STATE SENATE
STATE SENATOR
Description of office: The General Assembly is the legislative branch of government in Pennsylvania. It is composed of two houses: the Senate is the upper house, and the House of Representatives is the lower house. A majority vote in both houses is necessary to pass a law. The Senate consists of 50 members, representing one district each, with an equal number of constituents. Senators must be at least 25 years old, have been a citizen and a resident of the state for four years and a resident of their district one year before their election, and shall reside in their district during their terms of service. The Senate develops budget packages, makes taxation decisions, allocates spending and passes laws (including redistricting in collaboration with the House of Representatives). In addition, the Senate tries officials impeached by the House and authorizes executive appointments. Senators serve on various policy committees that may propose legislation. There are no term limits to this office.
Term: 4 years
Salary: $95,432
Candidates were asked: What issue(s) would you prioritize, and how would you work with others in government to get legislation passed and signed into law?
14TH DISTRICT
Lehigh and Northampton counties
Lehigh County: Allentown Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19 and the townships of Hanover, Salisbury, South Whitehall Districts 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 and Whitehall and the boroughs of Catasauqua, Coplay, Emmaus and Fountain Hill.
Northampton County: the townships of Allen, Bushkill, East Allen, Hanover, Lehigh and Moore and the boroughs of Bath, Chapman, North Catasauqua, Northampton and Walnutport.
Democrat
Vote for one
NICK MILLER
Lehigh County
Website: nickmillerforpa.com Education: Penn State University - Bachelor of Science in Finance; University of Pennsylvania - Masters in Public Administration
and Law
Occupation: Vice President of the Allentown School Board
Qualifications: I have extensive experience working in the Allentown public school district, the ability to work well with community leaders, and a proven record of/// Response: I am placing fair education funding, women’s rights and access to abortion, as well as environmental conservation at the forefront of my campaign. I previously served as the Vice President on the Allentown School Board, so I have a first-hand account of how underfunding impacts our local schools districts and burdens local taxpayers. If elected, I will be sure to work with community leaders and the public to ensure that the///
TARA ZRINSKI
Website: www.vote4zrinski.org Education: Moravian Theological Seminary, MATS ‘05; MAPC ‘07; Drew University, B.A. ‘93
Occupation: Northampton County Commissioner, Adjunct Professor, Solar Energy Consultant
Qualifications: As an elected official for 5 years, I have been an active member of County Council, participating as Chair of the Energy, Environment and Land Use
Committee for the past///
Response: Environment, Education and the Economy. Bipartisan support and stakeholder buy-in are most important in getting legislation passed. I would use my experience as an environmental organizer to leverage both to create policies that benefit the working class and contribute to sound environmental policy that prioritizes people over profits. Education is a key issue because I am an educator and I see the disparity of outcomes from public K-12 education. We need to implement the fair///
YAMELISA TAVERAS
Lehigh County
Website: www.VoteYamelisa.com Education: Dual Bachelors degree from DeSales University, Masters Degree from Villanova University, PA Board Certified Advanced Drug and Alcohol Counselor Occupation: Program Director Qualifications: Community Leader, Advocate, and Humanitarian
Response: Investment in the local economy, access to mental health and substance use treatment, funding for education and the digital divide, medicare
accessibility, the housing crisis, and the environment.
Republican
Vote for one
CINDY MILLER
Northampton County
Education: MBA Wilkes University, BS Shippensburg University, Paralegal Certification Pennsylvania State University Occupation: Commercial Realtor Qualifications: Background in business, healthcare, and government. I am currently and for the last 10 years a Lehigh Township Supervisor.
Response: Economic Liberty Election Integrity Empower Parents Safe Communities. Serving as a Township Supervisor in Lehigh Township, I work to resolve the problem/issue using common sense and what is within the realm of law. I will stay focused on the issue to determine the resolution that best meets the needs of the 14th District and Pennsylvanians.
OMY J. MALDONADO
Northampton County
Website: www.omyforsenate.com Education: MBA
Occupation: Management Consultant Qualifications: Pennsylvania Resident, Military Veteran & a candidate who has shared life experiences with the people of the 14th district
Response: 1. Reviewing and cleaning up the voter rolls and passing mail-in ballot reform. I would work to communicate with others that these two items doesn’t favor anyone and caused a huge integrity issue every election. 2. Making Pennsylvania competitive by reducing the corporate tax. Every citizen and district is successful when companies want to make Pennsylvania their home. 3. School Choice - the true miracle and success of America is education. A person’s success should///
DEAN N. BROWNING
Lehigh County
Website: browningforsenate.com Education: M.S. in Industrial Management and a B.S. with honors in Chemistry Occupation: CFO — Retired Qualifications: Over 40 years of private sector business experience combined with legislative experience as a Lehigh County Commissioner.
