Businesswoman running for 6th Congressional District
Regina Mauro of Chester County seeking GOP nomination
Regina Mauro is worried history is repeating itself, and she wants to do something to help.
“I am the daughter of Cuban immigrants who lived through the revolution and saw their country transformed pretty much overnight when Fidel Castro came into power,” she said. “They saw all these freedoms — freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to own your own business — taken away.”
The Chester County Republican said the experiences of her parents helped shape who she is today. It has made her into someone who loves democracy, someone who is passionate about protecting the freedoms guaranteed to Americans.
And, she said, that is the reason she launched a campaign to represent the 6th Congressional District, which includes all of Chester County and parts of Berks County.
Mauro will be running against
Realtor Ron Vogel, businessman Steve Fanelli, former Chester County Chamber of Commerce President Guy Ciarrocchi and chemical engineer Bob Kennedy for the Republican nomination in the May 17 primary. The winner of the primary will likely face Democrat Chrissy Houlahan, who is seeking her third term, in the general election.
Mauro said she is growing increasingly concerned about “cancel culture” permeating throughout the country, and by what she sees as attempts by those in government to strip people of their freedoms. To her, it all feels much too similar to the stories she was told by her parents.
“I thought I could contribute at the congressional level,” the 59-year-old said. “I have been very active in engaging people with discussions of this nature, and I felt that given my professional background and my cultural background that I could really make a difference.”
Mauro worked for Equifax, an American multinational consumer credit reporting agency, for much of her career. During her time with the company, she held many positions, including overseeing the opening of several field offices in Pennsylvania, leading a sales team at its national headquarters and expanding its international presence in Mexico and South America.
More recently she worked in the banking industry and started her own importing business in 2012.
Mauro’s congressional campaign is her second foray into the world of politics. She ran for Chester County controller last year but lost to the Democratic incumbent.
“That’s when I started paying attention to the congressional race,” she said. “I started looking at the record of Chrissy Houlahan and there were many things that greatly concerned me.”
Mauro said that if elected she would focus on issues like promoting school choice, cracking down on illegal immigration, protecting the rights of the unborn, advocating for the Second Amendment, working to decrease the cost of living and strengthening the penalties for those who purposefully participate in obstructing election integrity.
She said the state of the education system is particularly troubling.
“Parents should always have the right to choose the education they believe is best for their child,” she said. “School funding should follow the child, not the mandated school in which they are zoned. There is no moral reason to prevent children in underperforming schools from attending any of our better schools.”
Another key concern is fixing the broken immigration system.
“As the child of legal immigrants, border security is a nobrainer,” she said. “You must come here legally or not at all. It is immoral for taxpaying American citizens to be forced to contribute to the welfare state, then have those same dollars be used to fund the lives of people who broke our laws by coming here illegally. We cannot continue to encourage and reward these actions.”
Mauro also promised to be voice for the unborn. She said defunding Planned Parenthood is a crucial first step. The next step will be investing in ways to help women with unintended pregnancies who do not have the means to provide the child with a healthy, loving environment.
“Let’s foster better adoption programs with the private sector, promote life as the only humane option and above all let’s empower women to choose life,” she said. “This is a civil rights issue, this is a human rights issue.”
U.S. representatives serve a two-year term and receive an annual salary of $174,000.