and we’re back Broad + Liberties Candidate spotlight series! Every week, we reach out to candidates across the federation for election to public office — an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. incumbents and challengers. He asks once a week about pressing public policy. Those who choose to respond will share their responses on our website every Wednesday through Sunday.
Earlier this week, Pennsylvania governors, lieutenant governors, and candidates for the U.S. Congress detailed plans to work across party lines. Candidates for the Pennsylvania Legislature will debate today.
If you are a candidate for public office in Pennsylvania and would like to participate in our series, please contact us at lsattler@broadandliberty.com.
Question of the Week: As a discussion ofsoul of the nation‘, the call for unity among political parties is growing, while the movement toward division is also growing. How do you plan to serve all voters regardless of their ideological nature?
Broad + Liberty Thank you for participating in the campaign below. Click the link below to jump to answers from district candidates.
Rob Davies (Republican), running for Senate for the 12th District
I am running for state senate to find common sense solutions to the many problems we face. These are issues we face together and we all have an interest in solving. We all spend a lot of money on gas and groceries. Everyone’s utility bills are skyrocketing. We all want safe streets and communities where we live, shop, work and visit. We all want an education system that actually educates our children at a cost taxpayers can afford.
I hear about these issues when I speak to voters, and I speak to them beyond the political spectrum. I want to know what their concerns are and what ideas they have to make things better. In four years, voters will be able to decide if their lives are better than they are today and if I helped make a difference. I think this is the standard for judging political leaders.
Rob Davies’ opponent, Maria Collett, has chosen not to respond.
Jessica Florio (Republican), running for Senator for the 44th District
Following the calls for unity between political parties, action is needed to bring people together, not further apart. Too often, elected officials, including my opponents, throw thieves, slander, and bicker in schoolyards when they disagree with their fellow members. We should rely on the power of our arguments, not our comeback wit, to demonstrate and persuade those who oppose us.
As a state senator, I will not only set an example in Harrisburg, but I will also set an example in my district. If someone comes to my office needing help, that’s what matters. Not who they voted for or whether they voted for me.The job of an elected official is to serve all of the people they represent, not just those who voted for them. Additionally, I plan to provide a way to communicate with voters about upcoming legislation and share their thoughts and feedback with me. This seat belongs to all of us and we should feel equally vocal.
Jessica Florio’s opponent, Katie Moose, has chosen not to respond.
Kristin Marcell (R), Running for 178th State Senate
Governance is about finding common solutions, not serving a political agenda. To do this, while working with all legislators to find solutions, in my case, we must always stick to the basic principles of government limits, fiscal responsibility, and ensuring public safety. We also need to listen to all sides when considering proposed laws and policies. Doing so ensures that elected officials have a wide range of information and facts on which to base their decisions. This is what I did as a local elected official and what I do as a state representative. When the people you serve see this simple approach (listen, learn, find common ground) in action, they automatically begin to bridge the partisan divide that exists today. That’s why I have the support of people from all parties.
Ilya Breyman (Democrat), running for 178th State Senate
Our great nation’s founding fathers warned us against factionalism. James Madison, Federalist 10, makes a great argument that was later summarized by Justice John Paul Stevens.
Madison believed that organizing the republican government into multiple levels of local, state, and federal representation, as well as checks and balances among the three branches, would alleviate the “tendency of the people to split into political parties.” . [which] Mutual animosity infuriated them, giving them a tendency to irritate and oppress each other rather than cooperate for their common good.
Unfortunately, Framer failed to foresee the emergence of unchecked campaign finance and black money, and the growing control of unelected party bureaucrats and chatty pundits over the election process.
Worse, more and more of our compatriots seem convinced that only ideological purity can save America, and are tempted by the common-sense simplicity of the position. , its simplicity is the appeal of extremism. It’s easy. It’s “us” versus “them.” It’s comfortable — you’re always surrounded by familiar faces, sharing familiar memes, and dutifully repeating the same incendiary attacks against the other side. It slowly changes the way we see the other side, but until one day our caricatures of them are distorted by propaganda and we see them as neighbors we might disagree with. Instead, they begin to see it as an enemy that should be destroyed.
If elected, I will always put my community and country first. Good ideas are not partisan, so I actively collaborate with all my colleagues. In deciding how to vote on various issues, we seek to understand how voters feel about the issue and what is best for them. Instead of one-sided political rallies, host in-person or live online town halls with unscripted Q&A sessions. If we really want to address divisions, we need to modify how we elect members of Congress so that they are accountable to voters, not to political parties or special interests. We also need to give voters more choice so that, as Madison puts it, “they are more likely to have the right choice.” To do this, we can do away with closed primaries, introduce ranked-choice voting, and end the corrupt practice of partisan gerrymandering. Finally, we need to implement term limits so that elected representatives can’t publish what they should. service To career.
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