Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
VOTERS CAST BALLOTS IN STATE HOUSE RACES
As America grapples with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism, Pennsylvania, as well as several other states and Washington, D.C., held primary elections Tuesday.
For the first time in Pennsylvania history, all registered voters in the commonwealth had the option to vote by mail with a “no-excuse” absentee ballot. While many voters in Chester County cast their ballots through the mail, others chose to vote in person at their local polling places on Election Day.
The Democratic primary featured several competitive races for seats covering Chester County in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, but there were no contested races in the Republican primary for state House districts in the county.
26th House District
Paul Friel, 50, and Frank Gillen, 27, faced off in the Democratic primary for the 26th House District, which includes municipalities in northern Chester County and part of the borough of Pottstown, Montgomery County. The winner will be up against incumbent state Rep. Tim Hennessey, of North Coventry, the most senior Republican in the state House, who’s seeking a 14th term.
As of press time, Friel led the race in Chester County municipalities with 2,465 votes, while Gillen had 1,016 votes.
All vote totals are unofficial until certified by the Chester County Board of Elections and may not reflect the final tallies of absentee or “no-excuse” vote by mail ballots.
Friel, a member of the Owen J. Roberts School Board, is the owner of Pace Environmental.
Gillen has never held elected office and is a senior financial analyst at BNY Mellon.
Gillen said he was “inspired to run for office” due to “the current political climate in our country.”
“I believe too many of the current elected officials in both our national and state government are career politicians that are not doing right by their constituents. I am not a career politician, and I believe with my experience in the financial sector, I can make much more efficient and responsible changes to the states fiscal policy that would increase the benefits given back to the people of the 26th District, without increasing the tax burden on the taxpayers,” Gillen wrote in response to a MediaNews Group candidate questionnaire.
Friel wrote “this district and the surrounding area are changing, and we need to elect reasonable people who will represent our communities, not play party politics. As I ran for school board and understood the inequity of school funding and the burden Harrisburg places on local property tax to fund Public schools, I began to understand the impact this office could have.”
155th House District
Freshman state Rep. Danielle Friel Otten, of Uwchlan, fielded a challenge from Rose Danese, a medical technologist at Chester County Hospital, in the Democratic primary for the 155th House District, which includes municipalities in eastern Chester County. Michael T. Taylor, an attorney from Uwchlan, ran unopposed in the Republican
primary.
As of press time, Otten was ahead with 2,427 votes to Danese’s 1,002 votes.
In 2018, Otten, 42, bested three-term incumbent Republican Rep. Becky Corbin by nine percentage points to return the seat to the Democrats for the first time in 28 years, as previously reported by the Daily Local News.
“Our work has only just begun,” she told MediaNews Group. “I ran for office in 2018, because I learned about how the same corporate interests that were putting a dangerous pipeline through my community were making regular contributions to my state representative’s campaign.
“I wanted to give my community a voice that mattered and could not be bought. Those same interests are now spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy my neighbors’ voice back, so they can roll over our communities like they own the place. I’m not about to let them.”
Danese, 56, is a newcomer in running for political office, but describes herself as a life-long Democrat. She is also a musician and plays the guitar and bass.
“I have done my very best to run a positive campaign and put forth my own ideas and beliefs,” Danese said. “Throughout this campaign, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with many people.
“My eyes have been opened to the divisions in our community and, if elected, I will work to heal them as best as I can. I will do my best to be accessible and responsive to everyone, and if I disagreed with someone, I would do so with respect and honesty. It would be an honor to represent the citizens of the 155th District and,” Danese said, “I humbly ask for your vote.”
She said, “I decided to run for state representative because there were a few important issues that I felt were not being addressed as urgently as I would like to see. The first is the opioid epidemic. It seems to me that most people in government do not have a deep enough understanding of addiction. If elected, I will always listen with an open mind to learn what people’s concerns and ideas are.”
160th House District
Cathy Spahr and Anton Andrew faced off in the Democratic primary for the 160th House District, which includes municipalities in southern Chester County and some municipalities in western Delaware County.
