Kline, Staats face off for seat
BUCKS COUNTY >> This year’s election race for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 145th District seat is between Democrat Brian Kline and incumbent Republican Craig Staats.
Both candidates were emailed a questionnaire asking what in their background has helped prepare them for this office, why they are running for the office and where to get information about them and their candidacy.
They were also asked two policy questions: What changes, if any, would you like to see to the current system of funding public schools primarily through property taxes? If property taxes are reduced or eliminated, how would you replace
the funding?
What is your answer to the opioid epidemic? What measures would you support (Safe injection sites? More public funding for rehab or mental health services? Tougher laws for dealers? etc.)?
Brian Kline
“I am a cancer survivor and health care activist,” Kline said.
The Pennsylvania Health Access Network awarded him with the 2017 Georgeanne Koehler Activist of the Year award for his advocacy for the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, he said.
Prior to his political advocacy, he was an editor at National Journal’s Hotline, then was online communications director at Walmart Watch, he said. He has also served on the Richland Township Planning Commission and helped draft Richland’s first comprehensive plan in 1997, he said.
“I grew up in a workingclass family. Nothing came easy,” Kline said.
“But my father’s union wages paid the mortgage. Pell grants helped fund my education at DeSales University. And after being diagnosed with cancer, Medicaid saved my life,” he said. “I’m running for office to help people, not abandon people.
“Pennsylvania ranks 46th in state share of public education funding. This creates an over-reliance on property taxes and fosters an unfair system,” he said in answer to the question about education funding and property taxes.
“Wealthier school districts have the tax revenue to fund their schools as opposed to poorer school districts. We need a better funding formula,” Kline said. “To provide immediate relief I support targeted property tax breaks for lower-income households and first responders, along with state funding for county reassessment
efforts. To make up for lost revenue, I support a fair share tax plan that increases taxes on income from wealth, a drilling tax and closing the Delaware loophole on corporate net income taxes.”
In answer to the opioid question, Kline said, “To battle the opioid crisis we need to protect Medicaid funding for substance abuse programs, enforce insurance parity laws for people with behavioral health conditions and restore funding for behavioral health programs in the state budget.
“Addiction doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There are many factors that can cause addiction,” he said. “The policy goal is to establish points of contact with substance abusers so they can access health care services, housing and food aid, along with job training programs.”
Information on Brian Kline is available at KlineforUpperBucks.com and on his Facebook and Twitter pages.
Craig Staats
Before becoming state representative, Staats said, he worked in business, having 32 years in the restaurant industry.
“Serving others has always been a passion of mine and it transitioned well into serving constituents as a state representative,” he said. “I also served as a township supervisor where I fought against property tax increases because I know how detrimental they can be to seniors on a fixed income and working families on a budget.”
To be successful in the restaurant industry and in public service, you have to want to serve others, he said.
“That’s what drove me to run for state representative,” Staats said. “It breaks my heart to see seniors forced out of their homes due to skyrocketing property taxes. I know there is nothing more important for the prosperity of our community than providing students with excellent education. And, as a father, it is critical that our community remains a safe place for our families.”
One of the biggest issues he hears about when speaking to constituents is increasing property taxes, he said.
“I would like to see real estate taxes eliminated. It’s a bad tax that puts a huge financial burden on our seniors well after they’ve paid off their homes,” Staats said. “Shifting the real estate tax to increase sales and personal income tax would give our senior citizens some long-awaited relief. At the very least, we need to reduce or cap real estate tax for senior citizens.”
In answer to the opioid question, Staats said, “We cannot arrest our way out of the opioid epidemic.
“We need to provide more funding for treatment and prevention. This includes helping those addicted and their families, so they are equipped to help their family member,” he said. “I don’t believe safe injection sites send the right message. It is illegal to use opioids without a prescription. However, I do believe our insurance companies should cover detox, inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment and, in some cases, sober-living facilities.”
Campaign-related information on Craig Staats is available at staatsforstaterep. com; legislative information is available at repstaats.net.
The towns in the 145th District are East Rockhill, Milford, Perkasie, Quakertown, Richlandtown, Richland Township, Sellersville, Springfield, Trumbauersville and West Rockhill.