Paul Friel: “The character of our community is at stake”

Paul Friel, candidate for State House in District 26, writes:

In 2019, I decided to run for the Owen J. Roberts School Board after raising my four children in the district. I wanted to ensure the success of the district’s future, and my 25 years in executive management prepared me to deliver unique solutions to complex issues.

But I soon realized that the problems that inspired my candidacy in the first place stretched beyond the boundaries of our local government.Today, our community faces threats to our environment, education, and local economy that demand state-level solutions.

I feel lucky that I was able to grow up, and then raise my own children, surrounded by our beautiful open spaces.We must protect these vital natural resources for future generations, like for my first grandchild due this fall. Clean soil, water, and air are a necessity for our families, and we need to safeguard these rights as we seek to modernize our infrastructure.

I want to see that all children have the same opportunities that I did, where my parents’ hard work as a teacher and electrician allowed me to be the first in my family to attend college. We’ll achieve this by ensuring a healthy middle class with goodpaying jobs, and by making sure every child has access to a highquality, well-resourced education regardless of their zip code.

We need to ensure small businesses have the support that they need to survive, which this crisis has made even more clear.A local economy benefits everyone; these businesses enrich our lives as consumers and have a stake in our community.

This vision isn’t new, or mine alone — it was the promise of the area that I grew up in.

But the 26th district has changed, while our responses to these dynamics haven’t. And now, the character of our community is at stake.

Our property taxes continue to rise, pricing seniors out of the homes they’ve lived in for decades.The needs of small businesses have been sidelined, hurting the foundation of our local economy. Prices of health services go unchecked, leaving families with the choice between buying their medication or putting food on the table.The number of small farms in Chester County dwindles year after year, threatening to make family agriculture a memory of our past rather than a reality for our future.

These are problems affecting all of us, and problems for which we have the common-sense, locally-minded solutions to get us back on the right path. But for too long we’ve had representatives who haven’t been challenged to do the work to get us there.

The people who are supposed to advocate for us have watched the same problems affecting our community and have failed to provide an answer.We need to demand more than that.

I believe in our community: our neighbors, our small businesses, and our local farmers. I believe that hard work should allow families and small businesses to thrive, but in this reality, hard work isn’t enough. I believe we need change in Harrisburg, which begins with a representative that works exclusively for us, the constituents and members of this district. If you feel the same, join us in voting for change on November 3rd.

Paul Friel is a candidate for the Pennsylvania State House in District 26, covering parts of Pottstown and northern Chester County. He is the owner of PACE Environmental and sits on the Owen J. Roberts School Board.To learn more, visit www.PaulFriel.com.

Paid for by Paul Friel for PA