GOP state House candidates talk economy, schools, elections
MIDDLESEX TWP — Voters heard from five Republican candidates and ambassadors representing four other candidates for the state’s General Assembly at a forum hosted by the Republican Women of Butler County Tuesday night.
The candidates, who are running for the state House of Representatives in Districts 8, 11, 12 and 17, spoke at length about issues important to them and answered myriad questions posed by voters.
Frequently the topics brought up by either voters or candidates had to do with ways to keep taxes low and rein in spending in Harrisburg, ensure school curriculums are fair and maintain election integrity.
State Rep. Tim Bonner, R-8th, who is running for District 17, said the current method of funding schools may be inadequate for both school funding and parental choice.
“You’re likely to see, in the next few years, a revolutionary change in funding,” Bonner said, adding that property taxes collected for schools may be disbursed in a way to allow parents more choice.
In response to a voter question about whether critical race theory — primarily a postsecondary education topic — should be taught in schools, both Gregg Semel and Stephenie Scialabba, who are running for District 12, said it should be prohibited in public schools.
Scialabba said she believes schools should face strict financial penalties if they teach critical race theory, while Semel said the history of the U.S. should not be taught in a way that “criminalizes” America’s past.
“We should teach our heritage, not rewrite it,” he said.
Two school board members running for District 8 laid out different views on how they would approach their first days if elected. Eric DiTullio, who currently serves as Seneca Valley school board president, said he thinks a long-term financial plan for the commonwealth would best serve Pennsylvanians.
“I believe that, if you take care of your financial house, you can take care of the rest of the problems,” DiTullio said. “The first thing I want to see is a balanced budget.”
Mars Area school board president John Kennedy said, while he doesn’t know that he would introduce legislation on his first day, the state legislature should address problems leading to deaths of despair — such as drug overdoses — by focusing on mental health treatment and making available tools for recreational drug users to ensure drugs are not tainted with fentanyl.
Although some candidates did not appear, they did send “ambassadors” to address voter questions and to promulgate their political opinions.
In District 8, Kristen Vargo, ambassador for state Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-10th, said while she couldn’t represent Bernstine’s opinions on climate change, the incumbent representative would not address the issue by imposing taxes or other burdens on small businesses.
Donna Timko, as ambassador for her husband, Scott Timko, a candidate in District 12, said he would work hard to ensure more tax dollars come back to the district to help invest in infrastructure.
“We send a lot of our tax dollars to Harrisburg and not a lot of it comes back,” she said. “We need a representative who’s actually going to funnel it back to us. We’re paying the money; we should be reaping the benefits.”
Both candidates in the 11th District sent an ambassador. Zach Scherer, who represented the views of candidate Jennifer Steele, repeatedly touched on the importance of election security and integrity, a keystone of Steele’s campaign.
“Absolutely not,” Scherer said in response to a question about whether there are free and fair elections.
Ambassador for State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, Trish Lindsay, vice chairwoman of the county Republican Party, said Mustello’s experience as an incumbent — particularly as the county has fewer representatives in the state House — would be beneficial to Butler County as a whole.
Dayle Ferguson, of the county Republican Women, said she hoped the more than two-hour-long “informational session” was helpful to voters, and emphasized the group does not endorse any particular candidate.
