Pittman to be Punxsy’s senator after redistricting
PUNXSUTAWNEY — As a result of Pennsylvania’s recent redistricting, Punxsutawney and southern Jefferson County are now a part of the state’s 41st senatorial district, and will be represented by Sen. Joe Pittman beginning Dec. 1.
However, since Pittman will not be up for reelection until 2024, he said he has begun to work as though he already represents the newly constituted 41st district. For that reason, he visited Punxsutawney Wednesday to tour Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s local campus, as well as its academy of culinary arts. He’ll also be in town next week to meet with the Punxsutawney Republican Club.
Pittman, a Republican, has been representing an area including the entirety of Indiana County since 2020, after he won a special election to replace state Sen. Don White after his retirement. His new district once again includes all of Indiana County, as well as Armstrong County. He will also represent a significant portion of Westmoreland County.
The redistricting split Jefferson County in two. Pittman’s district now incorporates the Punxsutawney Area School District and the southern portion of the county. Previously, state Sen. Cris Dush represented all of Jefferson County. He will continue to act as senator for the northern portion.
In an interview with The Spirit, Pittman said there are always challenges when a county is split between senatorial districts, but thinks there could be advantages as well.
“I think the concerns and priorities are similar to most of the district I represent, and it’s going to be a good relationship,” he said.
Specifically, he cited the connections that already exist between Punxsutawney and Indiana. The Punxsy school district includes a portion of Indiana County, IUP has a branch campus and its culinary academy in the area, and there are partnerships between the Punxsutawney Area Hospital and Indiana Regional Medical Center, all of which could benefit from shared representation.
“It just seemed to resonate as a common community,” he said.
Pittman said he has social connections in the Punxsutawney area going back to his childhood in Hillsdale. He said it was just as common to travel to Punxsy as Indiana from that area. His political career has also involved some work in Jefferson County, part of which was represented by White when Pittman worked with his campaign.
His time in politics began early. He was appointed to the school board in Purchase line, where he graduated in 1995, when he was 18, then was elected to a full term that he served a portion of before a brief move to Bedford County. He described his time
school board as a significant educational experience that taught him a lot about working in an elected experience.
He attended Penn State University and obtained a degree in political science. His experience in the state senate began around that time. He interned for a former Altoona state senator who later hired him for about a year and a half before he returned to the area to work for White’s campaign. White then made Pittman his chief of staff, a role he held until his election as state senator.
“It’s been a pretty steady experience for me to work in the state senate,” he said.
He described himself as an advocate for local energy production, whether natural gas or coal or the local power plants that he said are large economic engines. He said it’s both a matter of affordable energy and national security. He also said he values fiscal responsibility and election integrity.
He said Punxsy is similar to Indiana and Kittanning, which is also in his district, in its demographic problem — bringing new people and businesses into town, and retaining the ones that are already there. He noted water and sewer infrastructure as a subject of concern that he is reviewing with local officials. He also wants to support the relationship between the Punxsy and Indiana hospitals. But the main component of addressing population loss will be talking to the downtown community about quality of life — how to incentivize people to come here and stay.
Having just toured its facilities, he pointed to IUP’s new building project as something that could be a catalyst. The bigger building is a response to increased enrollment, which means more people and more money in Punxsutawney.
“I think that could be very beneficial to the business community longterm,” he said.
As of right now, Pittman has not made a decision about setting up an office in Punxsy. He has fulltime offices in Indiana and Kittanning, and is considering locating one in Westmoreland County. He also has an office in Murrysville, but will close it because that area was moved out of his district. However, whether or not an office comes to Punxsy, he noted the relatively short distance between it and Indiana and said he hopes to be in the area at least once a month, if not more.