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.
County
Montgomery
Occupation
State Senator
Education
BA English Literature, JD, BS Nursing
Qualifications
I have been honored to serve the people of PA SD 12 since 2019 and have served in a leadership position in my caucus since 2020. I have brought the skills from my backgrounds as an attorney and a nurse to the legislature to advance policy that will positively impact the lives of Pennsylvanians.
Affordability - Lowering costs for families and small businesses, protecting household stability, and ensuring economic opportunity remains accessible across every region of the Commonwealth.
Clean and Safe Communities - Supporting public safety, environmental responsibility, infrastructure investment, and neighborhood revitalization so communities remain places where people can live, work, and grow with confidence.
Preparing Tomorrow’s Workforce - Strengthening education, workforce training, and career pathways that connect Pennsylvanians to good-paying jobs and a competitive economy.
I am supportive of legislative initiatives that would increase the number of secure ballot drop boxes in each county, require county boards of election to transition to electronic poll books by 2027, create a post-election audit process, allow counties to process and pre-canvass mail-in ballots before Election Day, protect election workers from harassment, intimidation, and doxxing, increase transparency and security requirements for voting machine vendors, and enact measures to protect voters from disinformation and harassment intended to discourage turnout.
Having had the opportunity to see the budget process up close - both as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee in my first two years and as a member throughout my 2 terms - I believe that requiring consistent 5-party meetings among the Governor and the leaders of the 4 caucuses leads to better opportunity for compromise and collaboration and keeps the pressure on leadership in conjunction with the administration to reach agreements and advance a budget in a timely manner. These meetings would also increase transparency as leadership reports to members who, in turn, are able to communicate with constituents about how the process is unfolding.
Yes, the state has a responsibility to pass legislation that puts guardrails in place around data center development to ensure the safety of every community across the Commonwealth. Because we know that data center development without regulation in any part of our Commonwealth necessarily impacts the entirety of our Commonwealth's energy rates and environmental safety.
County
Montgomery
Occupation
Teacher
Education
M.Ed. in Special Education, B.A. English-Secondary Education. Both degrees are from Holy Family University.
Qualifications
I am a state of Pennsylvania certified teacher.
The most pressing issues in state Senate District 12 are affordability, repairing our state roads and intersections, helping our senior citizens, and public safety. Families and retirees are struggling with rising school and local taxes, utility bills, and everyday expenses. I support property tax relief programs so that seniors are not taxed out of their homes, and backing our police, fire, and EMS services. Additionally, I am committed to fixing our deteriorating state roads and lowering utility costs. Lastly, I will reduce the PA inheritance tax by 50%, so families are not burdened with paying the state government for something beyond their control.
Elections should be secure, accessible, and transparent. It is important that we maintain the integrity of our election system to maintain voter confidence. We should make it easier for people to update their voter registration because the voter rolls do not always have the most up to date information about each voter. The burden is placed on the voters to update their registration, and this is not always done in a timely manner. For example, once someone sells their home, their voter registration should be reviewed and updated by the Pennsylvania Department of State to list their new residence in a timely manner. Another change I would make to the election process is giving voters the ability to watch the vote counting process online.
The state budget process needs reform. Pennsylvania has a long history of late budgets, which creates real disruption for many stakeholders that depend on state funding. If the budget is not passed by the June 30 deadline, legislators and the governor should forfeit their pay until it is enacted. Budget negotiations also happen too often behind closed doors between legislative leaders and the governor. I would support a bill to require budget negotiations to take place in public. Budget negotiations should start earlier in the year, rather than waiting until the deadline approaches.
The development and operation of data centers can have significant impacts on water, energy, and land use. This often crosses municipal boundaries, so this makes some level of state oversight appropriate. Water consumption and energy demand do not stop at municipality borders. A patchwork of local rules is insufficient to address data center challenges effectively therefore state oversight on this issue is necessary. At the same time, Pennsylvania municipalities have long held zoning and land use authority under the Municipal Planning Code. That authority should be preserved. The state should work with township officials to recommend the most suitable locations for data center facilities because each municipality has its own unique needs.
