A retired pierogi company executive, the mother of a state lawmaker and a female combat veteran are among 12 newcomers seeking seats in the Pennsylvania Legislature from counties in and around the Lehigh Valley.
In separate interviews about their motivations and backgrounds, they talked recently about wanting to serve their chunk of Pennsylvania, help their political parties, do something about rising property taxes and straighten out kinks in education funding.
Statewide starting Tuesday, candidates (both newcomers and incumbents) in Pennsylvania’s 203 House districts and half its 50 Senate districts begin petitioning for support. Those who collect enough names over the next three weeks make the April 28 ballot.
The political stakes are high. Republicans hold a 110-93 advantage in the House and a 28-21 advantage in the Senate, where there is one independent. State lawmakers get a base pay of about $90,300 a year, plus other benefits.
In a previous round of interviews with The Morning Call, newcomer candidates for seats in Lehigh and Northampton counties described their intentions. All but one of the 12 candidates in the latest set of interviews live in Berks, Montgomery or Schuylkill counties.
Districts where incumbents decide not to seek re-election draw the most attention. Regionally they include seats held by Reps. Neal Goodman, Tom Caltagirone, Justin Simmons, Marcia Hahn and Marcy Toepel, among others.
Let’s start with those:
123rd District (Goodman retiring)
A nine-term Democrat, Goodman has said he will not seek reelection in the district that includes a large chunk of north-central Schuylkill County, including Frackville, Shenandoah and St. Clair.
Peter “P.J.” Symons Jr., who is 65 and was prothonotary of Schuylkill County for 16 years ending in 2011, plans to seek the open seat.
Symons, who lives in St. Clair, most recently worked for North Shore Railroad Co. and is running as a Democrat.
Previously, he won three terms as prothonotary as a Republican and one as a Democrat.
“It is a working class district,” Symons said. “I grew up in the 123rd. I have a lot of personal friends there. There are things I want to continue that Goodman has started.”
A first-time candidate for political office, Tim Twardzik, 60, of Butler Township has announced his intention to seek Goodman’s seat as a Republican.
Twardzik retired from his family’s business ? Shenandoah-based Ateeco Inc., the maker of Mrs. T’s Pierogies ? as an executive vice president. The company was started 67 years ago on his grandmother’s table in Shenandoah, Twardzik said, and today employs about 245 people.
Twardzik has had major roles with agencies including the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce and the Schuylkill County Industrial Development Authority, as well as Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Schuylkill branch.
He said he is running for the state House because “the coal region has good, loyal folks who sometimes feel left behind. We need to fight for jobs and fight blight.”
127th District (Caltagirone retiring)
The longest-serving member of the state House, Caltagirone, 77, recently announced he would retire after 22 terms.
His district in the heart of Berks County, which includes Reading, already has drawn announcements from three candidates.
One is Ray Baker, a 27-year-old assistant district attorney who has never run for political office.
A Democrat and resident of Reading, Baker said his primary concern is “poverty reform.” He said he wants to work on behalf of poor and working class people across the state.
“This county ? and frankly, the state as a whole ? lacks young, progressive voices,” Baker said.
Another announced Democratic candidate is Abraham Cepeda, a 33-year-old Reading resident and attorney in private practice.
Cepeda was elected to the Reading School Board, where he served as president. He also ran an unsuccessful campaign for a district judge job in Reading.
“I think the city of Reading and [the borough of] Kenhorst need new leadership that can work with other state representatives, and make sure we have more resources coming into the city,” Cepeda said.
A Republican, Vince Gagliardo Jr., said he will run for the seat again after an unsuccessful bid in 2018 to unseat Caltagirone.
Gagliardo, 58, serves on Kenhorst Borough Council and works at a family used vehicle and towing business. Nearly 20 years ago, before moving from Reading to Kenhorst, Gagliardo ran an unsuccessful campaign for city mayor.
“I want to help the Republican Party do away with property taxes, and taxes completely for seniors on Social Security,” said Gagliardo, who also wants to raise the minimum wage.
131st District (Simmons leaving)
Simmons announced in December he would not seek reelection to a sixth term in the House representing parts of Lehigh, Northampton and Montgomery counties.
Among candidates who previously said they would run for the vacant seat are Democrat Kevin Branco and Republicans Vicki Lightcap and Nathan Brown.
Also on the list is Milou Mackenzie, a 69-year-old resident of Lower Saucon Township.
She is the mother of state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, a Republican seeking reelection in the 134th District. She said it will be her first try for elective office.
