylvanians, and how would you address them?
My priorities in my next term will be equality and justice, the environment, firearm policy reform, government reform, decriminalizing adult-use cannabis use, and reproductive rights. I have been fighting for these progressive values for two decades and have worked to build coalitions of lawmakers to advocate with me. For example, I founded the Women's Health Caucus and the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. These caucuses have become passionate groups of leaders fighting for policies often disregarded just 20 years ago.
As the Majority Chairman of the House Health Committee, I will prioritize increasing access to quality healthcare for every Pennsylvania and will work to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
What changes would you support making to Pennsylvania’s voting laws to expand access, ensure security, and support local election officials and processes?
Everyone should be able to vote easily, whether they have a disability, are incarcerated, have an unstable address, or have an inflexible work schedule. Therefore, I support expanding access to ballot drop boxes, same-day registration, and guaranteeing the ability to vote early. In addition, updating Pennsylvania's voting laws should continue beyond improving voting access; it's time we let our county elections offices canvass mail-in and absentee ballots before election day.
What legislation would you support to comply with the Commonwealth Court's ruling that Pennsylvania’s school funding system is unconstitutional and must be reformed?
The Commonwealth should implement a needs-
based funding formula that considers the unique needs of each school district. This formula should take into account factors such as student demographics, socioeconomic status, English
language proficiency, and special education requirements. This ensures that districts with greater challenges receive additional resources.
What changes, if any, would you support making to Pennsylvania’s abortion laws?
Abortions should be safe and legal- I have always supported this, and I always will. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade, we learned that we must take action to protect patients but also for abortion providers. States with abortion restrictions or bans have made threats of legal action against healthcare professionals providing abortion care to patients feeling abortion restrictions. We must make sure that our abortion providers in Pennsylvania can continue to provide these safe and legal abortions in our Commonwealth without the threat of punitive action against them for providing high-quality healthcare.