Centre County voters will choose between newcomers and longtime incumbents on Nov. 3
Centre County voters have the chance to choose between longtime incumbents and several political newcomers in a few weeks when casting their ballots for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Four challengers — three Democrats and one Republican — are vying for seats in the 76th, 77th, 81st and 171st Legislative Districts. Some say they are running because they’re frustrated with Centre County lawmakers; others say they want to give voters an alternative to incumbents, some of whom have served for decades.
Here’s a look at the challengers:
76th Legislative District
Joe Waltz, a longtime Clinton County resident, is challenging incumbent Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, R-McElhattan, who’s looking to be elected to her second term of representing the 76th Legislative District. The district includes all of Clinton County and parts of Centre County.
Waltz has lived in the 76th District for nearly 50 years and was a public school teacher at Lock Haven High School for three decades.
“I have lived in this area for so long,” Waltz said. “I hate to give my age, but I have had grandparents and parents and children and grandchildren and cousins and uncles. I’ve had literally thousands upon thousands of students in this area.”
Waltz is running because he says he believes he has much in common with those in Clinton and Centre counties and because of what he described as “gridlock” in Harrisburg. New leaders are needed to address challenges such as rural broadband, taxes, funding for education, agriculture and first responders, he said.
“I’ve had a lot of experiences, common experiences, with people in the 76th District — everything from growing up on a farm, from being the first person in my family to go to college, to marrying a wife that has a small business, to teaching school for 34 years, to caring for elderly people,” the 68-year-old Democrat said. “That is why I want to run. I want to take those common experiences with me to Harrisburg and fight to answer those issues people in the 76th are having.”
Borowicz, a mother, former teacher and pastor’s wife, helped introduce anti-abortion legislation that proposes a ban on abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected during her first term as a state legislator. A proponent of the Second Amendment, she has hosted gun rights workshops that aim to teach residents where firearms are permitted and how they must be transported. She also secured funding for the Mountaintop Regional Water Authority to help improve water quality in the area.
Borowicz rarely speaks to the media and has declined to participate in events such as the Centre County League of Women Voters’ Candidates Night. She has been active in attending rallies in Harrisburg such as a Second Amendment rally two weeks ago.
77th Legislative District
Republican challenger Steve Yetsko, a Penn State alumnus, has lived in the 77th Legislative District since 2000. A parent, community volunteer and HVAC technician, Yetsko is running against Democratic incumbent Scott Conklin, who was first elected in 2006.
“I’ve worked hard, and I think we’re not represented well, and I live in the rural area, but I’ve connected very well with State College,” Yetsko said. “I think I could do well to go down to Harrisburg and listen to people and represent us.”
Yetsko said he thinks community members and their respective municipal and school boards should be the governing body when it comes to decisions that impact residents’ lives, businesses and the local economy. He is also a supporter of veterans and faith-based community organizations.
“I put myself out there. Scott’s been in office for a long time, and I never did this before,” Yetsko said. “But, I feel like people should have a choice when they go into the voting booth, and I don’t think anyone should just walk in unopposed every time. And there’s people that like Scott, but there’s people that maybe were looking for something new, a new voice in Harrisburg.”
A resident of Julian, Yetsko is no stranger to issues with rural broadband. This month, Yetsko participated in the Centre County League of Women Voters Candidates’ Night from a campaign office, due to unreliable internet in his home. If elected, Yetsko said he plans to address the issue of broadband access, a challenge that has only become more apparent as families and students work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I can feel the pain on this,” he said, adding that he believes broadband should be adjusted to resemble the system used to provide electric to rural areas. “The haves and the have-nots — I’m one of the have-nots in this one — we need to bring that together.”
Conklin, a former Centre County commissioner, has co-sponsored a series of resolutions and bills pertaining to agriculture, the environment, transportation and law enforcement during his 13 years as a state representative. In 2018, Conklin introduced a bill that aimed to address gerrymandering. The bill would have created an oversight commission and guidelines for congressional redistricting in Pennsylvania.
81st Legislative District
Ian Kidd, the youngest of the candidates running to represent Centre County, is a Democratic challenger and Huntingdon County native.
Kidd, who said he believes government works for the people, is challenging Republican incumbent Rep. Rich Irvin, who was first elected in 2014.
A teacher, son of a veteran and union leader, Kidd has also worked as a speechwriter and deputy campaign manager.
“Now that I’m out front, I believe that I have the ability to connect Democrats with Republicans, with disengaged voters, with people who don’t believe that the system works for them and to tangibly show them that I will show up,” Kidd said. “You can yell at me. We can disagree, but together, we can form a consensus, and I believe I’m the person who can bring that consensus to the 81st District.”
Kidd’s top three priorities are investing in small businesses, green energy and making Pennsylvania more inclusive by supporting anti-discrimination bills within the first 100 days of taking office.
If elected, he said he plans to introduce and support legislation to make it easier for businesses to access state grants and funds, especially those struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation efforts. He also plans to establish a “job transition program” that would include state funds for first-time business owners as well as offer tax credits to small businesses that offer health care coverage for employees.
Throughout his political career, Irvin has served on the agriculture and rural affairs, human services, insurance and local government committees. He has pushed an agenda he described as “pro-growth, pro-job creation and limited government.” He has co-sponsored a series of legislation, including bills that exempt volunteer firefighters from right-to-know laws and prohibit abortions based on a diagnosis of autism and Down syndrome.
171st Legislative District
Democratic challenger Peter Buck, a former Ferguson Township supervisor, is not new to politics, but this is his first time seeking state office.
Buck served as chair and vice chair of the Board of Supervisors; he also served on the Facilities and the Public Services and Environmental committees of the Centre Region of Council of Governments and on the Spring Creek Watershed Commission. He played a role in managing township funds and adopting police body cameras into use, and he also led municipal and regional investment in sustainable infrastructure.
Buck, who described himself as a “fiery and passionate” person, decided to run because he did not want House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, a Republican, to run unopposed. Benninghoff, a former hospital orderly and Centre County coroner, has served at the state level since winning the election in 1996.
Benninghoff has been a vocal critic of Gov. Tom Wolf and his statewide shutdown and targeted mitigation efforts, as well as an opponent to some decisions about the upcoming election, including the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rulings that extended the deadline to return mail-in ballots.
Recently, Buck and Benninghoff took opposing sides on the potential creation of an election oversight committee.
Buck said he wants to give central Pennsylvania voters a chance to elect a new representative to make decisions on their behalf.
“Kerry is my opponent,” Buck said. “He is not my enemy. And in today’s heated political rhetoric, voters should know that at the end of the day, I want us to have a dignified process, and that’s all.”
