What are your top three legislative priorities in 2025?
It all comes down to good schools, good jobs, and an economy that works for everyone. Most of the communities I represent have older residents in older homes and we cannot ask them to pay any more in property taxes, so we need to continue the work to make sure it’s not just about total dollar spent, but about making sure the dollars go where they do the most good. The best way to have a strong economy is to have a strong middle class. That means good jobs – union jobs – with real pay, real benefits, and a chance to retire. When working people have money to spend, they spend it in the community and the power of those dollars are multiplied over and over. State government doesn’t create the jobs, but the investments we make are the reason employers choose to locate here and expand here. That’s why I’m working as hard as I can to bring home state and federal dollars to support our municipalities, rebuild our infrastructure, and make sure we’ve got a well-educated workforce ready for employers.
What are the important issues facing your district?
An aging population and an aging infrastructure means we need to make smart investments to keep people in their homes, make sure our roads, bridges and railways are safe, and we need to keep fighting for good jobs with real pay.
What is your favorite vacation destination?
When Walt Disney World has it all, why go anywhere else?
What are your biggest challenges and successes as a legislator?
A one-vote majority gets you the nice offices, but it also requires anything we pass be moderate and appeal to people across the board to have a chance to get through the Republican senate. It’s a challenge, but it means we have to do things the right way. It is frustrating to see things pass the House with huge bipartisan majorities like our Safer Rails, Safer Communities package, our bills to put more money back in people’s pockets when they deal with companies like Ticketmaster, and so many more consumer protection bills that just go nowhere in the Senate. Working people want a break and we’re trying to get them done.
What is your favorite food
or meal to cook?
I enjoy grilling almost anything and I make a mean marinara sauce.
What do you like to do for fun?
Golf, travel, and spending time with my family and friends.
What is your greatest success as a legislator over the past few years?
Bringing home the bacon. Successfully securing hundreds of millions of dollars for my communities is and always will be my first priority. Legislatively, there are several. Leading the successful effort to legalize sports betting, sponsoring the legislation that sets the framework for hydrogen production in PA, and improving and re-authorizing the state’s safe digging law come to mind.■
