Jozwiak seeking third term in state House
GOP incumbent wants to keep 5th District seat
State Rep. Barry Jozwiak will be running for another term in the House.
Jozwiak said he has been honored to represent the 5th Legislative District. The Bern Township Republican stressed that as a former Pennsylvania State Police trooper, former Berks County sheriff and veteran of the Navy, his commitment to public service has been a constant part of his life.
“In the last five years, we have passed many important pieces of legislation while stopping efforts to raise sales and income taxes,” he said in a press release announcing his decision to run for a third term. “I’m proud to say that we provided balanced budgets, funded schools and made them safer, helped foster a stronger economy, protected our constitutional rights, never raised taxes and supported our farming communities.”
Jozwiak was first elected in 2015 to represent the district, which had been relocated from Erie in the redistricting that followed the 2010 Census. The district stretches across western and central Berks County. Its geographic footprint in Berks is the largest of any state House district, encompassing 19 municipalities in their entirety and part of Exeter Township.
Jozwiak said that during his time in office he has been a vocal supporter in the movement to eliminate school property taxes and adopt solutions to fairly fund public schools. If voters choose to give him another term, he said, he will continue to fight for those issues.
“I intend to go back to Harrisburg to continue to fight to eliminate property taxes and represent the interests of my constituents.” he said. “That’s why I humbly ask for the voters support in my reelection campaign for state representative.”
The 74-year-old said protecting the Second Amendment and supporting the agricultural industry are also important to him. He said has a voice on those matters as a member of the judiciary, game and fisheries, commerce and liquor control committees, and member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and National Rifle Association.
Jozwiak is the first Republican candidate to formally announce a run in the district in the April 28 primary.
Marion Township resident Thomas Weida, an optician at Wyomissing Optometric Center and former Medicare enrollment specialist at a firm contracted by the state’s Department of Human Services, has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination.
State representatives serve a two-year term and receive an annual salary of $90,300.