Pennsylvania State Senator District 26
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 Senate consists of 50 members, representing one district each, with an equal number of constituents. Senators must be at least 25 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 Senate develops budget packages, makes taxation decisions, allocates spending, and passes laws (including redistricting in collaboration with the House of Representatives). In addition, the Senate tries officials impeached by the House and authorizes executive appointments. Senators serve on various policy committees that may propose legislation.Term: 4 years Salary: $113,591Vote for ONE.
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Tim Kearney
(Dem)
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Alfe Goodwin
(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
Delaware
Occupation
State Senator
Education
BS Arch, Catholic University '83, M Arch, University of Pennsylvania '88
Qualifications
35 year architecture career, Mayor of Swarthmore 2013-2018, State Senator 26th District, 2018- . Minority Chair of the Institutional Sustainability & Innovation Senate Committee, Member of Educaion, Transportation, Appropriations and Local Governement Committees. I serve on numerous commissions.
Most of the issues facing residents of the 26th are the same as people across the state, such as affordability, housing, safety and education. Our health care issues are worse because of the private equity driven Crozer Health disaster. We have lost 4 hospitals and over half of our acute care EMS and people are struggling just to find basic care. We are considered a maternal health desert, and our black maternal health stats are many times worse. We continue to address these issues with legislation around Health Care System oversight and working with local developers and healthcare systems to reopen closed hospitals and to bring healthcare back to Delco.
To be clear, our elections are secure. Instances of voter fraud are extremely rare and current measures to combat fraud are nothing more than voter suppression. These measures are a slap in the face for our election officials who work diligently to keep the process fair, smooth and clean. We should be working to make it easier for people to vote. There are many changes that I would make and the most effective would be to allow pre-canvassing for 5 days prior to election day. This would allow poll workers to prepare mail-in ballots for counting on election day. This would prevent the delays that we have seen in the past and build back confidence in our system.
The state budget process is the manifestation of a larger, more flawed problem in Harrisburg. My colleagues say that we have a structural deficit, that we need to root out waste, fraud and abuse, and reduce spending. I believe we have an unfair tax system and that we don’t generate enough revenue to cover our spending. We should be taxing the frackers, closing the Delaware loophole, and creating a fair way to collect income tax. We also need to reduce our dependence on property taxes for education (per the funding lawsuit). Getting the revenue side right sized will allow the budget process to move smoothly.
The Legislature should absolutely enact laws to make sure that data center development does not adversely affect the communities where they are built. Rate payers should not be subject to even higher utility rates when these come online. There are already several bills in the house that will make their way over to the senate. The Local Government Commission, on which I sit, is studying this issue and they will take the MPC into account. The LGC is a bi-cameral, bi-partisan body that is focused on the intersection of local and state government.
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