Milou Mackenzie, a Republican, has owned a business for decades.
She decided to seek the House seat because she wanted it to stay in the hands of Republicans, she said, and public service runs deep in her family.
She said, “I am a strict conservative.”
138th District (Hahn retiring)
Just before Christmas, Hahn announced her intention to retire. A Republican, she has held the Northampton County House seat since 2010.
A Democrat, Tara Zrinski, and a Republican, Ann Flood, have said they intend to seek the seat.
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147th District (Toepel retiring)
Two candidates said they intend to seek the seat now held by Toepel, which covers a piece of northwestern Montgomery County that includes Gilbertsville, Perkiomenville and Harleysville.
Toepel has held the seat since 2010.
Tracy Pennycuick, 55, of Lower Salford Township said she will run as a Republican.
Pennycuick is a combat veteran who served in the Army for 26 years, including time in Iraq, Afghanistan and Operation Desert Storm.
She said it is her first run for elective office.
School funding and reduction of a massive deficit in state pension funds are two issues that motivated her to run. Rising property taxes to pay for schools, she said, “are forcing our seniors out of Montgomery County” and preventing young adults from buying homes.
Jill Dennin, a 57-year-old resident of Douglass Township, said she will run as a Democrat.
Dennin, a part-time substitute teacher, is a member of the Boyertown School Board and has been elected to that position twice.
Her main issues, she said, are equitable funding for schools and property tax reform — as opposed to property tax relief.
“The cuts made in the Corbett administration to basic education funding have not been restored,” Dennin said. To fill the gap, she said, “I am very optimistic that we can put our heads together and come up with something better than the total elimination of property taxes.”
Incumbents facing opposition
In at least five House districts and one Senate district in the region, potential newcomers to state government have said they will seek the seats of incumbents who have announced reelection campaigns or who have not announced plans to retire.
Those include the House seats held by Zachary Mako, Gary Day, Jerry Knowles, Jack Rader and Rosemary Brown, as well as the Senate seat held by Judy Schwank.
Democrat Jason Ruff has said he intends to run against Mako, a Republican who holds the 183rd District seat. And, Democrat Michael Blichar Jr. intends to run against incumbent Republican Gary Day in the 187th District.
124th District
In the 124th District, which includes parts of Schuylkill, Berks and Carbon counties, Democrat Taylor Picone said he plans to challenge Republican incumbent Jerry Knowles.
Picone, 31, lives in Windsor Township, Berks County, and will be a first-time candidate for public office.
Picone is a full-time student working on master’s degree. He has been a member of the National Guard for 14 years.
He was a Republican earlier in his life, he said, and became a Democrat because “some of my core values changed.”
Picone said people from his generation need to become involved in government problem-solving and then make informed, educated decisions. His approach to legislating, he said, would be proactive.
176th District
Republican Rep. Jack Rader, whose 176th District covers much of the western half of Monroe County, will face at least one challenger.
Claudette Williams, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully against Rader in 2018, said she will run again this year.
Williams, who is 55 and president of Mount Pocono Borough Council, garnered more than 45% of the vote in her 2018 bid.
Williams retired from the Army with 30 years of service. She ran for borough council and now is running for the Legislature, she said, out of a desire to serve.
She said, “I have decided to answer the call, as I did with the military.”
189th District
Incumbent Republican Rosemary Brown, whose 189th District flanks the New Jersey border in Monroe and Pike counties, also will have at least one challenger.
Democrat Adam Rodriguez, a 56-year-old resident of Middle Smithfield Township, is a graphic designer.
He ran an unsuccessful campaign in 2018 to unseat Brown, but garnered more than 41% of the vote. Previously, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Monroe County commissioner.
Rodriquez said he was motivated by seeking equality and justice for working people and the middle class, and he said the gap in wages between the top 10% of earners and the other 90% was unacceptably large.
He said, “The primary issue during the campaign will be property taxes.”
11th Senate District
Democrat state Sen. Judy Schwank, who represents a central swath of Berks County including Reading, will have at least one challenger.
Republican Annette Baker, a 52-year-old resident of Brecknock Township, has never run for elective office.
Having finished home-schooling two of her sons, she said she is working with the third.
Baker said property taxes and education are the top issues for her campaign.
Concerning education, she said, “We are putting more money in and we are not seeing a return on the investment.”
She said lawmakers seem to grapple with the same issues year after year but no solutions are reached.
Baker said, “I want to bring a different perspective to Harrisburg.”
Morning Call reporter Ford Turner can be reached at 717-783-7305 or fturner@mcall.com
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