Neafcy vies to unseat Ciresi in 146th Dist.
The race for Pennsylvania’s 146th House District seat pits one-term incumbent Democrat Joe Ciresi against Republican challenger Tom Neafcy.
The 146th District is located entirely inMontgomery County and is comprised of the townships of Limerick, Lower Pottsgrove and Perkiomen, and the boroughs of Trappe, Royersford and the eastern portion of Pottstown.
Both candidates have run unsuccessfully for the office previously against the same candidate.
Ciresi, who graduated from the University of Miami, ran against then-incumbent Republican Tom Quigley in 2016 and lost. He won the seat away from Quigley two years later in the 2018 election boosted by a huge turnout byDemocrats inmid-termelections.
In 2014, Neafcy, who graduated from Perkiomen Valley High School and attended Ursinus College and Montgomery County Community College, unsuccessfully challenged Quigley in the Republican primary.
Each candidate was provided with an identical set of questions in a candidate questionnaire. Their responses are featured here in the order in which they were returned.
Joe Ciresi
Ciresi, 50, lives in Limerick and served as a member of the Spring-Ford Area School Board for 12 years. He previously worked for the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts but now works full-time as a state representative.
While serving on the school board, “I experienced first-hand the impact of decisions made in Harrisburg and the longrange effect of those decisions on school districts, students, families, and the taxpayers. Motivated to expand my ability to assist the community as a whole I embarked on the path to run for elected office,” wrote in his response to theMercury
questionnaire.
“In this, my first term as a state representative, I was able to introduce or cosponsor legislation impacting the areas of health care, prescription drug costs, education, transportation/infrastructure and COVID-19 response. Nearly $14 million in grants has been achieved for our schools, boroughs, townships, and organizations,” Ciresi added.
“Supporting commonsense laws to provide relief to small businesses and to better fund fire departments and emergency responders is also part of my record,” he wrote. “Another top priority is to restore passenger rail service
between Philadelphia and Pottstown in an effort to relieve traffic congestion, help the environment, and revitalize our boroughs.”
Wrote Ciresi: “Basically, a community has a specific list of needs and it is up to a strong legislature to achieve the solutions that are required. I have worked to find the best solutions for the people in my district and the commonwealth. It ismy full intention to navigate the best path and continue advocating for the 146th Legislative district.”
Asked to name a guaranteed theoretical accomplishment if reelected, Ciresi wrote: “It should be no surprise that without hesitation accomplishing full funding for all public schools would bemy choice. As a school boardmember, I witnessed firsthand how the state underfunds school districts in western Montgomery County. During my first term, I have directed my energies toward developing a fair funding formula that would result in millions of dollars more to our local school districts, reduce property taxes and improve educational outcomes for our children.”
Ciresi added, “my record on education reflects securing more than $2 million in state grants for our local school districts and for the purchase of new equipment for students, as well as more than $3 million in state grants for Montgomery County Community College.”
On the subject of charter schools, Ciresi wrote: “I feel charter schools may be an option for some families but that choice should not take away dollars from our local public schools. We need controls on what they are charging our taxpayers and what our local school districts are losing. I voted for charter school reforms requiring increased accountability and bringing additional dollars back into the public school system. The end result of a strong, well-funded education system is a prosperous community and a thriving area economy.”
Asked to differentiate himself from his opponent, Ciresi wrote: “Understanding the issues that are important to constituents and working on solutions to actually accomplish results that impact the residents in the 146th district has been and remains my goal. No representative can please 100 percent of the people 100 percent of the time, but proven work in focusing on issues involving health care, lowering prescription drug costs, maximizing the education dollars in the district, finding creative transportation/infrastructure solutions to connect communities, ease traffic congestion, and contribute to the economic