Response: 1. Empowering parents on education by giving them a choice of where their kids go to school and by increasing online transparency so they can see what curriculum is being taught to their kids. 2. Working for energy independence by taking advantage of the natural resources under our feet and make Pennsylvania the world’s leading producer of low cost energy to bring back good-paying manufacturing jobs. 3. Demanding election integrity and eliminate fraud by mandating photo ID from every voter and end the use of drop boxes which facilitate ballot harvesting.
16TH DISTRICT
Lehigh County: Allentown Wards 13 and 18 and the townships of Heidelberg, Lower Macungie, Lower Milford, Lowhill, Lynn, North Whitehall, South Whitehall Districts 3, 6 and 8, Upper Macungie, Upper
Milford, Upper Saucon, Washington and Weisenberg and the boroughs of Alburtis, Coopersburg, Macungie and Slatington. Part of Bucks County consisting of the townships of Bedminster, Bridgeton, Durham, East Rockhill, Haycock, Hilltown, Milford, Nockamixon, Richland, Springfield, Tinicum and West Rockhill and the boroughs of Dublin, Perkasie, Quakertown, Richlandtown, Riegelsville, Sellersville, Silverdale, Telford (Bucks County portion) and Trumbauersville.
Democrat
Vote for one
MARK PINSLEY
Lehigh County
Website: www.votemarkpinsley.com
Education: MBA
Occupation: Lehigh County Controller Qualifications: Mark Pinsley is the Controller of Lehigh County, and grew up in Montgomery County, PA. He went to Northeastern University for his undergraduate degree and Kelley School of Business for his MBA. He has been Senior Manager at large multinational companies and currently owns a small///
Response: My top priority is making sure democracy survives and this comes down to voting. We are losing our ability to trust elections. This trust must be restored, and elections need to be thought of as legitimate and fair. In order to accomplish this, we need to speak to Democrats, Republicans, Independents, etc. I believe we need to make it Easy to Vote and Hard to Cheat. Other top priorities: Protect our Water, Air, and Land, Reduce///
Republican
Vote for one
PAT BROWNE
No response
JARRETT COLEMAN
Lehigh County
Website: www.JarrettColeman.com Education: MBA, B.S.
Occupation: Airline Pilot
Response: Election Integrity, term limits, pension removal, tax relief, transparency in public school curriculum to parents, protection of Second Amendment rights.
18TH DISTRICT
Part of Lehigh County consisting of Bethlehem and part of Northampton County consisting of Bethlehem and Easton and the townships of Bethlehem, Forks, Lower Mount Bethel, Lower Nazareth, Lower Saucon, Palmer, Plainfield, Upper Mount Bethel, Upper Nazareth, Washington and Williams and the boroughs of Bangor,
East Bangor, Freemansburg, Glendon, Hellertown, Nazareth, Pen Argyl, Portland, Roseto, Stockertown, Tatamy, West Easton, Wilson and Wind Gap.
Democrat
Vote for one
LISA BOSCOLA
Northampton County
Website: lisaboscola.com
Education: Freedom HS, Villanova - BS & MA in Political Science
Occupation: Senator in the PA General Assembly, 18th District
Qualifications: Current State Senator since 1999 & State Representative 135th District 1994- 1998
Response: My priority remains eliminating or reducing significantly property taxes for homeowners and replacing it with broader based taxes that are fairer. This is an issue I have worked across the aisle on already to make progress and will only get done in a bipartisan manner. School districts in the Lehigh Valley are overly reliant of property taxes because the Commonwealth does not fully implement the funding formula we need reduce property taxes and use additional///
Republican
Vote for one
JOHN MERHOTTEIN
Northampton County
Website: www.JohnForPASenate.com Education: Chubb Institute of Technology - Computer Programming
Occupation: Electronic Data Interchange Lead
Qualifications: Husband, Father, Combat Veteran, Township Commissioner Response: As a township commissioner, I am the only Republican currently serving on the Bethlehem Township board. I was honored to be elected President of our board because my colleagues know I work in a bipartisan manner and always put the interests of residents first. In the State Senate, I’ll serve in the exact same manner — always putting our families, workers, and small businesses before politics. I will focus on attracting good paying trade and manufacturing///