Erie businessman and attorney Dan Pastore said he wants to serve all citizens of the 16th district equally and end the extreme political partisanship that he says incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly of Butler embraces.

Pastore, a Democrat, is challenging Kelly in the Nov. 8 election, hoping to end the Republican's six-term incumbency.

In a recent meeting with members of the Butler Eagle editorial department, Pastore said that Kelly tried to disenfranchise district constituents by filing lawsuits to challenge the state's mail-in voting law and to decertify the state’s vote in the 2020 presidential election. He said Kelly, as late as this year’s primary, has continued to support the claim that former President Donald Trump won reelection in 2020.

Pastore said Kelly reached the pinnacle of partisan politics when he filed a lawsuit to decertify the results from Pennsylvania in the 2020 election in which President Joe Biden defeated Trump.

“To take away the vote of your own constituents – that's the height of partisanship,” Pastore said.

Pennsylvania's mail-in voting law was passed with Republican support, and Kelly had ample time before the election to challenge the law, but he didn't until after the election, he said.

“It was part of a concerted effort to overturn the election in Western Pennsylvania,” Pastore said.

Democrats, independent voters and moderate Republicans agree that country's principles of democracy are at risk if elected officials can't agree on who won an election and cast doubt about the legitimacy of the election process and the president, he said.

Better leadership is needed to end that divisiveness, which has permeated nearly all aspects of society, he said.

“I think it's tearing our country apart. We have to get back to being more bipartisan,” Pastore said.

He said he agreed with some of Trump’s policies, but some of Trump’s other policies marginalized some people and American allies.

He said competing against Kelly in Butler is a challenge, but he said he would treat everybody in the district equally. He said he would make public schedules with the dates he would spend in district offices so residents can make plans to meet with him.

The district encompasses Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer counties.

Another issue in the election is inflation.

Pastore said inflation wasn't an issue when he began his campaign, but it now is the main issue.

People are struggling to afford food and gasoline, but inflation is a complex global problem with no easy solutions, he said.

Increasing domestic production of gas and oil would increase supply and give the country time to transition to a clean-energy economy, Pastore said.

He said he supports temporarily suspending the federal fuel tax to lower fuel costs, which have risen as a result of Russia's war with Ukraine.

The federal Inflation Reduction Act will reduce the cost of prescription medications and create incentives for creating jobs, he said. The act was signed into law in August.

Rebuilding the economy is another top priority, and finding ways to get businesses to move to the district would help, he said.

Pastore lamented that Erie was once the third-largest city in the state, but loss of employment opportunities caused people to move away to find work.

Erie is now the fifth-largest city based on population.

“We lost population because we lost jobs that kept people in our area,” he said.

The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 brought money that was needed in the district to repair aging infrastructure, but Kelly voted against it, Pastore said.

He said the country needs secure borders, and immigrants entering the country should be treated humanely.

The border patrol should have all the resources it needs, and immigration courts should be fully funded, he said.

He said he doesn't support the actions of some border-state governors who have been sending immigrants to other states.

Immigration laws should be reformed through legislation, not by administrative action.

Regarding Ukraine, Pastore said the country is an ally, and the actions being taken by the U.S. are appropriate. He said American troops should not be deployed.

Since January 2021, the U.S. has committed $13.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, according to the Department of Defense.

Russia can't be allowed to take land in Ukraine by force, like the Nazis did in Europe leading up to World War II, he said.

There should be more international outrage at Russia for attacking civilians, he said.

The border that existed between Russia and Ukraine before Russia invaded should be restored, but the U.S. should object if Ukraine tries take additional territory from Russia, Pastore said.

Another issue involving Russia is the incarceration of Butler native Marc Fogel.

Pastore said all diplomatic efforts should be used to have Fogel and other imprisoned Americans, including WNBA star Brittney Griner, returned to the U.S. He said famous people such as Griner should not be prioritized over others.

Fogel, a 61-year-old husband and father of two who lives in Oakmont, Allegheny County, has been detained since August 2021 when he was found in possession of less than an ounce of medical marijuana after he landed at an airport to return to a Anglo-American school in Moscow where he worked as a teacher. He was prescribed the medication in the United States, but marijuana is illegal in Russia. He has been sentenced to serve 14 years in a penal colony.

This is Pastore's first time seeking an elected public office, but he has served as an appointed member of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission representing District 1, which includes Butler, Clarion, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, Crawford, Erie, Forest and Warren counties, since 2019. Commission appointments are made by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.

At age 10, he said he began working for Pastore Builders, founded in the 1950s by his late father and uncles in Erie. It is one of largest contractors and property owners in Erie, he said.

He said he received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and then received his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He said he had cases in state, federal and appeals courts, and served as solicitor for municipal entities while he worked for an Erie law firm.

In 1994, Pastore and three others started Erie.net, the first internet provider in Erie. Six years later, he and his brother started FishUSA as an online tackle business. As FishUSA grew, he devoted his full-time efforts to the business and stopped practicing law.

The business now has a retail store in Fairview Township, Erie County, and employs about 60 people, he said.

He said he has been married to his wife, who also is from Erie, for 35 years. They have three grown children and a grandchild.

16th congressional district

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The new 16th congressional district encompasses all of Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer counties and part of Venango County.

Following the 2020 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania lost one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, leaving it with 17 districts.

As lines shifted to make up for the one missing seat, Butler County found itself with one representative covering the entire county.

The new district map was approved by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Feb. 23 and goes into effect in January.

The 15th District, currently held by U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, and the 17th District, currently held by Conor Lamb, will no longer represent any part of the county. The 16th District covers the entirety of it.