The biggest issue we must address in Pennsylvania is the affordability crisis. Working families across the commonwealth are struggling with the cost of property taxes, higher education, housing and putting food on the table. We must correct decades of divestment from our education system and our communities to ensure we have a prosperous workforce and a vibrant economy. In my first term, I was proud to increase the Property Tax Rent Rebate for the first time since 2007, helping seniors stay in their homes, increase the maximum amount for the child tax credit to $2,100 for families and the largest basic education increase in the history of the state, but there is much more work to do.

We must make sure that our election officials have the tools and funding to run efficient and fair elections. Here in Lehigh County we have protected the use of dropboxes to make it more convenient to vote. There is still more we need to do in the legislature. The burden that the legislature has put on election officials by not allowing them to precanvass mail in ballots has delayed vote counts and has cynically been used by some officials to falsely attack the integrity of our elections. Our elections are at the heart of our democracy, and it is our responsibility as legislators to ensure they are funded and fair.

The Commonwealth Court’s decision was a groundbreaking acknowledgement of the injustice of our education funding. I see it as an opportunity to correct a historic wrong that has left far too many Pennsylvanians behind. We have a constitutional duty to ensure that our education system is thorough and efficient, and historically the legislature has not provided equal funding to our students, especially in districts like Allentown. We have started to address this through funding increases, and I look forward to the opportunity to be part of the legislature that finally addresses this tragic inequity.

I will always protect a woman’s right to choose.