The seat is currently held by state Rep. Stephen Barrar, R-160th, of Upper Chichester, who is not seeking re-election. Republican Craig Williams, of Concord, threw his hat into the ring to replace Barrar. Williams, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a former federal prosecutor, ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
As of press time, Andrew led the race with 554 votes from Chester County municipalities and 324 votes from Delaware County municipalities for a total of 878 votes, while Spahr had 142 votes from Chester County municipalities and 388 votes from Delaware County municipalities for a total of 530 votes.
Andrew, 49, is a Kennett Township resident, lawyer and said he has spent 25 years “fighting for working class families.”
Andrew is an environmentalist who was one of the co-founders of the Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County. As a trustee with the Nature Conservancy’s Pennsylvania and Delaware chapter, he has helped to preserve more than 5,000 acres of open space and helped create the Brandywine Christiana Healthy Water Fund.
Andrew said he wants to see changes in Harrisburg.
“I hope to be a part of the Democratic majority in the House, which will be putting people first, and work with the governor to bring us safely through the pandemic,” he said.
Republicans currently have a majority in both the state House and Senate, but Pennsylvania Democrats are hoping to flip both chambers this year.
Andrew supports raising the minimum wage.
He has met with senior cabinet members in the Wolf Administration to advocate for implementing “common sense” gun safety reforms.
He wants to transition from fossil fuels to renewable fuels and end gerrymandering.
Spahr is a Chichester resident and Newtown Township Codes, Planning and Zoning Administrative Coordinator. She graduated with an Environmental Science degree from Dickinson College in Carlisle and a masters degree in Geography and Planning from West Chester University.
The 46-year-old political activist is a mother of two 11-year-old boys.
In Harrisburg and Washington, she teaches children how to lobby about the environment.
“What is going to happen to the environment with Trump as president?” she asked.
The long-distance runner also helped organize “Lights for Liberty,” an event to shed a light on what’s happening with immigration and detention centers.
With government experience, she said she is well prepared.
“Local government experience has given me insight on the intersection of state and local government and how that impacts residents and businesses,” she said. “Knocking doors and helping other candidates builds relationships with stakeholders and elected officials.
“I’ve been doing the walk, and when you do the walk, you get the results and receive the respect.”
167th House District
Freshman state Rep. Kristine Howard, of Malvern, sought to defend a challenge from Ginny Kerslake, of West Whiteland, in the Democratic primary for the 167th House District, which includes municipalities in eastern Chester County. Wendy Leland of Malvern, a former Army Reserves member ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
As of press time, Howard was ahead with 2,416 votes, while Kerslake had 1,268 votes.
Howard won this House seat in 2018 after defeating six-term Republican incumbent Rep. Duane Milne, a race she described as won “on a $15,000 budget supplemented by 14,000 doors knocked.”
As the incumbent running to keep her 167th District seat in the Pennsylvania House, Howard said her most important goal in the legislature, set to impact 2021, is to elect a new majority, a majority that works in Harrisburg.
“We are hamstrung by a faction of Trumpian extremists who have hijacked the Republican Party making ‘bipartisanship’ and ‘compromise’ nearly impossible,” Howard said.
Howard also wants to help empower and support Pennsylvanian children.
“Another 2021 goal for me is to improve the lives of disadvantaged children by strengthening support services for kids in foster care, making sure no child is hungry, delivering robust education opportunities at all levels and ensuring mental health and special needs counseling and care are readily accessible and freely available,” she said. “As for a third goal, with a new majority in place, is to develop a public health program that will build on everything we have learned from this crisis.”
Kerslake said her biggest personal goal for 2020 is to win this primary and ultimately the General Election race in November. Her goal is to “bring community-focused representation to the people of the 167th District and strong leadership for all Pennsylvanians.”
The key issues of her campaign, she said, are: environmental protection, public health and safety, public education and economic justice and reflect her key legislative goals for 2021.
“Running for office takes commitment, courage and sacrifices,” Kerslake said. “It also takes stamina and to that end, I have a personal goal to maintain excellent mental and physical health. That includes making time for family and myself with more hikes, runs and bike rides through our beautiful county parks and trails.
“Three years ago construction for the Mariner East pipeline project hit West Whiteland Township and others in Chester County,” Kerslake said. “It quickly became apparent that we needed to work together. So in our backyards and around kitchen tables, we began to organize, raise public awareness and advocate for our families and communities. By growing our community power we have accomplished many things and held our elected officials and regulators accountable when they have claimed to be powerless.”