Pennsylvania State Senator District 1
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: $106,422 Vote for ONE.
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Nikil Saval
(Dem)
What do you see as the most pressing issues facing Pennsylvanians, and how would you address them?
What changes would you support making to Pennsylvania’s voting laws to expand access, ensure security, and support local election officials and processes?
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?
What changes, if any, would you support making to Pennsylvania’s abortion laws?
County
Philadelphia
Occupation
State Senator, Writer
Education
Columbia University — NYC, NY — B.A. Stanford University — Stanford, CA — PhD in English
HOUSING- Every PA resident deserves a safe, affordable home with easy access to the jobs, schools, services, transportation networks, and other amenities that shape their quality of life. Whether through new protections for renters, the development of new affordable housing projects, or the full-scale implementation of programs like Whole Homes Repair, this is the time to make a generation-defining investment in deeply affordable, green, and equitable housing
nter response
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND SAFETY-Pennsylvania is a world leader in mass incarceration, whose incarceration rate exceeds those of every country in the world, including our own. It is past time to make Pennsylvania a leader in mass liberation, not mass incarceration by reducing
We must institute universal early voting, vote by mail, automatic voter registration of everyone of voting age and same day registration. Right now, Pennsylvania robs people who have been swept up by the mass incarceration system of the right to vote. This system disenfranchises countless voters who are primarily poor, Black, and brown. We must also do targeted outreach of Black, brown and immigrant communities year round so that our communities are not merely asked to vote but truly engaged in the process of governing ourselves.Partisan redistricting encourages cynicism about the electoral process, and reduces the need for parties to engage in outreach and organizing. future redistricting should take place under an independent commission.
Raise new funding equitably to ensure every public school delivers a high standard of learning and supports students social, emotional, and material needs. Enact a fair share tax plan to raise additional money for schools through taxes that primarily impact wealthy individuals and profitable businesses, and put this new appropriation through the fair funding formula to ensure increased levels of support staff and lower class sizes in high-needs school districts.
I have voted against Republican attempts to limit abortion, and I have spoken out against the funding of crisis pregnancy centers in every budget hearing. I have also consistently spoken out about book bans and curriculum distortions throughout the Commonwealth. I joined and promoted demonstrations in my district after the Dobbs decision came out in 2022. I was a leading elected official organizing the protests against the Moms for Liberty conference which took place in my district, publicly writing and speaking out against the institutions (such as the Museum of the American Revolution, for which I organized a letter of all the state officials representing the institution) that were hosting them for this event.
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