3 running for District 8 seat
Three Republican candidates will appear on the ballot in Pennsylvania House District 8 in the primary election May 17.
Incumbent Aaron Bernstine, who serves the 10th District, is running for the 8th District as territories have realigned through redistricting. He is running alongside John L. Kennedy, of Middlesex Township, and Eric Ditullio, of Lancaster Township.
After the 2022 redistricting of state Legislature boundaries, the 8th District consists of Butler County's Brady, Center, Clay, Connoquenessing, Forward, Franklin, Lancaster, Middlesex, Muddy Creek, Penn and Worth townships; and Connoquenessing, Portersville, Prospect, West Liberty and West Sunbury boroughs.
New to the district are Connoquenessing, Forward, Middlesex, Penn and Lancaster townships, as well as Connoquenessing and Prospect boroughs.
Some municipalities have moved to other restructured districts, including Cherry, Marion and Mercer townships, as well as Harrisville borough.
Bernstine, a resident of New Beaver, Lawrence County, was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2016 for the current 10th district. He said he has served on various committees while in office.
“I was appointed to numerous committees ... the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, the Insurance Committee. The most relevant ones are the Health Committee and Fish and Game Committee,” he said.
According to Bernstine, he seeks to provide a high level of service to the 8th district if elected and will focus on a strong legislative agenda and other initiatives.
“It’s not enough to run for office and say ‘we’ll figure it out when we get there.’ I’m laser-focused on tax reform, making sure we stand for our Second Amendment rights and the Taxpayer Protection Act,” he said. “It’s important to have people in office who understand the job. Now is not the time for on-the-job training.”
Bernstine added that he intends to use his experience to make connections among leaders on multiple levels of government.
“I look forward to working with local municipalities on economic growth and continuing to build relationships connecting local leaders with state leaders,” he said.
Ditullio has served Seneca Valley School District for 12 years on the school board and also as a member on the boards for Midwestern Intermediate Unit 4 and Public School Employee Retirement System (PSERS). He said his inspiration to run for District 8 started with these opportunities.
“I always said, ‘If you complain about the government, be voting, and if you’re voting and still complaining, get involved.’ I started looking into the problems facing school boards in the commonwealth and found that Harrisburg is the source of these problems. I want to take steps to make sure these aren’t happening again,” he said.
According to Ditullio, the issues he sees in the 8th District are not unique but are problems shared with other districts as well.
“The economy is always an issue; how we use resources and how our children are educated and not overpaying in taxes are too,” he said.
If elected to District 8, Ditullio said he hopes to take actions based on the collective voice of the people.
"I hope to get rid of political compromise and do things based on consensus,“ he said. ”Usually when you compromise, there are losers.“
Kennedy said he’s running with 11 years of experience serving on the board of Mars Area School District, with three of those years acting as board president.
“In those 11 years, Mars has only raised taxes one time, and I voted ‘no’ at that time. So we’ve never raised taxes in the district because of me,” he said.
If elected, Kennedy said he wants to take advantage of different natural resource industry possibilities that the district offers.
“There’s a huge opportunity for the community with the gas and gravel industries and natural resources all through the district. I think we’re getting left behind on them,” he said. “I’m 100% for environmental safety, but I think we should be more open to gas and oil industry than they have been in the past 10 years. I also want to get more small businesses in Butler and Lawrence counties, especially in Ellwood City.”
Kennedy said he wants to represent the people of District 8 well.
“I want to be a voice for the community. I want to be known as a person who solves problems rather than causing them,” he said. “I want to take the needs of the people to Harrisburg.”
“I see things that could be done,” Kennedy said, “and that need (to be) done in Pa.”
