Letters: Amendments threaten all in PA; Takac the right representative for 82nd District

Amendments threaten all in PA

By now you’ve probably seen full-page ads in your newspaper announcing “Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of Pennsylvania.” And you’ve probably ignored them. Don’t.

These proposed amendments are the latest Republican attack on life as we know it in Pennsylvania.

If enacted these amendments will:

• Remove any right for women’s reproductive freedom in Pennsylvania.
• Raise the voting age in Pennsylvania to 21 (despite 18 being the voting age for federal elections,) and will impose a 60-day residency requirement to vote. Combined, these two proposals will reduce the vote of young people and college students. Just what Republicans want.
• Provide for the Auditor General, a politically elected official, to audit elections and election results.

Each is a direct attack on our freedoms. Each is advanced by the Republicans in the State Legislature. And each one will be on the spring primary ballot when fewer people vote.

In the past, proposals such as these would be discussed in open debate in the Legislature. Legislators would go on record as supporting or opposing these actions which, if passed, would go to the Governor for approval or veto. This is why we elect our representatives.

But such sweeping Constitutional amendment proposals are a way around legislators doing their job, of taking a stand, of letting us know how they vote. It’s a cowardly way for Republican legislators to enact laws without actually voting on them.

These amendments threaten all of us. Vote no when you see them on the ballot.

Takac the right representative for 82nd District

Paul Takac is a highly capable candidate for Representative of the 82nd District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Paul and his wife, Regan, have lived in the State College Area for over 20 years; their children grew up here. Paul has been a member of the College Township Council since 2020, more than a year before his Republican opponent moved to the district.

My experience with Paul on the Centre Region Council of Governments is that he is a well-informed, wise, and conscientious public servant. He has represented College Township on the Spring Creek Watershed Commission. His environmental leadership has earned the endorsement of the Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania.

Paul will defend reproductive rights which are under assault in Harrisburg because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Senate Bill 106 proposes to end the right to abortion in Pennsylvania by Constitutional Amendment; Paul is strongly opposed to it.

Paul will be a champion of LGBTQ+ rights where Pennsylvania is still behind other states in its harassment laws. He favors raising the Pennsylvania’s paltry $7.25/hour minimum wage to $15. His strong union support results from his commitment to workers’ rights.

His opponent’s website is silent on every one of these issues.

Paul Takac has roots in our community, knowledge of our area, and policy positions consistent with the values of this district. I am looking forward to voting for him and I am looking forward to him representing the 82nd district in Harrisburg.

GOP the ‘party of no’

There is a decided difference between the Republican and Democrat agendas. For the last month I have monitored the “How They Voted” summary in the CDT of voting by Congress in that prior week. Every bill, save one or two, was initiated by a Democrat and, except for recognitions like awards for valor in war, for example, was, then, opposed by almost all Republicans and, most often, our own Republican Representatives and Senators. Democrats have, thus, shown initiative in what they value for the country and the district. Republicans, on the other hand, have earned their nickname, “the party of ‘no.’” How can one vote for Republicans who have no policy, no agenda and no foresight, other than their opposition to Democratic ideas for improving the country and Pennsylvania, in particular? This question is rhetorical; are there any real justifications for being simply obstreperous?