Jim Christiana says he has model to fix D.C.

Post-Gazette Washington Bureau

It takes a lot of coffee to run for federal office while serving in the state House, attending law school at night and raising a toddler.

And Jim Christiana knows it will take more than caffeine to accomplish what he’d like to in Washington. But after nearly a decade in Harrisburg, the Beaver Republican says he’s got a model to bring just enough cohesiveness to the U.S. Senate to move it closer to the vision he has for his country.

First he’s got to get past Lou Barletta, the former Hazleton mayor who has been in Congress since 2011. The two will face voters in the Republican primary on May 15, and the winner will try to unseat incumbent Democrat Bob Casey, who has more name recognition in Pennsylvania and more experience in Washington.

Mr. Christiana says his lack of Washington experience is an asset in a climate where voters are frustrated by what he sees as a lack of progress in D.C.

“In many ways the culture in Washington is broken,” he said. “But I feel like in the last 10 years I’ve discovered the model of how to be a productive legislator.”

He’s had success with his model, too, he said, citing four legislative achievements in Harrisburg. The first was working with state Rep. Dan Frankel — a Squirrel Hill Democrat with far different policy priorities — on legislation that led to a deal to provide patient access to physicians during a stalemate between UPMC and Highmark.

The second was his work on a package of tax credits that lured Shell to build an ethane cracker plant in Beaver County.

The third was his government transparency bills that created PennWATCH and SchoolWATCH, searchable online databases of state government and school spending.

Fourth was his work with state Sen. Anthony Williams, DPhiladelphia, to expand education tax credits. Mr. Christiana credits the legislation with saving private schools throughout