Malagari in race to be Democratic candidate for 53rd
Steve Malagari points to his grandparents, who were immigrants to the United States, and his parents as instilling in him a sense of service that led him to a seat on Lansdale Borough Council and his current candidacy to become the Democratic nominee in this year’s Pennsylvania House of Representatives 53rd District race.
“The ideals that they instilled in me as I was growing up stuck
with me about helping other people and trying to make the working class rise up and make a better life for themselves, watching out for one who doesn’t have as much as you do, or lending a helping hand, giving them a solid foundation to create a life for themselves,” he said.
Malagari, now in his second term on council, said he was born and raised in Lansdale; graduated from North Penn High School after attending Knapp Elementary School; became an Eagle Scout; was an exchange student to Germany in high school and again in college; graduated from Ursinus College in 2006; worked in molecular genetic testing for six years; and now is a sales consultant for a beverage distributor. His wife, Rachel, is a social worker, he said.
“Once I ran for council and got on council, we ended up doing a lot of good in Lansdale, revitalizing the town and working to create a vibrant community that people wanted to be here, worked on our roads, worked on the infrastructure,” he said, “and started
to create a thriving economy for our downtown.”
Priorities in his campaign for state office include fiscal responsibility, infrastructure maintenance and improvement, economic development, education and watching out for senior citizens, according to campaign information.
His mother, now retired, was a public school teacher, Malagari said.
“My platform is solid support of our education system,” he said.
“We need a system that allows for our students to thrive and our teachers to teach and allows for them to have the tools to teach,” he said. “We need to find good investment platforms and revenue streams to make sure that we can keep our public education systems top-notch.”
Both the North Penn and Souderton Area school districts are good school districts, which helps attract people to the 53rd District, he said.
“In Harrisburg, I’ll fight for education funding. I’ll fight to protect teachers and I’ll fight to help protect the public pensions,” Malagari said. “That’s an important benefit that people paid into that they’re relying on.”
Infrastructure improvements are also important, he said.
“Pennsylvania’s known for their roads, and not in a good way,” he said.
Malagari, who is a Montgomery County Transportation Authority member, said a 2016 report rated about 4,500 roads and bridges in Pennsylvania deficient. Montgomery County has started working on its infrastructure, but there’s still a lot to be done, he said.
“There are road projects that still need to be done, traffic signals that need to be updated and there’s a lot of bridges that still need to be repaired, and that’s not just here, but that’s across the commonwealth and we need to make sure that we actually take care of that because we need an infrastructure that will foster economic growth,” Malagari said.
He said he supports completion of the connector route between Route 309 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which will help attract more businesses to the 53rd District.
Montgomery County has the most manufacturing jobs of any county in the state, he said.
Continued investment in vocational training for
high-tech manufacturing is needed, he said.
“We need to have the education system to support the workers that will be coming in the future. There are an amazing amount of opportunities within our district and we need to have the education system to support that,” Malagari said. “The students of today need to be trained and
prepared for the jobs of tomorrow.”
He said he also wants to make sure that immigrants living here are protected.
“They need to know that we support them and that they’re part of this American story,” Malagari said.
“We have a very diverse community here and that’s what makes our community great,” he said.
Small business is the fabric of the country, Malagari said.
He sees a lot of small businesses in his work, he
said.
“I see the needs that these small businesses have and I understand that they want a thriving community so that their business will be supported,” he said. “They want good infrastructure so that people can get there.”
Protecting the environment is another priority, he said.
In answer to a question about proposals to cut the number of state legislators, Malagari said he needs more information before making his decision.
“If they can make a good case for it, then fine, but if it affects services of the constituents, then I don’t know if I would support it,” he said. “I need to see some more data on that to see how it would affect the constituent services and also accessibility to your representative.”
Constituent services are not a representative’s only job, but are an important part of it, he said.
“You should be present in your district and you should be able to help people,” he said.
Information about Malagari and his campaign is available at the votemalagari.com website.
In a release announcing his candidacy, Malagari said he currently chairs Lansdale Borough Council’s Public Works committee, along with serving on its Library and Economic Development committees and as council’s representative to the Lansdale Borough Planning Commission. The 53rd District includes Lansdale, Hatfield Borough, Hatfield Township, Souderton,
Franconia, Salford Township and the Montgomery County portion of Telford. The seat is currently held by Replican Bob Godshall, who is not running for reelection this year after 36 years in office. Lansdale Borough Council member Leon Angelichio and Franconia Township Parks and Recreation Board member Doug Killough are also running to be the Democratic nominee.
Primary election day is scheduled for Tuesday, May 15. The general election will be on Tuesday, Nov. 6.